I was WRONG about the S&W Equalizer. 

My girlfriend absolutely hated the shield, p365, glocks offerings, Rugers offerings but loved the Equalizer when we tried it out. I say whatever gets more guns in people’s hands and on the range/protecting themselves is a good thing!!

You wouldn't recommend it because you are a sasquatch and don't have hand strength issues. There absolutely is a place for it if you do have strength or grip issues.

For me, it's about safety, not hand strength. I'm a novice shooter and wanted the max safety options. The Equalizer (and EZ) and among the few options on the market that offer both a grip and a thumb safety. I know experts and experienced shooters think that's unnecessary (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it won't go bang if I don't pull the trigger). But, I'm not an expert and feel more comfortable as a new shooter having two safeties for daily CC. Maybe, in a few years, I'll gain the confidence to go down to one safety but I can't imagine having a gun without a thumb safety. So, thank you S&W for giving folks new to shooting greater peace of mind.

Mag Shack, It's a little place where you can load some ammo. It's the Mag Shack Mag Shack baby.

Those guns were developed with arthritics and the elderly in mind. They bring a decent 9mm package gun at a fairly competitive price point. I wouldn’t recommend one for myself or any other young men and women, but for folks like my mom, who aren’t strong enough to operate say, a Glock 43X, it’s a great option, without sacrificing ballistic performance and going to .380. Regardless of my opinion, I enjoyed the video, and the channel as a whole.

Thanks for posting. Haven’t tried the EZ, own an Equalizer. It’s a great piece, almost like a budget baby 1911 with the grip and manual safety. Of course the size/feel’s totally different from the 1911. Equalizer shot great out of the box and I used iron sights only. Accuracy is very good. Would use the Equalizer as an EDC.

The only reason I actually cared about this gun and the EZ is I personally have witnessed the need for them. My mom had a shield for a long time, and after some years she found she could no longer manipulate the gun in any meaningful way. So I took her to try the 9mm EZ, which was a great resolution. She was again able to load the mags, rack the slide, and shoot the gun with no issues. It's a very specific market, but a very sizeable market.

I cc everyday. I am a general contractor. When you are out and about and working and moving dynamically for work in awkward places and situations, I can tell you that a quarter of an inch difference in grip length makes a significant difference. I carry a hellcat almost every day. During the summer I often have to carry with the flush mag just because when I am actually doing stuff any mag extension will print to a level that isn’t acceptable to me. And I’m not a small guy. 6’1” 230 lbs. In the fall/winter/spring I can get away with the 15 round mag all day no problem. Not saying the equalizer is a good gun, but I like guns that have short grips with the ability to add length if you need it. It allows you to use one gun for all situations and to get better with that specific platform.

You compared it to the wrong gun again. You should have compared it to the Hi-Point 10mm! :)

Rmsc optics mount. It has a gap because of red dot not the gun

As others have said, the Equalizer is for a very niche market. My wife wants a safety, optic cut and has trouble racking most striker fired pistols. I'm excited for this since it's basically a double-stacked original EZ.

I carry the Shield Plus, I have the performance center version and the PC upgrades are literally why I like the Plus over the EZ, I carried the EZ before I got the plus and I will be buying an Equalizer. I realize you all seem to not get the market for these but they're excellent guns for women, beginner shooters, elderly, etc. Even with my plus I still love the EZ and I know I'll love the Equalizer too. Some of us don't like Glocks, or Sig's and yes I tried many of them. I have recommended the EZ many times and everytime they come back with an emphatic "I love this gun" one guy bought one for his wife and then went and bought one for himself.

No thigh gaps allowed on the slide between the optic and the rear sight. I want a tighter fit than a college volleyball girls booty shorts.

Imagine getting bent out of shape because someone carries the shorter mag..... BTW it's says very clearly it's cut for the shield red dot.

You got it wrong again. The Equalizer is a great gun to shoot no matter what your grip strength is.

The equalizer is definitely an improvement over the EZ but the best thing is that the increase in round count while making the pistol itself more friendly towards anyone with issues of manipulation of the firearm. We put a slew of pistols in my wife’s hands from various shops and between the feel, being able to manipulate the mag release, rack the slide and have a smooth and even trigger pull the EZ at the time was the best for her. I wish the equalizer was already in existence when we purchased her first pistol.

I have, the 9 EZ, and love it! Its Light Weight, conceals well, double safety. But, the new Equalizer has all the extras I want too. Extra mags, capacity, an optics cut, and the same great features as before, but should weigh heavier due to extra bullets (con)! I even like the 2 step safety system! Because I have grand kids running around here occasionaly, and even though I always secure my guns, there is Always a chance one child may grab my pistol, one day, some where?!?... And Its a little extra safety for their sakes. I have NO hand strength issues, but an EZ racking pistol is nice to have! I'm all for options an upgrades.

As a mom, this was my choice because of a few reasons. Decent price was nice. Ease of racking was great, as well as the double stacked mag. Biggest thing for me was the double safety. I have toddlers crawling on me all day long. I needed to make sure it was ok even if a baby put a knee into it.

After purchasing the Equalizer. (Its still my New EDC gun! Love it!) The optics cut is an RMS-C cut.

Shield 9EZ = grandma's gun Equalizer = grandpa's gun M&P M2.0 = dad's gun M&P 5.7 = your gun

Jon, an idea for a series. You could review Glock clones, and tell us which ones are actually able to run real Glock parts on them, and which parts actually run on a real Glock. Like, does a Dagger slide work on a Glock 23 to make it a working 9mm? Will a Glock 47 slide fit on a poly 80 frame? Drop a gucci slide on a Wolf frame. Shenanigans like that.

Reddots make a world of difference

I love the EZ models for a brand new shooters. The .380 fits smaller hands better than the 9mm EZ, yes there is a small difference in reach between them. It completely eliminates some of the difficulties of pistol manipulations.

The Equalizer is made for a specific demographic; those who have trouble racking the slide with a heavier spring. I have a friend who had a stroke and his ability to rack the slide makes it frustrating for him to use a firearm, but he likes the ease of the EZ and the Equalizer.

I have yet to find a striker-fired gun with a good trigger pull. Tolerable, yes. Good, no . To me, "good" is the d/a trigger pull of a tuned S&W K-frame. "Superior" is the s/a pull of the same gun.

The red dot the holosun 507K is the one to fit perfectly. However the screws that comes with the 507k won't work. I will take the equalizer any time. The right size screws are 6/32. You can pay about $10 for 8 or if you are not "fuzzy" go to a hardware store and get the screws for about 20 cents a piece for silver ones instead of black ones.

“It’s the Magshack, baby. Magshack where we can get together!”😂😂

Hey. I appreciate your willingness to give it another try. I have found that I have usually liked guns better the second time around if I didn't like the originally. Case in point my OG Shield. I took it to a second range trip and I had learned it and began to love it.

I like your style of reviewing. You really lread through the comments. I support this channel 100%

I like the equalizer over the Sheild because of the rail, the optics cut and mag capacity was the only thing holding this fire arm back in my opinion. Now it has more then the Sheild other then the trigger.

Took my daughter to the range (her first time to ever shoot period) she’s 5’2” and around 115 lbs at 24 yrs old. She liked my wife’s 380 ez performance center but loved my shield plus 9mm. Not direct correlation with this video but thought I’d share the similar reference anyway.

I have both of these pistols. They are the exact same pistol. The only difference is the Equalizer has double stack magazines. All of holsters that I have fit both pistols perfectly.

Love our EquLizer. I eneded up carrying this because my wife has grip issues. I wanted us both to be in the fight if she has to use ours. Great channel. I've been watching since you started great content.

Good comparison vid. I have a friend that has the EZ that was contemplating upgrading to the Equalizer. I’ll let her know if she does, to get an optic on it.

now the EZ 380 VS Security 380 vs 80X

I think both of the video you all did on the Equalizer Is fine. the Equalizer is pretty much a mash up of the Ez styling , and the shield plus. You get the back safety, internal hammer, and softer spring from the Ez. You also get the extended/ double stack capacity , and the mos ability from the shield plus. Frankly.. the gun is designed for those who can't really use the manual of arms for the standered 9mm carry options , things like ease of use, easy slide, simple controls. So the Ez or the Equalizer might not feel the best in some people's opinions , that's why there's plenty other options. Its just a mash between the 2 pistols imo

I just got two 15 round mags for my shield plus from Magshack. Pretty satisfied!

A 9mm easy rack will always be better than a 380 easy rack and very few 380's have 15 round magazines like the Equalizer so why go to a 380? Just a question.

When the man bun is go big it looks like you ran out bags when you walk your dog.😂😂

I heard, via Brownells, that the Equalizer has a RMSc optics mount.

This was a much more fair comparison. Is the Equalizer 9mm the ultimate tactical high-speed assault pistol for Navy Seals? No. Is it better than the EZ? Yes. Does it have bullshit features like internal hammers and grip safeties? No. Yes, it has those features, but they are intentional (obviously, you know, Jon). If you need the lighter springs, you don't have better options than the Equalizer 9mm. So, Equalizer 9mm is best in class, compared to like weapons, maybe? Maybe. I'm biased. I bought one. I needed the features it has because I need the springs it has. I'm 40. I'm not a grandma, but I do have system inflammatory arthritis that severely limits my dexterity on any given day. I have had this disease since my 20s. It will not be cured in my lifetime. I am not alone. You've likely been bombarded with drug ads for "lower back pain" and heard "Ankylosing Spondylitis" on TV or RU-vid ads. This disease affects thousands of Americans who may wish to defend themselves and prefer 9mm and 15 rounds VS 380 or 22lr. Thank you for showing it off. I hope to share some videos of mine soon, now that AZ is cooling down. I think this is the new "pistol brace" of handguns that I was seeking for at GunCon 2023 industry panel: a specific product focused on a specific problem in the largest growing minority group in the world, which anyone can join at any time: disabled people. And obviously, if you're very able, get a Shield Plus or whatever. God bless you.

3:14 so comparing the equalizer to the shield plus that gun isn’t as glaring good as the plus. Thank you as you answered my question before I even got to ask it. Which gun is better for CCW the equalizer or the Plus? Ok, then I’ll get the M&P Shield Plus then! Thank you.

I have a Equalizes and a M&P9 M2.0 full size I called Smith & Wesson and asked which red dot would they recommend and was told several choices and i chose the Sig Saur Romeo zero , and was todl it would work on both of my guns . It is a good product and not 400 + on cost so i have it on the M&P9 currently and may get another on for the equalizer. Have a good one

I love the mag shack! First place to have the 15 round equalizer magazines in stock for my shield plus.

Angry Egg? I need to learn more about this car.

I like the trigger on the ez and equalizer smoother than a stock striker fired trigger.

I give you guys credit for listening to the comments 👍 BTW I agree 100% about S&W not saying what optics are compatible. My beef - why do some manufacturers make it so difficult to find the dimensions of their guns? Most often it's the width which isn't listed. I'm considering buying your damn product, just list all the relevant information in the specs!!

all the m&p slide catches suck if you try to drop the slide with them, that's why a lot of m&p people will go over the top.

I don't care which gun it is I just don't like a grip safety.

I just bought my equalizer today! I felt safer and way more in control of it than the other 9mm I shot. ❤

The cut is rms or rmsc. I just bought one for my wife and dropped an optic on it with tight fit. Gun is accurate to 50 or so yards but still doesn't beat my xmd elite.

In my opinion the Equalizer has a grip safety defect, older people that aren’t overweight have little flesh between thumb and trigger finger and may not engage the grip safety.

Didn't S&W originally chamber the 380 EZ in 380acp? Or was I in an alternate universe? Mandela Effect.............. anyone? I just went and looked in my gun safe, yep 380EZ by Smith and Wesson. Two 8 round magazines that have the thumb hold down for easy loading. I would do a search for all the pertinent videos on RU-vid, great place to find some guntuber information. A year later they came out with the 9mm version. At 14:47 a foot may have been inserted into a mouth. Lol

I would like to see the new RIA 5.0 and Dan Wesson WSX Seeing a lot of nice things said about both.

OPTIC CUT was made for Crimson Trace … they fit perfectly. I don’t think they’re as good a red dot as the one you have on yours though.

"Slightly Stendo" Patton Pending.

Some influencers received Equalizer from S&W with EPS Carry already mounted on it without any plates.

Hopefully a few helpful shooting tips, as I have had similar issues, especially having large hands on smaller pistols. . . (Certainly not trying to start a riot in the comments) Shots left (right handed): Too much trigger finger Shots low left (right handed): Squeezing fingertips (only move trigger finger on pull)

Since you mentioned .380, the Beretta 80X might be a good pistol to talk about. Maybe compare it to these? Or maybe some other .380 pistols?

Optic is a K cut, and I swapped for this from my springfield xds chambered in 45, recoil on the 9 is much nicer and it fits nice in my hands, no complaints here

Love the Equalizer> S&W kinda messed up by describing it and marketing it as a gun for elderly and women. The big bad male gun owners think it is beneath them to shoot one. That's a big customer base. I guarantee it will do the job it is supposed to as good as any other gun out there. EZ slide or not.

How about the new Canik compact METE SF...and the MC9 micro? Two great options for carrying and affordable.

I see some online claims it has a Shield RMS footprint, but it must be the Kocked up version (no rear posts & shortened fronts) if the EPS Carry mounted directly. My guess is that they left some extra space at the rear just in case someone decided to mount a Leupold DPP (another modded RMS footprint).

I digg your beard bud, its getting out ther. My wife thinks your the lead singer of that old band "Saliva" lol. Click..Click BOOM!! 😉

It’s weird, when I was a kid, I cut the tendon in my pinky finger on my right hand and I’ve never depended on my pinky to shoot and I honestly can’t really tell the difference between the short mag and the long mag. Everybody always talks about it, but honestly, I don’t even notice a difference. I know that comment was completely irrelevant, but I figure it won’t hurt your algorithm😅

You know, I own the EZ in 9mm, and it shoots fine/great, I was thinking on the Equalizer for my family. I guess what it comes down to is that the dude really want’s a striker fired gun.

why are you shooting so fast if your missing?

I agree the extension does not make much of a difference in concealability, however I prefer the solidity of a flush mag in most cases. That little bit of wiggle on the extension makes the gun feel kind of flimsy.

Just to add a note, I have a glock 22 40 cal. With a 9mm changeable barrel. And I also have arthritis I'm 63 years old. My ccw will be the Equalizer. These guns are for self-defense carry and not out for competition shooting. So a little bit of a sloppy trigger isn't really going to matter. I mean. God forbid you have to shoot someone. You're gonna have time to get off another round if need be on the hesitation of them being shot. Practice with the gun you buy. If you can't hit the target. Get a shotgun or a full automatic. Zombie Apocalypse could happen at any time. I'm just saying. Stay safe all.

HOLOSUN 507K FOOTPRINT "PERFECT FIT" !!!

I got the 15 round the 10 round and 13 round is very uncomfortable for my right hands because I can’t get enough grip so I got all 15 round mags

Good video.. Haven't seen Genevieve for a while ?

John, I love your content. I generally agree that you cover content that we *actually* care about. BUT, if I had one complaint, it would be that your judgement tends to be a bit hasty. In your defense, though, I think that your tastes govern your feedback sometimes, and that’s totally understandable. And BIG kudos for being receptive to feedback!!! Please keep it up, man…. Just don’t be the Stephen A. Smith of guns 🤣🤣🤣

What range are you using? I am down the road in Delaware and I am a NRA and USCCA Instructor if you ever need an extra hand with something.

So looking on S&W’s site for the equalizer. They don’t say what the optics cut pattern is, just that its a new pattern that allows users to mount whatever they want

Question. If the purpose of the ez is for people who don't have hand strength, then would they even be able to shoot the gun? Idk. I have one but I don't really like it. Works well but too many safety's

I say, slow down, get to know the gun some, once that is accomplished, speed up. What I notice is rapid bangs, no corrections being made, missed targets, gun gets a bad review. Just from my perspective. I don't have one of these two so no dog in this fight.

Wzup John. I haven't shot the Equalizer I bought my wife for Christmas yet. I will be this week . She currently owns the .380ez which will be passed down to my daughter. I wanted my wife to not only have the higher round count but to also be able to hit the range with me and my 9mm's. My wife and daughter both have a weaker grip strength (working on that with training) and the "EZ" models allow them to work all the functions as well as load the mags easily. The only negative I really have for either is the slide release. Even my big hands and strong thumbs have a difficult time releasing the slide (slingshotting the slide slows my reload time). It's similar to a Glock slide release which is why I use extended slide releases on all my Glocks/Glock clones. But that's a different video lol. I'll let you know what I think after putting a coup[le boxes down range.

As time does its thing on my body, i went from carrying a factory stock Colt Gov in .45ACP to a Colt Commander .45ACP in my youth to a S&W Shield in 9MM in my 50s because the recoil of the .45 has slowed my shooting vs accuracy . I know that the next step will be to get the EZ, the shield in 9MM is getting a bit hard to pull the slide. Just wait, you might get lucky and it will never be needed (EZ slide)

Is there any trigger u would recommend for the equalizer?

Just got an Equalizer to replace my Shield because of increasing arthritis in my hands. Pearce grips does make a pinky ramp for the 10 round mag..

Why were the triggers on the Walther PPX / Creed, pre-cocked internal hammer, so good and the S&Ws relatively bad?

Staccato C2 vs. Staccato CS. It's hard to beat the C2, but the new hotness is the new hotness.

It would appear the Equalizer is suppose to be a double stack version of the EZ, but it's a fair comparison to the S&W Shield Plus.

The person responsible for "The Equalizer" will be buried with the creator of "The GripZone"

Just gonna comment on the gap... I love shadow system because they cut the slide for multiple patterns and then include shims to help every sit perfectly with zero gap

I have no idea what strange rule you're attempting to avoid with RU-vid but your clearly attempting to.

I just picked up the m&p shield plus. For some reason I shoot the plus more accurate than my Glock 43x. I have gone as far as changing the trigger and trigger connector on the Glock. My only issue is the rough textured grip on the S&W. IWB Cary feels like sand paper on the skin. My wife thought it was a rash 😂

To take the word of anyone, without trying it for yourself is insane...

i like the shield plus better than the Equalizer. owned both sold the equalizer got the newer m&p 2.0 but i love the m&p series ive owned 5 different m&ps side note i have open heart surgery before buying the Equalizer and shield plus

A few things... These pistols are not going to appeal to you guys, of course, but you are not the target audience for them. Apparently, Smith & Wesson sells a bunch of 'em. It looked to me like they were both flat-shooting for a light 9mm pistol (as has been my experience).The front slide serrations being minimal on the EZ is not a big deal, I can rack the slide on my wife's 9 EZ with my index finger on the front sight. My wife loves her 9 EZ so much that she had a one-of-a-kind Cerakote job done on it. She carries it every day and is surgical with it. The only modification she wanted was the rear sight blacked out. The pistol is very slim and just disappears IWB. The grip safety is a nice feature for women. Since they have to take their pants down to pee, women tend to carry in a belly-band and those don't have a hard shell protecting the trigger... so... when holstering/re-holstering you can place your thumb on the back of the slide and the grip safety is not depressed. When carrying, if anything should push into the belly-band and contact the trigger, same thing, the grip safety is not depressed so the pistol cannot fire. Being that the grip safety is long and hinged at the bottom, if you have even a half-assed grip on the gun it's depressed. I love this feature for my wife. I asked her if she wanted to upgrade to the Equalizer and we checked one out at Bud's Guns, she turned it down. She feels that 9 rounds in the gun and a spare 8-rounder is sufficient for her use.

Get your mad gerbil on.

In before people who shoot 50 rounds a month give their opinion. All the while fan boying over pistols they don’t actually own.

The ez is the better gun. Thats what she said the 1/4 of an inch makes a difference! I may try and shoot the equalizer more

Jon, Optics Trade has a great list on optic mount patterns. The EPS Carry uses the same mounting pattern as the Shield RMS sight ( same for the Swampfox Sentinel, Sig RomeoZero, JPoint, and Delta Point Pro ). But just because they use the same spacing between mount screws and recoil pins, the exterior dimensions can be different. Most RMS mount sights stick around the 1.6" length, but the DPP is 1.8" long. You have a gap between the slide and optic probably because the slide was cut long enough to mount a DPP. And also, I will say again, It's inexcusable that a hammer-fired trigger should be that bad. I didn't like the original EZ trigger, either.

Anyone who qualifies the Equalizer as an old person's or woman's gun is totally mischaracterizing the firearm. While much of its appeal is to those who may not possess the hand strength required for other 9 mm pistols, the Equalizer's design is such that it appeals to a far more general community of shooters without sacrificing power or accuracy. It's stupid to say anything otherwise. I love the way some people conclude that if a firearm is easier to use it is somehow deficient.

The only thing I don't like with the equalizer vs the ez is the loss of the ez magazine's load assist thingy. If you're working with someone who has limited grip strength as the product intends, they're likely to have trouble loading the magazines as well.

Is the .380 a great in idea theory? Yes. Problem is, while its in a way, a “toned down” 9mm, they also go and make the guns smaller and lighter, making the recoil between the two calibers borderline comparable

I do not think you guys need to share whether or not you would buy the Equalizer (or the EZ for that matter) since you have good hand strength etc. The point is the Equalizer improved the EZ by increased round count. I bought a spare 15 round mag and use this as my home protection gun. I shoot it with reasonable accuracy and I can use it both weak hand and strong hand or both. You are not 73 years old and you don’t have arthritis and/or carpal tunnel issues. I just sadly sold my Glock 19 Gen 5. I shoot my Beretta 92x RDO better than any gun I have ever owned but I am not convinced I could effectively reload or clear a malfunction in a life and death self defense situation. So all your little jokes aside you did get it wrong by not understanding the true reason Smith & Wesson developed the EZ and Equalizer.

I just picked up a Ruger security 380, review?