Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ .380 Auto
Model: 180023
Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ .380 Auto
Model: 180023
Full Specifications
About This Firearm
The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ is an internal-hammer .380 built for carry and home defense by anyone who finds a slide hard to work. It has an MSRP of $469. Smith & Wesson lightened the slide so it chambers the first round without hand strength and put a loading button on the magazine, so neither step fights the owner.
Two magazines come in the box, each holding eight rounds, and each has the loading button on its side. The white dot rear sight adjusts for windage and the tool for it is in the box, and a Picatinny-style rail under the dust cover takes a light or a laser. A grip safety does the safety work on this version and there is no thumb safety at all. Nothing else adjusts, and the slide has no optic cut.
If you're cross-shopping, the Ruger Security-380 is easy to rack as well, with refined slide serrations and a lighter recoil spring, holds 15 rounds at 19.7 oz and has an MSRP of $389, so it is seven rounds ahead for less money. The Walther CCP M2 uses a gas system to the same end, holds the same eight rounds at 19.4 oz with an MSRP of $499, and puts an external thumb safety where the Shield EZ has a grip safety.
Best For
Strengths & Limitations
- Slide and barrel are stainless under Armornite, a hardened nitride finish that resists corrosion and wear.
- The grip sits at an 18-degree angle, which Smith & Wesson sets for a natural point of aim.
- A tactile loaded chamber indicator can be seen and felt, so the gun’s state is known without racking it.
- Eight rounds is the ceiling, and the magazines are Shield-specific parts, not a common pattern.
- There is nowhere to mount a dot, even though the pistol is big enough to carry one well.
- A version with an ambidextrous manual thumb safety is sold separately, so anyone who wants a lever has to buy that one instead.
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Alternatives to Consider
Similar compact .380 Auto handguns ranked by similarity.
| NAME | BEST PRICE |
|---|---|
|
Browning 1911-380 .380 Auto
Browning
|
— |
|
Walther CCP M2 .380 Auto
Walther
|
— |
|
Ruger Security-380 .380 Auto
Ruger
|
— |
|
Beretta 80X Cheetah .380 Auto
Beretta
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— |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the loading button do?
It sits on the side of the magazine follower, so a thumb can hold the spring down while rounds go in instead of fighting it.
Is the magazine release reversible?
Yes, and the pistol also comes apart for cleaning without pulling the trigger.
Where is it made?
In the USA. Smith & Wesson marks both the thumb-safety and no-safety versions of this pistol that way.
