The M&P series in general are excellent firearms pretty much across the board. I own several in Pistol and Carbine/rifle form and have always been impressed with all of them. Though I don't own a Shield 45 (it serves no particular purpose for me and my systems) I do own two Shield9s among my other M&Ps; one a standard "Pro" Model (no external safety) and one a Performance Center ported model. I love them both and shoot them as well as I do full size "Duty/service" pistols. I first got into the Shields only about a year and half ago when I was on the mission to update my backup EDC which at the time was a Keltec P11. I'm usually a Glock enthusiast through and through when it comes to service/carry guns, so naturally when the G43 finally came out I ran and bought one to back up my G19/32 primary EDC. Unfortunately my love and success wiTh all things Glock ended with the 43; I just didn't shoot it very well even after months of training. It just never was a good fit for me personally, my hands, and my shooting style. When I got my hands on the Shield though, it felt great and I knew I wanted to get one on the range. After shooting a friends I immediately went out and bought my first non performance center version. I've since put about 3500 rounds through mine without a single hiccup. I mostly shoot my own 124/147 grain hand loads which are moderate power loads, but atleast 750-800 of those rounds are full house +P factory or max book handloads with JHPs and it has done great with them all. Even my 115gr powder puff loads for training my Lady and fun rapid fire plinking (115 Xtreme plated/4.2HP38) cycle the gun fine and are quite accurate. All in all the Shield just proved to be a great pistol, so about 5-6 months ago I picked up a used Performance Center ported model Shield 9 as well just to add to the proverbial Arsenal. The porting is only really noticeable with max power +P type loads, in which case it does reduce muzzle rise slightly and noticeably. With standard target fodder and even some moderate 124 XTP hand loads though it's hard to even really tell much difference shooting them back to back. One thing that I always immediately tell the difference of though is the sights and trigger on the Performance Center model which are, in a word, great. The sights are fiber optic and quick to pickup and the trigger is a good bit smoother/lighter than the standard model. Although I must admit after the first ~500 rounds or so the standard trigger pull is very nice and crisp as well IMO so I never felt the need to change it, especially serving carry duties. All in all though I highly regard the Shield line and I'm hearing the 45 is just as reliable as the 9mm and 40. The only down review I've heard about them is the 40 is hard to shoot well for most people. It's just snappy and average shooters don't hit well with them. Other than that they are all good pistols,'so the 45 will serve you very well I'm sure. I have to ask though, if your just gonna have one .45, especially not for carry why not a 1911 of some sort? I'm not a 45 carrier and have not been for some years now, so my sole purpose for the .45 cartridge is now target and the occasional outing to my weekly action Pistol classes. Because of that when I pick a 45 it doesn't have to be practical really, so I can get some "pretty" 1911s. These days they are like ARs, everyone makes them in every imaginable configurations and price range. Just curious why a 1911 variant would not be on your radar. You can get a decent range quality one for around the same price as a Shield from like RIA and similar importers.
