Smith & Wesson PC Shield X Carry Comp 9mm 3.6" 15rd Blue Titanium Pistol

Blue Titanium is the reason to look twice at this one, a cool gray blue that reads closer to gunmetal than to a bright color. Underneath the finish it is a Performance Center gun. The PowerPort vents gas out the top of the barrel and slide as the bullet clears, which drops muzzle rise and keeps the dot or the front sight closer to where it started. On a compact 9mm that difference shows up on the second shot rather than the first.

The Shield X frame is longer in the grip than the gun it grew out of, so magazine capacity moved up to 13 and 15 rounds, and both magazines come in the box. The 3.6 inch ported barrel keeps the overall package short for carry. Slide serrations are cut front and rear, the magazine catch reverses for southpaws, and the optic cut accepts RMSc and RMS-K pattern red dots without an adapter plate. A thumb safety is standard on this model, and there is enough rail up front to hang a compact light. The striker fired 9mm action is standard M&P underneath, so the manual of arms carries straight over from any other Shield a shooter has run.