S&W shield 380 EZ - Opinions?

[Buckshot Bill]

My wife is considering one of these for CCW. As she has weak hands and little upper body strength, this pistol- that's supposedly very easy to rack the slide- seems like a perfect fit for her.
Do any of you have one or know someone who does? What do y'all think?
Thanks for any help you could offer.
Bill

 

[AZ Husker]

I went with one for my wife when her arthritis got worse. She loves it. It is a soft shooter and earns it's name, it almost cocks itself.

 

[shooter444]

I really like the grips safety on this piece, without thumb safety, set up! Wish I had it on my Shield45acp. Would strongly consider this model, even in 380acp, but, it is longer and taller than my Shield45acp, which is a border line pocket carry for me. Three ounces less would be nice, but not enough to make much of a difference,.... imo.

I have had my Shield for years. It is almost the best (overall) 45acp I have carried. I sometimes, (when slipping it in my pocket), find myself wondering why I even own my S&W MP45acp full size. It just gets dusty sitting on the night stand.

If my better half wasn't happy carrying her 45 colt snub nose, I would consider this for sure!

Good luck, on deciding!

If racking a slide is that much of a concern,.... you may wish to investigate first round "pop-up-barreled" pocket pistols like the Beretta.

 

[Buckshot Bill]

She is carrying a Ruger SP 101 now, which she likes- BUT the fly in the ointment there is that it's a real tank, and is a load to pack around.
We'll have to investigate the 380 EZ a little further.
Shooter and Husker I appreciate your info. Much obliged,
Bill

 

[shooter444]

Well, if she likes Ruger SP101 revolvers,.... maybe one of these might strike her fancy,...


https://ruger.com/products/lcr/models.html

 

[Harrier]

My wife has the same grip strength issues and found she couldn't easily rack her XDm and didn't like the recoil from her 642 (with small grips). I looked into the 380 EZ fairly extensively, reading various reports on forums etc...
There are a LOT of reports regarding jamming and magazine malfunctions - not something you want in a SD gun. Some said the new magazines with the yellow springs fixed the issues while others said it did not. frequently people had to download the mag by 1 round to get reliability. I then started reviewing the history of 380's made by S&W and it seems all of them have reliability issues. It seems they can't seem to get them right and getting one that is reliable out of the box is a crap shoot at best.

I then discovered the XD[highlight=yellow]e[/highlight] claims a 27% easier to rack slide. She will try that one at a dealer to see if it is still too much. It doesn't have the grip safety but does have an external hammer .

My conclusion was that we will forego the 380 EZ for now, put larger grips on the 642 and wait to see what others bring to market.

 

[h8pvmnt]

Well i bought a Shield 380EZ for my wife and we have about 500-700 rounds of malfunction free range practice with it using 6 different magazines and 4 different ammo types. It is exactly what a small handed weak person needs. Its Shoots and handles well but is too large for pocket carry but is perfect for purse carry. But as is the case with all things like this don't rely on other peoples experience or especially the internet to make decisions. Go to a range and rent one, try it out. In our experience its exactly what its supposed to be. Light easy to load, easy to rack the slide, easy to take down and easy to shoot.

 

[Buckshot Bill]

Well, one of the LCR Rugers would certainly be nice to carry, as long as ya didn't ever have to pull the trigger- THAT would be an "adventure".
For her,the weight and bulk of the 101 are the two negatives about it.
Before this, she carried an XDs 45 acp that she really liked and didn't mind shooting, but can't rack that slide, so that's why we're where we are now.
We need to research this some more, but really this isn't such a bad thing! I appreciate all the help.
BB

 

[QuietM4]

Has she shot one yet? Whatever she is considering, make sure she shoots a rental gun first.

 

[shooter444]

Well, one of the LCR Rugers would certainly be nice to carry, as long as ya didn't ever have to pull the trigger- THAT would be an "adventure".
For her,the weight and bulk of the 101 are the two negatives about it.
Before this, she carried an XDs 45 acp that she really liked and didn't mind shooting, but can't rack that slide, so that's why we're where we are now.
We need to research this some more, but really this isn't such a bad thing! I appreciate all the help.
BB

[highlight=yellow]

I have had two, ... with mild loads, it is quite enjoyable.[/highlight]

 

[Buckshot Bill]

QM4, she's not fired one yet,but she will certainly do that before any purchase.
Shooter444, mild loads are the great part about being able to reload- factory ammo would probably be quite different.
Thanks again guys for all your help.
Bill