If, like many Americans over these past eighteen months, you’ve been looking into buying (another) pistol, you’ve likely seen information about Smith & Wesson’s M&P Shield Plus micro-compact pistols. They’ve been incredibly popular.

That popularity is for many reasons, including the higher capacity magazines in these pistols (which is a defining aspect driving the current micro-compact craze) and the near-universal love of the trigger on this firearm (some have compared the trigger to pistols costing three times as much).

One factor that has disappointed some would-be Shield Plus buyers, though, has been the lack of optics (such as red dot sites) on the standard 3.1″ Shield Plus. Optics were only available pre-installed on the larger 4.0″ Performance Center models.

But, now, that has changed. A writer going by the name of Nic L writes,

The M&P Shield Plus 3.1″ Optics Ready pistol comes pre-cut for optics using the Shield RMSc footprint, including the Crimson Trace CTS-1550. It uses a 3.1″ barrel to send a total of 14 rounds of 9mm downrange, with extended magazines. Flush-fit magazines hold a total of 10 rounds. The Shield Plus can come with or without a thumb safety. The optics-ready model comes standard with an orange ring tritium front night sight. The flat-faced trigger is meant to give shooters a more consistent pull. This, mixed with the precision of a red dot, should show an increase in effective shot placement.

Those are the basics of what you need to know, but, of course, you won’t know if this is the pistol for you until you can put your hands on one and get a feel for that grip in your hands along with that trigger under your finger.

One thing to note about the Shield Plus is that it does have a larger, more elongated grip when compared against other micro-compacts like Sig Sauer’s P365, but the Shield Plus’s grip is more rounded than other micro-compact pistol grips (I’m thinking of Springfield Armory’s Hellcat). So, that grip is going to be a personal choice.

With all that said, though, if you’re in the market for a micro-compact pistol, especially if you’re wanting one with optics pre-installed, the Shield Plus 3.1″ with optics may be one to consider.