I like this offering from Smith & Wesson very much. In the next few paragraphs I’ll explain why. But first, I want to address some of the comments I’ve seen in other reviews of this pistol that I think are counter-productive. I’ve seen this pistol referred to as a “granny gun”, or a “girl gun” a number of times. Mostly, this is because it’s chambered for the .380 ACP round. Likewise, it’s often because the slide is designed to be manipulated with less effort than other automatic pistols of the same type. These criticisms are nonsense. Being derogatory about a pistol because it is somehow “feminine”, says nothing about how effective it is as a self-defense tool, and just serves to present the firearms community in a bad light. To me, being able to place rounds on target rapidly, accurately, and consistently is far more important than caliber. A pistol that facilitates rapid, accurate, and consistent shot placement is doing it’s job. The Performance Center 380 Shield EZ does it’s job very well.
The first impression I had of this pistol was asking myself why a striker fired pistol has a thumb and grip safety. I quickly discovered that the answer is that the pistol isn’t striker fired at all, but is actually an internal hammer single action. This is just one of the factors that distinguish this pistol from others in the M&P lineup. The single action design gives the pistol a crisp, consistent trigger press, while the arrangement of the safety features is based on the classic Browning design made familiar by the Colt 1911. For carry, the internal hammer eliminates the possibility of the hammer being snagged on clothing as the pistol is drawn from the holster. At an unloaded weight of just 18.5 ounces, the pistol is light weight, compact, and lends itself to concealment.
Coming from Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center, the pistol has a number of value-added enhancements. From top to bottom, the first enhanced feature is the combination fiber-optic/ tritium sights. They are very good. The combination ensures a bright sight picture in both daylight and low light environments. I found the sights easy to acquire quickly from the draw, and the tritium inserts ensure the sights will stay bright for years.
Next, the stainless steel slide is black anodized to eliminate shine and protect it from wear and corrosion. The forward portion of the slide is also skeletonized to reduce the pistol’s overall weight. As with other EZ’s, the slide is designed to decrease the effort necessary to rack a round into the chamber, while maintaining the pistol’s reliability. There are nice looking scalloped grooves machined into the front and rear of the slide to ensure a solid grip when chambering a round or locking the slide to the rear. Another nice design feature is the addition of two rounded ears at the rear of the slide that make it very easy to do a press check to ensure that a chambered round is actually hooked onto the extractor. The slide also incorporates a tactile loaded chamber indicator.
Moving downward, the barrel of the pistol is four centimeters longer than the standard 380 EZ to make space for porting at the muzzle. The porting is designed to decrease muzzle rise, allowing faster follow-up shots. As with the slide, the barrel is also black anodized stainless steel.
One of the signature improvements of the Performance Center 380 EZ over other M&P models is the trigger. The trigger is one piece, flat faced, and made of anodized aluminum. I have never liked the pinned, two piece, polymer triggers on M&P pistols. I have found them to feel wobbly and mushy. I have also found that the two piece trigger can pinch the trigger finger. The Performance Center 380 EZ’s trigger does away with all of that. It has a crisp break, and a clean reset. The flat face of the trigger allows for better contact with the trigger finger. The overall effect is a better feel of the trigger, and excellent practical accuracy.
The frame of the pistol is made of black, textured polymer. It is very solid, ensuring there is no flex from grip pressure that might pinch the magazine well. The front of the frame has a molded in rail to allow the addition of a light or laser module. The magazine release is reversible, to set it up for left handed shooters, and the thumb safety is also ambidextrous. The thumb safety can also remain engaged when the slide is locked to the rear. The grip safety is anodized aluminum, and designed to engage comfortably with the web of the hand.
The pistol accepts eight round, single column, metal magazines that seat positively into the magazine well, and consistently drop free when the magazine release is pressed. The magazines have side buttons under the high visibility follower, to allow the follower to be easily lowered during loading. Being able to lower the follower makes loading magazines a lot easier.
The Performance Center box includes the pistol, two magazines, an easily understandable and illustrated user manual, a high visibility chamber flag, and a Performance Center cleaning kit. The kit provides a cleaning rod, several eyelet and jig attachments, brushes, and cleaning patches. A chamber lock is also included to ensure safe storage.
Disassembly of the pistol is very straight forward and uncomplicated. Start by removing the magazine and locking the slide to the rear. Make a visual and tactile inspection of the chamber to ensure the pistol is clear. With the slide locked back, the take down notch in the slide automatically aligns with the take down lever on the frame. Rotate the lever downward, unlock the slide and bring it forward off the frame. Once the slide is separated, press the recoil spring forward and remove it from the slide. With the recoil spring removed, the barrel can then be lifted out of the slide as well. That’s it. Reassemble in reverse order, taking care to align the slide with the frame rails, and lining up the frame mounted ejector with the cutout for it on the rear of the slide.
On the range, this pistol is a pleasure to shoot. I tested it’s function with a variety of full metal jacket and hollow point ammunition, and there were no malfunctions. For practical accuracy testing, I fired five round, rapid fire groups at five, seven, and ten yards using a six inch diameter target. All rounds landed on target. The only hiccup was my first ten yard group. It landed high. While all rounds were on target, the group was still higher than the rest. One of the problems with reviewing a variety of different handguns is that you have to be very aware of your grip. I found that I had changed my grip slightly because of my relative unfamiliarity with the pistol. Once I corrected my grip, the second group at ten yards moved back to center.
Being chambered in .380 ACP, the pistol’s recoil was very manageable. Muzzle rise was negligible, allowing for very fast rapid fire strings. Spent cases were positively ejected, and all the cases landed in the same general area, indicating that the pistol was operating very consistently shot to shot.
Overall, Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center enhanced M&P 380 Shield EZ is a great pistol. It is light weight, compact, has excellent practical accuracy, and it’s reliable. It has very positive safety features, and is very well thought out. The pistol’s size lends itself to concealability, making it appropriate for defensive carry, as well as for the range. The Performance Center enhancements don’t price it out of the market either. At an MSRP of $564, it not only performs, It’s affordable.
Tactical & Target 