Give me the lowdown on Shield EZ-9

[otis24]

I have sold or am selling all of my concealed carry handguns and I am starting from scratch. My son got my Hi Power.

I will most likely go with a Glock G42, Kahr PM9 or something similar for pocket carry.

I was looking at the new HK CC9, Shield Plus and Glock G43X for primary carry. Due to issues with my hands/hand strength, I’m currently leaning more heavily towards the EZ-9 for primary carry. One review that I watched this morning from a year ago, the guy had multiple failures to feed right out of the box. After a couple of mags, things worked themselves out.

How reliable is the EZ-9? Any persistent concerns or problems to be aware of? Please advise.

Thank!
Otis24

 

[agksimon]

My wife has one with only a few hundred rounds of range ammo and Federal HST through it, without any problems. Very surprisingly accurate too.

 

[Denverd0n]

My wife has an EZ 380. It has a grip safety. It is the first gun she has owned. At first she was gripping the gun much too low down, and wasn't always activating the safety. When I got her to get her grip up so that the web between her thumb and forefinger was right up tight to the top of the grip, she had no more problems. Since then she has been to a couple of training classes that included hundreds of rounds of draw-and-fire and has never had an issue with the grip safety.

 

[MikeNV]

How reliable is the EZ-9? Any persistent concerns or problems to be aware of? Please advise.

Otis24

I too, have never had a problem with a 9EZ. So, I would say it's reliable. However, if interested in the EZ, I would recommend taking a look at an Equalizer. It's a very similar disign, size and weight, intermal hammer, grip safety, easy rack, but with a few improvements like higher capacity mags (up to 15 rd) and optic cut.

 

[agksimon]

I too, have never had a problem with a 9EZ. So, I would say it's reliable. However, if interested in the EZ, I would recommend taking a look at an Equalizer. It's a very similar disign, size and weight, intermal hammer, grip safety, easy rack, but with a few improvements like higher capacity mags (up to 15 rd) and optic cut.

And they use the same Kydex holster.

 

[gc70]

It took S&W three years to sort out problems with my wife's 380EZ, which she absolutely loves. Nevertheless, I liked the EZ design enough to buy a 9EZ as soon as it was introduced. While I never had a problem with the 9EZ, I traded it for an Equalizer for the reasons cited in the two previous posts.

 

[Execpro]

Can’t believe everything you see on YouTube!!!
Right out of the box should be a disassembly of the gun for inspection and a good cleaning and proper lubrication, including taking the magazines apart for inspection (have found small burrs on the follower on different guns) and a cleaning.
Out of the box should not mean right to the firing range. Just Sayn !

To answer your post. I have had my EZ-9 for 5 years without a hick-up.
I carry HST 124gr ammo. The gun is very accurate.
I sold all my handguns due to arthritis in my hands. Just couldn’t rack the slides easily anymore.
You listed some fine handguns for consideration, but be sure to try racking the slides a few times to be sure you can now and remember that the issue you are having now with your hands may only get worse.
Sorry, the second photo will not correct. It is upright in my photo album.
P.S. the shot on the second pic in the gray area was the first shot(fouling shot) after cleaning with a brass brush. I always just use a patch with cleaner so this doesn’t happen. Just sayn !

 

[otis24]

I too, have never had a problem with a 9EZ. So, I would say it's reliable. However, if interested in the EZ, I would recommend taking a look at an Equalizer. It's a very similar disign, size and weight, intermal hammer, grip safety, easy rack, but with a few improvements like higher capacity mags (up to 15 rd) and optic cut.

I will give the Equalizer a look. Really don’t plan on using an optic. The main drawback on the Equalizer for me is the lack of loading tabs on the magazines.

 

[agksimon]

I will give the Equalizer a look. Really don’t plan on using an optic. The main drawback on the Equalizer for me is the lack of loading tabs on the magazines.

I have a friend who just purchased an Equalizer and didn't plan on installing an optic. After trying mine, he changed his mind. Also, my wife has an EZ9 and we still use an Uplula to load it. Just habit I guess.

 

[Beju]

A Walther PDP F-Series may also be worth considering. It's easier to rack than the regular PDP, and the magazine is a bit easier to load than the Shield Plus/Equalizer 15 round mags.

 

[MikeNV]

I will give the Equalizer a look. Really don’t plan on using an optic. The main drawback on the Equalizer for me is the lack of loading tabs on the magazines.

When I bought my Equalizer (SKU 13592) it came with 3 mags (10, 13, & 15 rd) and a Maglula. I think most of the Equalizer SKU's still come with a Maglula but you can check on the S&W website. The Maglula is easier to use than the tabs on the 9EZ mags.

It looks like the Equalizers also qualify for the free optic S&W is offering thru April 30 - it's a Viridian RXF15 Green Dot. I got one with a Carry Comp purchase - it seems pretty decent. I had already put an optic on the CC by the time I got the Viridian, so I'm looking for another gun to put it on (as if I need another gun).

 

[otis24]

After watching some video reviews, I will most likely go with the Equalizer.

 

[rwsmith]

No problems with mine at all...

It has worked with everything I've put through it. Like any carry gun, you may want to make sure that it's fed what it likes. I use standard ammo. The manual says you can use +P and I don't think you will be shooting a carry gun to the point where the 'extra wear' from using +P could make much difference. Of course if you want practice with it an hour two or three times a week with carry ammo, go for it.


PS: Most of my practice is done with medium to warm handloads or standard fmjs.

 

[MDillon]

I traded my 380 Bodyguard for a 9 EZ because arthritis. I did have a problem with pushing the slide stop button on the 9 EZ because of a crooked thumb. Problem solved by having a machine shop in Kentucky tig weld an extension to the rear of the gun so my thumb knuckle would catch it. Works great. Also have a 380 EZ. Only 1 round out of about 1000 didn't feed on the 9. Both easy to use.

 

[KBONE59]

I have sold or am selling all of my concealed carry handguns and I am starting from scratch. My son got my Hi Power.

I will most likely go with a Glock G42, Kahr PM9 or something similar for pocket carry.

I was looking at the new HK CC9, Shield Plus and Glock G43X for primary carry. Due to issues with my hands/hand strength, I’m currently leaning more heavily towards the EZ-9 for primary carry. One review that I watched this morning from a year ago, the guy had multiple failures to feed right out of the box. After a couple of mags, things worked themselves out.

How reliable is the EZ-9? Any persistent concerns or problems to be aware of? Please advise.

Thank!
Otis24

I have run several thousand rounds thru my 9 EZ without a single hiccup, the gentleman who had problems should have sent it back to S&W right away when it failed on him!