Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns can S&W M&P Shield handle +P 9mm?

At the gun show I saw this Shield and it was selling for $399 with a box of ammo thrown in. Did not ask what kind of ammo he would have thrown it in but I am thinking its probably worth $25. I already bought a Kahr CW-9 because it felt a bit better in my hand. Have not gotten around to shooting this Kahr yet. However when I bought this Kahr the owners manual says this can handle +P 9mm but the owners manual for the Shield says they do not handle +P ammo. Anyone have tried the +P?

I have thought about buying the Shield but am not so sure as I have this Kahr I need to wring out...

I'd give a hard look at that new 4.0 XD in 9mm before I bought a Shield. I've fondled but not shot the Shield, it didn't give me a warm fuzzy.

When a manufacturer communicates warnings about the use of +P ammunition, there are two things to consider:

1. Will the accelerated wear caused by the use of +P ammo be an issue worth considering; and
2. Will the use of +P ammo effect the reliability of the pistol.

A few rounds probably won't hurt a thing, but the bigger issue is whether or not the gun performs reliably with the hotter ammo.

Kahr's seem to thrive on +P ammo and several guns that I'm aware of actually work better with the stuff.

So, if shooting a steady diet of +P is a personal requirement, I'd certainly pick a pistol that will undoubtedly be up the task, not one that might.

Another thing to think about is, if you don't reload (you should start if you don't) and you buy surplus GI 9mm, all of that stuff basically is +P, or damn near it.

I just bought the Shield and I thought it could handle the P ammo. Gotta read the manual again

Hard to believe it cannot.

From the Shield Owners Manual:

�Plus-P� (+P) ammunition generates pressures in excess of the pressures associated with standard ammunition. Such pressures may affect the wear characteristics or exceed the margin of safety. Use of �Plus-P� ammunition may result in the need for more frequent service.

This language is routinely used in Manuals for many models when commercially produced +P ammo is available for a model of a particular cartridge.

Like I said in my previous post; I (personally) wouldn't be too concerned about the "more frequent service" aspect of using +P ammo, I'd be more concerned about reliability. If I could determine that wasn't going to be an problem, I could deal with the increased wear through proper PM if using +P ammo was just a "have to" issue.

OK, so it doesn't say it's not approved for it. It's just saying what we all know already, i.e., that +P will accelerate wear. That's the case with any handgun.

I have the Shield in 40 S&W and everything in the 40 ammo is Plus P in my opinion

+1 and the 40 S&W Shield works just fine.