S&W Shield EZ now in 9mm

Forte S+W said:
What's the advantage of carrying a Shield EZ over the ordinary M&P9 Shield?



Also, attempting to redesign/rechamber a .380 ACP pistol in 9mm Luger never works out well, just look at the Remington R51.

Despite what its appearance and European nomenclature may suggest, the .380 ACP is not a shortened 9mm Luger, but rather a scaled down version of the .45 ACP, ergo it's a straight-walled cartridge which generates significantly lower chamber pressures than 9mm Luger, yet manufacturers keep trying to make 9mm Luger versions of .380 ACP pistols, and what do you know, they always end up getting recalled or having some critical part fail which requires a redesign/replacement.



Heck, how often has any attempt at rechambering a firearm for a more powerful cartridge ever been successful? Because it seems like the answer is never.



Honestly...



  • Attempts to rechamber 9mm Luger pistols in .40 S&W - FAILURE.
  • Attempts to rechamber .45 ACP pistols in 10mm Auto - FAILURE.
  • Attempts to rechamber .380 ACP pistols in 9mm Luger - FAILURE.



Such attempts have consistently failed until the manufacturer straight up redesigned the pistols based on what they learned from said failures. It's just plain never that simple.
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The advantages are the same as they've been for the EZ line since the inception. Easier to rack and manipulate for people with limited hand strength.

I wouldn't use the Remington R51 as an example. They were using a different locking system than the standard locked breach Browning titling barrel design, and frankly Remington was having QC issues at the time.

One example I can think of is the P938 from the P238. Yes the design had to be scaled up some. The EZ 380 was already large for a 380 Auto. The EZ 9mm is ever so slightly larger in length and width, no doubt for the pressure differences. It's not the exact same pistol.

There are already reviews showing the pistol going hundreds of rounds without issue. Now maybe those are cherry picked pistols and full production will show problems in the short or long term. Or maybe S&W is competent enough to do this.

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Anybody know just how S&W made the EZ slide so easy to rack?

I find hammer pistols harder to rack due to the need to compress the mainspring (hammer's spring) at the same time as compressing the recoil spring. I'm sure you all have done this also (except die-hard striker fans :D). You rack the slide with the hammer already cocked, and then you do so with the hammer down. There is a noticeable difference.

With the striker pistols, the striker is engaged and the striker spring is compressed as the slide goes forward. So we do not compress the striker spring when we pull the slide back.

But the EZ is easier to rack than the striker-fired regular Shield. We can't pre-cock the hammer on the EZ because it is hidden. Yet the EZ is the easiest.

How do they do that? Different geometries with the locking surfaces and the ramp which pulls the barrel down?

Bart Noir
 
Anybody know just how S&W made the EZ slide so easy to rack?
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I'm curious about that too.

With the 380, one of the things they did was make it a locked breach instead of blowback. That allowed for a lighter recoil spring. I'm really curious about what their trick is with the 9mm.
 
Could they be using the grip safety to partially cock the hammer? Similar to how the P7 had a squeeze cocker?

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TunnelRat said:
Could they be using the grip safety to partially cock the hammer? Similar to how the P7 had a squeeze cocker?

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The grip safety on both of the EZ series has two functions when not depressed.
- Disconnect the trigger linkage.
- Engage the firing pin block.

Holster safety protocol: Place thumb on the rear of the slide, this prevents depressing the grip safety when holstering.
 
DMK said:
I'm one of those people. For example, though I like AIWB carry for a number of reasons. I won't carry a striker fired gun that way unless it has a grip safety. An external hammer or grip safety can add one extra level to help prevent an AD in case clothing gets caught while holstering. Some people feel the same way about IWB hip holsters.
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Ok, striker fired pistols have been around since the dawn of the 20th century. And virtually all of those early striker fired designs had both an intuitive grip safety and a manual safety. The Swiss Luger and the FN models 1910 and 1922 are well known examples.

Although the ubiquitous Glock, is the striker fired pistol that most often comes to mind, many are reluctant to carry one due to safety concerns. And that concern is the subject of this video.

Have a look...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz7xYMChXjo
 
RMcL said:
Ok, striker fired pistols have been around since the dawn of the 20th century. And virtually all of those early striker fired designs had both an intuitive grip safety and a manual safety. The Swiss Luger and the FN models 1910 and 1922 are well known examples.

Although the ubiquitous Glock, is the striker fired pistol that most often comes to mind, many are reluctant to carry one due to safety concerns. And that concern is the subject of this video.

Have a look...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz7xYMChXjo
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This was interesting. I'm a proponent of DA/SA for semi-autos and I do like having thumb control on the hammer. This guy has another video about his switch over to DA/SA. I've linked it below for reference.

This device might quell some of the concerns people have. I've seen guns with visible striker indicators and I always wished they protruded more for tactile feedback. I wonder if we'll see it offered for other striker guns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP8F_cwotM8&t
 
My Dad picked one up this morning. He said that the slide is easy to rack, and the magazines are easy to load. Good for his aging, weakening hands. :cool:
 
Anyone tried it yet? I am curious to get my hands on one. Been looking for a gun with a hammer (internal or external) and a safety for a while that holds more rounds than my bodyguard but isn't humongous. I was considering the EZ380 but really wanted 9mm, so this seems right up my alley.

One thing I am curious about with the EZ pistols - is the hammer cocked when chambered?
 
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I held one at a gun show two weeks ago. I have the 380 EZ and the 9MM slide was *slightly* stiffer than the 380. It was still quite easy to operate.
 
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Yikes! That looks really ugly!
 

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I had the chance to shoot one at my local range as a rental. It hadn't been cleaned in a while, and I added an additional 100 rounds or so of "house ammo" (Magtech 115 grain fmj).

My first impression was that it was an excellent weapon, and my second was that I would be purchasing one. I have both the EZ .380 and a Shield 9mm (what I called 1.0). The new one takes the best of both and combines it into an excellent weapon.

My two biggest gripes about my Shield are that the slide is hard to rack and the magazine is a mofo to load unless you're using something like the UpULA. The EZ 9 addresses both of these.

As far as the trigger, I'm the wrong person to ask. From what I have read, the 1.0 Shield 9 doesn't have the best trigger; I have never had any problem with it. I squeeze it, and the gun goes "bang" which is what I ask.

I found accuracy to be similar to both the .380 and Shield. That is to say, 99% of the aiming errors resided with me, not the gun.

I will be selling/ trading my Shield for one of the new guns.

**EDIT**
Magazines seem to be hard to find. The last I looked, you couldn't even get them directly from S&W on their website.

Exco
 
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