Among all the variety of Shot SHOW 2018, one cannot pass by the new pistol from Smith & Wesson. The pistol stands out not only for its appearance, but also for the ammunition that is used in it, with the full size of the weapon. The fact is that previously under the.380 Auto cartridge, the manufacturer did not produce full-size pistols in the M&P line of weapons, limiting itself to compact models, so this weapon model should close the resulting niche.
M&P 380 SHIELD pistol appearance
The first thing that catches your eye in the appearance of the weapon is the automatic safety key on the back of the handle. In modern weapons, this is a rarity, found only in those pistols based on the famous Colt M1911, and even then, this part is often removed from the design. There is an opinion that this fuse key is inconvenient to use, it is only strange that copies of the Colt M1911 are still being produced with this key, but not about personal preferences and Internet beliefs now.
The gun is produced in two versions: with and without a safety switch. Many fans of firearms criticized this weapon and its "one-sidedness" in the version of the weapon without a safety switch, the right side of the pistol is absolutely clean, only the magazine release button can be rearranged to the right side. The slide stop button and the weapon disassembly lever are located on the left side. What is the end result? If we take the version of the M&P 380 SHIELD pistol with a safety switch, then the switch is located on both sides, the magazine eject button can be rearranged, so I recall the words of Ivan Vasilyevich, who changed his profession, “What else do you want?”.
The casing of the shutter of the weapon has wavy notches on the sides in its rear part and their similarity in the front, so that the grip to pull the casing-bolt can only be "unfashionable", for the back, and not for the front.
A seat for additional devices is located under the barrel.
M&P 380 SHIELD pistol device
Despite the fact that chambered for.380 Auto it would have been more logical to use an automatic system with a free breechblock, the designers decided to take a different path and settled on a more complex one, using recoil energy with a short barrel stroke. This is explained by the fact that there are quite powerful.380 Auto cartridges on the market, the regular use of which can lead to premature failure of the weapon. In addition, such an automation system, in combination with modern materials, makes it possible to slightly lighten weapons, and even 20-30 grams of weight, many perceive as a serious argument in favor of a lighter pistol, and in advertising this fact can be indicated by limiting itself to a vague “easier”And it seems as if he had not lied.
Speaking of advertising. In the company's commercial, the ease of disassembling the pistol is separately indicated. Indeed, what could be simpler: remove the magazine, pull back the bolt cover and put it on the slide delay, turn the lever for disassembling the weapon by 90 degrees, holding the slide cover, remove it from the slide delay and pull it off the pistol frame. After all, it is really simple, which is probably why this procedure is similar for more than half of modern pistols.
The striker trigger mechanism for a modern pistol is not new, with a pre-platoon.
Characteristics of the M&P 380 SHIELD pistol
The length of the pistol is 170 millimeters with a barrel length of 93 millimeters. The weight of the pistol without cartridges is 524.5 grams. The weapon is fed from single-row magazines with a capacity of 8.380 Auto rounds.
Pros and cons of the M&P 380 SHIELD pistol
The main advantage of the new weapon is its weight, while the pistol itself is not a "pocket" one. That is, its use is not limited only to self-defense, it can be successfully used for recreational shooting, and due to not the most powerful ammunition, this pistol is also suitable for training in shooting. It turns out a kind of universal weapon for the civilian market without any obvious advantages, but at the same time coping with the tasks assigned to it.
As well as obvious advantages, the weapon does not have specific negative features, except for small details that can be called nit-picking. Judging by the quality of the previous models of the M&P pistol series, there should be no complaints here either.
Outcome
As a result, it is nevertheless necessary to note the presence of an automatic fuse key. Regardless of what views a person has on this element, there is always common sense, which usually puts everything in its place. An alternative to the automatic safety catch, in the form of a button on the back of the handle, can be the trigger button, which has become quite widespread, largely thanks to the Glock pistols. Let's try to estimate how high the probability of an accidental shot is in the first and second options. It is clear that in the first and second cases, an accidental shot is virtually impossible, since too many stars must converge in the sky for such an event, but nevertheless. If we discard the force of pulling the trigger as another factor of protection against an accidental shot, then for a shot with a button on the trigger, you only need to successfully fall on some object on the trigger and no less successfully move the pistol. In the case of the key on the back of the handle, you will have to hit the trigger, hit the key on the handle and press all this.
Of course, this is all more like paranoia and both options are safe enough. In addition, no one bothers to use the fuse, which is in one of the variants of the M&P 380 SHIELD pistol. Well, everyone knows that the safest pistol is a pistol without a cartridge in the chamber.
A noteworthy point is that the Military & Police series pistols are slowly becoming purely civilian. Even the manufacturer himself positions this weapon as a means of self-defense for daily wear, as a pistol to protect the house and a weapon for security.
