Smith and Wesson has announced the release of two new pistols available to and designed for the carry market. These pistols look to be an update to the already popular S&W Shield line and will feature a few key updates.
Chief among these updates is the increased capacity from 7+1 or 8+1 to 10+1 or 13+1 depending on which magazine is inserted into the gun.
The release of the Shield Plus cements Smith & Wesson firmly into the high capacity micro compact market that is now dominated by SIG with their 365 lineup.
Another change you’ll notice just from the picture alone is the design of the trigger. Becoming more popular with each passing new gun release from many manufacturers is a straight(er) trigger.
The straighter a trigger is, the easier it is to pull straight back to the rear without moving the sights off target. You can notice the curve on the original Shield, below:
The Shield Plus’ trigger also looks to have a blade safety incorporated into the trigger, which is also becoming more popular.
There are two Plus models, one of them is a Performance Center model which features an optic cut, the other is a standard pistol with iron sights.
The Shield Plus will likely be in the price range of the other Shield pistols, but we aren’t exactly sure what the price point will be as of yet, or what the dimensions are on this pistol. When I find out I’ll update this announcement.
Be sure to stay tuned because we will for sure be getting our hands on one of these for our testing purposes.
Earlier today Ruger released a pistol aimed at the same market. You can find more about it, here.
