SMITH & WESSON’S EQUALIZER
By: Sal PalmaIn November, Smith & Wesson, a legendary Americanfirearmsmanufacturer,introducedthe EQUALIZER, a next level of its highly successful Shield EZ line of pistols.
The Shield EZ line targeted female shooters or anyone lacking the physical ability to rack a slide to chamber a round or clear the pistol. It was an instant success. The line is aimed at the concealed carry market with offerings in a variety of configurations and calibers ranging from.380 to 9mm
The EQUALIZER incorporates all the SHIELD attributes in a more muscular 9mm offering that S&W markets as a MicroCompact frame.
Far be it for me to be critical of a marketing decision, but why S&W called the EQUALIZER a Micro Compact escapes me. The picture above
shows the EQUALIZER on top of a GLOCK 19, as you can see it’s a hair longer than the Glock 19. But so be it.
Smith & Wesson has also positioned the pistol as the ideal concealed carry and that position is supported by its outstanding performance.
Buying a CCW pistol is not an intuitive process especially if you’re a new gun owner. First, the pistol must fit you, it’s nodifferentthanbuyinga pair of shoes. The frame needs to fit your hand comfortably and securely. It also needs to be safe and dependable. Will it feed and eject a round reliably, and does it go bang every time you squeeze the trigger. Lastly is it safe to use, and Smith & Wesson has gone to extremes to make the EQUALIZER safe.
Two models of the pistol were introduced, EQUALIZER: NTS (grip safety only), the subject of my review, and TS (thumb safety and grip safety). Both pistols ship with three magazine sizes 10 ,13,15 round and a Maglula UpLula® magazine speed loader.
Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights
The EQUALIZER is not a striker fired pistol, it’s unique in that S&W implemented an internal hammer; making it hammer fired. This approach allows for a 6lb reduction in the force needed to rack the slide.
The EQUALIZER fits perfectly into a GLOCK 19 holster, but holster selection is something you will need to pay attention to.
All models of the pistol use a grip safety and if you are not gripping the pistol properly it will not fire. Smith & Wesson tells you to grip the pistol firmly, so it’s imperative that you practice with the gun to perfect your grip.
Inside the waistband holsters are usually manufactured with large sweat guards, but under stress those larger sweat guards could displace your grip sufficiently lower on the pistol grip and failing to disengage the grip safety.
The EQUALIZER has the best grip texture of any CCW platform I’ve used. Shooters also have a choice of three grip lengths via the included magazines. If you want to wear it and not print, use the 10-roundmagazine. Ifyouneedaslightly longer grip, use the 13-round or 15-round magazine.
I’m a huge fan of slide serrations, not because I like performing press checks when I can visually see a round in the chamber, as manly as press checks are. I like slide serrations because it makes slide manipulations safer and easier.
Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights
Smith & Wesson gave the EQUALIZER very serious fore and aft slide serrations.
Other features worthy of mention: a slide cut for your favorite MRDS, for this review I used RITON Optics PRD 2 with excellent results and a Picatinny accessory rail.
The pistol has a very nice trigger as well, with an average pull weight of 3.75 lbs The trigger has a relatively shorttake-upandacrispbreak.Trigger reset is audible, but a bit long, which may be an operational necessity due to the internal hammer.
With a fully loaded 15-round magazine of 115 grain 9mm, the EQUALIZER comes in at 1.7 lbs. Carrying this pistol for an 8-hour day is not going to tire you out.
At the range, I experience three issues:
1. A light primer strike.
2. A click on trigger-pull but the pistol did not fire. I checked the round in the chamber, but the primer showed no impact mark.
3. After clearing the pistol and chambering a round, I experienced another click on trigger-pull, but the pistol did not fire. I checked the round in the chamber, but the primer showed no impact mark.
Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights
After my initial range session, I field stripped the pistol cleaned and lubricated all the recommended points, and during a subsequent range session, using the same ammunition, the EQUALIZER ran flawlessly.
The Smith & Wesson EQUALIZER NTS is an excellent CCW pistol. The grip safety makes it a very safe weapon to carry and handle. If it fires, it’s because the shooter intended it. The included 3 magazines provide capacity as well as the means to customize grip size. The EZ technology along with the deeply serrated slide contributes greatly to ease of handling.
And, just to show you some love, Smith & Wesson included a Maglula UpLula® to make loading your magazines easy to do.
Smith & Wesson has given the CCW community an excellent tool, but it is up to you to master it Like any other carry pistol, practice with it to develop confidence and a high level of proficiency.
Manufacturer Specifications:
• WIDTH 1.04
• LENGTH 6.75
• HEIGHT 4.5
• WEIGHT 22.9
• CALIBER 9MM
• SIZE MICRO-COMPACT
• CAPACITY 10,13,15
• ACTION INTERNAL HAMMER FIRED
• BARREL LENGTH 3.675
• GRIP POLYMER
• SIGHTS WHITE DOT
• OPTIC READY YES
• SAFETY GRIP
• COLOR/FINISH BLACK
• STATE COMPLIANCE N/A
• THREADED BARREL NO
• BARREL MATERIAL STAINLESS STEEL
• FRAME POLYMER
• LASER NO
• PERFORMANCE CENTER NO
• NUMBER OF MAGAZINES 3
• 10LB TRIGGER NO
Copyright 2023, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights