Smith and Wesson Shield Availability???

[AX7400]

Hello Everyone,

I am sure this has been brought up before but I wasn't able to locate any threads. I was wondering if anyone knows anything or has noticed any Shields floating around lately. I have literally been all over the state (as well as to about 4 gun stores in Texas) looking for one and I have talked to many sales reps at gun stores to try to get an idea on when they will actually become available. This has been going on since July for me and I am hesitant to get on a waiting list somewhere since most of them are 25 plus people deep. I talked to a S&W Sales Rep in August at Ahlmans and he said they had plans to increase production around the end of the year (2012).

I know this gun has been incredibly popular and they have been next to impossible to track down but I was curious if anyone has noticed any change in this trend at all or if its more of a wait it out situation. Let me know if anyone has heard of or knows anything different. I have cash in hand and am trying to figure out if I should wait it out a month or two or just purchase something different......I am not interested in any other single stack 9 as I have handled a bunch of different ones and I enjoyed the shield the most. I also already have a XDS and a PX4 so I am not really interested in other options in place of the Shield either....

Thanks.

[TJ]

pm Thunderjohn, a member here...he had 2 for last gun show $449 each.

[AX7400]

Thanks for the response TJ, I will shoot him a message. I am sure what he had is long gone by now however. At the very least its nice to know that people are seeing them in the wild finally....!!

[ex-LT]

Do NOT PM Thunderjohn - he likely will not respond to PMs. However, his email is in his sig line.....

SouthwestArms AT Gmail DOT com

[AX7400]

Thanks again I actually prefer e-mail myself so that is how I contacted him. I am not holding out too much hope there so if anyone else has any info its much appreciated.

[AX7400]

Heard back from ThunderJohn and it is as I expected....they were pretty much gone instantly and sounds like he has a sizeable waiting list also.

[onebohemian]

Just buy one from gunbroker. Lots available there. If you monitor it and are patient, you can find them for under $500.

[AX7400]

I will keep that in mind...... however I would much rather purchase from a local retailer than online...but I guess you may be right and that may be the best option for me at this time. Thanks for the advice.

[TJ]

I will keep that in mind...... however I would much rather purchase from a local retailer than online...but I guess you may be right and that may be the best option for me at this time. Thanks for the advice.

That's right on the Email vs pm....I'm looking to replace my PF-9 with a shield but will wait till they are readily in stock for under $400...sometime in 2013 I hope.

[AX7400]

Fingers are crossed it can happen in 2013

[Dill]

I will keep that in mind...... however I would much rather purchase from a local retailer than online...but I guess you may be right and that may be the best option for me at this time. Thanks for the advice.

That's right on the Email vs pm....I'm looking to replace my PF-9 with a shield but will wait till they are readily in stock for under $400...sometime in 2013 I hope.

I'm in the same boat...just can't get the hang of shooting the PF9, so I bought an M&P 9c to tide me over until I can get a Shield. The trigger on the 9c is a little gritty compared to my XD's but there is always Apex to take care of that..

[MNGunGuy]

I will keep that in mind...... however I would much rather purchase from a local retailer than online...but I guess you may be right and that may be the best option for me at this time. Thanks for the advice.

That's right on the Email vs pm....I'm looking to replace my PF-9 with a shield but will wait till they are readily in stock for under $400...sometime in 2013 I hope.

I'm in the same boat...just can't get the hang of shooting the PF9, so I bought an M&P 9c to tide me over until I can get a Shield. The trigger on the 9c is a little gritty compared to my XD's but there is always Apex to take care of that..

The striker block on M&Ps are horrible and is where all that grit comes from. What's funny is I found the OE striker block on the Shield to be better than my Pro. They do get better with round count but the Apex USB is multiple times better.

As far as getting a Shield... Gallery of Guns is where I got mine. Check multiple times a day and you might get lucky.

[PHATSPEED7x]

I was able to finally see and fondle my first one last month... Gun shop thought it was worth gold though.... $699!!!!!!!! They were nuts! But they also had steel 30 round GI mags for $40 each!

[AX7400]

Wow 699 is just nuts...!!! I was able to shoot the shield and the xds at Ahlmans shoters roundup (among many other guns) and I knew I wanted both immediatly after shooting them. Picked up an XDS shortly after that but the shield has remained elusive. most people have sugested to purchase online just not sure how I feel about paying a 100 -150 premium after shipping and transfer and inflated prices due to unavailability.

[onebohemian]

The striker block on M&Ps are horrible and is where all that grit comes from. What's funny is I found the OE striker block on the Shield to be better than my Pro. They do get better with round count but the Apex USB is multiple times better.

The trigger on my Shield (with late production number) was/is gritty and has that hitch in it when the trigger bar first presses up against the OE striker. Reminds me completely of my few-years old M&P40C. I haven't had a chance to strip it all down and clean and minor polish the parts yet. I'm sure some of what I'm feeling is left-over manufacturing grime, but the striker is really noticable when she is engaged. Will strip and clean and then head to range to run some rounds through her to see if she'll loosen up a bit after a few hundred. Would rather not run this gun with Apex parts if I can help it, as I was really hoping to use this as my new carry gun. Time will tell.