M&P 380 Shield EZ Gun Review

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 3/15/2019 | T Engel

[w1n1]

I'd like to carry a semiauto, but I use a revolver because I just can’t rack a slide.
If I had a dollar for every shooter I have heard singing this sad song over the years, I’d be a woman of means and influence.
In days of yore, I might have pointed my doubters – usually women and seniors – toward a SIG P238, a Walther PK 380 or, more recently, a Glock 42. But each of those came with caveats related either to cost (SIGs are pricey), functionality (Walthers are a pain to break down) or usability (for better or worse, beginners are skittish about Glock's lack of a manual external safety – thankfully, most of them eventually get over that!).
Now, however, I smile slyly and trot out Smith & Wesson’s most recent contribution to the concealed carry market – the M&P 380 Shield EZ.

EARLY REVIEWS OF this slim little handgun expressed shock that Smith&Wesson would serve this particular segment of the gun market (i.e. those who aren't avid shooters and are simply looking for a "simple" self-defense tool). One reviewer even admitted that he initially thought S&W had designed a solution to "a problem that didn't even exist."
Clearly, these gun writers have never sold firearms or taught shooting classes, because the EZ achieves the enviable goal of addressing virtually every complaint I have ever heard about semiautos since I began teaching concealed carry classes in 2005 and working behind a gun counter five years later.

The "gun snobs" may look down their noses at the EZ, but those of us trying to teach beginners, women and senior citizens are rejoicing. Just the fact that a gun manufacturer is paying precise attention to this segment's wants and needs is wonderful – that the gun actually performs as promised is even more significant. Read the rest of this M&P 380 Shield EZ review.

[BDParrish]

You can rack the slide with this ingenious device! Check out the handi-racker. Now a woman or arthritic can use any semi pistol, any pistol you like.
https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/handi-racker-help-racking-semi-auto-slides/

[Celerity]

Two things I don’t understand the constant discussion of...

1) this myth that new shooters and smaller people need smaller guns and
2) anything but a new Kahr can’t be racked with just a little practice and muscle build up. My 4 year old can rack my P30 and almost chamber my ar.

[eastexsteve]

Two things I don’t understand the constant discussion of... 1) this myth that new shooters and smaller people need smaller guns and 2) anything but a new Kahr can’t be racked with just a little practice and muscle build up.

That's a fact. There was the day not too long ago that my wife couldn't rack the slide or handle the recoil of anything greater than her 9mm Springfield XD-M. And, she struggled with that. One day while out shooting, she asked me why I liked my Kimber Custom II 1911 in 45 ACP. I proceeded to show her. After 6 months in the gym and 1,000 rounds later, that 45 1911 is her favorite gun. She's even trying to figure out how to carry that monster.

[Vinnie]

I’m jonesing a Springfield XDe compact.
Like the idea of a decocker and the first trigger pull is similar to a revolver.
< an inch width.

[GreyFriar]

And us old retired Army gents aren’t that strong anymore either, when it comes to having arthritic hands that make the racking of a 1911 or 9mm harder than it was back “in the day” of our younger years. This sounds like it might just be worth trying out.

[CaptainAmiigaf]

Bought a Ruger LC9. Liked the feel of it in my hand, but couldn’t rack the darn slide. What I did works like a shooter’s dream, once I figured the problem. Oh, had the same with a .45 while in the Navy. Couldn’t rack it.
The problem is the thing is too SMOOTH. Yo0 need sheer strength to pull that slide back. But (as mine) if your skin on the fingers have lost, with age, surface FRICTION, your hand will just slide off. What to do?
I took TWO “inch and a half” strips of adhesive backed EMERY paper and placed one on each side of the slide rear side.
Like MAGIC, for less than a buck, I found my self able to empty a FULL magazine rapidly, without ANY strain. It was the FRICTION of the cheap and easily replace emery tape that made all the difference. At a range, a couple of women, having the same problem were given MY LC9 to try. Yes, I removed the mag, and they were able to easily operate it.
Again, it was the introduction of FRICTION to the slide that made the difference. Try it..for a dollar or two you’ll be amazed.

[Moonman62]

It’s got some great reviews:

https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/smith-wesson-m-p-380-shield-ez-380-acp-compact-8-round-pistol-115681408

[Mr Rogers]

Racking a gun depends on a lot of things. I can easily rack the slide of my Springfield Armory XDS 40, but have a lot of trouble with my Glock 27. It isn’t a matter of strength to rack so much as one of “hard to grip the slide”. As an experiment, try taking hold of the front end of the barrel. Any gun I’ve tried is easily racked that way.

I think a lot of supposedly hard to rack guns could be easily fixed with deeper serrations or a small piece of metal along the rear of the slide.

But for the reviewer: Yeah, a big gun firing small bullets is easier to shoot. Duh! But for CONCEALED CARRY, it remains a big gun. After all, a S&W 686 firing 38 specials is easy to shoot too! Just...big.

Seems to me the LC380 makes more sense than the Shield EZ.

[Do_Tar]

> adhesive backed EMERY paper

Thanks for a simple solution! I’ve been “racking” my brain on a fix for this issue. I really didn’t want to go to the expense of cutting and refinishing the slide.
And it’s an excuse for a trip to the hardware store.

[BDParrish]

They can’t operate the pistol on the first day, but what you suggest would be like getting a car for your 14th birthday. So get her the handiracker so she can shoot immediately and carry today, but then grab that slide each day and try until she can do it.

[Celerity]

Indeed. The two come down to the user’s preference of trigger.

I thank KelTec everyday for inventing the Ruger LCP. :)

The LC9 is poetry in the hand, and a carwreck of a trigger pull. Not Taurus or Walther bad, but not great either. The concern is keeping it from printing.

But concealment is a strange issue anyway. I know people who are more afraid of making a scene at the grocery store than they are afraid of actually being assaulted. My wife, for one.

[Celerity]

More than the car comparison, I go back to when I got my first motorcycle.

I just stared at it and sat on it for about 3 days before even moving it. A gun should be the same way - A healthy fear/respect of it.

If someone can’t operate the slide, I have tricks (I have a youtube video of my wrist trick) to make just about any gun (Except the Kahr.. My god those things are tough even for me) but I’ve always been able to see someone go from “Wow! This is tough!” to operating a slide within minutes.

[CopperTop]

"..My nephew has a Kel-Tec 380 that’s a piece of garbage.."

Ya mean the l'il "credit card" 380 (P3AT)? Yeah, I bought one of those wayyyy back when they first came out. Stopped by one of my benchrest buddies place on the way home and he said something similar like "Whatchya gonna do with that piece of crap?" So I took it out and popped 3 holes in a knot on his plywood he had leaned against a tree about 10' away. He shut up about it.

It's a great lil "getouttamyface" gun ta tote in the summer or when even smaller handguns could cause problems. Every time I shoot it, pocket lint goes flyin', it chucks the empty, loads another and what I aimed at gets hit. Personally I can't complain about my l'il "piece of garbage" that's aaalmost as ugly as my Glock and at least as uncomfortable, but dead nuts dependable.

One of the few times Kel-Tec carried thru on a good idea, IMO. YMMV. d;^)

[Clutch Martin]

My nephew has had nothing but problems with his Kel Tec. We have tried a bunch of different ammo, bullet configs & it has been back to the factory on two occasions and it’s still will misfire jam... and on occasion it doesn’t fire at all we’re not sure what the deal is but I view it as a non trustworthy weapon for self-defense because of the problems and we have tried everything that we can think of and have been recommended to cure the various problem and if the factory can’t fix it... I don’t know what else to say ...

[Tijeras_Slim]

Get the uplula. I nearly busted a gut trying to get more than 7 or 8 in the P365 mags. The loader makes it a breeze.

[farming pharmer]

You’re exactly right. I know some women in their 70’s who’ve been forced to carry 5-shot wheel guns because they simply can’t manage racking the slide of a semi-auto — of any size or model.

That's my mom. Gave up her Colt Mustang Pocketlite because she couldn't rack the slide. She carries a Ruger LCP and a S&W airweight.

[Celtic Conservative]

I think the 738 was replaced in the lineup with the spectrum. Lots of the same features, though.

CC

[CopperTop]

That truly sux. The mfg shouldn't be able to deflect too much if he's tryin to run factory ball ammo for sure.

I'll say that this particular piece is my only Kel-Tec experience that's been solidly positive and I now avoid them like the plague. The others were good ideas poorly executed.
The KSG comes to mind.. d;^)

[Caipirabob]

Thanks - I’ll check it out. We bought ours a number of years ago. Very reliable and durable weapon, although it’s hardly ever seen the light of day outside of a practice range (thank God.) Cheers!

[Mr Rogers]

Just tried the sandpaper thing: two small strips of 60 grit self-adhesive emery paper. Don't know how long it will last, but it racks like a dream now!