Glock 36 VS S&W Shield 45 relaiblity ?

Which is more reliable based on your experience ?

  • Glock 36

    Votes: 7 38.9%
  • S&W Shield 45

    Votes: 11 61.1%

  • Total voters
    18
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tercel89

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Feb 1, 2009
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I am torn between the Glock 36 and the S&W Shield in 45acp . If you remember , the Glock 36 has problems starting out . It has always been the "red headed step child" of Glock. I want a reliable light weight thin pistol in .45acp . I will always carry my Glock 30 but still would like a lighter and thinner option for certain days. The Glock has very few parts and can be taken COMPLETEY apart easily with a pin or punch or even a paperclip. The Shield has roll pins which needs a punch , it also needs to have it's rear sight taken off to get to the trigger safety plunger.
Anyways which would you choose and why ?
 
I went with Shield because it's thinner than G36. It's also smaller in other dimensions. If I carried it IWB or in rig exclusively, I'd get G30S or P320C (XD(m) Compact is a fine pistol too, I just don't like the undercut). All single-stack .45 ACP guns are severely limited in capacity.

BTW, give a good look to XD-S too. The CW45 though... I had so much nagging, annoying trouble with the P45 that it soured me on the platform. Now that Shield exists, I don't have to deal with Kahr's idiotic magazines anymore.
 
I am torn between the Glock 36 and the S&W Shield in 45acp . If you remember , the Glock 36 has problems starting out . It has always been the "red headed step child" of Glock. I want a reliable light weight thin pistol in .45acp . I will always carry my Glock 30 but still would like a lighter and thinner option for certain days. The Glock has very few parts and can be taken COMPLETEY apart easily with a pin or punch or even a paperclip. The Shield has roll pins which needs a punch , it also needs to have it's rear sight taken off to get to the trigger safety plunger.
Anyways which would you choose and why ?

I dont recall hearing about the functionality of the 36! so guess I'm in the dark on it. But i will say the Shield trigger should have been the standard for the M&P full size and M&PC. Out of the box better than Glock too!

Id go with the shield myself.
 
I am torn between the Glock 36 and the S&W Shield in 45acp . If you remember , the Glock 36 has problems starting out . It has always been the "red headed step child" of Glock. I want a reliable light weight thin pistol in .45acp . I will always carry my Glock 30 but still would like a lighter and thinner option for certain days. The Glock has very few parts and can be taken COMPLETEY apart easily with a pin or punch or even a paperclip. The Shield has roll pins which needs a punch , it also needs to have it's rear sight taken off to get to the trigger safety plunger.
Anyways which would you choose and why ?
Just out of curiosity, why not the Glock 30S? I picked one up on a whim at a local gun show for a terrific price and am finding it's the only Glock I've owned that I actually kinda like ... (gotta get some night-sights installed, note to self)

My experience with the G-36 is that my hands simply don't fit it; the ergos of most Glocks, and especially the baby Glocks, don't work for me. Other than the slightly snappy recoil and crappy factory sights, it was okay but not worth keeping. The Shield .45 (which my employer was T&Eing) seems to have far better ergonomics with much better factory night-sights available. We've issued some Shields in 9mm, and they're great. Agree that the Shield's triggers have been typically better than the M&P full-size and compact models. If you're set on a single stack, my preference would be a Shield, solely based on the feel in the hand. Degree of difficulty as far as disassembly (the Shield is simple enough to take down) is a non-issue for me.
 
The 30S uses the same size frame as the 30 , which is what I carry now .
 
I have a Glock 36 that I bought about 7 years ago. It was the only game in town for a single stack poly framed non-1911 compact handgun at the time (I believe).

The only time my 36 will jam on me is if I limp wrist the shot. If I do that, the gun will jam a live cartridge under a halfway extracted fired round. I've seen that happen on 3" barreled 1911s that I have managed to limp wrist on occasion, as well. Other than that, it is dead nuts reliable and may be the most accurate carry gun I have.

If the S&W Shield .45 ACP would have been available when I was looking at the 36, I would have given the S&W great consideration due to the 7 round and 6 round magazines that come with the gun. Yet, the manual safety lever on the S&W would make me go back to the Glock.

If S&W makes the shield without a manual safety, I personally would choose it over the Glock. Just looking at specs, not hands on experience.

EDIT to add:

Other reasons to consider the Shield. The Glock magazine bottom/grip extension really needs to be replaced with the Pearce +0, as the Glock is a blood blistering pinky pincher without the Pearce. Also, many people feel compelled to replace the plastic Glock sights. So, there are those two probable upcharges you may consider if you get the Glock.
 
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I recently purchased the g36 based solely on my previous experience with glock pistols. The internals are the same and very simple to dismantle, polish, replace, etc. I have maybe 200 rounds through it with all my reloads from 4.5 to 5.0 bullseye pushing xtreme 230 plated rn bullets and no failures. I have upgraded to a set of trijicon night sights and alternate carrying it owb in a dm bullard holster with a 9mm pps.

Oh yeah i did undercut the trigger guard a bit as it was digging into my knuckle but took very little material off and now feels so much better. I have not experienced any finger pinching.
 
Had a Glock 36 now have a Shield .40 and prefer the Shield. ( I know you asked about Shield 45 ,but would think the 40 is pretty similar)
Never could warm up to the Glock grip, and also had a small part break in the 36 trigger assy, cheap fix but made me leery of the reliability, don't recall what the description of the part was exactly, but I wasn't impressed.
The shield shoots much softer (there again .45 vs .40) and the ergonomics feel much better(at least for me).
Never had a malfunction with the shield, did have a few with the 36.
As mentioned above, with the mag extension, the 36 frequently pinched the hand resulting in blood blisters.
Everyone is different, hopefully you can get a chance to try each before you buy.
 
I think they are both good choices and I would, if I were you, try to jump behind and put rounds down range with each and see which feels better to you. I haven't added a Shield 45 to my collection yet, but my Shield 9 has been a 100% reliable companion since day one and shoots Like a duty size pistol. My G36 has also been 100% reliable and I am typically a Glock fan/fanatic. My primary carry pistol each day is a G19 or 32 depending on season, and immediately upon its release I bought a G43 to serve Auxilary/backup duty. Well I already had the Shield 9 and I shoot it much better than the G43 so I ended up selling the Glock even though I love Glocks! I own 3 Glock 19s, 2 26s, 2 17s and one each 20,30 32, 36, just to further enstill my love of the Austrian wonders. But yet I chose the Shield 9 because I like it that much more. I run the no external safety model all stock except for a set of talon grips and some nail polish on the front site post. I don't think you could go wrong with either pistol honestly, so I would try as best you can to shoot both and then make a decision. This is especially true if you are new to .45 single stack micro pistols. They're not uncomfortable to shoot, but they are a different animal than a standard size pistol. I've shot quite a few and it's totally manageable but takes some getting used to. Because if this overall comfort with the gun in your particular hands is paramount for you to get a good grip and be able to hit with the thing. Good luck!
 
I have a Glock 36 that I bought about 7 years ago. It was the only game in town for a single stack poly framed non-1911 compact handgun at the time (I believe).
It's water under the bridge, but Kahr P45 existed back then. Mine is 2008 model. But it was a $1,000 gun with night sights.

Yet, the manual safety lever on the S&W would make me go back to the Glock.
My Shield 45 does not have the safety lever -- not even a cut in the frame to mount it.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I wouldn't own a Shield without the manual safety. For so many reasons.
 
The Shield and XDS are both smaller than the 36. Reliability is likely equal, so if scaling down is your ultimate goal. I'd look at those first.
 
I carried a Glock 36 for about 3 years, and shot it regularly for practice and in IDPA. Three times a cross pin that secures the trigger group to the frame broke during IDPA shoots, completely disabling the gun. Then the recoil spring assembly died, and I decided that I was done with the 36.

I saw that the IDPA shooters that shot the Springfield XD never experienced any failures, and I decided to dump the 36 and switch to an XD45. Since then, I have shot my xd9 and both of my XD45s a lot, and have NEVER had any failures with any of them. I've never had a desire to own a Glock of any flavor since.
 
I think the 36 is a softer shooting gun than the Shield, just fills my hand a bit better.
 
I hate to add to your dilemma but they're both fine pieces.
No complaints at all regarding my G36. Legendary Glock reliability. Never once malfunctioned, from my powder puff range reloads to hot defense ammo, FMJ or JHP.

That's why I haven't been much motivated to own a 45 Shield. If it's half as good as the 9 or 40 (which I also own) it will serve you well.
 
S&W hit it out the park with the shield series so that's what I voted for. If a thin single stack is your thing that is one of the best in town. The G36 was never accepted like the other glocks for several reasons. I carry a G30S because I like compact size handguns and it is about the same size as G19. If I wanted to carry a thin single stack 45 I would go shield hands down.
 
Just for your Shield .45 information and any short barrel .45 like the XDS or G36

I did a impromptu clearballistics FBI BARE gel test today. 6"x6"x16" with wood backstop
It was 17 degrees F, 61% humidity, Pressure 30.3%
I used my .45 Shield
Federal HST 230gr= penetrated 11 1/2" expanded .82
Federal HST 230 gr +P= penetrated 11 3/4" expanded .80
Critical duty 220 +P = passed through block. recovered in wood .51"
Underwood Extreme defense 120gr=passed through block recovered in wood
Winchester Ranger 230gr (RA45T)=penetrated 11 1/2" expanded .75-.85"
Widest petal was .85
Winchester Ranger 230gr+P (RA45TP)=penetrated 14 3/4" expanded .75-.85
I then shot 4 more rounds of Ranger 230gr+P and they went from 14 1/2" to 14 7/8"
So with my little test I will be carrying the Ranger 230+P.
Just thought you might be interested in the results.
The Federal HST expand beautifully but don't even penetrate to 12" with the shorter Shield barrel.
Here is update.
I did Speer Gold dot 230gr Standard pressure=13"penetration with .625 expansion
Corbon DPX 185gr+P=14 1/2" penetration with .75 expansion
I still like the Ranger 230+P so far with 14 1/2-14 3/4" penetration and .85 expansion at widest point.
One Corbon turned completely around 180degrees
Both expanded nicely
 
I don't have any experience with a Glock 36, but my Shield 45 feels great in the hand, is surprisingly accurate, and has never had a malfunction. That said, I honestly regret buying it. I don't find it any more comfortable to carry than my M&P40c, so it never leaves my safe.
 
I have the G- 36 and the 9mm Shield. They have both been 100% reliable. The Shield is my carry gun. The G-36 is the gun I shoot the best. I have worked the G-36 over with night sights, +0 mag extension, 3.5 connector, and all the other mods that people do to Glocks. It is my favorite gun.
You would pretty much have to shoot both guns. Two keepers. For carry I would probably go with the Shield. For fun I love my G-36.
 
The .45 Shield is my daily carry after a flawless 250 round break-in. I shot some older reloads that had years of dust and lube without trouble. The guns shoots " soft " on my 70 years hands. The mags needed a loader for me.
'
 
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