Is the S&W Shield better than a LC9s? Why

Interesting list: http://www.gunbroker.com/Top5/2015-11-GunBroker-Top-5-Guns.html

jimjc said:

I have a shield because if fits exactly into what it's desinged for. S&W has sold over a million of them so there a lot of people that agree. Second, all I had to do was to shoot my friends shield it's the easiest to shoot single stack 9's I've shot.

Like the above poster the Walther PPS is a great choice also and since Walther has dropped the price to $350/375 it's in the price range that works for me, I'm looking to get one now. It's as good as the Shield and a bit better in some. But hay there's lots to like out there now.

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http://www.waltherarms.com/handguns/pps/pps-m2/

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/we-shoot-the-new-walther-pps-m2-new-gun-review/

Not being stainless steel is the one real negative of the LC9S, but the size and the trigger are big advantages.

If Ruger sold it for the same price with two mags it would be nice.

I just bought a Shield after weeks of deciding between the LC9s and the Shield. I bought the Shield. Feel and take-down were the deciding factors. I'm more than happy. My BIL however chose an LC9s a while back and he's equally happy...so there. lol

The Preacher

The Preacher said:

I bought the Shield. Feel and take-down were the deciding factors.

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+1

I bought a Shield for similar reasons. I am also able to shoot the Shield with minute-of-badguy accuracy at combat distance so the S&W works for me.

Cordite

The Shield is the perfect CC gun for me. Millions are echoing that with sky rocketing sales in just a few years on the market.

rich56 said:

I have a LC9s and love the concealability and shoot ability of it. In other threads people said they liked the Shield better. What makes Shield lovers say that?

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Without a doubt the Shield is better. I had to just send my LC9s to Ruger because the slide is stuck tighter than a drum. Yes I pulled the trigger, yes I put the stupid yellow magazine in it to pull the trigger. I think the LC9s is very poorly designed and it does have the new cone shaped guide rod which was supposed to fix this problem.

I have not owned the Shield but do own an M&P9c with not a single problem.

vba said:

rich56 said:

. . . Without a doubt the Shield is better. . .

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Quite a statement. You must be very experienced.

I've owned both, the LC and Shield and can say this: The Ruger does not have the quality of the Smith, my Ruger went back either two or three times, the Shield has ran 100% from the box. I gave up on the Ruger, lost a bit of money on the sale. The reason I have trouble remembering the number of times it went back is due to being also in the middle of trying to get a SR9 repaired, either it or the LC were three trippers, the other went twice, both are long gone. I refuse to spend the amount of cash for ammo to R&D any more Ruger pistols. Went through it with a 97 in 2004, a 345 a few years later and the LC and SR a few years ago. At least the 97 when I went to seven round mag followers worked and the 345 did after removing its magazines disconnect. The other two as far as I know are still junk.

New here.

I chose the Shield over the LC9s due to the fact that the Shield felt better in terms of grip and weight. However, the LC9s has a much better trigger than the Shield. I had to get an Apex trigger system on my Shield. They are both great guns, just a matter of personal choice.

I have both (the shield and the LC9S Pro). Both are great pistols. I think that the Shield feels more like a range gun, but the LC9sPro just carry better. I want a Single Stack 9mm pistol as small as possible which I can still put the rounds in the black @21 ft. The shield is too big for pocket carry, and if I were to OWB carry, I would carry my Shield 45.The LC9sPro give be a pistol which I carry all day every day.

I just pick up a used shield 2 years old in mint condition the previous owner stated maybe 300 rounds fired since new.I did range test the gun to my surprise it had a excellent trigger not mushy
broke at maybe a tad under 5lbs. shot great.
I ram some FMJ 35 rounds and 10 rounds street ammo speer gold dots 124 gr.
The gun came with 4 mags box and paper work 250.00

I have both and carry both on different days. I have the ported 9 Shield and the LC9s and can't tell any difference shooting or carry. I use a Desantis mini holster and cover with a light vest. I wouldn't get rid of either.

Next week I'll be renting an LC9S and a Shield to compare. On just look, feel and specs: The Ruger has a much nicer trigger, it's a little bit lighter, it's a little bit smaller in all dimensions and has cleaner lines. (S&W M&P pistols have always struck me as looking too "busy.")

However: When you step the Shield up to the Performance Center version it's a whole new ballgame. Trigger seems every bit as nice as the LC9S', the M&P's fiber sights are terrific for fast acquisition and the porting reportedly tames the muzzle flip just a bit.

You'd spend about $100 more for the Shield PC than the LC9S. You'd carry an additional ounce in weight, five hundredths of an inch more in width and a tenth more in length, but it might be worth it.

As for Smith's build quality compared to Ruger's: I have to disagree with that. Ruger's wheel guns have always been built better than Smith's, IMO, and Smith's history with auto-loaders has been only marginally better than Ruger's, from all I've read and seen. The S&W M&P line, in particular, has had a fairly problematical history. (They may have ironed all that out, by now. I haven't really been keeping track since I was last in the market for a new semi-auto handgun.)

Always keep CS in mind. In case something does go wrong, Ruger's CS is out of this world. S&W's isn't bad, but at times they are reluctant to send small parts that you'd be perfectly capable of replacing yourself.

I'm not trying to prejudice this issue. I have 19 Ruger guns and nine S&W guns. I love all of them.

I'm no expert, but I bought the LC9s when I had first intended buying the Shield. I handled the Shield in the gunshop, and then the clerk suggested that I also look at the new (at that time) Ruger LC9s. To me they felt very similar and I thought either would make a good gun for everyday carry, but as others have said before, the trigger on the Ruger was SO MUCH better that I bought the LC9s. I have never had any issue at all with this gun, firing all kinds of ammo at the range. I have never had the mag disconnect or fall out, and other than a few FTE during the first 50 rounds fired it has been totally reliable. Reliable enough that I stopped carrying my S&W 642 as my EDC and started carrying the LC9s.

If I decide to try another concealable compact 9mm it would likely be the Glock 26 rather than any S&W. Reliability of Glock is second to none, right out of the box, and even though the 26 is certainly bulkier than the LC9s it is still relatively easy to conceal. But for now I'm sticking with my LC9s with a Crimson Trace laser in a DeSantis pocket holster.