I had no idea. Apparently some who’ve used the new 380 ACP M&P Shield have found that they kick the safety “on” during firing.

Seriously? Well, Smith & Wesson recently released an advisory --

“Like any firearm, the function of the M&P 380 Shield EZ Manual Thumb Safety pistol can be influenced by the type and quality of ammunition used with the pistol.  In the case of the M&P 380 Shield EZ Manual Thumb Safety, we have found that in very rare circumstances, ammunition that produces a high level of felt recoil can cause the manual safety to move from the fire to the “safety on” position during firing.  Should this occur, you will not be able to fire the next round unless and until the manual safety is reset to the fire position.

“At Smith & Wesson, we are committed to designing and producing firearms that meet the highest quality and performance standards.  To ensure that every Smith & Wesson handgun meets our standards for reliability and performance, as of April 4, 2018, we have engineered the manual safety so that it will be less susceptible to the influence of ammunition weight, velocity and loads. Any M&P 380 Shield EZ Manual Thumb Safety pistol produced before April 4, is eligible for a no-cost upgrade . . . “

We covered the new gun in our feature The “EZ” Shield last month. I failed to make mention that the safety could get kicked on while the gun’s being fired. The same thing can happen with the Model 1911 (and variants) – if you shoot it with your thumb under the safety. What people are seeing as a problem is actually a feature of the system.

When firing, the shooter’s thumb rides the safety. When the gun goes into the holster, your thumb either goes under the safety or onto the back of the slide, thereby engaging the grip safety. This can prevent the unnecessary and embarrassing “BANG” upon reholstering the piece.

By the way, the grip safety on the S&W M&P380 Shield works. I’ll tell you how I know that shortly.

 

Riding the manual safety with the shooting hand's thumb prevents engaging the safety during firing. Works the same way with the 1911 and variants.

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As the allegation is made, it’s the “ammunition that produces a high level of felt recoil” that “causes” the problem. I found that there wasn’t lots of difference in recoil in the previous feature. I went through the remaining meager stash of 380 Auto ammo I had available and, lacking an appreciation of “recoil” from the 380, took the chronograph along to the range. I fired five rounds of each load to get an average and try to determine which of the tested loads should have the most recoil.

The more-or-less standard defense load I selected was the Federal Personal Defense 90 grain. JHP load. For a little more “kick,” I selected Doubletap Ammuntion, one load featuring the 80 grain Barnes Tac XP bullet and the other with the 95 grain “Controlled Expansion” hollowpoint. I still had a (very little) bit of Cor-Bon 90 grain JHP and finished with what should be light-kicking high speed ammo – Liberty Ammuntion’s Civil Defense 50 grain Hollowpoint.

The results are summarized in the chart below.

380 Ammo velocity, S&W M&P380 Shield: Shooting Chrony 10 ft. from muzzle.

The hardest kicking load – a function of velocity plus bullet weight – should likely have been the Cor-Bon load by a very narrow margin, followed closely by the 95 grain Doubletap round. I have no idea because, had I mixed them up in the magazine, I couldn’t tell the difference. Remarkably, the Cor-Bon and Doubletap CE loads were nearly identical in performance. Five grains of bullet weight didn’t hurt the Doubletap load’s velocity in the least. While both had considerably more horsepower than the Federal load, they were indistinguishable in the largish M&P380.

The Civil Defense is fast, very fast. The lack of bullet weight contributes to a relative lack of recoil.

 

The string of four hits inside an NRA B-8 repair center at five yards in 2.5 seconds was unhampered by accidental activation of safety features.

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No. I ride the thumb safety. However, I did induce another kind of stoppage.

I was so focused on riding the safety that my palm allowed clearance for the grip safety to be raised. I noticed it when the gun didn’t fire.

This was not a problem when I shot handling drills with the gun nor when I shot the accuracy testing. It is something that can happen – but, like the “auto-engaging thumb safety,” it’s a result of user mishandling. It’s not a fault of the design.

I still like it. It’s an easy-shooting heater. Not sure why it – and so many other guns – are issuing with sights that require the front sight dot to cover the target where you want to hit it. It seems like most new handguns are coming from the factories with sights that cause point of impact to be disastrously low – at ten yards, 25 yards and fifty yards – when you cut the bullseye with the top edge of the front sight.

Someone had to ask for it, I suppose. Like most bad ideas, it’ll likely gain in prominence.

Anyway, the M&P380 Shield EZ – unmodified – is still a contender for the “old person’s gun.”

- - Rich Grassi