Tricking Out Guns - Upgrading the Gen1 M&P Shield

One of my carry options has been the M&P Shield 9 with thumb safety for the last few years. While I've been thinking about making changes to the Shield, for the most part I've left it stock with the exception of Talon grips. That said, since I've been on a Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan series kick, I decided to make a few changes.

In the series, Jack Ryan's oldest son, Jack Jr., works for an off-the-books, private intelligence firm referred to as The Campus. Several of the operators of The Campus carry the M&P Shield for their more clandestine actions.

The changes I've made are the basic changes that I make to all my carry guns; tritium iron sights and a weapon light. In this case, I've foregone my usual TRUGLO TFX's for a set of Trijicon HD's with the yellow outline. The Streamlight TLR-6 will serve as the light. However, I have an additional change for kicks and giggles; a Lone Wolf Distributors AlphaWolf threaded barrel.You know, for wet work.

I'll be running the stock barrel most of the time but I am very interested to see how this all works with the DeadAir Wolf 9SD especially in the short config. This is going to be fun.

As for holsters, Gearcraft Holsters has an order for their IWB with all the goodies for my gun I can expect to be delivered in June or July.

And yes I am excited for the Amazon Jack Ryan series.

Update: I had recoil spring / guide rod failure in June. I went to swap out the threaded barrel and the assembly spontaneously self-dissembled. I was able to locate the 2 guide rod pieces and the springs  and manually reassemble the gun but it was a giant pain.I ordered 2 replacement spring assemblies.

#smithandwesson #mp #shield #9mm #lonewolfdistributors #threadedbarrel #trijicon night sights #streamlight #tlr6 #talongrips #sig V-Crown 124 gr #gunsofinstagram #thepewpewlife #concealedcarry #guns #pewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 27, 2018 at 5:59pm PDT

#007 really should upgrade. The #Walther #ppk is great but a single stack #9mm like the #smithandwesson #shield with a #lonewolfdistributors #threadedbarrel and a #streamlight #tlr6 is the business. I’d love to have a #PPSm2 with a threaded barrel. #deadairsilencers #2a #nfa #suppressor #freedom #pewpewlife #secondamendment #silencer #gunsofinstagram #thepewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 26, 2018 at 3:19pm PDT

#trickedoutgun #smithandwesson #mpshield #9m

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on May 31, 2018 at 8:25am PDT

The importance of maintenance. Today my #shield recoil spring assembly spontaneously and rapidly disassembled itself while changing barrels. #mp9 #smithandwesson #gunsofinstagram #guns #ccw #pewpewlife #thepewpewlife

A post shared by Ian Kocher (@der.yetti) on Jun 22, 2018 at 4:34pm PDT

Quickie - S&W 380 Shield EZ - Going After Walther's PK380?

Smith and Wesson just announced a new Shield chambered in .380 ACP that is user friendly. Based on the specifications and design, I assume that the premise is to provide an extremely user intuitive, feature rich pistol that limited mobility users will have no issue operating. They call it the EZ because of the low human effort needed to rack the slide and load the magazine. Racking the slide on most automatics can be a problem for users (such as a recent client I had) that have arthritis or weak wrists from an injury or surgery. The magazine features a load button similar to what is found on Ruger's 22 pistol line up making loading easier. The pistol has a 3.6 inch barrel which makes the pistol larger than your average 380 but the extra length means a lighter recoil spring. It'll still be easy to carry but shooters with wrist issues shouldn't have too much trouble. One notable feature is they have done away with the manual safety model and added a grip safety.

It seems this pistol is very similar to the Walther PK380 which is another pistol I would like to look at.

The Smith and Wesson 380 Shield EZ has an MSRP on $399. Once these hit the market, I'll be picking up one for testing.

P.S. - According to Julie Golob, this is a hammer fired pistol unlike the standard Shield lineup. This is probably a single action only deal which works for me. She also reports a manual safety model is available.

SIG P365 - Quaint.

On Monday, SIG announced their latest entry into the concealed carry market; the SIG P365. Immediately, while laying in bed, I figured they named it to reflect some sort of carry gun you'd carry 365 days a year. Quaint marketing, SIG. That said, it doesn't appear to be all gimmicks.

It's basically targeting the single stack 9 market like the Shield and G43 but with a double-stack magazine giving it 10 rounds over the other two's single digit capacities.

This should turn out to be an interesting addition and I look forward to taking a look at one.

I guess the only real question is, does it take Glock mags?