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I was over in the Pasadena area today and stopped off at Carter's Country to poke around. They had the Unicorn (M&P Shield) 9mm in stock for $499. Considering it is one place I can actually find it the price didn't seem too bad. What seems to be the going price these days for a 9mm Shield? As soon as I held the pistol, I fell in love with the size and how it fits my hand. The only downside seems to be the thumb safety, which I can learn to deal with. I'm considering replacing my Kahr CM9 with one assuming I can find it.

As a side note, despite my previous criticism of Carter's customer service in another location, this location's service was excellent.

If you didn't buy it, I'd say it's long gone by now.

I carry a CM9 right now. How did it feel in comparison?

The thumb safety is not like any other thumb safety. It takes literally quit a bit of effort to engage it. I would say it would never accidently be engaged.

It appears the MSRP is $449.00. Slightly up when they first entered the market.

MadMonkey, the Shield is a little more substantial and the grip has a little more purchase on the bottom than the CM9. The triggers felt similar with perhaps a slight edge to the Shield though I'd have to mess with it more to really get a good feel. The action felt smoother on the Shield and that was comparing a new Shield with a CM9 that has about 250 rounds through it.

I thought the slide stop on the Shield worked better than on the Kahr.

Carlson is right though, that thumb safety is stout. I admit I didn't realize it actually had one it is rather small. I asked the salesman if I could pull the trigger and he agreed. I squeezed it and was surprised to feel it not break until I realized it had a safety on it. The safety seems similar to the Ruger LC9's.

I am not sure how well the Shield would pocket carry for me. The CM9 disappears quite well in the pocket but I wonder if it is too little gun.

It seems $499 is a little over MSRP but still reasonable and more importantly, available.

SQLGeek wrote:I am not sure how well the Shield would pocket carry for me. The CM9 disappears quite well in the pocket but I wonder if it is too little gun.

They are both 9mm, so what does "too little gun" mean? I have a PM9, which is just a CM9 with leather seats and a moonroof, and it shoots just fine, is very reliable, and disappears into a pocket, although I usually carry it in the Mitch Rosen OWB holster I bought from Kahr.com. Even carried OWB you pretty much forget it's there. It's light, small, and flat.

The Shield is a nice little gun, but unless you REALLY want one and you don't like your CM9, I'd save my money for something else.......like an XDs maybe....

I really like my Shield. I am a large man with large pockets, but the Shield is too large in my opinion for pocket carry.

The thumb safety on the Shield, like the Ruger LC9, really isn't meant to be used. It's more like a "cosmetic" feature. Many customers won't buy pistols that lack safeties (like Glocks), so the unobtrusive thumb safety makes people feel comfortable.

I've shot every "Pocket 9" out there except the Beretta Nano (which deserves to never be touched for reasons of sheer ugliness). I think the Shield in 9mm is the best-shooting (and most-accurate) pocket 9 on the market.

P.S. - If you find one at $499, that's an excellent bargain right now.

carlson1 wrote:I am a large man with large pockets.....

Yes you are.....

I laugh only because you've got about 7" or 8" on me in height. My midsection is an embarrassment.

OldCannon wrote:I've shot every "Pocket 9" out there except the Beretta Nano (which deserves to never be touched for reasons of sheer ugliness).....

THANK you!!! It needed to be said.

I rented a Shield in 9mm at a range a couple of months ago since I was considering buying one. It got me . . . hook, line and sinker. Lovely shooting pistol, fit and handled well and would make for a great warm weather carry piece. Unfortunately for me, it remains a unicorn since I have yet to see one in the wild. I've seen the $449 price quoted here and there, always with the "out of stock" note. I would pay $499, but probably not much more.

To the OP:

I see this ad quite often(I have no affiliation with this company):

http://houston.backpage.com/SportsEquip ... m/15722721" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A little bit of a road trip from Richmond, but everything in the Houston metro area is a road trip.

I paid $449 for my wife's Shield. They are hard to find so when I happened upon one, I snatched it up. We have put about 800 rounds through it and it shoots really well. I am not too keen on the thumb safety either, but I have gotten used to it. For my personal taste, it is too big for pocket carry. It can be done, but I don't like the weight in my pocket. The only gun that I personally find comfortable for pocket carry is my LCR, but my wife carries her Shield in her purse, which already seemed to be about 40 pounds, so what's a few more ounces? A few of the guys in my shooting group have managed to acquire Shields and I have yet to meet anyone who did not like it.

I bought my daughter one at Carter's this past Sunday. Went to the "gun show" at the GRB first and the cheapest I could find it there was $599.00. Yes That was $599. One dealer wanted $699. So, I figured $50 over list was not too bad. Plus is was a birthday present.
It is a nice little shooting gun when you can find 9mm ammo.

I got my Shield for $417, but I think that's pretty rare. The day I bought it, someone I shoot with told me a friend of theirs had just paid over $600 for one a few weeks prior at a different store. I'd probably have bought at $499, since I was actually looking for one.

The thumb safety is small and pretty stiff; you have to be trying to move it either direction. It's not hard to disengage with your thumb, though.

The first time I saw one in real life was at the NRA exhibit a few weeks ago. It does feel really nice. $500 isn't that bad considering I've only seen them online. If you factor shipping & ffl fees, what you've found is pretty reasonable. How it's still there if you decide to get it.