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A few weeks ago, I went into a local gun store to get a case of Blazer Brass 124 gr 9mm. It was in the $.30 a round range, so I thought I’d pick some up.
As I walked past the gun cases, I noticed one of the new S&W Equalizers. I told myself that if I ever saw one, I’d get it.
Can’t break my promises, right? Especially the ones to myself. Of course, while I was waiting for the paperwork I also managed to find two used guns that I also picked up, but that’s a story for another day.
Read on for the details, but I’m really impressed with this pistol.
Table of Contents
The Equalizer basics
I’ll put a table with the specs at the end of the article, but they’ll also be scattered around the review.
The Equalizer is a polymer-framed, 9mm, hammer-fired, micro-compact 9mm with a grip safety. A thumb safety is an option, but this one doesn’t have that.
It comes with 10, 13, and 15 round magazines, one each.
It weighs 20.1 oz. empty.
As for loaded weight, it depends on the magazines. Weights below do have the +1 figured in.
- 10 round, 27 oz.
- 13 round, 28.8 oz.
- 15 round, 30 oz.
Length is 7″. Smith says the barrel is 3.675″; see my measurement below.
Now, here’s a weird thing. Smith calls this a micro-compact so I put that in here. I’m not completely sure I agree with that classification.
Why? For one thing, it has a 3.5″ barrel and that seems a touch long. There are some other reasons I’ll go into shortly.
Like the weight, the height is not one spec, but three.
- 4.5″ with the 10 round magazine.
- 5″ with the 13 round magazine.
- 5.4″ with the 15 round magazine.
The width is 1″, both at the slide and the grip.
The sights are pretty basic three dot, but they’re good ones. It is cut for an optic, if that’s your thing.
Finally, the trigger pull is 4 lbs, 9 oz., as measured on my Lyman trigger pull gauge. That’s an average of five pulls. They were very consistent, as well.
In fact, it can’t show up in dry numbers, but this trigger is really nice. Travel is short, but not too short. The release is consistent and clean. Reset is clear and audible.
Did I say hammer fired?
I did. While it looks like it should be a striker gun, it has an internal hammer. See below.
I know there are those who constantly preach the virtues of striker vs the perils of hammer. I don’t get it. Both work, but if they want to get all heated up, I guess it’s none of my business.
I don’t care; as long as it goes bang every time, why should I care how?
Speaking of reliability.
I’ve got over 500 rounds through this so far. Most have been Blazer Brass 124 gr FMJ. 100 rounds, give or take, has been my JHP of choice: Federal 124 gr HST.
The links above will take you to luckygunner.com, who I buy from on a regular basis. Right now, the Blazer ammo is plentiful almost everywhere. The HST’s, less so.
Oh, and if the gun looks dirty in the pictures, it is. I gave it a quick cleaning when I got it and haven’t touched it since. That is part of my review process.
While firing the second set of magazines I had a single failure to feed. Tap/rack solved it.
Other than that, it’s been reliable and I have no concerns in this area.
Accuracy.
The first picture below is five yards the very first set of magazines. That is, the first time I touched it. The top left quadrant is the Smith. Each square is 1″.
The second picture here is last week, at 10 yards.
These are all offhand, and I’m average at best. Still, for defensive purposes, it’ll do. Except maybe for that one.
I recently picked up a pistol rest, but I didn’t have a chance to use it with the Equalizer.
This “micro-compact” thing.
Like I said, it has a 3.5″ barrel, and I generally figure the micro class to have a 3″.
I’m not exactly trying to run a comparison review here, but a couple examples are useful.
Check the pictures below and compare it to my Sig P365, which is our micro-compact yardstick for today’s purposes.
The width on both is the same. The Smith is longer, which you would expect from a longer barrel.
The height is the most noticeable difference, especially when you consider they both carry 10 rounds (flush fit mag on the Smith.)
Now, look at a picture of a Glock 19 on top of the Equalizer with the 15 round magazine in it.
They’re essentially the same size. The Glock does have two more rounds, and it’s .2″ thicker in the grip. Because physics.
There’s no real standard to these size names, and honestly I’m OK with that. With this one, especially, since the three different magazines have a serious effect on how big it is.
We just have to use our heads.
The magazines.
The writing at the top of this magazine says, “Shield 9.”
Everywhere I’ve seen them for sale, they’re listed as, “M&P Shield Plus, Equalizer,” magazines. If you happen to have a Shield Plus, well, consider this a fringe benefit.
One last thing on the mags; it comes with three. Not one, not two, but three.
Now, I’m not sure where it comes from, but I want three magazines for my pistols. There are exceptions where I don’t care, but for the most part I want three.
Since I almost always carry just one spare, well, let’s just call it a quirk.
Anyway, that the Smith comes with three is something else I like about it. For myself, I’ll likely carry the 10 in the mag well, and have the 15 elsewhere on me.
Downsides.
I can think of three, and the last will solve itself over time.
First, the name. I think it’s dumb. I’m not an enormous fan of giving guns cutesy names. I mean, they have to be called something, but I normally try to avoid anything with pop culture messages that could be misconstrued.
Or, in this case, that point to a mediocre CBS show. I’m referring to the current iteration of the show, not the original with Edward Woodward. That was a great show.
The Denzel movies were good, too, but I digress.
And yes, this is all subjective. I had no problem with Shield, but Equalizer just kind of puts me off.
The second issue is a complication with the grip safety. Let me be clear; I like the grip safety. This gun has a really light, crisp trigger and the extra feature is handy.
What you have to watch is, don’t press the thing when trying to disassemble or reassemble the pistol. It raises a metal piece that will block both of those operations.
Finally, holster selection. It’s not all that great right now. I’m actually a little surprised; I would have expected Smith & Wesson to have given the manufacturers some kind of heads-up and a model to use.
I was thinking that the Hellcat, P365, and Ruger Max 9 had a bigger selection earlier.
Or it could just be that I’m mistaken and don’t really understand how this works.
Conclusion
As I said at the top, I’m really impressed by this gun. It’s more than accurate enough for my needs and I expect to get better with it as I use it more.
Now, as soon as I pick up a holster and start carrying it, I’ll have more to say.
In the meantime, they’re still not all that plentiful at local gun stores (at least in Tucson,) but online is better. Clicking the buttons below will take you to an online store where they’re in stock as I write this.
Specs (10 round magazine, where applicable)
- Caliber: 9mm
- Capacity: 10+1, 13+1, 15+1.
- Empty weight: 20.1 oz.
- Loaded weight (124 gr JHP’s): 27 oz.
- Barrel length: 3.5”
- Length: 7”
- Height: 4.5”
- Width: 1”
- Trigger pull: 4 lbs., 9 oz. (average of five pulls)
