Kyle Lamb, writer for Guns & Ammo, said that the Shield is now his favorite choice for concealed carry. Why would a man with so many options choose a mere polymer peasant gun as his everyday concealed carry piece? Because he’s smart and practical, that’s why. When I first saw the Shield I just cringed and moved on to whatever else I was doing that day, because I didn’t like the way it looked. However, when I finally got my hands on a Shield 40 this past summer I became a believer. I judged a book by its cover, and I shouldn’t have.

Width is an important aspect of an EDC gun, and the Shield is arguably the best single-stack everyday carry on the market right now, which is why everyone is talking about it. While I still carry my Sig M11 every day I will admit that it’s not the most comfortable gun to carry, as it rocks a classic metal frame and a double-stack magazine. It holds more rounds than a Shield, but how many rounds will you truly need in a street confrontation? Last time I checked we aren’t Green Berets fighting in Afghanistan. All the videos I’ve seen of armed confrontations on the street end up with the attacker fleeing the scene as soon as the target merely pulls out a gun. In a recent viral video you can watch as three armed robbers run for their lives when a security guard pulls out his gun and starts shooting. A gun is better than no gun, so width is an important consideration when choosing a gun so that you can consistently carry it every day. Many people opt only to carry single stack for this reason.

When looked at from this perspective the Shield is aptly named. A shield is a defensive tool, and that’s exactly what the M&P Shield is. It’s not a full-size duty handgun, but rather a handgun that can ride comfortably with you for years without you ever having to use it. Have I been carrying a Shield “for years?” No, I just got a hold of one this summer, but I can safely bet it will stay hidden and unobtrusive on any body size. For ladies the Shield has become a popular choice as a purse gun. “You want my money? Ok, let me grab my wallet out of my purse.”

So the Shield is going to carry fine on the hip, but how will it feel in the hands? Well, the Shield actually feels and handles like a compact pistol, even though it’s technically a subcompact. This is a huge plus because some subcompacts are disliked for their “tiny” feel (Or in the case of the Glock 26, a blocky feel). The M&P’s are famous for their ergonomics, with the Shield being no exception. The humped grip causes it to fill your hand nicely, which in theory leads to better accuracy over a gun that you can’t grip properly. On my reviews I choose to cover the ergonomics of a gun before its accuracy, because I feel that the former dictates the latter. Most modern handguns are going to be plenty accurate; but what will effect that accuracy is how the gun fits in your hand. A micro pistol is going to suffer when it comes to handling as much as a Glock 20 will in someone with small hands. The Shield sits somewhere in between a compact and a subcompact, which will make it easy to handle in almost any hands.

I might be an odd one but I actually like the .40 Smith & Wesson. It has bite and attitude, which I like in a gun. For practical purposes I prefer the 9mm, but I think that large and odd calibers are overall more fun to shoot. If I just wanted to shoot at paper targets I would take out one of my pellet rifles…but that’s not why we shoot grown-up guns. We go to the range for the thrill of shooting badass guns, right? Well the Shield 40 is definitely a gun that is going to give you a thrill. At the range the gun smacked my hand with every pull of the trigger. I once heard someone describe the .40 recoil as a rod hitting their palm, and that’s a fairly good way to put it. This would be a bad thing for some people that don’t like recoil, and it could also be a bad thing when you need to do multiple shots on target in rapid succession. The .40 in the small-framed Shield makes for a gun with some serious attitude. For me, the Shield 40’s kick combined with its loud report almost makes me feel like it’s alive. It’s like the Nate Diaz of the gun world—small, aggressive and exploding with power.

The trigger on it isn’t lacking, but it isn’t refined either. It shares the springy characteristics of the Glock. I actually prefer the feel of it on my finger over a Glock because it has a bit more of a curve to it, which allows your finger to sit without slipping. However, I would still say that I have more control over the Glock’s trigger. But then again, I’m comparing it to the Glock 19, which is in a different ballpark (See my review: Glock 19 vs. M11-A1 for my description of the Glock trigger).

I don’t make a habit of measuring my groups. One, because I don’t consider myself a professional shooter whose group sizes are indicative of the gun’s actual accuracy. I would actually feel like I might mislead some readers if they trusted my group sizes. And two, because I like to give practical reviews. The Shield is a practical everyday carry gun and it has practical accuracy; meaning, in a real-world situation at 7 yards you aren’t going to miss your target as long as you are doing your part to aim. If I was reviewing some obscure Chinese gun then yeah, I would measure my groups to make sure it was safe to use as a carry gun. But for the Shield you can rest assured that the gun is plenty accurate.

With ergonomics and accuracy out of the way, let’s talk about some external features on the gun. One of the main contentions of the Shield is whether or not it is safe to carry. This debate happens for Glocks as well, since they both use trigger safeties. Most would agree that the Shield and Glocks are safe to carry, but Smith & Wesson decided to give the option of an external safety on the Shield. The model being reviewed here does not have the external safety, which I prefer. I consider the external safety not only unnecessary, but an added protrusion on your gun that you don’t want or need when carrying. To add to that the safety that Smith & Wesson puts on the Shields are flimsy and unappealing.

The mag release on the Shield is nothing special. Externally, it is a plastic nub that looks a cross between a wart and a missing toy piece you would find underneath your couch as a little kid…but it works. It isn’t the most positive mag release out there and it’s a bit sticky, but hey, it’ll release your mags. If you aren’t paying attention to where your fingers are placed they can easily cause friction upon releasing the mag, preventing it from dropping. On a small-frame handgun you aren’t going to expect to be able to quickly drop and change mags though, so this isn’t a big deal in my personal opinion.

The slide works fine but it has some pretty ugly serrations that make it look like a fish. I’ve always maintained that the Shield reminds me of a reptile or a fish, and the gills on the slide only exacerbate that. Indeed, the serrations are there to help with grip, but still. Going back to what I said in the intro about looks: the Shield looks even more toy-like to me than a Glock. A Glock actually looks like a real gun, yet the Shield could straight up be mistaken for an airsoft gun. Its design almost reminds me of cars from the 90’s, back when every company was putting way too many soft curves on their models. *Shudder* But again, how important are looks to you on a carry gun? For most people it isn’t an issue and the pros of this gun far outweigh the cons.

For its price point, the Shield is arguably hard to beat. All negatives aside this is an awesome gun. Those that don’t like double-stack subcompacts should definitely keep the Shield in their top three choices for a future EDC purchase. And for those worried about mag capacity remember that the Shield 9 holds more rounds than the Shield 40. As of right now I’m going to have to say that this gun is king of every single-stack subcompact I have shot.