Best products from r/SmithAndWesson

I'd still say to try out an extra power striker spring if you haven't already. Get it for pretty cheap at SpeedShooterSpecialties. Also be sure to not lubricate your striker channel (just a reminder, no idea if you did) when cleaning. Any idea how many rounds your M&P has seen roughly? If the hammer is too peened over a new striker could help. I know S&W used to send them out free of charge but I believe things have changed so in case, SpeedShooter's also has replacements albeit a bit pricey. Lastly, consider sending a support email to Apex as they're incredibly thorough and very helpful. They'll request several photos of your M&P disassembled so if you're going to a shop to have the work done it might be a little more cumbersome but should definitely get things straightened out.

The 3D Printed AIWB looks neat and I'm sure the material it's made of would hold up a long while. My only advice is to consider adding some adhesive foam on the back for added comfort.

Feel free to message me if I can be of any more assistance or want another mind to bounce ideas off of ever. I'm always happy to chat guns :-)

search this question on firearms or ccw. Its been well covered there.

quick answer though:

bulk FMJ for range/target practice. Brand isn't that important. Winchester white box, cci blazer brass, seller and belloit, remington, pmc, Speer lawman, ANY of those brands should be absolutely fine. SOME people like one brand over another in terms of the ammo being "dirtier" (as in, how much carbon residue does it create and thus, how much work will it be cleaning your gun later)

  But general shootability, just pick whichever one of those you find a good price on.

 

Defensive ammo: You want hollow points. They do a better job of stopping the bad guy. They do a better job of NOT overpenetrating, going through the bad guy, and harming other things behind the bad guy.

 

Top recommended hollow point defensive choices are usually: Federal HST, Hornady Critical Defense, Speer Gold Dot. There are others that are probably fine too, but those three are probably the most recommended. Good chance, whatever police dept near you probably uses one of those three.

 

DON'Ts:

Do NOT bother with gimmicky high tech, superlight (50 grain) ammo with names like "RIP" or whatever. Its all hype.

Do NOT buy ammunition AT the shooting range, if you can at all help it. Shooting ranges typically have a crazy price markup on their ammo.
 

DOs:

Do buy your (target) ammo in bulk if you can. 500-100 rounds at a time is where you start to notice the savings.

Do use luckygunner, brickseek, r/gundeals. luckygunner is more of an ammo sales site, while brickseek is an indexer that shows you what current ammo prices are at other retailers.

 

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Non, ammo related things:

Cleaning: You don't need a lot. A good cleaning solvent, a lube, OR an all in one cleaner/lube combo (rem oil, clp, etc). A brush, a few gun q-tips, a bore snake , some rags or cloths (I like blue shop towels actually) and you're good. You can probably get a decent all in one kit off amazon for <$20. Also recommend a good cleaning mat You don't NEED the mat, but its convenient, keeps oil and scratches off your floor/table, and its like $10, why not? You also don't NEED the gun brand specific mat with YOUR gun diagram on it, but ... come on. Isn't it just a little cooler with it? Yeah, yeah it is.

 

As cleaning goes, this isn't military inspection. You don't need to scrub her spotless after every shoot. Just mostly wipe it down, get the noticeable carbon build up off, make sure the slide cycles smoothly, and IF anything internal is supposed to be factory shiny, make it shiny again. (specifically, it the feed ramp looks shiny )

 

Other than that...

Go shoot. A lot. A LOT

And ask questions.

Shooting is just like anything else. Practice a lot and ask for advice is how you get good.

I don’t have much to compare to but I’ll do my best to write an honest review and my overall thoughts. As well as my upgrade plans.

Recoil:
Wasn’t bad, it was manageable and I was able to adjust to target again quickly. I’ve read with an upgraded recoil spring this can be improved on further and I will likely do so.

Trigger:
Surprisingly good. I’ve read the 1.0 had a crap trigger and the M2.0 was an improvement but wasn’t sure just how much. I’ve never shot a 1.0 but this seemed really good. The reset felt solid, I didn’t have any issues.

Accuracy:
I can’t comment on this yet since I’m a crap shot currently, I wouldn’t dare blame the gun for that.

Grip:
Incredible, plain and simple.

Performance:
I shot a little over 100 rounds this session with no jams, using 3 kinds of ammo (1x box of Federal & 1x box of American Range Ammo, as well as a magazine of Critical Defense). The gun went bang every time, was easy to rack the slide. Not sure what else to say, it works and it works well.

Loading Magazines:
I know some people mention issues with loading magazines being difficult. Just slap it in, it’s a tough gun and you don’t need to be gentle. I didn’t see much resistance in loading magazines but I always smack it in to make sure it’s seated properly and I had zero difficulty and zero problems as a result.


Overall:
I love the Shield 2.0 based on the first day. It’s an incredibly concealable and seemingly reliable gun that has some mixed adds features and a larger carrying capacity over the Glock 43 which had been my other consideration.


Near-Future Upgrades:

Trijicon Night Sights - already have them but I need to get them installed
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IUB098E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_zaz763mdj9bbN

Hyve Extended Mag Release - nothing wrong with the standard one but my hands are a bit smaller so I plan to change it
https://hyvetechnologiesbuilder.com/index.php/product/extended-mag-release-for-the-shield/

Crimson Trace Laserguard Pro Green Laser w/ Light - Best option for a tactical laser and the Crimson laser does not increase the amount of space the gun takes up outside of its already existing maximum dimensions.
https://tacticalgear.com/crimson-trace-ll-801g-laserguard-pro-with-iwb-holster-green

MagGuts - new internals for the standard 7-round magazine which increases it’s capacity to 8. I like the 7 round mags for carrying over the 8s because it keeps the gun extremely concealable while giving me an extra round.
https://www.magguts.com/collections/shield

Techna Clip Gun Belt Clip - alternative to an IWB holster. The clip replaces the slide plate direclty
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012Y8RAWG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rbrGAbQJE56SB




Upgrade Considerations:

Apex Trigger (Not sure if I’ll do this one as the M2.0 trigger seemed pretty good out of the box)
https://store.apextactical.com/WebDirect/Products/Details/192769

Upgraded Recoil Spring
https://dpmsystems.com/smith-wesson-mp-shield-9mm40sw

Match Grade Dimpled Barrel
https://true-precision.com/collections/shield-9/products/m-p-shield-9-barrel

Very nice! I love my Talon grips, and their customer service is amazing if anything goes wrong. A tiny corner of a grip peeled back and they sent me a free replacement. I spent 5 minutes on the phone, and had an email order confirmation 5 minutes after I got off. 2 minutes after that, a shipping confirmation. I've never seen a faster response by anyone!

I just ordered a new set of grips for my second Shield and some replacement grip extension pieces because I had to pull them off to install the MagGuts that just arrived. Highly recommended if you're looking for a cheap way to upgrade your Shield: 9 rounds instead of 8 in the extended mag, or 8 instead of 7 in the standard mag. That means 9 rounds in your extended mag + 1 in the chamber = 10 rounds carried.

2 points about the MagGuts:

1. The 7-round kit seems to have an issue with the bottom plate, but it might have been my install. I'll be checking with them tomorrow.
   
2. You probably won't have the same issue with needing to replace the grips on the magazine because I have Fixxxer grip extensions installed to accommodate my fat fingers, and had my talon grips layered over the seam between the grip extension and the extended mag spacer. (Note: if you do want the extensions, Talon makes patches designed for the Pierce extensions that fit the Fixxers just fine.)
   
   If you want to spend just a little more on an upgrade to get some nice night sights, look into AmeriGlo Pro I-Dot sights. I've got a set of these on my first Shield and the set for the second Shield just arrived. Under $90 gets you Trijicon tritium sights (says Trijicon on the side because they're who manufacture the tritium capsules), and a nice, visible orange band around the front sight. Very visible like the XS Big Dot, but Ameriglo does tritium on both the front and rear whereas XS does not on their Shield kit.

One easy option would be to get a Magpul hand guard, then mount this to it. The MOE hand guard is really nice anyway.

I have several M&P's full size and Shields. My best recommendations are.

1 Apex Action Enhancement Trigger & Duty/Carry Kit for M&P Shield
2 Truglo TFX or TFO
Sights.
*3 SS Guide Rod

Reason I recommend the Truglo TFX or TFO is that they are both Tritium and Fiber optic. This will allow you to see better in both day and night. They are also cheaper and have a rebate running till end of the year.

Bianchi cyclone, well built and a great design that allows for strong side or cross draw carry. Gets more carry time than my custom holster and at $70 is imo a fair price

https://www.amazon.com/Bianchi-111-Cyclone-Holster-Fits/dp/B005PT01QE?th=1&psc=1

I carry appendix. And I love this holster. I honestly forget I'm wearing it most of the time. They have a summer version too which is nylon and lighter. But it's easier to get at the trigger. Either way I like both of them.

Pro-tip when dry firing - put a penny on the end of your muzzle/slide (near your front sight) and pull your trigger. It shouldn't fall if you are doing it right...Next level (much harder) - use a spent casing instead of the penny.

This has greatly improved my trigger pull, personally. The best way I heard it described was like this: think of your time spent at home doing practice draws and dry fire drills as studying and then your range time is the test. I use to view range time as actual practice time, but now I realize how much you can work on at home too.

Also, not all snap caps are created equally - I prefer the a-zoom ones myself, as they have a little rubber piece where the primer would be that your striker pin can hit. I used to use the all plastic ones, but they would eventually crack and left plastic crap all up in my pistol. And who wants to have to clean the weapon from just dry firing? No bueno.

But yeah, cheers to your new weapon! She's a beauty ;-)

8cr is bullshit cheap steel still. For even less money you can get a Rat 1 in Aus8 (which is similar but a bit better steel), and with almost certainly better fit and finish.

I use this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B5Z8XA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_X0AyybPB4AC3G

It may not fit everything you want in a holster, but I like it because it's comfortable and does well with retention. Minimal printing in my experience, but ymmv.

I have a pair of [Trijicon night sites with the orange colored front site] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IUB0MCW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469048200&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=trijicon+m%26p+shield&dpPl=1&dpID=21cTJpKOQtL&ref=plSrch) on my MP shield, glock 19, sig p320, and walther ppq. I absolutely love them and would confidently recommend them to anyone.

the optic is a Trinity Force Micro Red dot its not the most expensive micro dot but its held its zero just fine so far and the light is just some light my coworker gave me it says Lixada on the side i found the link on amazon for it [here](
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWLLGG1/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) it is..its really bright and had 2 modes, solid and strobe and it takes a CR2 battery ive never had a handgun light before so i really dont know how it compares to a streamlight or anything

Story:

So I finally went to the range after damn near two months, and one of the guns I brought with me was my Smith & Wesson 4505 - one of only 1200 made. I put 70 round of factory ammo through it, without any sort of malfunction or hiccup - the reliability to be expected of 3rd Gen Smith's.

I am open to any sort of critiques y'all can come up with. I do apologize in advance for the atrocious sound quality - certainly there are better filming locations than on a popular, public shooting range on a rainy day in Washington.

___

Would you like to know more?

• Wikipedia Article, Smith & Wesson 4506
  
  
• "Field Strip: Smith & Wesson 4505" [3:08]
  
  
• According to the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson:
  
  > Caliber: .45 ACP, blued finish, full size traditional double-action, 5" barrel, 8-shot magazine, ambidextrous safety, Novak Lo-Mount fixed sights with limited production of adjustable sights, 3rd trigger guard. Approximately 1200 were manufactured with serial prefixes of "TFSxxxx": and "THCxxxx." Weight is 41 oz. Produced 1991.

I would suggest a Surefire x300u-a weapon light. Night sights come down to user preference, but I like ameriglo I-dot sights over the traditional 3 dot sights. Others obviously prefer the 3 dot, but I find it easier to stack the 2 dots on top of each other in the dark instead of lining up the 3 dots.

Food for thought: AmeriGlo makes a set similar to this, but the rear sight is a single dot below the front sight, similar to the Heinie sights mentioned elsewhere in this post. It's called the Pro I-Dot, and is just over half the price of the Trijicon sights. I have a set on both of my Shields. The Tritium is produced (and stamped) by Trijicon.

It's hard to tell from the product photos, but it looks like the orange ring on the AmeriGlo sights is actually brighter than the Trijicons. Mine light up even in moonlight.

https://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-12137-L-wrenches-Length-050-3/dp/B000E80CFQ/ref=sr_1_30?keywords=bondhaus+Allen+wrenches&qid=1574258043&sr=8-30

These are made correctly, right hardness and accurate. Don't use cheap tools for gun work, go buy well made stuff that gives you the best chance to do it right.

same here i am not a fan of the 3 dots i went with the ameriglo pro i-dots. almost the same as the hackathorn, but the rear blade has a small tritium insert with no outline so it doesn't stand out in the day and is visible in the night. best of both worlds!
https://www.amazon.com/Ameriglo-Tritium-Orange-Outline-Wesson/dp/B00A95VQSG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469469284&sr=8-1&keywords=ameriglo+pro+i-dot+shield