Recently, Federal introduced a new self-defense pistol chambering, the 30 Super Carry. Some may wonder why we need another cartridge, especially when we cannot obtain older cartridges in the quantity and price we need. As a partial answer, the 30 Super Carry is intended to up the ante in power, energy, velocity, and penetration over the 380 ACP. On the other hand, it is intended to perform as closely to the 9mm as possible, with lighter recoil and more rounds in the magazine. We wanted to see if the 30 SC is a neat trick that we could recommend to Gun Tests readers, or is the new round just tricky marketing.

Of course, the 380 ACP and 9mm Luger are well established as self-defense rounds. Compared head to head, the 9mm Luger offers considerable improvement in terminal ballistics over the 380 ACP and is our most widely distributed defense caliber. As such, it is the cartridge for the 30 SC to beat based on performance. On the other hand, for some, recoil is a real concern. So is gun handling and racking the slide efficiently, two aspects where the 9mm Kurz, aka the 9mm Short or 380 ACP, excels. So for those shooters, would the 30 Super Carry offer a viable alternative? To get some data on both comparisons, we looked at the 380 ACP, 9mm Luger, and 30 Super Carry in three nearly-identical Smith & Wesson Shield EZ Rack pistols. We say nearly identical because the markings and weights varied only slightly between the handguns. For all practical purposes, the handguns themselves were identical. We fired them head to head at the range, comparing accuracy and recoil control. We also fired the three calibers in ballistic testing. The difference in sights, handling, and the triggers were minimal. The primary differences were in recoil and bullet performance in water jugs to assess effectiveness on physical targets. Here’s what we found:

Gun Tests Grade: A-

$400

Recoil is a concern for some shooters, so this Smith & Wesson Shield EZ is a 380 ACP pistol large enough to be a joy to fire. Racking the slide is also a concern for some. Smith & Wesson designed this pistol to be easy to operate and load. Because trigger control can be a chore with striker-fired double-action-only handguns, Smith & Wesson designed the Shield 380 EZ as a single-action type. While the single action makes sense, there are drawbacks to be addressed as well. This pistol features an internal hammer. As such, when the slide is racked, the hammer is cocked. To make the pistol safe to carry, the Shield features a positive firing-pin block and also a grip safety that blocks the trigger. This grip safety is very easy to use. Simply grasp the pistol as you draw, and as you line up the target, completely depress the grip safety. The result is a nice single-action trigger press in a natural motion. Smith & Wesson offers also offers a version with a manual safety (No. 11663), but we chose one without the safety lever because we wanted to see how the pistol sans lever work, but also because the type with a manual safety was subject to a safety recall a couple of years ago. So, we cannot comment on function of the No. 11663 model with a manual safety lever, but be certain to listen when a company makes a safety recall. Some prefer a manual safety, some do not. Smith & Wesson offers each.

Let’s address how Smith & Wesson handled the issue of racking a slide with less effort than is usually needed. After all, no matter how easy to fire and use, a pistol at some point must be loaded and unloaded. The Shield EZ requires about 9 pounds of effort to rack the slide, which is light by any standard. As an example, a Walther PPK on hand demanded 12.5 pounds of effort to rack. Most 9mm pistols require about 16 pounds of effort to rack.

With the leverage and balance in length between the slide and handle, this pistol is quite easy to handle well. S&W went to a lighter recoil spring and a lighter hammer spring. This is possible because the pistol is chambered in 380 ACP. There isn’t a lot of pressure required to contain the energy of the 380 ACP, which typically pushes 95-grain bullets at 950 fps. The recoil spring may be lighter, and the hammer spring may be light as well because the slide doesn’t need much energy to cock the hammer. A 9mm could not be this light and easy to manipulate. The Smith & Wesson EZ pistol solves a lot of problems for shooters. We found the Smith & Wesson Shield 380 EZ to be a remarkably easy handgun to manipulate and use. There is more to it than that, however, because the pistol also features magazines that are easily loaded. The pistol is supplied with two magazines. A special extension on the follower of the all-steel magazine gives the shooter plenty of leverage to push down the magazine spring.

If we were picking a handgun for an accomplished shooter, we might choose another handgun, but the Smith & Wesson 380 Shield EZ is appealing to the shooter who needs a little help. Many people will have difficulty shooting and handling a full-size 9mm because the recoil spring must be rated to handle the heaviest loads. The recoil spring is compressed as the slide is racked in recoil. A weak spring may invite short cycles. So, the 380 ACP seems ideal for the person who has difficulty racking a slide. Just the same, we wanted to be certain that the Smith & Wesson Shield 380 EZ is reliable with all loads, so we used one of the heaviest 380 Auto loads we know of, the Federal 99-grain HST. It worked just fine in the Smith & Wesson. The round did not function well in a Walther PPK. When firing the Shield with the heavy HST load, recoil was little different than with standard loads, which is something of a feat to accomplish. Some gun-shop salesmen cannot seem to understand that everyone isn’t the same. A shooter needs a handgun that will suit his or her physical needs. The pistol should be tailor made for them, and they should not have to step up and handle a handgun that is too difficult for them to manipulate. Otherwise, they might not be armed at all, and be unprotected.

Smith & Wesson did not have to design this piece from scratch. The Smith & Wesson Military & Police Shield 380 EZ is based on the Smith & Wesson Military & Police 22-caliber pistol. The barrel and other key parts differ, but the outside dimensions are very similar. However, there are certain additions, including what Smith & Wesson calls the 2.0 improvements. The cocking serrations are well done and make racking the slide easier. The pistol features both forward and rear cocking serrations. The frame is nicely textured for fit and feel and gets high ratings on both adhesion and abrasion. The treatment doesn’t abrade the hand, but it provides good purchase. The frame is slanted at the backstrap at an 18-degree angle. This provides a good fit for almost any hand size. The human engineering of the pistol is excellent. When grasping the pistol to fire, our shooters expended no noticeable effort to close the grip safety and keep it closed. Yet as soon as we relaxed the grip, the pistol-grip safety returned to the Safe position. This is a good design.

The all-steel magazines feature an extension of the follower that is manipulated to move the follower to the bottom of the magazine and load the magazine. While all pistol magazines are more difficult to load toward the last of the cartridge stack, the Shield 380 ACP magazines were never difficult to load, our shooters said. When addressing the trigger, you will note that it doesn’t have the familiar trigger-safety lever inset into the trigger face as in Glock and Smith & Wesson Military & Police Shield fashion. The Shield EZ features a solid trigger for single-action fire. The Shield 380 does not need the trigger lever, thanks to the grip safety. When first measured at the beginning of the test and straight from the box, the trigger broke at 5.0 pounds and felt clean. Take up was modest and the reset crisp. After firing more than 300 cartridges during the course, the trigger grooved in a bit lighter, as many single-action triggers will do, and it stayed at 4.75 pounds.

The pistol is similar in many ways to the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless. No, this isn’t a stretch of the imagination. The Colt 1903 features a single-action trigger with grip safety and a true slide-lock safety, the last of which the Smith & Wesson doesn’t have, but each handgun features a hidden hammer. Both are well sized for the cartridge they fire, and each is very easy to fire well. Interestingly, John Moses Browning tried to convince FN that his 1910 Browning pocket pistol did not need the manual safety, only a grip safety. The Colt was chambered in 32 ACP, however, and the later 1908 model chambered the 380 ACP. Smith & Wesson’s Shield 380 EZ is more accurate, and even though it is chambered for the 380 ACP and weighs less than the Colt 32 ACP, the EZ was more comfortable to fire. Also, the Smith & Wesson sights are much better, and the pistol was slightly more accurate. As a side topic, this was very interesting to our shooters, who were surprised at how good the old Colt really was. But the Smith & Wesson Shield has every modern advantage over the Colt 1903 or 1908 in price, accuracy, and handling.

Loading the pistol for combat testing, we first used the Federal American Eagle 95-grain FMJs. The magazine was very easy to load, just as it was designed to be. We fired 100 rounds in each pistol at 5, 7, 10, and 15 yards. The raters added ammunition on their own time and dime as well because the pistol was so interesting. Hence, we had a higher-than-normal round count. Because there were only two magazines, we took turns loading and never had any difficulty or stubbed a finger. We really like the grip angle, the sights, and the trigger. A small handgun sometimes needs good sights more so than a full-size handgun because a shorter sight radius works against accuracy. We thought the Shield’s sights work well for both combat and precise shooting.

During the test, we racked the slide with only two fingers from time to time. The pistol works as designed. This pistol features a rail for a combat light, making it useful for home defense. We fired the pistol with four loads intended for personal defense. Results were good with these loads from Black Hills, Hornady, Remington, and Federal. Bullet weights from 60 to 102 grains functioned well and accuracy was excellent at a long 25 yards.

Our Team Said: We like the Smith & Wesson Shield 380. We are generally not comfortable with the power level and terminal ballistics of the 380 ACP; however, loads like the Black Hills Ammunition HoneyBadger and the Federal HST make the cartridge much more attractive than the previous choice of ball ammunition or a JHP that underpenetrates. The pistol is a joy to fire and use. It is more than accurate enough for personal defense. In fact, while we are not concerned with field and trail use, one of the raters noted it is accurate enough for small game as well, and the centerfire cartridge is far more reliable than rimfire ammunition, making the Shield a better choice for personal defense than any 22 LR rimfire pistol. In the accompanying specifications module, you’ll notice the grade there is an A-, which is a slight markdown for the round’s power, not the gun.

380 ACP/9mm Luger/30 Super Carry Performance Data

Value Guide: 380 ACP Semi-Auto Pistols

Value Guide: 9mm Luger Handgun Rankings