Probably buying a new concealed cary very soon. G43 or XDS9 any thoughts?

I'm a Glock guy but I like my xds a lot. It's stupid accurate for some reason.

Neither. I personally prefer the Shield.

Glock is lighter, so I'd probably go with that one. I personally prefer the Shield also though, it's weight is between the Glock and XDS.

A good Friend bought a 9 MM Shield and I have shot it a few times along with the 40 version.  I bought and prefer the Glock 43 which is very concealable but very shootable.  I bought my 43 with Trijicon grn/grn tritium sights installed and I've added a Ghost connector.   I carried a 3913 and Glock 27 in years past but I'm sold on my Glock 43.  I also have a Glock 42 I occasionally carry and my Glock 27 which hasn't been carried since I purchased my Glock 43.

It really boils down to personal choice.

Any oppinions/experience with the Shield Performance Center?

I like glocks but the XDS and Shield are both very good pistols as well.

I say shoot them first if you can.

This is coming from a Glock guy, but of the 3 I say XDS.

The 43 just feels too small for me, and I had a hard time getting a consistent grip and good hits with it at speed. The Shield fits me better but I cant get over the weird trigger reset and didn't want to fool with the whole APEX kit deal. The XDS falls somewhere in the middle if you HAVE to have a gun that size.

Glock or Shield

Not a fan of the XDS at all

It really comes down to what you like.  I bought a Walther PPS M1 long before the Glock 43 came out and I really wanted to like the G43 but it is just to small.  I can sit here and tell you to like X Y or Z pistol but it really will come down to what feels best in your hand and what you shoot best.  Everyone here has an opinion on which is the best single stack 9 but none of us can tell you which is best for you.  I would suggest trying every one of them out there...... G43, XDS9, Walther PPS M1 & M2, Kahr (a lot of options), Sig P938 P239, Ruger LC9s, Sheild and a few others I bet I missed but they are all good options.

Had the shield and liked it, but shot my friends Walther PPS M2 and fell in love. The Glock, Shield, Walther or even XDS are all great for CCW. I would recommend that you go and handle all of them before you make a decision. Good luck.

In the 400.00 range, either the xds or shield with a slight lean to the xd.

The XDS 9mm was my first carry gun. Prior to the trigger upgrade I could shoot it every bit as well as a full-sized pistol, but post-recall the trigger came back noticeably heavier and grittier. Supposedly it gets better over time but I traded it off before that would have happened. The only downside to me (besides the trigger on my example) was that it's a bit of a chunky pistol relative to most competitors.

PPS M2

I like my G43 a lot... but It costs about a grand after all the thing I've done to it.
To be honest, it's not that great in its stock configuration.  Trigger is meh, capacity isn't great for its size, sights suck, grip is slippery... definitely has potential though.

Strange.  I added a 16 dollar connector and a set of sights and mine works awesome.  Stippled too, but that was free.  

I personally believe the shield is a better gun, but the size of the G43 makes it the most concealable 9mm I have tried.....thus I actually carry it whereas the shield spent most of its life in my safe.

The Glock is one easy ass pistol to carry.

To me, The XDS feels cheap, top heavy, and I don't like the trigger or grip safety.

To me, the Glock has a better trigger, low bore axis, but has a little more felt recoil and only comes with 6 round mags.

To me, the Shield has an okay trigger, feels a little top heavy, and has the least amount of recoil and can generally be found the cheapest.

Someone else will disagree with everything I just said. All 3 of them are similar guns made and supported by great companies. You need to shoot them all to formulate your own opinion. I honestly don't think there is a wrong answer here, just preferences.

G43

I don't know anything about the XD other than it felt uncomfortable in my hand. I love my G43, though.

I prefer the XDS. I've put the majority of my time behind a pistol in glocks because I'm required to carry one for work, but as soon as I get off the XDS is what I reach for

I carry a G43 with night sights and a +1 grip extender.  Very concealable.

Also, I know appendix carry is super popular right now, so if that's your carry method, the XDS has another bonus in that you can lift your thumb off the grip safety before holstering as an extra fail safe. I don't appendix carry but I know several people who do. It seems to comfort some of them.

I carry the 43 everyday.  While I really like the look, reliability and abundance of cheap parts for Glocks, what I haven't liked in the past is the hump on the backstrap.  On the 2 glocks I have owned in the past, I melted the grip a little to remove the 'hump' to make it fit my hand better.  But eventually I sold both off.  I have since moved to the M&P line and really like the ergos and dependability of them.  I have a fullsize and compact, both in 9mm.  When I was looking for a smaller handgun to carry, I figured it would be the shield.  When I held them in the shops, they felt really good.  I put a few mags through a friends shield and it felt good and recoil was very low.  

I didn't even consider the 43 for quite sometime until I finally held one late last year.  Holy crap!  It felt and pointed perfect for me.  Everytime I bring it up, the sights are right on target, something that can't be said for me and the shield.  The 43 doesn't really have the hump that I have had problems with in the past on other glocks.  So I picked up the 43 Talo that came with the Ameriglo sights, which I have on my M&P fullsize and really like.  Out of the box, the trigger on the 43 was way too heavy.  I have since put the Ghost connector in and its much better.  But I just ordered the new glock connector so we'll see how that is.  I love the 43 and carry it everyday with a Taran +1 or Pearce +1 extension.  

I have not fired the XDS, but have handled one several different times.  I have had 2 Xd's in the past, a fullsize 9mm and fullsize 45.  Both were reliable, but I didn't like the high bore axis on either or how big and chunky the grips felt on both when compared to glock or M&P.  I can't really say I like the design of either too much.  I got them to try them out and then I moved on from them.  I will say the ergonomics of them are pretty nice though.  When handling the XDS, it seemed like it also had a higher bore axis than the shield or the 43 and I also didn't like how rough the grip felt.  With glock having the interchangeable backstraps, I will most likely give one a try again in the future.  

As far as the recoil goes on the 43, I find it very easy to control, even with +p rounds.  I can feel a slight bit more than the shield, but that is to be expected since it is a little smaller, which I like.  I will say the grip on the 43 feels a tad bit small to me so I have added a Hogue grip sleeve to it and it feels even better now.  Mine cost me $450 (I think, cant remember off the top of my head) and I have added the ghost connector to it, so I now have $475 in it.  Not a great amount to make it an exceptional feeling shooter.  On my M&P's, I have upgraded sights, triggers, sears and ultimate striker blocks from Apex so I have spent more on them to make them where I feel they should be.  The sights on the Shield are ok, but I can't shoot very well with 3-dot sights so the glock was better in that regard since mine came with the Ameriglo sights.  

Different guns fit people differently.  Sights that work for one person don't work for another.  To me, 3-dot sights are the hardest for me to shoot accurately with.  I'd rather have stock glock sights than 3-dot.  Others like the 3-dot.  Everybody's different and that's why there are so many different guns and ways to configure them.  But I do really like the 43 when I didn't think I would.

Glock.

GLOCK, ALWAYS GLOCK!

this, mostly carry Glock even I have most of single column pistols



 

DOES THE XDS HAVE A MAGAZINE ISSUE LIKE THE G43?? ALWAYS IS NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER.

What magazine issue?

Google this: G43 magazine issue.

Have a good read.

Thats BS when it comes to any of the newer models, but it was a problem on the first runs of them. Glock revised the mags they will have a 01 molding change at botom of witness holes on back of magazine. The Glock 43 we have is a USA June/July 2016 talo build with the revised connector and magazines and it's an amazing little weapon. Added some Taran Tactical +1 and a +2 and it's about perfect now. My wife still prefers the shield and for the money they sell for the shield is a bargain.
The trigger breaks exactly 5.1lbs on a Lymon digital gauge with these new connectors so no need to add anything else.

I will say though that the 43 didn't like 124gr XTP standard or +P after I added the Taran Tactical base pads but they have been flawless with every other defense load I tried. Even the critical duty 135gr+P was perfect but something about the XTP made them catch below the feed ramp. Winchester Ranger 124gr+P and 147gr bonded ran like perfection. The rangers are what I carry and sometimes some of those 50gr libertys in the 6rnd for a biking jogging load.

The XDS was perfect in the trigger department until they f'ed with them to make them safer. This made a gun that was catching my interest and I almost bought one until I tried the new triggers they started coming with.

GSL wasn't there a new ejector and slide lock they also started installing in them? Something about the ejector or sometimes the slide lock causing the bullet to be pushed off center of the feed ramp. I do know 100% I'm thrilled that I waited on picking up a 43 until the bugs were worked out.

Sigh...

It isn't BS when there's a full page of it from a bunch of different yet popular sources.

YMMV.

You mean the issue that was resolved over a year ago?  You try way too hard to knock Glocks every chance you get.

That being said I used to have a G43, now I have an XDs.

This is a subjective question.  Go shoot both to get a feel of what YOU like.  Both have benefits and detractors.

I don't try, I share information. If the information hurts you, well that is on you.

Yeah ok...

You forgot to mention the XDs recall from 3 years ago.  Also equally relevant...

And you forgot to read my first post in this thread, which was neither.

Unfortunately, it depends on the size of your hands.  The G43 fits perfect in my wife's hand, but is too small for mine.  I've gotten better at shooting it, but I don't like something with such a small grip.  I'd rather have a G19 or G26, and just adjust for hiding the width!

Oddly, I shoot my uncle's XDS-9 better than the G43 when it comes to just picking up the gun and shooting it, despite the fact that they both have essentially the same size grip.  Granted, I can dial that accuracy in between those two guns after putting forth some effort and concentration, but on instinct alone, I shoot the XDS-9 better than the 43.  At 7 yards we are talking about me hitting the X ring with the XDS-9 versus putting it to the left of the X in the 9 ring with the G43 for just picking up the gun and pulling the trigger.


Don't even get me started on my .40 S&W M&P Shield.  I hate that gun with a passion and wish I had never fallen for the internet hype!  I'd gladly carry a G43, XDS-9, Nano, PPS, or P938 before considering another Shield!  In fact, my buyer can't get here fast enough to remove that pistol from my sight!

That's a biased, unfair, and partial comparison from an apple to orange statement, especially when a 9x19 is way easier to shoot in a gun that size to begin with. The Shield in 9x19 compared to those other guns beats them in nearly every direction from price to round count.

So the fact that I have two 10mms, shoot full bore 10mm ammo, and I still hate the .40 M&P shield with a passion means absolutely nothing?  I also have three .45 ACPs, and still hate the M&P Shield with a passion.  Even my blowback P3AT with its crap trigger is better to shoot than the Shield and I guarantee you that the P3AT hammers my hand just as bad, if not worse than the Shield does because I get every single bit of that .380 recoil.

 

Allow me to expand on my biased, unfair, and partial comparison opinion.  Why do I hate the shield?  I have big hands with relatively skinny fingers.  When my finger isn't getting pinched between the trigger and the trigger guard, it's getting pinched by that bend in the middle of the trigger.  No matter how hard I try to adjust for it, my trigger finger tip will split open and bleed in 30 rounds or less.  Sure, wearing baseball gloves will solve this, but, I don't routinely walk around wearing baseball gloves, so that may look a little weird for concealed carry.  The Shield is the only handgun I own or have shot recently where I have those kinds of issues with the trigger.  No matter how I adjust my grip, it still manages to bite me and rip my finger tip open.  THAT is the reason I will never own another one!  


In fact, I hate the trigger on the M&P line in general and really wish I had been given the opportunity to fire a Shield before buying mine (thanks internet hype).  Unfortunately, I didn't shoot other M&P handguns until owning the Shield and came to the conclusion of "yep, the triggers suck!"  Also, I'm not spending $160 to put an Apex trigger in a gun that is worth no more than $250 used.  I don't hate all S&Ws though as I have two S&W 1911s, and I absolutely love the triggers on them.  Compared to all the other mouse guns I listed, S&W missed the mark for my hands!


Now, for the final kicker.  Prior to losing 60 pounds, I didn't have problems with the M&P shield trigger. I only developed problems with it within the last year when my fingers shrunk!  

I have a G20 and despite it all I make it work because I have no choice, but the G29 hurts my hands each time I shoot it and the grip is even worst. Yet I keep hearing the G29 is all that when I have experienced otherwise the hype you say.

The G43 feels awkward and the mags didn't drop free, another hype that it's flawless when I have seen otherwise. The XDs had a horrible trigger and the grip was even worse than the G43, so it is a no go for me as well. The Shield in my hands, has a much better trigger than the regular M&P line, fits well, conceals well, but it was slippery in my hands and so I added a Talon to it and now it's just perfect for me and I can shoot and hit just as good with it as I can with my VP9. Plus I have more rounds stock in my Shield in 9x19, which makes for a better shooting gun than in .40 because .40 can make anything uncomfortable in a mid or sub compact.

Again, apples to oranges.

I also had the Glock 23/27 combo many moons ago and even the 27 was more comfortable than the Shield.  The only problem is I was heavier then, but I am stronger now.  It's a weird tradeoff.



 

So get another 27 then?

Bought the XDS 9 today. Compared it with the G43, Shield and the Walther PPS. The deciding factor for me was the trigger felt crisper with a quicker reset then the others.

If you are at all a Glock person, get the Glock.

Good grief, man. Read the post above yours.

Good choice, OP. Enjoy it.

I had an XDS and loved it. I wound up selling it to a friend of mine and kick myself. It functioned perfectly and was comfortable to shoot. Enjoy it.

My XDS 9 3.3 is one of my favorite handguns and my edc.  I have glocks too, but not the 43.  I just shoot the xds really well and it feels so solid.  I was torn between the two but after shooting the xdm I was sold.  Try one.