Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus

PDN Contributor Barret Kendrick of Bearco Training reviews the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus handgun in 9mm. He considers this a good crossover gun—it can work well for home defense, but also be a great concealed carry firearm.

HOME DEFENSE

The Shield Plus comes in several configurations. It’s powerful and has sufficient rounds—either 10 with the flush-fitting magazine or 13 with the extended magazine—to be one of your home-defense weapons. It also fits the hand well.

CONCEALED CARRY

The Shield Plus is thin enough to be an excellent choice for concealed carry. The thinner the gun is, the closer it can sit to the body, and that makes it easier to conceal. The four-inch barrel puts more weight out forward on the gun, which helps the shooter control recoil without making it hard to conceal, because the barrel is down into the pant line.

DIFFERENCES WITH THE PLUS MODEL

The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield Plus has a new texture that feels great in the hand. It’s not abrasive—you can hold onto it really well without getting abrasions or blisters.

The Shield Plus comes with a flat-face trigger, which is easier to press straight to the rear than a curved trigger, and also doesn’t result in any cut fingers.

OPTIONS

The model Barret has is set up with a green fiber optic on the front and red/orange toward the back. It does not have an external manual safety, though some models of the Shield Plus do have it. You can check out our thoughts on external manual safeties in this video: Manual Safety on a Self-Defense Handgun.

Though Barret’s gun is not optic ready, you can get a Shield Plus with an optic-ready slide. S&W also sells it with a red dot mounted—the choice is yours.

To sum up, Barret likes the features and versatility of the Shield Plus and recommends that you check it out if you’re looking for a new handgun.