Mine , no laser, has been my carry gun for at least a yr now. I bought the thumb safety version. I also put in an apex trigger to get rid of the hinged thing. I removed the trigger safety from the apex. In my opinion its the perfect carry gun for me. Oh...extended mags. Short mags are too short for me. Recoil isnt as bad as you think due to grip texture grabbing hold of your hand. I love mine. I carry iwb

 

I have one and it’s a great shooter. Less recoil than a small 1911. My wife even enjoys shooting it. Get one, you’ll be surprised

 

I've had one for a couple of years. The recoil is quite manageable. I believe the "plastic" frame flexes enough to help in that area. It is very accurate. Head shots at 15 yards is very doable.

I use mine when I'm hunting in the rice fields for snow geese or in the woods deer hunting. A good weapon for those roles. My brother is trying to get me to part with it.

I think the S&W Shield and M2.0 version pistols are very reliable pistols at a good value. I have a M2.0 M&P Compact 40 S&W also. My daughter in law carries it's twin on the job. I prefer them to the Glock, as the trigger is much better and a better grip angle / fit IMO.

They can be had at an extremely good price.

JW

 

I have one as well and have the same thoughts as those above- the 45acp shield is very controllable... I was pleasantly surprised when I first shot mine!

Now, if I could get all of you guys to email Magholder and request a version for the shield 45acp, we'd be in business!

 

It's a very controllable gun, which surprised me a lot. I was expecting it to be a handful as well, but it's really not. I like them quite a bit.

I'd not consider one with a built in laser though. As fast as gun accessories change, the gun will outlive the tech in it.

 

I've got a couple other Crimson Trace products that work well so that's not a concern to me. Probably be a little bit of a search to find a suitable holster? Wondering if the .45 has a thicker slide than 9mm or .40?

 

I use the same holster for the .45 and 9mm shield.

 

I have a .45 Shield 2.0, carried daily in an Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.5 IWB holster. Very comfortable, not too heavy. Easy to shoot, recoil is not as bad as I though it would be. I use the extended mag for carry, more room on the grip for my hand. The holster conceals very well, even with just wearing a shirt, you cannot tell it is there.

The only complaint I have is the grip texture is a bit aggressive for me. Sometimes while sitting the grip will rub skin. I read on another site to use some 200 grit sand paper to lightly knock down some of the texture. I might try that this weekend.

 

I have one and love it. The laser uses a 1/3 N battery. I can see the green laser in the daylight. I am a 1911 guy, but it weighs 4 ounces less than my LW ACP. I use the short mag for carry. It shoots excellent. Light loads also.


This says it all!

 

The .45 Shield is a brilliant carry gun. Small and slim. Reliable as a rock. Not obnoxious to shoot at all. Reasonably precise - S&W claims 3" at 25 yards and that's about what I got. Looks like david_root2000 got a better than average example, nice shooting. The stippling is aggressive and will take your hide off with an IWB carry. I gave the inner side of the grip a rub with some 180 grit sand paper to just knock the top off the stippling and it took the meanness out of the texture with almost no change in the grip characteristics. Very comfortable to carry. The grip is a little thin for my hand, but this isn't a range gun and is serviceable while being easy to conceal. The only real knock is capacity, but that's the compromise. IMHO, the .45 Shield is a very underrated firearm. Given the price, probably one of the best deals in the industry. Great gun.

 

The Shield in .45 is the best of the breed. ( I also have a PC Shield with 9mm and .40 barrels)
Way more controllable than you'd expect, and way more accurate than you'd expect for a compact pistol. And the triggers on the .45 are fantastic, better than my PC Shield, and better than my Fullsize 9mm with Apex trigger parts.

I would advise against getting one with the factory laser as it's built in to the frame.
There have been issues with the Crimson trace units, and if it goes bad, you have to send the whole gun in for service.
Sportsman's Warehouse had them on sale recently for $299, but having heard about issues like contacts in the laser unit going bad, I would recommend getting a plain Shield instead, and if you want a laser, buy something like the Lasermax light and green laser with Gripsense.
https://www.amazon.com/Centerfire-L...=1&keywords=Lasermax+light+and+green+laser+for+.45+Shield&qid=1582668029&sr=8-2
You can also get the LaserMax with a red laser for much cheaper than the green.
My .45 Shield is in the middle, it now has Tru-Glo TFO's like the other two.

The PC Shield has a TRL-6 on it, 100 lumen light and red laser, and they can be had for around $85. They can be removed if there is a problem with them. The TRL-6 only fits the .40 and 9mm Shield though, the .45 is slightly larger. I've heard of guys modifying the TRL-6 to fit on the .45 though, it just takes a bit of Dremeling where the unit fits around the trigger guard.
My Shield shoots a few inches high at 25 with 230 grain bullets, but that's O.K. for practice.
For carry I use 200 grain Gold Dots, those and 200 grain Hornady XTP's hit dead on.

 

FWIW- I don't have the Shield in .45, but I have a Glock 30S which according to Glock is 22.95 ounces and it's a kitten as far as I'm concerned. I shoot it better than most of my other pistols. I also have a Shield in 9mm that's outstanding so I'm sure the .45 is great.

 

I had one. It was a good carry gun. Recoil wasn't bad and it proved to be reliable. Got rid of it as our PD went to Glock. I decided to maintain consistent trigger pulls and grip angles with my off duty carry so I went G43/48. If we went M&P rout, I'd still have it.

 

I wasn't aware of the Crimson Trace issues but the idea of having to send the gun in for a laser repair isn't appealing. My CT units are all the rail type and easily removeable. There are lots of green laser .45 Shields on gunbroker for almost too good to be true prices....maybe there's a reason for the low pricing. I may have to research this.

But...the responses have me convinced I should have a .45 Shield.

 

I personally don't have one since I've abandoned plastic pistols, but I've bought several of them for friends (gifts, not straws) in all calibers...and its probably the BEST bang-for-the-buck pistol out there. $319 (@ GAG) for the red CT laser model. That's an INSANELY good price!! I've shot the .45 and found it not unpleasing for a small pistol. In fact, I thought the .45 was less snappy than the .40 cal model.

 

I chronograph Remington 230 grain Hollow points. AV 738 from my shield. I decided to load to 5" ballistics. I ended up with a 230 XTP @ 860 fps in new brass. Its All I want to shoot in a little gun. Its just as accurate as the target above with the 185s.

Remington ball came out at 760 fps.

Reading the manual, the red laser lasts 4 hours of use, the green lasts 2. Green is FAR more visible in the day light. I have only changed the battery once.

David

And just to rub it in, it was a Christmas gift from my wife.

 

I have had my Shield 45 for a couple years. Never had an issue. Excelent to carry. I would not say it is fun to shoot, but not bad. I usually put about 50 rounds through it a range session. If 45ACP is someones prefered carry round I always point them to the Shield 45.