What is in your arsenal? (Pics encouraged!)

Actually, I want a shield. I think in 9mm, even though most of my brothers carry it in .40. Two mags, 8 and 7, plus one in the chamber. .40 carries one round fewer. Shoots similarly to what I carry on duty. That is the brand new m&p .40 with the improved trigger reset. Guys love it, but mine didn't have a bad trigger reset on my previous duty carry.

 

Your serial number is showing.

Meh, 9mm or .40 is all the same if you're running HSTs or Rangers or any other high end load. And 9mm has dat capacity to keep going in an extended pew-pew.

I like the Shield, especially the newer model without the safety. I'd recommend you give the Kahr P-9 or PM-9 a go. It is a much more svelte gun than the Shield.

Most of my buddies have the first batch of &&s and I got to experience them transitioning from the Glock platform to it. Man, that ghost trigger was rough at first.

 

Now I can be Cool like @Plan9. Picked this bad boy up for a song:

 

Grock Tree-Fo? Pfft, mine's a 2-pin Gen 3.

/mad street cred

Great field gun. Would carry in 3rd world.

Needed upgrades: RDS, tritium suppressor sights and ZEV flat trigger.

 

@plan9, I looked at the cm9 vs the shield. The cm9is obviously smaller, to the point of no grip for the pinkie. Unless you use the extended release. Both are not left-hand operation friendly. You can't reverse the magazine release or the slide release. The pm9 has a couple of features compared to the cm9, is bit is obviously more expensive. I like the sights on the shield as well, being that's what I'm used to. One other thing, the shield is on sale right now. $399 and that includes two magazines,7&8 round capacity. One other thing, I am used to shooting my 40, and this feels similar in operation. So the familiarity is nice. If I traded in my j-frame, I should get about $315 at cabelas. So my out of pocket would be about $85 plus tax on the difference.

But what is your opinion?

 

Go rent a Kahr and see if you like it. The guns are pricey, the mags are pricey but it's significantly more compact than the Shield and I find them to shoot really well.

Familiarity of shape/controls is huge and I'm all about adopting the same platform for training purposes. I've been stuck on Glocks for the last decade so I kinda tune out ambi controls on handguns (but I think they're way gravy). The mass produced S&W price is nice and low. You look like a pretty big dude so the size difference isn't really an issue. In the end, the only thing you should consider is if the Shield is compact enough to be your ideal off-duty/backup gun (the old G26 vs. single stack debate). If I had to have a mouse gun stuck on my ribs under a body armor strap? Kahr all day. For concealed carry, it's a great AIWB can't-tell-its-there gun with the extended mag. I've got raptor claw hands though, so you might need more to grab.

Size comparison shot 1: S&W && (Top), S&W Shield (Middle), Kahr CM-9 (Bottom)

Size comparison shot 2: S&W Shield (Left), Kahr CM-9 (Right)

Size comparison shot 3: S&W J-Frame (top) vs. Kahr CM-9 (Bottom)

I'd also recommend against the older Shield model that has the external safety nubbin. It's tiny and thus a pain in the ass to get on/off and totally unnecessary on a gun that size/purpose.

 

Thanks for the advice; I think I will go with the Shield. First time I shot it, I said to myself, "self, this feels almost like your duty carry." The Kahr is definitely smaller, but the tradeoff is a slightly smaller magazine. And I'm pretty sure my body size will cover a Shield pretty well. The safety should be a nonissue, I won't use it. As a backup I would carry it on my ankle. Off-duty, IWB. Also, I called a police supply store and they will sell it for $359, which is a very good price. I think I better go shoot off my .38 ammo pronto. I'm moving this weekend so I may as well buy it after I move.

 

It isn't a matter of you using the safety, but it using you. Best to buy the model without it so it doesn't Murphy's Law your ass at the worst possible time. I've seen guys fight them during training... wouldn't be pretty in a Oh Noes situation.

I mean, it's kinda telling that so many people were having issues and then taking it upon themselves to disable it that the company created a model without one.

Only thing worse than a gun going bang when you don't want it to is a gun not going bang when you pull the trigger.

/I'm here for you

 

Well they did start making them so maybe I can get one at that price. Or maybe a Drexel. Or some jb weld. Or epoxy.

 

Hey, I know you're a frugal civil servant and all, but don't be a cheapskate with your life-saving implements, bro.

 

Shield is a little too big for suit-pocket carry, so I usually carry the PM9 in my right pocket. However, the more capable fighting gun is definitely the Shield. I like the external safety so I can throw that bad boy in to my pocket sans holster and not worry about a ND. The trade off is size. I've been made before while pocket-carrying the Shield. Not so for the PM9.

My shield sits in my center-console. My PM9 sits in my pocket.

 

When I wear a suit, I carry a walther ppk..anything else would be uncivilized.

 

Mm, why someone would spend $600+ on a pistol and not get a holster for it is beyond me.

Pockets are for keys and phones. Guns and ammo belong in a Kydex widget of some sort.

 

no pictures unfortunately but i've got a 2010 maxxis 31 bow, and an 8in. tanto ka-bar
--- merged: Aug 27, 2014 at 10:30 PM ---

 

I went a little AR nuts last year. Left to right: Bushy 16" m4gery wearing a 13" Troy alpha rail and aTrijicon TR24G in a Bobro qd mount, Rock River ATH 18" upper on a bushy lower wearing a15" alpha rail and a Burris MTAC 3-10x42 mil/mil sfp in a larue tactical 20 moa qd mount, 10.5" franken pistol with a mostly rainier arms upper with a 9" alpha rail and a yhm phantom flash hider on a spike's lower with an A2 buffer tube and an ace gusset with 2 qd sling attachment points. Some type of red dot is in its future.

 

very cool. I'm getting into knife making myself. how's the edge keeping?

 

I got this for Christmas. It is a police model spyderco. It is wicked sharp, and the picture doesn't do justice to it's size. It really is a decent size pocket folder.
I know the metal handle doesn't make it that easy to grip, but it does make it very slim and also easy to pull out of a pocket quickly without snagging inside the pocket. It is designed for worst case scenario situations. Notice how aggressively the back of the blade has been ground away near the tip. This is not a knife made for prying or cutting through tin cans. Plus I really like the look. I have admired the look when they first came out, over 20 years ago.

 

I'm such a fan of sharp things.

 

A serious blade for serious work.

 

I think I may have posted these before but this is part of my collection of sharp things.
SOG mini machete and Black Label Tomahawk.
Nice weight to the Tomahawk, they call it their Shock and Awe model.