A few days ago I ordered a brand new M&P40 Shield 1.0 Performance Center online for the excellent price of only $359.99! Yesterday it arrived at my LGS and I picked it up in the afternoon. At first glance, the M&P40 Shield 1.0 PC was obviously "new old stock" judging by it's very appearance both on the surface of the box and within. The box had some tell-tale signs that it had just been sitting somewhere collecting dust for awhile, (not sure how long) and the pistol itself was bone dry, it's preservative apparently having long since dried out. However, the tritium inserts on the sights are still nice and bright.
Being a Performance Center model, it has a ported barrel/slide as well as tritium night sights, both of which should come in handy since I do intend to carry this pistol in the future. Typically I'm not fond of porting, but my opinions of porting are largely based on hearsay, as I have never owned nor shot a firearm with a ported barrel pistol. However, for the price I paid, I don't care, if I end up shooting it and disliking the porting, then I can always buy a replacement barrel sans porting dow the line, but I think it might actually come in handy on such a lightweight .40cal pistol, and based on what I've seen, when fired at night the flash from the porting appears impressive/potentially intimidating, yet not at all blinding.
My only problem now is that all of my range ammo is CCI Blazer Brass, which has a warning printed on the box against shooting it out of ported barrels. I tried to buy a box of ammo at my LGS when I picked it up, but all they had in stock was Armscor ammo priced at $36 a box, so I had to pass. I didn't check, but I doubt that cheap Armscor ammo is any safer out of a ported barrel than CCI Blazer, and at $36 for a box of 50 rounds, forget it. It's a Performance Center model anyway, so odds are it's 100% reliable right out of the box, and I don't plan on carrying it right away anyhow because it's so cold that I can still easily carry my SW40VE without issue, which holds twice the ammo in the magazine.
Needless to say, I am most pleased with my purchase. I have been seeking a new lightweight subcompact carry gun for hot Summer days as well as concerns over the possibility that my state of residence may adopt restrictions on magazine capacity in the future, and this M&P40 Shield PC fits the bill quite nicely.
Being a Performance Center model, it has a ported barrel/slide as well as tritium night sights, both of which should come in handy since I do intend to carry this pistol in the future. Typically I'm not fond of porting, but my opinions of porting are largely based on hearsay, as I have never owned nor shot a firearm with a ported barrel pistol. However, for the price I paid, I don't care, if I end up shooting it and disliking the porting, then I can always buy a replacement barrel sans porting dow the line, but I think it might actually come in handy on such a lightweight .40cal pistol, and based on what I've seen, when fired at night the flash from the porting appears impressive/potentially intimidating, yet not at all blinding.
My only problem now is that all of my range ammo is CCI Blazer Brass, which has a warning printed on the box against shooting it out of ported barrels. I tried to buy a box of ammo at my LGS when I picked it up, but all they had in stock was Armscor ammo priced at $36 a box, so I had to pass. I didn't check, but I doubt that cheap Armscor ammo is any safer out of a ported barrel than CCI Blazer, and at $36 for a box of 50 rounds, forget it. It's a Performance Center model anyway, so odds are it's 100% reliable right out of the box, and I don't plan on carrying it right away anyhow because it's so cold that I can still easily carry my SW40VE without issue, which holds twice the ammo in the magazine.
Needless to say, I am most pleased with my purchase. I have been seeking a new lightweight subcompact carry gun for hot Summer days as well as concerns over the possibility that my state of residence may adopt restrictions on magazine capacity in the future, and this M&P40 Shield PC fits the bill quite nicely.
I definitely want to pick one up in forty ess and doublya one day.