Finally got a S&W M&P Shield EZ 9mm today

[Graybeard]

When I was at the gun shop yesterday (Shotgun Sports Supply in Anniston, AL) I reached a deal with Richard the owner for him to buy some reloading supplies I had but had no further use for. I also reached a deal with him on a new Shield EZ 9mm with no thumb safety.

The gun came in after I left and before I got home so today I had my youngest son Phil load up all the loading supplies in my truck to take to the gun shop. I had 7 bags of shot at 25 pounds each, all #9 for skeet shoot, 10,000 CCI 209 shotshell primers, and 16 pounds of Lil' Gun powder in 8 pound cans.

When I went there I went in and Richard and a couple of his employees went out and got all the components. One guy carried the primers and powder in one load, Richard carried 75 pounds of lead shot and the other one carried a full 100 pounds of shot in like there was nothing to it.

They had me all fixed up and ready to go on the Shield EZ as it was put on the same paperwork as the Model 14 from yesterday. I was in and out in 5 minutes with a new Sheild EZ 9mm and a bunch of cash in my pocket.

[Graybeard]

Once home with the new pistol it occurred to me I hadn't verified that I could rack the slide with my still not recovered left hand. So I gave it a try. It was a no-go. Try as I might and pull as hard as I could, that slide just wouldn't rack while holding the gun in right hand and slide in left.

My left hand is next to useless to me right now.

So I switched the gun to my left hand and was able to hold it OK. I then racked the slide easily with my right hand.

The left hand is now over 75 days out from surgery and I still have extremely limited use of it. I was at the doctor's office yesterday before going to the gun shops. He told me it should fully recover but could take 6 months to a year doing it. He refuses any blame for the wrist pain I'm having and swears it's just arthritis, maybe but strange it didn't hurt any before surgery.

But I do now have a Shield EZ 9mm without the thumb safety. I've been wanting to pick one up as a carry gun every since I saw they were making them in 9mm. It's taken me awhile but yesterday was the first time I've been inside a gun shop since this gun came out and today I brought it home.

Observations so far, the slide isn't as easy to rack as folks have told me, maybe tho I'm basing that too much on my bum left hand. It did rack easily with right hand but then so do other pistols. I've not tried to load the magazines yet so dunno how easily that will go.

It doesn't fit holsters for the regular Shield. The forward part of gun especially the slide is too fat to fit so I'll have to buy new holsters for it. Magazines are definitely NOT gonna be interchangeable either as this magazine is a much slimmer design than the older Shield magazines.

[DDZ]

Cool!  I'm surprised you found an Shield EZ. I haven't looked at any gun stores around here for one, but I doubt anyone has one. Gun stores get a gun in, and it doesn't sit on the shelf very long.  So the Shield EZ has a little bigger frame? From the article you posted in the other thread, I thought it looked a little bigger. 

I'm sure your hand strength will come back. I'm not a doctor, but if you can use them. those hand grippers do help build grip strength. Maybe you could start off with a squeezing a soft rubber ball. Good luck with that! If you get to shooting that Shield lets us know how it shoots. I love my 9mm shield and my .45 shield. Both shoot great, with the .45 shooting better than the 9mm. What I really like is that I can squeeze the .45 into my 9mm holster.

[Graybeard]

I have a proper size soft rubber ball and a tennis ball both for that use. I really can't do much to make either go in even with the most force I can use on that left hand now. It also hurts like the dickens to try.

I'll keep working at it and time will go on and hopefully it will come back. Most everyone I've talked to who have had this surgery say they got full use back.

I'll do some shooting with it and the new to me old S&W Model 14 I picked up yesterday once the weather gets nice again.

[billy_56081]

I hope you enjoy it and your strength soon returns Bill.

[BUGEYE]

Cool!  I'm surprised you found an Shield EZ. I haven't looked at any gun stores around here for one, but I doubt anyone has one. Gun stores get a gun in, and it doesn't sit on the shelf very long.

There is guns available here if you want a Taurus raging bull or something like that, but carry guns are about non-existent, along with ammo.

[Graybeard]

Since I'm now more than 2.5 months since surgery the hand strength isn't likely to return soon but if it just comes back I'll live with the time it takes. Pretty much everyone I've spoken with who has had the surgery says all returns to normal, guess none really said how long it takes.

At one gun shop I went to they had several of the Shield EZ guns in stock. Since I had already made a deal at the other shop I didn't ask price or see if they were .380 or 9mm or even with or without the thumb safety. I'd guess they had 6 or 8 at least on display.

[oldandslow]

Attaboy on the new gun. Didn't your doctor have you do some at least some therapy after your surgery? Considering what you are saying about pain before and after the surgery I believe I would be looking for a second opinion and hope there is hope for whatever your first quack did to you.

[Graybeard]

I'd not call him a quack. He is I guess the most respected orthopedic surgeon in the area and is with a large firm of such with his name on the top of the list at their office which takes up an entire floor of a huge medical building.

He operated on my right shoulder and all went well.

But to me at least all isn't going so well with this hand.

He told me to use a ball of appropriate size to squeeze but it hurts massively to do so still. I do use it and try to use the hand in daily activities to the extent I can. Doing so hurts for sure.

Last night I took out a S&W M&P 9mm I have that has not yet been fired enough to be added to the defensive handgun rotation here. So it wasn't loaded. I was able to get the slide racked on it using the left hand but it took a good long while to fully retract it to locked back position. I was also then able to pull it back enough to drop it back down.

So some I can do with it, some I can't. Might be practicing racking the slide on that S&W 9mm is something I should add to the ball squeezing and other things I do with the left hand.

[Lloyd Smale]

i wonder about those who say carpal tunnel is a routine operation. It was a good month before i could use my hand and 3 months before i could go back to work (actually 6 because i had the other one done 3 months after the first) I did my right first so it would heal the fastest. At 6 months it was pretty good but my left really should have kept me away for work longer. Even at 6 months the right still was sore. that operation is no joke. At 6 months I thought i had pretty good strenght back and i tried shooting my 500 and it actually came right out of my hand and went over my shoulder and i jumped up and down say (well you know what) IT HURT.

[ulav8r]

Mom had carpal tunnel surgery at age 90, took about 6 months for the pain to go away.

[oldandslow]

My wife has had carpal tunnel surgery on both wrists. She was good to go in less than 6 weeks with both wrists but she was in her early 60's. Her surgeon told her he could send her to therapy or just tell what would work as well. He told her to wash the dishes by hand in hot water every meal and that's what she did.