By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor
A few year ago Smith & Wesson introduced the Military & Police Shield EZ M2.0 handgun chambered in .380 ACP, .30 Super Carry, and 9mm Luger.
The EZ Rack was designed to be easily racked and handled. And now there is a new entry, call it a natural evolution, called the Equalizer.
The EZ Rack pistol has good safety features including a grip safety and in my favored version a manual safety. The sights are good and the single action trigger is crisp.
This isn’t the usual striker fired pistol it is a hammer fired handgun with a concealed hammer. The slide is stainless steel with a black coating and the frame is polymer. The pistol is a single column magazine design. I don’t find this a drawback for concealed carry, however, it is fashionable to choose a handgun with greater magazine capacity. If high capacity is accomplished without increasing the bulk and grip circumference of the pistol this is clearly a tactical advantage.
It should come as no surprise Smith & Wesson has introduced a higher capacity version of the EZ Rack.
The Equalizer as the new pistol is called features well designed forward cocking serrations and a slightly shorter grip than the EZ Rack. The new magazine design takes up the space that was formerly the grip. The pistol is supplied with three magazines in 10, 13 and 15 round capacity (though this can’t be the case in some states where magazine capacity is limited to 10 cartridges).
These magazines are well designed and robust in construction. Rapid reloads are not difficult. The tapered magazines are easily slapped into the magazine well. The high capacity magazines do not result in a larger grip frame. This is among the wonders of modern polymer. With the 10-round magazine in place the pistol is actually shorter than the original EZ Rack, making it ideal for concealed carry.
The Equalizer builds on the original EZ’s good features. There are few handguns this size that handle as well as the Equalizer. This Smith & Wesson 9mm features three dot pattern combat sights. While it is optics ready I did not mount a red dot.
The safety lever on my pistol is ambidextrous and positive in operation.
This is an easy handgun to conceal. The pistol is just slightly over an inch wide at its widest point. The piece weighs only 23 ounces. Despite the compact size the barrel at 3.675 inches long offers good performance with modern 9mm Luger loads. When carried close to the body, the black Armornite finish should prove corrosion and wear resistant.
An advantage of the Equalizer is that the pistol may be loaded with the safety engaged as the safety does not lock the slide. The grip safety prevents the pistol from firing unless the safety is fully depressed.
As I loaded the magazines I noticed that the magazine springs are stiff. That is a good thing as the magazine must feed a long column of cartridges from full compression to almost no compression. A supplied UP Lula loader gave me an edge when loading these magazines and made a tremendous difference in ease of loading. Still, they were definitely stiff. I was able to load the ten round magazine by hand and usually loaded only 14 cartridges in the 15-round magazine.
I have found the original EZ Rack pistol reliable in all three calibers and the Equalizer isn’t significantly different. I tested the pistol with a wide range of bullet weights but just a few of each. The lightest was some old 92-grain Fiocchi and the heaviest were 150-grainers from Federal. All functioned well.
Most of the targets were cut with Black Hills Ammunition 115-grain FMJ, an affordable and clean burning load.
The Equalizer never failed to feed, chamber, fire or eject with the 10- and 13-round magazines, but I experienced a couple of short cycles with the 15-round magazine. Maybe a break in thing? It was always the next to the last cartridge.
The Equalizer is fast on target and the trigger while not target grade offers a clean reset. Like many Smith & Wesson handguns, the Equalizer pistol is designed with a good grip angle providing a natural point.
The pistol proved as capable as most handguns in this size and weight class. Recoil is greater than the Glock 19 or SIG P320 size pistols as expected, about in the Shield Plus 9mm range. It isn’t unpleasant at all and I certainly don’t wish to carry a caliber lighter than the 9mm. Don’t be in the position of being armed with a deadly weapon but unable to well defend yourself!
At common defensive engagement distances the Equalizer is fast and effective. I was surprised at how well I was able to connect at longer distance. I first intended to fire the pistol for accuracy at 15 yards in deference to its size but had the range set up for a 25-yard test with a larger pistol. Using the MTM Caseguard K Zone shooting rest I fired two five shot groups, one with the Black Hills Ammunition 115 grain EXP and the other with the same maker’s 124 grain JHP. Each cut a five shot group of less than 2.5 inch, 2.25 inch with the 124 grain load. This gun is a shooter!
I think the Equalizer will prove a popular handgun and a good defensive pistol.
KU 13592
Model S&W® EQUALIZER™ NTS
Caliber 9mm Luger
Capacity 10+1, 13+1, 15+1
Length 6.75
Front Sight White Dot
Rear Sight White 2-Dot
Action Internal Hammer Fired
Grip Polymer
Barrel Material Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish
Slide Material Stainless Steel with Armornite® Finish
Frame Finish Matte Black
Barrel Length 3.675″ (9.3 cm)
Weight 22.9 oz.
Average retail less than $500 in my neck of the woods.
