PPS vs S&W Shield

[justinhansen]

Which one would win the contest?

[Jimmo952]

What is the contest???

[spin40]

June 1, 2015, Guns & Ammo's Single Stack Shootout video was released on YouTube that might provide some answers to your question.

Guns & Ammo had conducted an extensive test, pitting 10 popular single stack 9mm pistols against each other in a shootout. Testers fired more than 8,000 rounds of 9mm through the 10 pistols, documenting all failures and malfunctions.

HINT: The Walther PPS came out on top of the other two survivors.

[PPS1980]

Originally Posted by spin40

June 1, 2015, Guns & Ammo's Single Stack Shootout video was released on YouTube that might provide some answers to your question.

Guns & Ammo had conducted an extensive test, pitting 10 popular single stack 9mm pistols against each other in a shootout. Testers fired more than 8,000 rounds of 9mm through the 10 pistols, documenting all failures and malfunctions.

HINT: The Walther PPS came out on top of the other two survivors.

One of my favorites.

You Tube

You Tube

[bobandmikako]

I have them both. I couldn't really pick. They're both great little guns for their purpose. If I were buying a new one right now, I'd probably go with the Walther PPS M2 LE package. I've seen some great prices lately.

[Bountyhunter]

Originally Posted by spin40

June 1, 2015, Guns & Ammo's Single Stack Shootout video was released on YouTube that might provide some answers to your question.

Guns & Ammo had conducted an extensive test, pitting 10 popular single stack 9mm pistols against each other in a shootout. Testers fired more than 8,000 rounds of 9mm through the 10 pistols, documenting all failures and malfunctions.

HINT: The Walther PPS came out on top of the other two survivors.

Guns and Ammo is a paid shill .....

Might as well go to gun blast.....he even rated the first Remington 51 as a grear gun the dufuess

[Lic0rice]

Fired both prior to buying my PPS Classic....no regrets. Not saying anything negative about the Shield. My decision was based on how the gun fit my hand, plus I love the paddle mag release!

Have you fired both pistols?

[Thunderbirdsport302]

After shooting the Shield, I couldn't wait to fill out the 4473 for the PPS (Classic). Like it so much I bought another in 9mm.

The Shield just did not work at all for me. That trigger.....what a joke.

[extremist]

The M&P Shield 2.0 trigger is MUCH improved if you haven't tried it.

[surrealone]

Let's see, 3.2" barrel in the PPS Classic versus the 3.1" barrel in the Shield ... while the PPS Classic with the 6-round magazines (which I prefer) has only a 4.4" height (concealing more easily on me) than the 4.6" height Shield.

The Shield, however, weighs ~2oz less than the PPS ... and is 0.2" less in OAL than the PPS, but neither is human-noticeable to me in terms of comfort or concealability, as it's usually the height from the bottom of the magazine to the top of the slide that poses printing problems on small-framed people like me.

Then there's the Shield M&P9's craptastic, floppy, multi-part trigger (OEM ~6.5lb pull weight) and button magazine release ... compared with the PPS Classic's so-so trigger (OEM ~6.1lb pull weight) and lever magazine release. My small hands can't reach most button mag releases without shifting my hand around the pistol's grip (translation: I cannot easily work all controls with one hand while keeping most pistols with button mag releases securely in my hand) ... and the Shield is no exception. By comparison, the PPS Classic's inherently-ambidextrous lever mag release allows me easy/rapid single-handed mag changes without having to relax/reduce my grip on the pistol.

Last but not least, considering that the PPS Classics was in production in 2007 while the M&P Shield wasn't released until 2012, it's clear who the innovator was in this comparison.

My take on which wins? PPS Classic - hands down - and here's why:

• Shorter height
• Longer barrel
• Lighter, better-feeling trigger
• Inherently ambidextrous (no adjustment required) lever mag release
• Been around more than a decade, unlike the Shield (i.e. when I was buying my first single stack 9mm, the Shield was nowhere to be seen)
• Adjustable concealability/capacity based on 6/7/8 round magazine choice (for those who want to tailor concealability/capacity tradeoffs)

The only things I see going for the Shield are:

• Button mag release - if you like that on your EDC gun (I hate it)
• Manual safety - if you like that on your EDC gun (I loathe it)
• ~2oz lighter than the PPC Classic (probably immaterial to most people)

Years ago, a Shield was a lot cheaper than (i.e. ~60% the price of) a PPS Classic; I would have listed this as a plus for the Shield if it was still true today, but that just isn't the case, anymore.

Surreal

P.S. I've owned both in 9mm -- purchasing my first PPS in 2010 and my first Shield in 2012. Since actions speak louder than words, I currently own two PPS Classics and 0 Shields (i.e. I sold the Shield after deciding it definitely wasn't for me) ... which hopefully gives you a non-verbal indication of how strongly I feel about which is the better pistol for my needs.