Shield 2.0 in 9, 40 or 45?

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fotojake

New member
Was at the indoor range the other night where I was able to fondle the M&P Compact 2.0 in .45. Felt wonderful in my hand. Also checked out a single stack XDS (I guess the "S" stands for single?). Also nice. When I got home I commenced research and came across the newly released Shield 2.0. Skinny guy here, so the narrower the better.

I had a M642 that I traded for a M10-5 because the snubby was absolutely no fun to shoot. If I'm gonna CC I want to be able to enjoy shooting the weapon, too. The M10-5 is just too long, esp. for summertime carry, but it is fun to shoot.

So, with the Shield 2.0 I hope to kill two birds with one stone. Question is this: if I go with a .45, will that ammo kick, bite and scratch when shooting the lightweight Shield more than .38 ammo out of that M642 did? I know the benefits of the Shield in 9mm allows for more rounds, but I like the stopping power of a .45. Never owned a .45, just rented and shot it out of a "regular sized" M&P, where it was no problem to shoot.

Then, there is the .40...
 
I went with a XDS 4.0 in .45 and never looked back. I carried a 45 for years at work so I too was concerned about recoil. I was very impressed with the recoil on my XDS. I shoot 230gr hp and it has about the same recoil as my sig 220. For the 45 I recommend the longer barrel, I think it makes a difference...imho

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Come to realize that the Shield M2.0 doesn't exist in .45, at least as far as I can see. Both the 9mm and the .40 have 3.1 inch barrels.

Would the .40 have a good kick in a barrel that short? I would venture to say it would, but have never shot a .40 weapon before.
 
The .40’s recoil is very manageable out of the Shield. With that said, unless they had an outstanding deal on the .40 vs. the 9mm, I would go with the 9.
 
I know you are leaning Shield, but I wouldn't trade my XD-S 3.3 .45 for one. Love it.


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If I was buying a .40 or .45 I would have to justify it on some emotional level. For a concealed carry weapon neither offers, in my mind, enough improvement over current 9MM to justify the additional expense and decrease in round count.

I know I'm wading into the whole caliber debate but if I am looking for more power than a 9MM I'm going for the 10MM (in an auto pistol). For the vast majority of self defense needs the 9MM is fine.
 
Every shooter is different in terms of skill, hand side, age, strength, etc. All of which effect one's perception of recoil. Best advice is to try each for yourself and go from there.
 
If an Airweight j frame was too much for you, I'd recommend sticking with the 9mm Shield until you're more comfortable shooting subcompact firearms.
 
It's not that I couldn't handle the M642, it's just that there was zero pleasure in going to the range with it. I musta dry fired that thing 100s of times and broke the trigger in nicely. Got pretty accurate out to 10 yds with it. 15 yds was a crap shoot and 25 a hail mary.

As for carry, it was the cat's meow!

Like I said, wanting a weapon that kills two birds with one stone, and the Shield appears to be the one. After more research and advice - thank you FL forum members - I am leaning towards the 9mm. Cabela's here has 'em in stock and there's a 5% military discount. Plus, up-close parking for vets!
 
I would avoid the .40 in shield if you plan on lots of range practice. I have original in 40 and it isn’t fun for ME to shoot. I’m good with recoil (shoot “baby” Glock 10MM sf one handed wo issue), but I don’t think the shield handles recoil well in .40. Not like baby glock and others like them in .40 do. IMHO, 9mm or 45 all the way if going shield. I, too, have the xds in 45 and think it’s fun to shoot and extremely accurate. Haven’t fired 45 shield but is intriguing. That said, I still carry lc9s pro cause smaller and much lighter.
 
I don't have a Shield in .45, but I've shot an XDs in .45, and was surprised at hos soft the recoil was in that, too. And I have a Shield in 9mm, which has very, very manageable recoil. In any event, I would expect recoil in a .45 Shield to be pretty mild, given that it's a big bullet in a little gun.

I went with the 9mm, but I think it's pretty much six in one hand, a half a dozen in the other.
 
I carried the xds.45 but have since switched to the .45 shield because I wanted an external safety. I am under 6 feet tall and find the shield .45 recoil very manageable. I think the shield is actually easier on recoil than the xds.
 
Yup, shield 9mm or 45. The 9mm is going to be a better concealer...the shield 45 is a great size for a 45 and feels really good in the hand.

Of course a 45 stops better than a 9mm. Only a fool would argue against that. But as always there are other things to consider like capacity, concealability, frame size, etc and both a 45 and a 9mm will stop someone.

So I currently carry an hk usp 40c and sometimes a 9mm shield.

When I do rarely carry a 10mm I do it right and go full sized with my glock 20.
 
Last edited:
fotojake said:
Come to realize that the Shield M2.0 doesn't exist in .45, at least as far as I can see. Both the 9mm and the .40 have 3.1 inch barrels.

Would the .40 have a good kick in a barrel that short? I would venture to say it would, but have never shot a .40 weapon before.
Click to expand...

My understanding is the .45 Shield is more similar to the 2.0 than the 1st gen even though its not a 2.0.
 
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