#PerformanceCenter

Hot on the heels of the steel framed M&P9 M2.0 and the new M&P 5.7, Smith & Wesson have announced the new Performance Center M&P 10mm M2.0. The new pistol has a ported 5.6-inch barrel, a slide cut ready for optics and ships with two 15-round magazines. MSRP on the new Smith & Wesson 10mm is $749.00.

Smith & Wesson has released a new Performance Center addition to their METAL Series of M&P pistols, the M&P9 M2.0 Competitor. As the name suggests, it is marketed for competition shooting. The pistol features a metal frame, fiber optic sights, and an optic cut.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves reviews the Smith & Wesson Model 327 and explains why he thinks it is the best carry revolver today. Yes, it’s expensive, but this high tech .357 Magnum wheelgun is so unique and well thought out that it’s well worth the cost of admission. Lightweight, with an S&W Performance Center tuned trigger and action, the ability to accept moonclips – OH YEAH – and it holds EIGHT ROUNDS of .357 Magnum or .38 Special +P.

Back in December of 2019, I was brought out to the Smith & Wesson facility in Springfield, for the unveiling of what I would consider being one of the most important handgun releases within the last year – the Smith and Wesson M&P 9 Shield EZ. Designed to be easy to load, operate, and shoot, the Sheild EZ has fast become a favorite pistol for many. Naturally, this led to the pistol being given the Performance Center treatment with upgraded features and a snazzy new look. Smith & Wesson was able to send me out a copy for review and here I’ll give you my thoughts on what went well and what didn’t go so well (for me at least) with the Performance Center upgrades.

Initially geared towards shooters with grip strength limitations, the M&P EZ series of pistols from Smith & Wesson have actually enjoyed broad popularity across the concealed carry community. Today, S&W launched the Performance Center M&P9 Shield EZ that sports a bit more flair than its 9mm predecessors. Accented with gold or silver triggers and grip safeties as well as slide lightening cuts, shooters also get high-vis night sights, ported barrel and a tuned action. Pricing is set at just under $600. Additional details can be found below.

Another week has gone by with most of us in self-quarantine or others being deemed “essential” to continue punching the clock at our jobs like this is a form of the “Hunger Games.” While I joke with that statement, one thing I continually find myself doing in this odd predicament not only our country, but the entire world is combating with the Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19), is all of the hunting excursions I am going to go on in the future! With that optimism, it is great timing that we take a look at a very high-end hunting revolver with the Smith & Wesson Performance Center Model 629 Stealth Hunter .44 Magnum! That name is quite the mouthful, but this revolver has always caught my eye when going to firearm trade shows or visiting the Smith & Wesson website. It is dark, mysterious, sleek, and cool! But most of that could be for not if it cannot perform as a great companion while hunting. So, let’s dive in and see how it stacks up!

The Performance Center version of the Smith & Wesson Shield 380 EZ seems like a weird idea, right? Take a pistol your mom would probably like, then add a bunch of competition bling to it, and this is the result. In this episode of TFBTV, Hop shoots the Shield 380 EZ Performance Center and tries to figure out who should buy one (other than John Wick‘s mom, obviously).

In 2005, Smith and Wesson came out with a hot rod revolver with an unfluted 8-shot cylinder, the 327sc “Jerry Miculek” edition.  (Honestly, I think competition had a lot more to do with the development of the 327 series than SWAT or FBI wanting a gun for use close in to ballistic shields, despite what marketing about the TRR8 claimed). Building off the good reception of the eight shot .357 magnum platform, the next off the line was the Performance Center 327sc with 2″ and 5″ barrels.  Around mid-2007, they released a pair of their most recognizable .357’s with eight shot cylinders, the 327 TRR8 and R8.

Smith & Wesson has announced a pretty dressed-up version of one of their most popular models by producing the Performance Center M&P 380 Shield EZ M2.0. There are 3 NEW versions of the M&P 380 Shield EZ M2.0 with Gold, Silver, and Black coated barrels. When many shooters upgrade or “pimp out” some of their favorite pistols some of the first things they do are change the barrel, trigger, and/or sights. Well, Smith & Wesson has beat the consumer to the proverbial punch by making the Performance Center M&P 380 Shield EZ M2.0 completely upgraded and finished right out of the box.

Smith & Wesson have added an upgraded version of their Model 442 revolver to their Performance Center line. The new Performance Center 442 double action only revolver has a two-tone finish with a polished cylinder, screws and trigger. The new revolver, designed with concealed carry in mind, comes with Crimson Trace LG-105 Lasergrips. It is chambered for  .38 S&W Special +P and has a five round cylinder.

Smith & Wesson has upped the ante on their SW22 Victory pistols with some Performance Center loving. They now offer four new models of the Performance Center SW22 Victory pistol: two different barrel options with or without a Vortex Viper red dot.

The Smith & Wesson Performance Center turns out some great shooting revolvers. I’ve had the chance to shoot a few Performance Center guns, and I’ve been impressed by them. Smith & Wesson recently announced the Performance Center is now turning out two new guns: the 686 and 686 Plus.

Smith & Wesson has a lot of popular firearms in their inventory, but there are some that definitely pay the bills more than others. That short-hand list likely includes the Sport II 5.56 NATO, Shield 9mm/.40 S&W, and the Performance Center C.O.R.E. 9mm. Keeping that in mind, even if Smith & Wesson has some golden geese on their hands someone is bound to complain its the wrong shade of gold. Something more flat dark earth colored would obviously be better, right? Well, Smith & Wesson listened to consumers and added in some new variations of their bread ‘n butter models.

So I am always enthused to hear about new guns coming to market, after all, more guns on the market means more variety and more things for me to shoot. I like excuses to go shoot. In a rather long press release, the Performance Center released their plans for 2017, among them was the new Performance Center Shield .45 that we leaked a while back. What we didn’t know was coming was the slide kits.

Looks like Julie Golob let the cat out of the bag in regards to a few new Smiths coming to market. The new guns look pretty promising, it will be interesting to see some more detailed specs on them.