Shortly before our annual hiatus, I received news of Smith & Wesson’s expansion of the Shield “EZ” line of pistols. The original, the M&P380 Shield EZ, was a surprising runaway hit for the company. Characterized by ease in manipulation – from loading the magazine, racking the action and pressing the trigger – it’s also in the light-kicking 380 ACP chambering. The downside was the cost of ammo and, to a lesser degree, availability of “carry” type premium ammo in some venues.
Why is an “easy to handle” pistol a big deal? The population of gun owners is expanding in the U.S. The fact is, it appears that the numbers of people actually carrying a gun is rising too. Along with the youthful, able-bodied and strong type individuals with good hand- and upper body strength, we’re getting those who are compromised by decreased capabilities. This can be for a range of reasons, including age and medical issues.
S&W went for the chambering that’s the most commonly found, low-cost centerfire pistol cartridge in the current era: the 9x19mm.
I was unimpressed. Knowing that the 9mm can be quite snappy, I knew that S&W had to beef up springs and increase weight to keep the gun from beating itself to death. There was only one way to find out.
The gun arrived around Christmas, 2019. I made a trip to the range on the 27th of December, 61 days since my last range outing – for a number of reasons. I had standard pressure 9mm with me, Winchester 115 grain Silvertip, as well as some Black Hills 124 grain JHP +P and Ruger ARX 65 grain +P. It was fortunate that I had that particular selection for this first trip.
How is this heater like the 380 predecessor? The rear of the slide is formed with grasping tabs on either side behind the grasping grooves, which are the S&W “wave” pattern. The gun is hammer-fired single action, using the hammer spring to retard the slide’s retreat during firing and the recoil spring to drive the slide back into battery after firing.
Unlike striker-fired designs which use the recoil spring for both functions, the EZs can afford a lighter recoil spring while using the mainspring to retard the slide’s rearward velocity.
The safety is bilateral (people are “ambidextrous” – well, some people are; things can have bilateral features). The magazine release button can be moved to the right side of the gun. The magazine, with a stouter magazine spring, has the “load assist tab” as part of the follower to assist in loading. It works as advertised.
The rear sight is adjustable for windage in the same way the 380s sight is. Likewise, disassembly is easy. There’s a “shark fin” loaded chamber indicator – it’s pressed up by the rim of a cartridge in the chamber and can be felt.
It’s hard to visually check the chamber for ammo in conditions of adverse light. With this thing, you can run your hand over the slide, side-to-side and “feel” the loaded chamber indicator if it’s up. That’s a good move. It’s not the “billboard” sized fin – but it’s enough to feel.
The slide and (just over 3.6”) barrel are stainless steel finished in the S&W “Armornite” finish and the gun weighs in at just over 23 ounces.
I expected it to be jumpy. The first rounds I fired from the gun confirmed my concerns: it was jumpy. One would expect it to be more so than the 380 version. I detected a hesitation in the firing sequence; after the slide made it to full retreat, it paused before “chugging” into battery.
I’d run into that kind of interruption before in other guns and found it to be a spring problem in those other guns. I was printing low and left at 18 yards. Later, I’d moved up to 7 yards. With the Black Hills +P loads, I found the same point of impact issue but the slide travel seemed smoother. With the Ruger ARX +P light bullet load, I found the point of impact to be almost identical – surprisingly – but the recoil was pleasant (almost 380 like, except for the blast) and I detected no hesitation in returning to battery. This was going to require more investigation.
On New Year’s Eve, I set up an IALEFI-Q target (think the FBI-Q with scoring rings) and shot exercises from 3 yards to 20 yards. I used Remington-UMC 115 grain Metal Case ammo. I found I was still tending left – that’s me – but the gun didn’t “chug” into battery any more. I’m not sure if that was a bit of hypersensitivity on my part or if the gun settled in.
It didn’t seem to matter; I’ve yet to have the gun choke during firing. I found I was able to shoot it quickly and it seemed far less jumpy than my regular M&P9 Shield samples.
It really is “EZ!”
- - Rich Grassi