[gryphon]

I've been weighing back and forth on either an LC9 or an S&W Shield. On the face of it they both seem pretty equal although the LC9 is more rounded and could be more comfortable IWB. After logging into the site though I find better than a half dozen posts of broken pistols just on the first page. Are there some serious issues with these little guns or did I just pick a bad day to check 'em out on the site.

 

[gqucool]

S&W Shield is really the better gun vs LC9s or LC9

 

[Dreamxr]

I have an LC9s and I love it. Ive never had a single issue with it. I'd recommend going to a gun store with a range if there's one near you and shooting both weapons and see which one you like more. Sometimes what's better for everyone else may not be what's best for you. It's always a good idea to get a feel for a gun before you dish out $$$ on it that way you don't end up with a gun you don't like, even though everyone else said it was better.

 

[gryphon]

I have fired the Shield in both 40S&W and 9mm. Have not been able to try the LC9 although I was able to handle one. I'm not really asking how I would like the Ruger, just wanting to know if the issues I'm seeing on the site are common or not. How many rounds have you put through your LC9.

 

[Eshooter]

S&W Shield is really the better gun vs LC9s or LC9

I second that sentiment! My LC9s had problems from the get go. Not going into too much detail about that as I've posted some of my grief about my LC9s on other threads. My shield on the other hand has had 1000's of rds through it & the only thing that has ever happened was the recoil spring got weak & kept it from going into full battery at times. Called S&W & they sent me a free replacement in about 5 days time. The LC9s has a way better trigger & is easier to shoot than the shield; but then again my shield is chambered in .40s&w which has a little more recoil response than 9mm. I traded my LC9s for a 12gauge shotgun. The shield is on my hip as I type out this comment.

 

[Dreamxr]

I've put a few hundred rounds through it. Never had a misfire or any other problems mechanically with the gun at all (Even shooting hand loads and cheap stuff). I use it as my EDC and love it. I've seen people with issues on the forums but Ruger is known for their exceptional service so if there is a problem they will get it fixed.

 

[Razmear]

I would choose the LC9s over the LC9, look and feel is almost identical, but trigger pull is much nicer in the LC9s.
The LC9s is my daily carry piece and I've put several hundred rounds thru it at the range and never had so much as a jam.
People always post when they have a problem, not so much when everything is working fine, so I wouldn't be scared off because you read of a few issues.

 

[Dreamxr]

Also, if you go to the S&W forums you'll see people have a lot of problems with the Shield too, so it really comes down to what you think you'll like more. There's a chance of an issue with any gun, and like Razmear said, people always post when they have a problem, but not when everything is fine.

 

[Eshooter]

I put approximately 900rds through my LC9s before I got rid of it. Sent it back to Ruger after 200rds cause the external safety would engage while firing. Then the recoil rod assemblies started breaking, which Ruger sent free replacements. After the 3rd recoil rod I got a Galloway replacement, that fixed that problem. But the pistol would stove pipe both fte & ftf, more so with the 9rd mags than with the 7rd mags. It also had problems feeding Hornady CD ammo or anything above 115 gr. I know I could have sent it back to Ruger but I'm sure the Galloway recoil setup would've voided the warranty. I quizzed Ruger about why the recoil rods kept breaking & they assured me they "beefed up" the part that was breaking off. But every replacement looked the same as the previous one. I also had issues with engaging the slide stop release lever while firing.

I know I said I wasn't going into detail about my whoa's with my LC9s & here I am doing it anyway, I apologize. The recoil rods breaking & the 9rd (American made) magazines are what I've read & confirm are problematic with the LC9s. Never had a LC9 but know it has a da only trigger like the LCP which is long & gritty. If you do get a LC9s I suggest getting the pro version w/out external safety & stick to the better 7rd (Italian made) mags. These pistols are mass produced & I may have gotten an earlier run that may have been more problematic. For every bad review I've read on the LC9s there are 3-4 more reviews of praise & glory about the pistol. Like I said it has a very nice trigger & is out of the box accurate. Between the problems I've had & me wanting a shotgun, that LC9s was sacrificed. I have a SR9c & a Sig P290 so I've got 9mm covered. The SR series are another mass produced pistol with mixed reviews, I have nothing but praise & glory for my SR9c. As mentioned above try to rent one & put it through it's paces. If possible bring an assortment of different ammo in different weights.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

 

[Danno59]

I have owned both, and for me the Shield wins hands down for looks, sights, accuracy, recoil, field strip, and overall reliability over the LC9 series. I felt that the LC9 carried concealed IWB more comfortably than the Shield, but that goes out the window considering the factors that I mentioned in favor of the Shield. I own and have owned several Ruger handguns and have enjoyed them all, except the LC9 series. Interestingly, the little brother, the LCP 2nd gen, is my favorite CC gun. JMO

 

[davevabch]

Hands down the very best is the Ruger LC9S. I had the LC9 and yes that trigger was terrible for shooting, however the gun shot flawless. The LC9S has a great trigger much better than the Shield. It is very light and I read where it breaks in at around 5lbs. I also have the SR9C and find both triggers to be similar. Accuracy at short range is supurb for the LC9S. I see no reason to get the PRO series, if you do not like the safety then you do not have to use it. I train regularly (on average about twice a week) with the pistol and it has become muscle memory for me to use it. The Shield is a nice gun, but I really like the LC9S much better. I have about 10 mags for the gun, and some of those are the cheaper brand, which I never had a problem. The pistol itself is ultra reliable and seems to eat anything. I reload a lot of 9 and this gun will shoot the light loads as well and the heavy.I did place a nice night on the gun which helps both at night and the indoor range. Incidently, the newer trigger on the LC9S really seemed to lower the recoil, and of course the accuracy. The recoil on this little gun is very light.
I cannot say enough about this pistol. Ruger did a great job on this one and I also think it has a cool look to it over the Shield. Actually I love the pistol so much, I am thinking about getting a second one as a spare.

 

[maineultraclassic]

I own 2 - LC9s and they are both problem free with hundreds of rounds thru each of them.

No matter what gun it is, you are going to see issues with them if you go on the forums. No one ever posts about how good their gun is, they only post when there is an issue.

 

[jonesy814]

I have shot both. The Shield shoots a lot better than the LC9. The LC9 has a lot of muzzle flip. Someone said that you can check the S&W forum to see that there are Shield problems. While there may be a few who have had a problem, over a million shields have been sold and darn near everyone is happy with the gun.

 

[BossHog]

lots of people post about how they love their guns... I did about my lc9s... and today it's coming back to me from Ruger with a new guide rod and slide... I think on this forum most of us are diehard Ruger rooters... no one takes joy in sharing the downside... they've got to figure out the guide rod stuff.

 

[mndoggie]

I have fired the Shield in both 40S&W and 9mm. Have not been able to try the LC9 although I was able to handle one. I'm not really asking how I would like the Ruger, just wanting to know if the issues I'm seeing on the site are common or not. How many rounds have you put through your LC9.

I've had a LC9s for more than an year. I have more than 2000 rounds thru it and have never had a problem. It gets carried virtually every day now.

I have both Italian and American made mags, the cone shaped recoil assembly, and what ever version mag release mechanism came when it was built in Dec 2014. My sights have never moved and my LRHO has never failed so I thnk I've covered most of the reported issues.

I recently replaced the recoils spring assembly on my LC9s, not because it went bad but because of my round count was over 2000 rounds. That spring has got to take a beating on such a small pistol. I kept the old spring as a back up and would have no issues putting it back in and carrying the pistol.

My LC9s gets used. I'm heading to the range today and tomorrow and it will be fired both days.

Yes some have had issues, Ruger fixed them. If you look at all the posts, note, how many times the same person posted. If you were to total up the actual number of different pistols that had issues, it would be pretty small in comparison to the number Ruger has sold.

(In fact you already have posts in this thread from a person who has posted dozens of times in some of those threads about how bad they are..... but that person has never even fired a LC9s. )

I have 4 handguns that I use for CC. The LC9s has the best trigger (way better than a stock Shield) is very easy to conceal (my LCP is smaller) and with the better trigger is often more accurate at 25 ft than my SR9c.

Go to the S&W forums. There are a lot of people there who have had to send their Shields back for issues. Large number install the Apex trigger to overcome the trigger issues they have. I just had a friend send his back because S&W uses locktite on the rear sight that has to he heated with a torch to get it off. His trigger was gritty because of the striker block issue many have reported. They didn't fix it so he ended up having a local gunsmith fix the issue.

Now, I have recommended the Shield to friends and relatives and continue to do so. Some have purchased them.

It fits many people's need better than an LC9s. But when I recommend either, I let them know that neither are without issues. After all, they are mechanical devices.

In it's first year of production, Glock sold about 200K of the G42. There was a website that showed all the rolling changes (via pictures of the differences). There where at least 5 major changes that were done.

My XDs had a recall and I seem to remember that S&W had an issue too. Could be wrong on that.

Before you buy, try hard to actually use one.

 

[hexnut]

I have both the Ruger LC9s and the M&P shield. Both are great guns. My shield is the one from the performance center with the ported barrel, enhanced factory trigger and fiber optic sights and is a better gun than the LC9s. The trigger on my shield is a little better than the Ruger although the Ruger trigger is really good for a striker fired pistol. Go to a range and fire them both and see which one fits you better.

 

[Beachcomber86]

For me:
P series > any SW auto
SR series = SW M&P
Shield >>> LC9

But, the Shield fits me like a glove and I hate the way all other ccw 9s feel.

 

[adc100]

I own the Shield, LC9s, And Glock 43

Shield: best built most reliable, but bulky and heavy to carry, poor trigger.

Glock 43 Great carry, Hey its a Glock. Poor trigger

LC9s Best carry gun, hands down, great shooter, great trigger. Tends to stovepipe.

 

[jstanfield103]

I have had both. The LC9S if I bought another would get the Galloway Guide Rod up grade. The Shield was great right out of the box and a lot more comfortable to shoot. The Shield is a bulkier gun ( not much but a little bit)
My LC9S work flawlessly out of the box also but I still would up grade the recoil rod due to too many breakages reported.
All that being said I really like my Glock 43 Talo.
Good Luck on you're decision.

 

[davevabch]

As I said, my personal LC9's only had one problem after thousands of rounds and that was a loose front sight. I know felt recoil is subjective, but the LC9S is extremely mild and I have only minimal muzzle flip. I do not know what there is not to like on the trigger. My gosh, if anything it may be too light for some users. Yes, I am a Ruger fan and am not bragging about the quality of this pistol just because of it. I have a Ruger LCR9mm that had the blueing come off, and Ruger repaired that, I had several issues with my LCP;s and Ruger ended up giving me a new gun. But the LC9 and LC9S have been flawless. Want the Sheild, get it, but I would not buy it because the trigger is better, because in my opinion the LC9S trumps it. At 5lbs of pull, what do you want eggs with your beer? PS it also carry's better.
I really believe the older version created some discourse on the LC9 and that carried over to the new one. These are almost two different guns with the striker fired trigger. Light recoil, light fast trigger, and super accurate. I shoot his gun often and there is a very weird phenomenon with me and this gun. When ever I shoot it at the range, I will always place the first shot dead center in the bulls eye. The others will be darn close to the first, and consistent. A gun is a personal choice, if the Shield is a better fit for you, then you would be crazy not to get it. The same with the Ruger.