Questions about the S&W EZ9

[Mr_Goo]

I've been looking at getting a S&W EZ9 for my lady because most autos are too hard for her to pull back and i want her to carry something that has more capacity than a 7 shot 380. Has anyone bought one for themselves or their lady? How did they like it? How is the recoil? Are there better options for a lady's first CCW auto handgun?

 

[gc70]

My wife has minimal grip strength after reconstructive hand surgery, but she has no trouble racking the slide on an EZ9. I can rack the slide using only my little finger on the front sight. Recoil is also surprisingly light for a 9mm, although undeniably heavier than the .380 model.

Consider S&W's new Equalizer, which is essentially the same size, but a higher-capacity, optics-ready version of the EZ9. The EZ9 has an 8-round magazine while the Equalizer comes with 10-, 13- and 15-round magazines.

 

[sigarms228]

I've been looking at getting a S&W EZ9 for my lady because most autos are too hard for her to pull back and i want her to carry something that has more capacity than a 7 shot 380. Has anyone bought one for themselves or their lady? How did they like it? How is the recoil? Are there better options for a lady's first CCW auto handgun?

Only she can determine, after a bit of instruction/training, what the best options are for her. My wife bought an EZ 9 PC after taking a couple classes and trying out more than a few pistols to see what worked best for her. One of the classes was all women and they had several pistols on hand for them to try out on the range. While the EZ9 has less capacity than some of the others she could shoot it consistently the best and likes shooting it. From my experiences is one does not like shooting their pistol they will almost never practice with it.

She might also try better technique for racking the slide if she has not tried it yet where you grip the rear of the slide and push the pistol forward with the strong hand (with the finger off the trigger of course).

https://youtu.be/tgvOHeyIvaU

 

[TunnelRat]

Maybe rather than worry about a greater than 7 round capacity, get her some marksmanship training instead. Unless you live in terrorist territory or a drug dealer neighborhood, seven rounds is more than enough to resolve a self-defense situation.

Marksmanship and capacity aren’t mutually exclusive. There are cases of self defense where one round was fired. There are cases where more than seven rounds were fired. Not every self defense shooting happens in a “terrorist territory” and not every “drug dealer neighborhood” has a sign advertising as much.

 

[AzShooter]

I like my EZ 9 a lot. All the things it's advertised for exist. Easy to rack, load magazines, etc.

I too am too weak to rack the slide on many of my older guns but the Smith doesn't require much effort. It also shoots great and has less recoil then the average 9 mm.

 

[Mr_Goo]

Maybe rather than worry about a greater than 7 round capacity, get her some marksmanship training instead. Unless you live in terrorist territory or a drug dealer neighborhood, seven rounds is more than enough to resolve a self-defense situation.

And since this is her first autoloader, instruction is doubly recommended, especially if self-defense is a factor.

Remember-- the best gunfight outcome is the one you avoided so it never happensed. Training should include thing like situational awareness, emphasizing never going someplace with your gun that you wouldn't go without it, knowing when you can legally pull-- much less fire-- your gun, etc......

She's already a good shot with a handgun. We're working up in calibers getting her more comfortable handling recoil. She shoots revolvers very well as the recoil is more a push. The auto rounds snap a bit more and we're trying to find an auto she likes.

 

[Mr_Goo]

My wife has minimal grip strength after reconstructive hand surgery, but she has no trouble racking the slide on an EZ9. I can rack the slide using only my little finger on the front sight. Recoil is also surprisingly light for a 9mm, although undeniably heavier than the .380 model.

Consider S&W's new Equalizer, which is essentially the same size, but a higher-capacity, optics-ready version of the EZ9. The EZ9 has an 8-round magazine while the Equalizer comes with 10-, 13- and 15-round magazines.

Hey that's good insite. Thank you very much!

 

[Mr_Goo]

I like my EZ 9 a lot. All the things it's advertised for exist. Easy to rack, load magazines, etc.

I too am too weak to rack the slide on many of my older guns but the Smith doesn't require much effort. It also shoots great and has less recoil then the average 9 mm.

Thank you!

 

[TunnelRat]

Thus the importance of Situational Awareness.

Of course, but not every neighborhood I drive through personally is a neighborhood I’ve been to before. Sometimes you have to make assessments on the fly and assessments can also be wrong. My point is the idea that a person can always know ahead of time where risk is seems overly optimistic and ignorant of the fact that in a country where cars are as predominant as they are risk can travel to areas that might have seemed safe before.

I don’t carry magazines with capacity greater than 7 because I believe I am putting myself into a situation where I will need it. I carry it in the unfortunate event that an unexpected risk presents itself, which is the same line of thinking for carrying the firearm in the first place.

 

[wild cat mccane]

I am not recommending at all, but the Walther CCP is also "easy rack."

 

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I don't have an EZ9 but I have an EZ380. It's a great gun and I love flat shooting low recoil firearms. My grip is strong as hell from years of grappling and arm wrestling but I still see the advantages of a gun that stays where you put it and is easy to manipulate. These guns are not just for ladies.

The only thing I dislike is I had to drift the rear sight all the way to the left to get it to shoot POA. Very easy to do but I just don't like having the sight moved that far over. I'm not sure why it shoots that way but it does. Also don't get the performance center version, they come with a very sharp grip safety and the ported barrel does nothing but shoot flame in front of your face. I swapped by the barrel and grip safety on mine. S&W will not give you the safety, you'll have to send it in even though it's an easy swap.

 

[Mr_Goo]

Thanks for all the replies everyone

 

[jstert]

i have both the 9mm and 380acp s&w shield ez models. for its intended demographic the 9mm ez is off and the 380acp ez is on. my 9’s trigger reset is so mushy that sometimes i wonder if i have a malfunction and its recoil is noticeably more, something to consider as one continues to age. frankly i don’t like the grip safety on either, it is unforgiving if one grabs the pistol in a hurried emergency, but again the 380 seems to work “better.”

honestly speaking i wonder if one who is looking at an ez for its ease of use wouldn’t ultimately be better off with a ruger sr22 or s&w m&p compact 22 loaded with cci stingers…

 

[Hawg]

I'm late to the party but my wife has an EZ9. She has weak hands and wrists from carpal tunnel surgery. The only problem she has is keeping the grip safety depressed. I put a pony tail holder on it so it's always depressed. It does have a thumb safety.

 

[bedbugbilly]

gc70 - I recently watched a couple of videos on S & Ws "Equalizer" - looks like a great alternative to the 0mm EZ for more capacity.

Can you or anyone else advise if the Equalizer's magazines are as easy to load as the 380 EZ ir 9mm EZ?

Thanks.

 

[gc70]

Can you or anyone else advise if the Equalizer's magazines are as easy to load as the 380 EZ ir 9mm EZ?

I have not loaded Shield Plus/Equalizer magazines. But you can be certain they are more difficult to load than the 380 or 9mm EZ magazines because their springs have to manage more rounds. Also, the design of the Shield Plus/Equalizer magazines do not allow loading-assist tabs like the EZ magazines. However, the Equalizer does include an Uplula magazine loader, which I think makes loading magazines even easier than using loading-assist tabs.

 

[bedbugbilly]

Thank you gc70 - appreciate the information.

Jim

 

[tangara]

I have a S&W EZ9 for several years I bought it because it was on sale for a very good price, also because of it's features. I have only ran a couple hundred rounds through it. There is nothing wrong with it, but not my favorite handgun I own and need to shoot it more and it definitely has a place in my home.

I am in my mid 50's and have been a landscaper for the last 20 years and before that a long distance runner. I have arthritis in one foot, both knees and right hand and wrist. My right hand has limited strength due to some past injurie that I was too tuff have had looked at. I am left handed so that is where most of my strength comes from. Late last July my bicep tendon started tearing away from my forearm in a four day period in my left arm. First two times it started to tear it hurt like hell for a minute or two then I was fine. When it let go it was very sore for the rest of the day. I stopped into a walk in orthopedic clinic on my way home. took the PA about 20 seconds to tell me I blew my bicep out and they recommended surgery within 2 weeks.

A couple days later a family member with serious mental health issues had decided to quit taking his medication and started self medicating with street drugs. He threated to kill myself and a couple other family members. When I arrived home I could not rack my primary carry piece a Khar CM9, I was able to rack the slide but lacked the strength to drop the slide. Pulled out my Glock model 45 and could do nothing with it. When my wife arrived home she could not depress the slide release on my Khar or she could not rack my Glock. I pulled out the S&W EZ9 and she was able to rack around in the chamber and we were good to go.

So I guess in my experience the EZ9 did exactly what it was designed for. I am defiantly looking into acquiring a Equalizer when i can find one for a decent price. I did have Beretta 950 in .22 short that I carried while this was all going on, but i work around a courthouse and jail so carrying is kind of a gray area.

Some food for thought: One should look at there dominant hand/arm and think about what you would do if it was in operable. Try brushing your teeth and wiping your butt with your non dominant hand, hard. Practice shooting with opposite hand. I always wondered why in the west African conflicts in the early 90's they where chopping off arms in the middle of the fore arm? Watching the movie blood diamonds one of the main characters was about to get his arm amputated and the guy doing it was saying left or right? I realize know that that buy removing part of the dominant arm would render that arm useless the person less likely to be able to fight back.

 

[Lorenzo520]

My wife has the 9 EZ. She loves it.