Smith & Wesson Shield Plus

Smith & Wesson Shield Plus

I have a P365XL with a dot. I don't find it significantly adds to the bulk or hangs up my draw. As always, YMMV. As for there being enough light or the attacker being close, I'm not sure how much of a say I get in that.
 
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Red dots may be OK for self defense if you can deal with the extra bulk but most of my shooting is at targets and like lasers, they just amplify for me, my inability to hold steady. It's distracting to see this little red dot jumping all over the target.
 
I realize I'm probably in the minority, but anything like even a small red dot on a subcompact carry pistol is just something to add bulk/irregular shape or perhaps even hang up during a draw.
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I'm in the same small boat. And in addition to being bulkier when one reason for carrying a subcompact pistol for self-defense is to be less bulky, transitioning from years of training and practice of focusing on the front sight to chasing a dot around on the target, will involve a lot of practice and rethinking sighting priorities. The red dot can doubtlessly be a more accurate aiming method for many, if not most, but it doesn't come without some disadvantages.
 
I got my Shield Plus this morning. Installed the Talon Rubber grip and the Meprolight front sight. Factory trigger is right at 4.5 lbs. Very good striker trigger. Be a couple of days before I can make it to the range, but so far I really like it. This may be the future of Trigger safety blades though. There is no way it can pinch you.
 
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dgludwig said:
I'm in the same small boat. And in addition to being bulkier when one reason for carrying a subcompact pistol for self-defense is to be less bulky, transitioning from years of training and practice of focusing on the front sight to chasing a dot around on the target, will involve a lot of practice and rethinking sighting priorities. The red dot can doubtlessly be a more accurate aiming method for many, if not most, but it doesn't come without some disadvantages.
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I don’t disagree it involves practice. In my own experience it wasn’t that much, I’d say a few months. Honestly if I had taken courses specific to red dots earlier on in my use of them it wouldn’t have taken as long. I’ve attended full day courses where many of the students had issues finding the dot and keeping it in view. By the end of the day most were able to do so regularly.

Now I’ll caveat this by saying this was when ammunition was available and affordable and that isn’t the case for many people currently. If you can’t practice all that certainly will add to the time. There are things you can practice like your presentation from the holster with the dot that don’t require live fire.

The skills involved in being good with a red dot are not mutually exclusive with those involved being good with irons. I go back and forth between the systems pretty often and I don’t find it really noticeable other than using a red dot allows me to see more of the target at a point in time. I’d add that when shooting with a red dot the goal is not to be staring at the dot or following the dot around the target. The goal is to superimpose the dot on the target. You’re focusing on the target while having the dot in your same focal plane, which isn’t something that is generally possible for people shooting irons.

If someone doesn’t want a red dot on a pistol that’s their call. My experience and the experience of others is sometimes people assume it will be harder than it is, or they haven’t had the opportunity to get pointers from someone that uses a red dot regularly.


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Smith & Wesson Shield Plus

BILLG said:
Red dots are like crutches some people need them some do not.
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That’s certainly one way to look at it. Given the US Army, Marines, Air Force, and Navy have all adopted a pistol capable of mounting an optic, I guess our armed forces are in serious need of crutches. As are all of the instructors and competitors that use them.

In all seriousness this sort of argument has been used to oppose pretty much every technological change in firearms history. You can have skill and use technology to your advantage. It’s not mutually exclusive. Armed forces now generally use magnified and/or electronic optics rather than iron sights on rifles. There are reasons for that evolution and reasons why the same is starting to be true of pistols.


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My Shield Plus Performance Center came in today. The trigger is very nice, no creep. As for the grip. Using calipers, I measured the new versions grip at 1.05 in thick vs 0.95 for the original Shield. In millimeters, that's 23.7 vs 26.4. In the hand, the difference is almost imperceptible. One sticking point for me is the grip texture of the Plus. I found it bordering on painful. My original Shield wears a Pachmayr sleeve. Soon too, will this one. Looking forward to the range trip.
 
I think the 13 rd mags for now are all going to the guns. There are places online like Mag warehouse and others, which show them Out of Stock but will email you when available.
 
claydoctor said:
Red dots may be OK for self defense if you can deal with the extra bulk but most of my shooting is at targets and like lasers, they just amplify for me, my inability to hold steady. It's distracting to see this little red dot jumping all over the target.
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Red dots may be good for self defense if you can deal with the extra bulk and even more importantly, if the Battery isn't dead. Most self defense situations are at very close range, should be able to point the gun like your finger. Practice some.
 
I can't see all the fuss for a couple more rounds of ammo. I carry a 642. I just recently bought a 9MM Shield EZ. The EZ is hammer fired so it has a very good trigger pull when compared to the striker fired gun. Mag only holds 8 rounds(enough for me). If it proves out to work I may carry it when I can use an OWB holster. Also, I'll have to carry a spare magazine incase the one in the gun falls out or fails(a problem I don have with the 642).
My 2 cents for what it's worth.
 
pete2 said:
Red dots may be good for self defense if you can deal with the extra bulk and even more importantly, if the Battery isn't dead. Most self defense situations are at very close range, should be able to point the gun like your finger. Practice some.
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For a number of the micro red dots the battery life ranges from 20,000 - 50,000 hr. That’s multiple years of continuous usage. The prevailing wisdom seems to be to replace the battery once a year.

I’ve done a multi-day course on reflexive shooting. There’s nothing mutually exclusive about having a red dot on a pistol and doing reflexive shooting. You can choose to ignore the red dot just like you choose to ignore the iron sights. While you’re right that many if not most defensive shootings are up close, not all are. A red dot also isn’t just about accuracy. It allows you to focus on your target the whole time and just superimpose the dot. That has advantages at closer distances as well.


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I showed my new Shield Plus to my son today. He was duly impressed but his first comment was "what's with those grips? They're painful!" Not sure why S&W felt the need to change the grip texture. Ordered my Talon rubber grip panels tonight.
 
claydoctor said:
I showed my new Shield Plus to my son today. He was duly impressed but his first comment was "what's with those grips? They're painful!" Not sure why S&W felt the need to change the grip texture. Ordered my Talon rubber grip panels tonight.
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I have the Talon Grips on all my polymer guns. Love em. All feel pretty much the same as far as "grippy" goes.

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I'm not usually one to run out and grab the latest-greatest gizmo, but my LGS had a Shield+ at a price I just couldn't pass up. So I grabbed one today! It's New Gun Day!
 
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