Picked up a new Shield Plus Sunday and got some range time in today. I decided on the 4" Performance Center non ported model. What really sold me was the upgraded PC trigger. Broke clean and the reset was short and consistent.  Put around 70 rounds of 115gr., 124gr., 147gr in Federal and Speer Lawman.
No failures. All rounds were POA-POI from three to twenty five yards. Only had a couple stray from the x and 10 ring (eyes are getting older) but was everything I want in a carry gun.
I had read about the magazine spring stiffness keeping the magazine from seating fully loaded. The 10 Rd mag clicked in with extra effort,  the 13 Rd I tried but just didn't want to over pressure anything. I am leaving the mags loaded for a week to see if the spring on the 13rd mag. Eases up enough to seat. The grip texture was a perfect grip between the original and the 2.0 sandpaper. Looking to fire some carry ammo next session to check before carry consideration. I drink the Flock kool-aid everyday and have since the late 80s. This Shield is a very strong contender to this Glock shooter. Personal opinion,  after shoring the Hell cat,  and the 365, you should get your hands on one and see for yourself.

I got a no-safety +

As easy as my 1.0 Shield is to carry, a 10-13 round version is a no brainer for me.

Got the same model with a red dot.
Needs more magazines though

I will say it does feel good in the hand; Much better than my P365.

However, P365 can be concealed in your prison wallet… if you’re brave enough, of course.

Picked up the 3.1" model also. Has anyone carried the Plus yet?
Was wondering if the grip texture will still be too aggressive for shirts. I love the new gun but until I get some more magazines and more rounds through it, I'm probably staying with my 43X.

It may just take some acclimation, but as much as I like the texture on the Shield Plus when shooting, it does chafe my skin a bit when carrying appendix, but using a belly band instead of my usual kydex holster keeps the grip from contacting my skin as much and so is much more comfortable when carrying for any length of time.
The texture does grab lighter fabric shirts more than heavier fabric shirts.
I've toyed with the idea of lightly sanding the grip side that contacts my skin as that would improve carry comfort.

Tomac

I had the same complaint.  I like the texture in my hand, but it chafed me when carrying.  I was also thinking I might hit it with some sand paper, but after about a dozen days of carry, I realized that it no longer was chafing me.  I'm thinking that the roughness smoothed out on its own after a bit of carry.  So, all that to say... it may work itself out if you just let it ride for a bit.  Curious to see if this works for anyone else or was it just in my head.  

No problem with the texture while carrying mine.

Been carrying the Plus now about three weeks. I've noted it is no longer quite as rough as it was out of the box. I even bought some Talon grip (rubberized) with the intent of ruberizing just the section of grip that was rubbing me. If it continues to dull more, i likely won't do that.

Interesting,  are you wearing a shirt between your skin side or going commando?
If shirt, was there noticeable wear?

Actually, i just pull the band of my boxers up to shield from chafing.

Adapt,  overcome, improvise....

I picked up a Shield Plus, Performance Center model. I liked everything about it, but the slide release- I COULD NOT drop the slide without slingshotting it. My shield 1.0, glocks etc I can easily drop the slide with the slide release and my shooting hand thumb,  but this new Shield+ that was not possible and I couldn't even drop the release using two hands to manipulate the pistol for better leverage.

Is this a problem anybody else has seen?

I could not drop mine in using tge release at first, but after its first range session i cleaned the pistol. I also oiled the slide release surfaces, then kept working it with an empty mag. Now it is almost as easy to release as my trusty old G27. It took some breaking in.

I bought a 4" PC ported. Really liked the gun. Fantastic trigger. Very smooth shooting.

Deal breaker though is a gun with only one 13 round mag does me zero good. I bought the gun not knowing that mags are unobtainable.

I called Smith and asked their customer service monkey what the deal is on the mags. Are they in the pipeline? Any idea on when they will be available? We talking weeks or months?

The answer: We have no idea when mags are coming.

I sold the gun that day for what I had in it.  Down the road when Smith unfucks themselves and you can actually get the parts required to use the gun I'll probably grab another one.

The extra mags were a problem. A got the 4" PC non ported first, then bought the 3.1" for what I had intended to EDC. I usually have two extra mags on me. I sure did want to buy a third to get the mag.
Then there is the fully loaded 13rd mag not seating on a closed slide.....and no, I will not hammer it in, leaving them loaded for a month to see if that fixes the issue. My new P365X is showing more promise for my new carry.

My friend Karen had the same problem.  I tried inserting magazine & had no issues.

Nice, maybe I'll try again after the mags have been loaded a while....

Amazing how much Shield magazines loosen up with
some use.  I’m sure yours will be fine

The new 365X  and XL will be the new in state carry. When the magazine pipeline finally opens up, I will reconsider the Plus again. Really enjoy shooting the Plus.....

I bought a Shield Plus a couple of weeks backs.
Put 100 rounds through it.
It shot fine but the slide never stayed open after the last round.
I was careful not to put any fingers on the slide lock release lever, as I heard that was easy to do on this gun.
When I went to clean it, I couldn't for the life of me get the slide release lever to swing down.
Upon inspection I noticed that it was catching on a roll pin and so I gave it a few taps with a roll pin punch.
It must have loosened it's way out at the range.
While cleaning the weapon I noticed a very deep gouge on one of the rear slide rails.
I contacted S&W and they asked me to send the firearm back to them.
I did, and now they are telling me I won't get it back for 6-8 weeks!
This was supposed to be my first carry weapon.
I'm thinking of buying something else and selling the Shield once I get it back.
Any suggestions?

We have a Hellcat also and it's nice, factory sights are better than the Shield, the trigger is about as good (I think the Shield is slightly better), accuracy is a little better than the Shield (not much but slightly) and mags are easy to find.
My only complaint with the Hellcat is the grip is smaller and the way it positions my hand causes my trigger finger to drag along the bottom of the guard while firing. Recoil is more noticeable with the Hellcat than the Shield plus.

My only complaints with the Shield plus is the magazine availability issue and a couple times I've had the slide lock not release the slide after a mag change (I have to sling shot it since I'm left handed). It hasn't done it the last three boxes so maybe it's loosened up now.

I tried the Hellcat at the range and the weird thing is that one of my fingers hits the mag release when I'm setting up to fire it.
I have to say that it was rather embarrassing and, of course, wouldn't be a good thing to happen in the real world.
Maybe I'll give it another chance.
The new Ruger Max-9 seems interesting but none of the ranges around here has one for me to try out.

I've had the same issues with mags not fully seating, my 10 round mag you really have to slap in, the 13 seems to go in find. For some strange reason ball ammo seems to seat easier.

Going to keep both mags loaded for a few weeks and see what happens.

Super hard to release the slide, and I have pretty strong hands. CLP before initial firing helped, going to put a couple hundred rounds through it, strip and clean, then see if that helps.

Gun fires and feels fantastic. Carrying today for the first time in a Bladetech holster, feels the exact same profile as my LC9 that only has 7 round capacity.

Hoping some break in and deep cleaning fixes the minor issues.

After two months of leaving the magazine loaded, and the loading and unloading of the magazine,  I cheated, used a Lula, finally got a 13rd to click in with normal seating pressure.....