Yesterday afternoon I went out and done some shooting. I took only one gun with me, the S&W Shield Plus which I am planning on it becoming my primary carry gun.
The plan was to shoot all 4 magazines ( 3-13 round and 1 10 round) and shoot each twice. I did that more or less but wasn't able to do it quite as planned. Loading the full complement into them was not an easy task and I will have to find a loading tool to help get those last one or two in. I was able to get 13 rounds in one mag and the full 10 in that mag. But the other two I just couldn't jam the full 13 in using my thumb. One I could only get 11 rounds in and the other 12 rounds. I have a bruised area on the thumb where one slipped and that kinda hurt.
Shooting went OK. I went thru one full box of 50 CCI aluminum case ammo and about 40 rounds of a reload using some brand of JHP, I think they are Nosler but am not really sure. I have a HUGE pile of them loaded whatever they are. So I shot around 90 rounds which is certainly the most I've shot this year at one session.
My hits were spotty, I'm just a lousy shot these days and that's the way life is. My hands shake like I had a vibrator attached and I just don't see those sights like I once did. Still at times I hit what I was aiming at even when what I was aiming at was way too tiny for me to expect to hit it. I also missed regularly at targets that should have been easy. Such is life when you are old and shaky.
The gun functioned and fired 100% with no issues. I am gonna hafta modify it a bit though. The aggressive texture on the grip is just too much. It was OK except at the front of the grip and front of the magazine extension on those 13 round mags. I gotta smooth that up some as it was eating up my little finger by the last couple of mags of ammo. I'll prolly smooth it up on the back of grip a bit also. By the end I was feeling the pain there also but not nearly as much as the low front. None of it was bad enough to worry about for the normal use you'd expect the gun to be put to but for a long range session like today it is just too darn aggressive and was like coarse sandpaper. I've read in some reviews the writer was of same opinion and some said they like it.
I think how much a person uses their hands daily might play into it. I have soft hands from lack of use of them and it hurt. A person who uses their hands daily would have tougher hands and likely it wouldn't be an issue for them. Recoil was very manageable, it stayed in my hand and other than the coarse sandpaper like finish was not a problem at all.
I do need to put it on paper, likely though at no more than 10 yards to see where it is hitting. I never did quite get that figured out at 25 yards, likely cuz my groups were too large and I'm sure that is my fault not the gun's.
The single biggest issue though is it just plain doesn't fit the holster so I can't carry it until I get that issue fixed. The holster that is supposed to work fits it just too tightly and won't release it on the draw. It's a paddle holster and it pulls the paddle and holster almost out of my pants when drawing, that won't work. The original Shield fits the holster and comes out smoothly, this one is supposed to use same holster but this one ain't gonna cut it. I might be able to fix that, I'll call Fobus after the holidays. I e-mailed them and they said they think they can help and to call then.
I tried to use the holster for the Shield EZ and I think it fit and came back out OK. But closer checking showed the trigger guard wasn't locking in with the EZ holster so the gun would fall out too easily, that's not an option.
I did more searching last night and found a DeSantis Gun Hide leather holster that seems to fit it like a glove. It could maybe stand to be just a wee bit tighter fit but it will stay in holster for any moves I'm likely to make. I don't stand on my head or do cartwheels these days.
Only thing I don't like about this holster is, it is an IWB holster for concealed carry and I do not as a rule carry concealed. I prefer open carry with an OWB holster. I'll wait and see what accommodation Fobus can make for me but I have found a Safariland holster with level 2 retention I think I can live with and it is an OWB holster and uses a paddle to attach which is what I prefer.
