I've been looking at 9mm's. I was sold on getting the S&W Shield. I shot it and I really liked it. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that you had to push the side button to release the slide inbetween magazines. On my husband's TCP all you have to do is pull back on the rack once it has been locked back. Can someone suggest a good 9mm for a woman? Some of the slides are really difficult for me to pull. The Shield was doable for me. I don't know if I like having to push the button to release the rack once it's been locked back after I've fired the last shot.
Purchase of a 9mm
- Thread starter Scatcatt
- Start date
Limnophile
New member
I've never handled a Shield, but most semiautos have an external slide stop release lever that can be used to chamber a round while closing the slide. They can also be slingshotted closed. Both ways work. I doubt the Shield is different.
Some instructors insist you use the slingshot method, as that ensures the slide executes a full back-to-front travel, which theoretically ensures reliable feeding of the top round in the magazine. However, external slide stop release levers are designed to be used. It's a matter of your preference as to which method to adopt, assuming your gun offers both options.
I think you'll find the TCP has a slide stop release, so either method can be used. Very few guns with slides that lock back after the last round do not have an external slide stop release.
Regarding a good woman-friendly semiauto, I think the best forum for the newly or about-to-be armed female is The Cornered Cat:
http://www.corneredcat.com/.
I think the proprietor is a moderator here. When I had a frozen shoulder that made it seemingly impossible for me to rack a slide, I found a girly method on that site that worked, despite the debilitating pain experienced using a manly technique.
When it comes to choosing a friendly gun, consider the following:
- The heavier the gun the more pleasureable and accurate it is to shoot, but the harder it is to carry.
- The more work harnessed by the recoil, the more recoil energy is absorbed, which means less is avalable to effect you (eg, a tilt-barrel recoil-operated action does more work than a blowback-operated one; recoil-operated pistols are also easier to rack.)
- The more secure the grip, the easier it is to shoot, but a big, comfy grip is harder to conceal.
You may want to check out the EAA (Tanfoglio) Pavona. It comes chambered in either 9 Luger or .380 Auto (9 Short). It was designed specifically for women. The Beretta PX4 Storm Compact is bigger than a Shield, but it's barrel rotates during recoil, which reportedly makes it a soft shooter. It comes in a Sub-Compact version that has the traditional tilt-barrel recoil operation.
A good website for window shopping and comparing is http://www.genitron.com/. It gives size specifications and free recoil energy estimates.
Some instructors insist you use the slingshot method, as that ensures the slide executes a full back-to-front travel, which theoretically ensures reliable feeding of the top round in the magazine. However, external slide stop release levers are designed to be used. It's a matter of your preference as to which method to adopt, assuming your gun offers both options.
I think you'll find the TCP has a slide stop release, so either method can be used. Very few guns with slides that lock back after the last round do not have an external slide stop release.
Regarding a good woman-friendly semiauto, I think the best forum for the newly or about-to-be armed female is The Cornered Cat:
http://www.corneredcat.com/.
I think the proprietor is a moderator here. When I had a frozen shoulder that made it seemingly impossible for me to rack a slide, I found a girly method on that site that worked, despite the debilitating pain experienced using a manly technique.
When it comes to choosing a friendly gun, consider the following:
- The heavier the gun the more pleasureable and accurate it is to shoot, but the harder it is to carry.
- The more work harnessed by the recoil, the more recoil energy is absorbed, which means less is avalable to effect you (eg, a tilt-barrel recoil-operated action does more work than a blowback-operated one; recoil-operated pistols are also easier to rack.)
- The more secure the grip, the easier it is to shoot, but a big, comfy grip is harder to conceal.
You may want to check out the EAA (Tanfoglio) Pavona. It comes chambered in either 9 Luger or .380 Auto (9 Short). It was designed specifically for women. The Beretta PX4 Storm Compact is bigger than a Shield, but it's barrel rotates during recoil, which reportedly makes it a soft shooter. It comes in a Sub-Compact version that has the traditional tilt-barrel recoil operation.
A good website for window shopping and comparing is http://www.genitron.com/. It gives size specifications and free recoil energy estimates.
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MarkGlazer
New member
I was curious enough about this question (and had enough time on my hands) to look up the Shield owner's manual online (http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson2/upload/other/M&P_Shield_Manual_10-2015.pdf). On page 18, after the usual interminable safety warnings, users are instructed to release the slide by pulling it to the rear.
If there are any pistols on which you cannot release the slide by pulling it to the rear (OP, this is called the "slingshot" method for obvious reasons), I am not aware of them. There are some brands - Kahr, if I recall correctly - that recommends the use of the slide release over the slingshot method but I don't know of any for which the slingshot mechanically won't work.
In the case of the Shield, though, S&W recommends the slingshot method that you prefer, so if that is your last objection, it might be time to write the check.
I love spending other people's money. 
ETA: The last two posts were made while I was thumbing through the Shield manual and typing my answer, but I still enjoy spending other people's money. Seriously, OP, we all hope this is helpful to you.
If there are any pistols on which you cannot release the slide by pulling it to the rear (OP, this is called the "slingshot" method for obvious reasons), I am not aware of them. There are some brands - Kahr, if I recall correctly - that recommends the use of the slide release over the slingshot method but I don't know of any for which the slingshot mechanically won't work.
In the case of the Shield, though, S&W recommends the slingshot method that you prefer, so if that is your last objection, it might be time to write the check.
I love spending other people's money. ETA: The last two posts were made while I was thumbing through the Shield manual and typing my answer, but I still enjoy spending other people's money. Seriously, OP, we all hope this is helpful to you.
The issue i am hearing is more about the difficulty of racking a slide on smaller handguns.
I agree that the shield should slingshot.
The more powerful the cartridge, coupled with the shorter the barrel, equates to a stiffer recoil spring for proper feeding.
Four solutions i can offer.
1: go to cornerdcats site to pick up a new technique.
2. Pick a 'weaker' caliber (380? Makarov?).
3. Get a larger handgun in same caliber (5" barrelled 9mm is easier to rack than 3" barrelled 9mm).
4. Get a revolver in .357mag (you can use .38+p or straight. 38spl, but have option of .357mag).
Don't have any better suggestions. Good luck!
I agree that the shield should slingshot.
The more powerful the cartridge, coupled with the shorter the barrel, equates to a stiffer recoil spring for proper feeding.
Four solutions i can offer.
1: go to cornerdcats site to pick up a new technique.
2. Pick a 'weaker' caliber (380? Makarov?).
3. Get a larger handgun in same caliber (5" barrelled 9mm is easier to rack than 3" barrelled 9mm).
4. Get a revolver in .357mag (you can use .38+p or straight. 38spl, but have option of .357mag).
Don't have any better suggestions. Good luck!
Limnophile
New member
That's the second reason some instructors give for always slingshooting -- it works on every semiauto platform.
It makes sense that the Shield manual says to slingshot, as the tiny external protrusion on the slide stop doesn't look like it can be regarded as a lever, and does not appear ergonomic.
Actually, more like 99%.
My ruger 22/45 (not the mkIII version, but earlier'mkII' version) couldn't do this as the slide stop wouldn't move down without a finger on the slide stop to drop it.
It was designed that way, and owners were supposed to pull back on slide while pressing bolt stop down.
I had an adaptor installed and it now slingshots, like the MkII or mkIII angled grip ones do.
But, your ppint is valid for probably 99% of the semi autos here.
Limnophile
New member
Interesting. Yet another reason to ignore my instructor on this matter, which I did after reading my instruction manuals and concluding that if using the slide stop release lever failed to chamber a round there was something seriously wrong. Slingshotting seems more time consuming and unecessarlily distractive than just depressing the slide stop release, providing it's within comfortable reach of your thumb.
Besides, the levers on the slide stops of my carry guns are designed to be ergonomic when using them to release the slide, not when locking the slide back (you'd think it could be shaped and positioned to do both comfortably). For this reason I tend to think of the lever more as a slide release than a slide stop.
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I reckon my next point to ponder is do I want the one with a safety or without a safety. I was leaning towards the one without. But now I'm thinking the safety would be a good learning tool for my daughter when she starts shooting provided she shoots my gun. I just don't know. I like the idea of just being about to shoot without worrying about the safety. I may never buy a gun simply because I worry too much about every detail of my purchase. When does the madness stop?
Limnophile
New member
Never. One gun is not enough.
I think the Shield is an excellent choice, especially because you shoot it well. While I typically carry a .380, 9 Luger is really the smallest caliber that premium JHPs will perform adequately and reliabily in terms of penetration and expansion, respectively.
With a safety-equipped Shield you can ignore it and keep it deactivated, but it would probably be best to use it in case it ever becomes inadvertently engaged. There is no doubt that a striker-fired pistol with an external affirmative safety is safer than one without, but you need to train such that you swipe off the safety whenever you bring the gun on target. The biggest benefit of the external safety is it makes reholstering much safer, which is why the US Army demanded that Colt add a thumb safety lock to the M1910 before adopting it as the M1911.
If you find something later you like better, gift the Shield to your daughter.
Honestly? It doesn't. We have people here who have been shooting and carrying for years and we still debate things like using or not using a safety. You can think about it until your head pops. In more recent months I've come to not be as inclined against manual safeties as I once was. I've gone from striker fired pistols with no safeties, to DA/SA, back to striker fired pistols, back to DA/SA, and back to striker fired pistols. This is in the course of my time on this forum. The search for an "ideal" system is never ending.
My only "issue" with the safety on the Shield is its size. A number of pistols these days have gone with very small manual safeties. The argument for this is that the user can choose to use or not use the safety and its small enough that it likely won't be engaged accidentally. In fact many people have carried a Shield on these forums with the safety and left it in the off position and not had a problem. My issue is I am often the walking example of Murphy's laws. Stuff goes wrong around me, often because of me. My fear with the safety model is if I got used to carrying it with the safety off, it might engage accidentally. To me if a pistol has a manual safety you have to train with that safety.
So easy answer then right? Just use the safety. Thing is, it's small and for me not overly easy to activate. I want a manual safety to have a nice ledge that I can activate with both hands. By this I mean something ala the 1911 safety, or even the regular non-Shield M&P line. You can get an M&P, even a compact model, with a nice ambidextrous safety that makes it much easier to manipulate than the safety on a Shield. In short, if I am gonna have a safety, I want it to be an easy to access safety (partly because I wear gloves when it gets cold).
As for the slide on your Shield not releasing at the range, are you sure the magazine wasn't empty? With an empty magazine the follower, the plastic block that pushes the cartridges up the magazine body so they feed, will prevent the slide from going forward by just pulling backward. It does this by pushing up on the slide stop which in turn stops the slide. It's a feature on many magazine fed weapons to let you know, "Hey, this magazine is empty." To get the slide to go forward you can then take the magazine out and pull back on the slide, or push down on the slide release while pulling back on the slide. If you knew all this already please don't take offense. We get a lot of people of different skill levels and pistols are a learning process.
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Thank you for that. It's good information to ponder. I don't recall. I want to say I ejected the magazine and replaced it with a loaded one but now that you mention it I could have done something stupid like try to release it without a loaded magazine. I was sneaking to the gun range that day and in somewhat of a hurry to get back home. My son gets upset when I go without him especially when I rent a gun. He always likes to shoot a few round through the rentals also. The more I think about it the more I think that's probably what I did. I tried to release it with an empty magazine. Duh.
The safety on the Shield in my opinion is difficult to operate but I'm still torn as to which one to purchase. I lean towards getting the safety because like someone mentioned its safer to holster it.
The safety on the Shield in my opinion is difficult to operate but I'm still torn as to which one to purchase. I lean towards getting the safety because like someone mentioned its safer to holster it.