S&W’s New Performance Center Ported M&P SHIELDs Inside American Handgunner
July/August 2016 Issue
(ArmsVault.com) – In “S&W’s New Performance Center Ported M&P SHIELDs,” John Connor starts his article with a question: “How popular are the M&P SHIELD pistols?” He answers it by citing a Smith & Wesson press release that the company has just shipped their one millionth SHIELD. Connor gushes: “not ‘planned,’ not ‘ordered,’ not ‘in production,’ but one million shipped!” And to think the SHIELD has only been available for about three-and-a-half years.
Connors does not find the SHIELD’s popularity surprising. He had tested it for the May 2013 issue of GUNS Magazine and called it “The Goldilocks Gun” — because it was “not too small and not too large but just right.” Today’s SHIELDs offer many upgrades. There are visible changes like the HIVIZ “LitePipe” fiber-optic sights but according to Connors, the best enhancements are what’s inside. For example, the trigger with Performance Center parts that produces an improved trigger pull and a faster reset.
In “The P225-A1: Timeless SIG Look Updates A Classic Model,” Massad Ayoob writes the 225-A1 retains the look of the original P225 but with additional features like an enhanced reset trigger. Members of a team that tested the pistol found it fits their hands very well and is fun to shoot. Mass himself took it to the range to compete in Bill Wilson’s “5X5 Drill.” Although he didn’t go from “expert” to “master” in under 20 seconds, he was still happy with the outcome considering it was his first time to use the gun.
In this issue’s “Close Look,” Aimee Grant looks at nine new knives that caught her attention. Read about the new slicer-dicers in “On The Edge: New Cutters For 2016.”
Other highlights from this issue of American Handgunner include “Ruger’s 10-Shot GP100 .22LR” and the “Remington Rider Pistol.” A “Close Look” gives you pointers on keeping your firearm in tip-top shape with six gun-care products.
The gun giveaway for American Handgunner July/August 2016 is the NAA-22MSC-HG. The .22 Magnum mini-revolver comes with a Small Workhorse Saber Grind from Battle Horse Knives, an IDPA steel target, custom-molded earplugs from Decibullz and a Flitz gun/knife care kit.
The American Handgunner July/August 2016 issue has three online-only articles. Online readers can learn more about the Carolina Arms Group 1911, the MAC-11 .380 ACP submachinegun and how to save money by crafting your own cast bullets. Readers can sign-up for advance notice when the latest digital version is available for online viewing at www.americanhandgunner.com/digital-version.