Glock 43 verses M&P Shield

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Mkokc

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Apples and oranges, I prefer the G43, but the next guy down might love the shield, and so on and so on, and most of us on here can't leave anything alone as far as modifications go, find the one you like, both are good pistols
 

TallPrairie

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They are both awesome guns that reflect how blessed we are today with great practical options for civilian CCW.

I think the G43 has better "bones" but the Shield is a more polished product out of the box. So, you can easily improve the Glock's trigger and get 7+1 capacity with aftermarket options, but the S&W comes from the factory with a better trigger and 7+1 mags. OTOH I prefer the feel of the Glock and find it more inherently accurate than the Shield.

The huge downside of the Shield used to be the dinky little manual safety switch. I prefer not to have manual safeties. And if a gun DOES have one, it needs to be a nice big positive safety like a 1911. Little manual safeties that are hard to actuate are the worst of both worlds; I distrust them. That was a deal killer for me, until more recently S&W wised up and started marketing no-safety versions of the Shield for free states. That is the version to go for. (Note that Ruger did the same thing with its Pro [= no manual safety] version of its LC9s! That's a good little gun too.)

I went G43 and have no regrets. However, the Shield is a really well done firearm. I love how Glock and S&W (and even Ruger) are competing hard in this category and forcing each other to get better. :cool:

PS: My G43 has been very reliable. It feeds and ejects even when fired with a relatively weak grip. That's a big deal to me: I ditched the Glock 42 .380 because that thing tended to jam if you didn't white-knuckle it. G43 is much better. (I always try to shoot with a strong grip but in a fight you might not have the luxury of doing things perfectly.)
 
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Fredkrueger100

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So after having more time to handle my wife's shield I must say that I was wrong in my last post. I love the shield. Never thought I would get one to replace my glock but I am. I put a talon grip on the shield and it feels great. Guess I just didn't handle the shield enough before to get a good enough feel for it. I have big hands and the 43 is a little on the small side for me. It's not bad but I like the longer grip area on the shield. And when I shoot my glock it hurts my hand because the bottom Of the grip digs into it. I still like the glock though. Good little pistol. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.
 

druryj

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So after having more time to handle my wife's shield I must say that I was wrong in my last post. I love the shield. Never thought I would get one to replace my glock but I am. I put a talon grip on the shield and it feels great. Guess I just didn't handle the shield enough before to get a good enough feel for it. I have big hands and the 43 is a little on the small side for me. It's not bad but I like the longer grip area on the shield. And when I shoot my glock it hurts my hand because the bottom Of the grip digs into it. I still like the glock though. Good little pistol. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

So are you gonna put that old sad Glob 43 up for trade maybe? [emoji41]
 

Fredkrueger100

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So are you gonna put that old sad Glob 43 up for trade maybe? [emoji41]
If I wasn't so impatient I would have. I traded it in at sooner guns and gold. I know it probably wouldn't have took long to get rid of it though. If you want a really nice one with some extras see if it is up for sell there. It was a talo edition with a ghost connector, talon grips and 5 mags. And three of those had pierce +1 extensions. They gave me a pretty good deal though like always.
 

druryj

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If I wasn't so impatient I would have. I traded it in at sooner guns and gold. I know it probably wouldn't have took long to get rid of it though. If you want a really nice one with some extras see if it is up for sell there. It was a talo edition with a ghost connector, talon grips and 5 mags. And three of those had pierce +1 extensions. They gave me a pretty good deal though like always.

They are good folks there. Hope your new pistola works well for you.
 

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