S&W M&P Shield EZ9
The best gun on the market for new shooters or shooters with dexterity issues is the S&W M&P Shield EZ9 or simply the “EZ9”.
As the name implies, this gun is the easiest gun on the market to operate, and comes in two models; the Base Model and the “Performance Series” model.
Base Model
- It is chambered in 9mm, the most popular caliber in the world.
- The slide is the easiest to rack, with the slide spring being only about 1.5 pounds of resistance.
- Because the slide is the easiest to rack, it can also be racked with one hand.
- The backstrap contains a squeezable safety, the gun can only be fired if the shooter completely grips the gun. If the shooter does not completely wrap their shooting hand around the grip and squeeze the grip, the gun cannot fire.
- The slide takedown is the easiest on the market, whereby the shooter merely has to move the slide takedown downward 90 degrees, and the slide slips right off the frame.
- The magazine capacity is 8 rounds, perfectly adequate for new shooters to allow comfortable concealed carry.
- There is a tactile round indicator on the top of the breach, to inform the shooter if there is a live round in the chamber or of the chamber is empty.
- The magazine release is reversible, to make the slide release ambidextrous.
- The gun’s width is narrow, making it comfortable to carry all day.
This base model EZ9 has two options:
- An ambidextrous thumb safety. But in my opinion, the optional ambidextrous thumb safety is overkill. The gun already contains the aforementioned backstrap safety. Therefore, in a defensive situation in which the user may need to draw, aim and fire quickly, the need to turn off the optional thumb safety may hinder quickly drawing, aiming and firing.
- An under gun, rail mounting Crimson Trace red laser.
- Truglo Tritium Night Sight
Then we get into optional models, aka the “Performance Series”
Performance Series Model
- A ported barrel is standard on all Performance Series models. A ported barrel is a barrel with holes drilled into the top of side, near the muzzle. These models direct exhaust gasses through these holes, thereby reducing recoil.
- A flat, competition trigger, compared to a curved trigger of the base model.
- Optic sights, with both the front and rear sighting being green optics.
The Performance Series models has two available options:
- Color accents. The color choices are black, silver or gold. The barrel, trigger, breach and backstrap are the parts affected by the color accents.
- The aforementioned ambidextrous thumb safety.
This gun is available for purchase on this site. Click here for more information or to purchase.
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