Will the LC9 survive the M&P Shield?

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Arizona Gunner

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6
Location
Prescott, Arizona
I realize not everyone will have the same reaction... but, I picked up a new M&P Shield 9mm, and after one trip to the range my LC9/Nemesis combo have been supplanted.

The Shield is a dream to shoot, great trigger and sights, light recoil, great ergonomics, two mags, priced very close to the LC9. This is what Glock should have done years ago, but I have to admit I am proud is was an American company who came out with it!

Bottom line for me, anyone want to buy a gently used LC9?
 

Gregg1LE

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
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420
Location
DFW,Texas
The M & P Shield is the new entry in the micro 9mm and will be a huge success.If it is better than your LC9,I would say sell your LC9 off.

I've owned an M & P 9c for years and love it.
 

kjk200

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 29, 2011
Messages
64
I have not fondled one yet at any of the "fun stores", but I for one might pick one up some day. I was thinking about getting a smaller 9mm for carry to supplement my sr9C and I was thinking about the lc9 until I saw the pics and MSRP of the shield.
WHAT A NICE LOOKING PIECE. I would like to see a pic of one side by side with the sr9c and maybe the M&P 9c.

Decisions, decisions!
 

DWood

Bearcat
Joined
May 15, 2008
Messages
58
From what I can tell it looks like it is just a little too big for pocket carry which makes it of little use to me. If I have to carry on the belt there are other options that hold more rounds.

That said, I would sure like to actually hold one and see how it fits in the front pocket of my cargo shorts.

How do you carry yours? You may not care for pocket carry, but is it a practical gun for the front pocket? My LC9 is in my pocket every day and I barely notice it. If the Sheild can do the same I am definitely interested.
 

eveled

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
5,606
I guess 9mm is the new 380. What took so long? Most of the pocket 9's are coming in 40cal versions too! So many choices so few pockets! I like the walther Pps but the new shield looks good and is priced right.....
 

HIP SHOT

Bearcat
Joined
Feb 20, 2008
Messages
91
Location
North East
Arizona Gunner said:
I realize not everyone will have the same reaction... but, I picked up a new M&P Shield 9mm, and after one trip to the range my LC9/Nemesis combo have been supplanted.

The Shield is a dream to shoot, great trigger and sights, light recoil, great ergonomics, two mags, priced very close to the LC9. This is what Glock should have done years ago, but I have to admit I am proud is was an American company who came out with it!

Bottom line for me, anyone want to buy a gently used LC9?

I finally had a chance to handle and shoot a S&W Shield. I thought that the grip was uncomfortable, the slide was too difficult to "rack" (for my wife), the size doesn't conform to a good carry gun for me. The gun seems to be optimized for the 40sw platform and therefore doesnt served the 9mm as well as it could. That being said - Ill keep my LC9.
Hip Shot
 

Arizona Gunner

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6
Location
Prescott, Arizona
As far as I can tell side by side, the "envelope" is just about identical for the Shield and the LC9, with the 7 round mag in the Shield. I have always carried my LC9 in a Nemesis, and the Shield is also just right in a Nemesis (but it's a different one), as long as I'm wearing something with a decent sized pocket. For me, that is Dockers or a similar design.

The Nemesis for the two looks like they come from the same blank, but the space for the pistol is stitched up differently due to the different shape of the trigger guards.

In blue jeans, it's back to the LCP or my old Seecamp 32, pockets are too small for either of the 9's.
 

FergusonTO35

Hunter
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
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Location
Boonesborough, KY
I'm not sure when every gun below full size service pistol became "pocket" size. Of all my guns only my Kel-tec 32 is truly pocket size and she rides nice in a Desantis Nemesis. I think the LC9 is well enough established to survive, or at least until the mini 9 craze dies down-whenever that might be!!
 

eveled

Hawkeye
Joined
Apr 3, 2012
Messages
5,606
Most of the new "pocket" 9mm's are thinner than a beretta 21a 22cal pocket pistol. The lc9 seems smaller than the shield & the Pps because of the bevel on the end of the slide under the rear sight. The bevel makes it easier to carry but it also makes the sight plane shorter.
 

Spart

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Iowa
If Ruger got one thing right about the LC9, it was the external shape of the gun.

It was designed to shoot 9mm and only 9mm, and that shows. It's just as big as it needs to be to hold 7+1 and shoot a normal pressure 9mm cartridge.

From the nice bevel of the beavertail to the relatively tiny dust cover on the guide rod, this pistol is as close as you'll come to a modern incarnation of the Walther PPK designed for deep carry.

The Shield looks thick, and it's obvious to me that S&W didn't give much thought to how well it could be deeply concealed.

Clearly a design by committee. Someone must have said "but wait, we should make a .40 S&W version" - and no one could come up with an objection, so they did it.

The problem now is that the 9mm will likely be the strong seller, and it will be the gun that was the compromise. It had to be designed to handle the pressure and size of .40, so there's more gun there than needs to be in a 9mm.

And the whole reason people want single stack 9mm's in the first place is that a thin, small, but most importantly thin gun is easiest to conceal. And instead of sticking true to that formula, they've catered to a niche crowd that wants to punish themselves by shooting .40 out of a tiny gun.
 

stantheman86

Buckeye
Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
1,103
It's just S&W's attempt to do what Glock did with guns like the 26, aka the "Micro Glock".

Reminds me of a mini-M&P, so what is it exactly, just a smaller M&P9c?

Maybe prices for .380 ammo will go back to sane levels, now that 9mm is the new pocket gun round......and 9mm will be even more popular, as if it isn't already 8)

Medium-sized steel frame .32's and .380's like the CZ-83 will pretty much be obsolete, except I still like them!

Overall, I'm a revolver nut and I have a hard time getting excited about another poly frame pocket 9mm pistol. But I'm glad more CC type guns are coming out, and more people are getting CC permits.
 

snajper69

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
2
Arizona Gunner said:
Spart, I would be willing to bet you haven't handled a Shield.

Feel free to revise your post after you do.

I will second that, Shield is a great gun.
 

oldiron1

Single-Sixer
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
277
Location
Wisconsin
One negative I consistently hear about the LC9 is the really long/hard DAO Trigger Pull. That being said, I'd be anxious to try the M&P Shield out being striker fired!
 

DEADI9MM

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
20
Location
chesterfield mi.
i have a lc9 and just ordered a shield they are the same size HWL the shield is 1/8" longer the shield is striker fired & lighter no long trigger pull cant wait to get the shield
 

5Wire

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 25, 2003
Messages
203
Location
Portsmouth NH USA
Slight size & weight advantage to the LC9. Capacity & caliber advantages to the Shield.

RugerLC9.jpg

SWShield.jpg
 

Spart

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 24, 2012
Messages
13
Location
Iowa
Arizona Gunner said:
Spart, I would be willing to bet you haven't handled a Shield.

Feel free to revise your post after you do.

I haven't, but my main point remains clear: They could have made it better (read: smaller) had they not decided to make it a .40 first, and a 9mm second.

Aside from not being able to live up to it's potential due to the dual caliber situation, the big turnoff for me is the unforgiving clipped beavertail on the Shield. I carry AIWB for deep carry at work at about 1 o'clock, maybe a little closer to my gig line. The LC9 is generously rounded here, and that makes it quite comfortable even when sitting down. I've tried carrying my M&P there, and the thing that hurts the most is that clipped beavertail. It's a killer.
 

Arizona Gunner

Bearcat
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6
Location
Prescott, Arizona
I am still baffled by the "live up to its potential" thing... Spart, please handle one, and better yet, shoot it.

I think that's reasonable to ask before reaching conclusions about a gun. I honestly don't know where you have gotten the idea it is somehow beefed up to handle .40. It couldn't have been made smaller as a 9 without being too small... unless maybe the LC9 is too big also. They are the simply the same size!

Ruger makes some good pistols, but Smith really got this one right. It leapfrogged past the LC9.

Try it, you will be pleasantly surprised!
 

5Wire

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 25, 2003
Messages
203
Location
Portsmouth NH USA
The Shield is one percent longer, five percent wider, and two percent taller than the LC9. They are essentially the same size for either of the Shield's two current caliber offerings. I had an LC9-LM on order since November. When it came in this past weekend, I inspected it and declined the purchase partially because there had been no engineering changes in what I was seeing. Still only one magazine, plastic guide rod which looked fragile and a serial number that identified the gun as old inventory. I'm still interested but I'm going to wait.

On the other hand, the Shield looks to be directly competitive in all aspects and superior in capacity and caliber choices. No laser, yet, but I imagine that will change and it's not a deal breaker AFAIC.
 

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