Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Trouble With My M&P Shield being a SouthPaw

I love my Shield M&P but having a Major Problem with it being my Primary Carry Weapon. Every other time i draw the weapon in a hurry my finger hits the Magazine release and ejects the Mag and this is no good . This is happening because I'm LH and wouldn't be a issue for someone carry RH. I don't trust carrying it because of this, so switched to my Sig P239 in 357 Sig and now carrying it. If i needed the pistol in a hurry it would be a bitch for the mag to eject in a life and death situation. This is happening with the inside the pants holster , Crossbreed Super Tuck. I will order a outside holster and see if it will correct the problem . Smith should made the Mag release reversible like on the other M&P's. This problem sucks because this is the ideal carry weapon.

bea,

how well does the mag release when it's reverse for us southpaws? Heard some problems that it doesn't work that well.

Being southpaw definite has it's disadvantages when it come time to selection a CCW pistol.

The main reason for me considering the M&P is due to it being so southpaw friendly. Plus it's as reliable as a glock. Thinking of picking one up in 9mm.

Leo

The Glock has nothing on the standard M&P or the Compact Shield. The only problem with the Shield is the short grip and being left hand my finger hits the mag release when drawing in a hurry , not every time but often enough to make me not trust it in a life and death situation at least with the inside the pant carry holster. I will try the extended mag and see if it helps with this problem and if it does then i will use the short mag as a backup. You can see in the photo the mag release in in line with the trigger and very close. To bad Smith didn't make it reversible like all the other M&P Models. I really loved and had hopes for this pistol for everyday carry, as of right now i will carry my Sig or Glock. As you can see the problem doesn't exist on my full size M&P because i reversed the mag release on it .

bea,

Very nice!

How do you like the thumb safety the M&P pictured above. I know some don't like it on a striker fired polymer pistol, but I kinda like them myself.

I kind of like it since i carry it in a Cross Breed Super Tuck and I'm used to this type of safety since i carry a 1911 often.

If it was me I'd check on how hard it would be to get another mag release just in case and then try to work down the height where my finger seemed to hit the release.

Stipple a little texture back on the release and give it a try.

I went back to carrying my Shield today with the extended mag they supply and i believe this has solved the problem , got more to get a handle on than the short flush fit mag and now carrying it again and easier to draw from the Super Tuck. The Shield is so good i just can't give it up. As popular as the Shield has become the market will be flooded with after market parts very soon.

A common solution is going with a heavier mag catch spring. With the Shield being a new pistol there might not be much out there yet, but it might be worth a call to Wolff to see if they can come up with something. You'd need to pull the spring and have a micrometer handy.

I only had this problem when drawing the pistol in a hurry, like in a life and death situation. If drawing slow no problem . I believe the longer grip with the extended mag will do away with this minor problem . Will update after using for a few days. I will use the shorter mag as a backup since i always carry a spare when packing.

I hear ya..

WHY do these manufacturers continue to snub lefties?? The fools - there's a LOT of LH shooters around and would love to have a handgun that actually WORKS for LH shooters..

Short-sighted thinking, IYAM..

I'm too old a dog. Whenever I've switched a mag release or safety for lefty use it screws me up and I've switched back.

As a fellow lefty and likely future Shield owner I'm looking forward to your updates. Thanks for Beta Testing for the rest of us.