Smith & Wesson announced the company is now making and selling M&P Shield pistols with ported barrels and slides. Both the 9mm and .40 S&W versions of the Shield will be available with the porting.

Porting can help reduce muzzle rise during recoil. Considering that the guns have relatively mild recoil and rise for their size, the porting may make these into very soft shooters. However, porting can direct a large amount of the flash upward, which might increase interference with the shooter’s vision in low light situations. Many self defense situations occur in reduced lighting.

These pistols are produced by the Smith & Wesson Performance Center. The guns will be equipped with HiViz fiber optic sights. The guns will have the external manual safety.