Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Hate To Say It, But The S&W Shield Plus Has Made My Glock 26 Superfluous

Well, maybe not completely. It's not going up for sale any time soon. After all, the Shield Plus cannot accept all double stack Glock 9mm mags from 10 rounds up to 33, but apart from that, it's got my Glock 26 (Gen 5) beat as my secondary carry choice. My primary carry choice is still my Glock 19, Gen 5, but my 26 has been my secondary choice for a while now. It's been replaced by the Shield Plus, however, which does everything the 26 did (apart from the magazine thing), but in a sleeker and more compact (and more concealable) package. Might even be more shootable.

This is rough, because I had a lot of affection for the 26.

I have my eye on the Shield Plus.

I shoot the G26 very well. I just can't get a good grip from IWB.

The 26 is short and chubby. I'm chubby! Not the best combination.

Please keep us updated. I respect your opinions.

GB

I want to check the Shield Plus out soon, have heard people are liking them (like you have said). Would have already if there were normal gun shows like there used to be. I had an original Shield in .40 for a minute, it failed miserably at my "it must be 100% reliable" 1st trip to the range. 4 malfunctions within the first 50 rounds using high quality factory ammo. Sold it immediately. I am harsh like that when it comes to my EDC gun. I carry a Sig 365 in an uber thin IWB suede-like clip holster that was originally made for a Colt Pony. I have never warmed to the Glock 26/27, but I am a smaller person and it just felt chunky and hard to aim (never programmed myself to the grip angle of a Glock). I carried a H&K USPc for 16 years and it was 100%, but was even more chunkier than the Glock. Their new P30sk suffers the same "fat kid" syndrome as the g26, but I shoot it well.

I have a standing agreement with the wife that if H&K ever makes a single or 1.5 stack carry pistol again I am buying the 1st one I can get my hands on no matter the cost.

Your thoughts on magazine compatibility with the Glock are well thought out.

Yeah, the great thing about the 26 being my secondary carry choice and the 19 being my primary choice was that I only needed one spare mag to ride in the car's glove compartment, i.e., a Glock 17 magazine, which worked in both the 19 and 26. Now I have to have one of each in the glove box, which, when you think about it, is no huge deal, and you're not likely to accidentally reach for the 17 round Glock 17 mag when you intended to reach for the 13 round Shield Plus mag. They are very different in appearance and feel.

The new Shields seem to be selling like hotcakes. It is a big disadvantage that they don't take the original M&P mags...evidently. I don't have one, but that's the info I've got.

No, they cannot take those mags, because those mags are way too wide to fit. It seems to defy the laws of physics, but somehow they do a 1.5 stack rather than a single stack, and almost fit it into the same exact frame as the original Shield.

I love my Plus but really want to find a few more 13 round mags that seem to be non existent.

Yep. Probably about a year from now they will be at Brownells and Midway, assuming the SOBs haven't outlawed them by then.

I am really liking my plus. When you compare it to my Gen 1 you can hardly tell which is which. I also feel that I hit the jackpot when I got mine because it came with 1-10 round and 3-13 round magazines.

Have you shot it enough yet to know how reliable it is?

How does this compare in size to the original M&P 9c?

MM

No. Just a couple hundred rounds, but its reputation for reliability is excellent, and I don't expect any reliability issues. But, it's a good point.
Much slimmer.

Probably OK, then. You would have had some issues by now of there were going to be any.

MM

Fondness. Better?

Not everyone likes them.....

The price is not bad if the gun comes with couple magazines. Nothing about the gun excites me, but if one has M&P 9mm double-stack subcompact what is shown weights almost 5oz less which is significant. If I was to get rid of Glock I would rather have Walther PPQ SC.

The Walther is not real popular. Some like them. The significance here is, the S&W is probably the #2 plastic gun behind the Glock...so people are buying them and like them already. This is a big improvement over previous models for people who already like S&W's.

The regular model comes standard with two mags and the night-sighted model comes with three. This info courtesy TRH.

Almost find this new crop of slim pistols a bit "too" slim for my hands and grip. Im a fat guy but i still need something to be able to fit my hand and not get lost in a fat roll. Theres little doubt for the vast majority of people it will fit hands and profile very well but for some the doublestack pistols of older design still work.

The Plus adds just a tad bit of width to the Shield grip, so some like you find it an improvement.

Thats interesting. I found the Glock 43 really tiny feeling and the Hellcat feels narrow. I will look into the new Shield plus. Im old school and my small pistol is an 3913 Ladysmith and old Beretta 950 Jetfire. Those feel smallnas well.

If its any consolation I wear extra large gloves and I find the grip comfortable in my hand.