Founded by two friends in 2017, Montana's Shield Arms has a simple philosophy of bringing new and innovative products to the firearms industry – while ingraining perseverance and community in all they do.
Established by Brandon Zeider and Seth Berglee in the Bigfork area, Shield is probably best known for its series of S15 pistol magazines for the Glock 43X/48, which boosts the pistol's capacity from 10 rounds to 15.
However, as Guns.com found out when we visited the company's campus earlier this year, they are much more than that.
Originally started in Zeider's garage, Shield – whose name is inspired by a Bible verse – soon had patents for a folding AR lower receiver, before they moved into the game-changing S15, which is now in its third generation, and Z9 (G43) mags.
Then came a logical evolution into firearms including its SA-4, SA-9, and SA-15 rifles and large-format pistols.
Atop that is the oh-so-sweet S10 grip mod for the G43X/48 that we highlighted from SHOT Show in January – with the result of carrying four extra rounds in a pistol that is a smaller package.
All of this, naturally, required a series of expansions, building new facilities, and hiring like-minded neighbors.
And Shield is just getting started.
Along the way, the company's family tree has gained branches. Among these brands are Mountain Partisan, Shield Knife & Tool (SKT), and SKALD coffee blends – the latter roasted in Montana, of course.
Outside the box
The content team at Guns.com has toured dozens of gun companies across two continents over the years, and while everybody does it a bit differently, we came across something at Shield that hadn't seen before: a full-on community garden and poultry operation run by, and for, the employees.
It's not just the farm. The company offers regular (and free) classes on such topics as canning and long-term food storage.
"Our mission is to build individual resilience and community-level preparedness through innovative products, training, and education." – Shield Arms.
Eating the oatmeal
Based in Montana, Shield has a very old-school way of looking at things that shine through the company's operations. An ethos, if you will.
As Berglee, a Big Sky State native, explained:
"The frontier mentality is that you rely on your neighbors. My dad used to tell a story about his grandmother who went to visit the neighbors, who always made people eat – 'Hey, sit down and eat some oatmeal' – so she's like, 'Ah, OK, whatever, I don't have time, but I'll sit and down to eat it.'
Well, she's walking home and a blizzard rolls in and she's like, 'If I hadn't eaten that oatmeal, I don't think I would have made it.' So that kind of mentality permeates our local culture, the Western culture, that you rely on each other because the environment can be in-permissive, if you will."
"We make the stuff they want to ban." – Shield Arms.
From that, the drive is to create products that provide real capabilities, rather than gimmicks. They make things they like, innovating to fill the gaps.
We'd like to thank the fine folks at Shield Arms for opening their doors to us – and sharing their oatmeal.
