From a 1911, to a S&W Shield 9mm accuracy problems

[45collector]

I don't own a Shield but I've fired two of them. One brand new one with a MA trigger, and one with an Apex kit that had been worked over, internals polished and so forth. The difference in my groups was very noticeable.

 

[kmanick]

the stock Mass trigger is useless, I almost sold mine until Greg Derr did some of his magic, now with a pachmyr sleeve on it
I can shoot it respectably. I still shoot my 9C and my XDM 3.8C .45 better than I do my shield but at 20-25 feet I can keep 4" groups
going pretty consistently. Not 'sniper" precision but not horrible either.

 

[meh]

I'm a little late here, but the thing I would add to the best advice here (make sure the gun shoots straight first, and if so get the Apex trigger job done and don't look back) is that the thing that helped me sort this out with a 9c was a Laserlyte training cartridge. You don't need the targets. If you have good trigger control, the laser will just be a dot on the wall. If you don't, it will streak. You'll see what that Mass trigger does to you, and you'll see how hard it is to reliably compensate for it. And then you'll get the Apex kit installed. But you'll still have a nice training tool when you're done.

 

[ejl923]

Update everyone. Bought the full apex kit, installed it, and just went to the range today. Wow. Much happier, and such a huge improvement. I never thought a trigger could make such a large difference in accuracy.

 

[Pyromancer]

Yep, my MA trigger shield was terrible. I would consistently miss a A4 sheet of paper at 10 yards. Trying to learn the 10+ lb trigger probably did more harm than good long term.
Dave Santurri trigger job ftw. Shoot it better than any other pistol.

 

[kmanick]

Update everyone. Bought the full apex kit, installed it, and just went to the range today. Wow. Much happier, and such a huge improvement. I never thought a trigger could make such a large difference in accuracy.

flat trigger as well? I'm on the fence about that part

 

[ejl923]

flat trigger as well? I'm on the fence about that part

I went curved, glad I did. It's basically flat anyway. With a smaller gun, I feel it helps keep finger placement more consistent.

 

[enbloc]

.

 

[josh2600]

Benchrest the gun first to see if its intrinsically ****ed up.

If the answer to this is "no" then you just need to get the shitty MA trigger repaired, then you can learn how to shoot it correctly after that without having to fight the gun the entire time.

There is no "learning to like the stock MA M&P trigger" It sucks, horribly, and nobody should waste time and building bad muscle memory etc. based off a shit trigger.

-Mike

that trigger is especially awful stock.

 

[pthomas65]

First thing I did with my 9 (and 45) was to tear the gun down and polish all the trigger components. In the 9 I added the Apex USB, I now have smooth as butter trigger @ 3 3/4lb trigger pull. I am deadly accurate @ 10 yds and 20yds all rounds are in the silhouette. My Shield 9mm replaced my sig p228 as a summer carry. My Shield 45 I polished the trigger guts, replaced the Sear with the Apex Hardened Sear and also replaced the plunger safety spring with the Apex spring. Trigger is excellent with a 4lb trigger and very accurate for a carry gun. Both carry very well with just a T shirt.

 

[gerrycaruso]

It's probably the trigger. Consider this: If the gun weighs less than 2 pounds but it takes 10 pounds to pull the trigger, it will be very difficult to keep the gun on target while you complete the pull. I have a .45 Shield with the normal S&W trigger and it's a great shooter.

 

[tonyquart]

Subscribed. I'm horribly inaccurate with my Shield 9 as well compared to my Sig P238.

Yeah. I have same problem. Subscribed, too

 

[soyLG4u]

Dry fire. Practicing the trigger pull will be a huge help Without dropping $$ on upgrades.


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[ejl923]

The trigger worked for me. The way i see it, confidence in my carry gun is just as much physical ability to be accurate, as well as the confidence i have in the trigger. I hated the feel of the stock trigger, not just how inaccurate i was with it. I now have confidence all around with the apex

 

[jron]

Trigger (if its a mass trigger). I also have an "issue" (you could call it) with my large hands and the grip of the gun that is less than 1" thick. I find myself wanting to pull the trigger with my 2nd knuckle (middle of my finger). I have to remember to cheat my trigger finger out. But I am quite accurate with mine.

 

[BrUiRcNeR]

I wonder how many shields end up on the used market because new owners can’t hit with them.....I bought mine used. After taking mine (.40) to the range the first time and also shooting my friends stock 9mm, I came home and started researching how to improve the trigger. While the Apex came up, I decided to take the DIY approach.....one could say I was being cheap and I wouldn’t argue with that. I didn’t hate the physical trigger, just everything else about it. I tore it down, smoothed and polished, and dropped in a non MA trigger return spring. A few hours invested and $7 for the spring.....much better trigger and follow up visits to the range!

 

[jimlp]

Northeast Arms on Route 1 did it for $50.00 on my .45 Shield