Welcome. There are many highly experienced and helpful folks on this forum.
Disassemble, clean, and lubricate it before you take it to the range. I personally use alcohol to clean/remove heavy shipping oils, especially on the slide and frame rails, but use care to avoid alcohol contact with sights. You might be surprisingly pleased with how much smoother and easier it is to rack it.
I will stick with my Glock 26…..The Glock 26 is the OG of the subcompacts, the most concealable, reliable and versatile….If you live in a free state you can carry spare G19 15round mags or Glock 17 or 34 17round mags.
But … It is discontinued… 
Yeah, it’s discontinued for now but that’s not my problem, I have one and my guess you don’t !
That is correct, sir… 
This Community convinced me to buy Glock 19x… but the moment I decided to order one, Glock Inc announced discontinuation. 
Just kidding… Me and Glock can be friends… but we will never live under one roof. No chemistry there… 
Thanks for all the advice and opinions posted.
After a long session at the gun counter (shout out to the very patient clerks) she has chosen the SW M&P 2.0 Compact with the 4” bbl. It came as a “Gear Up” package with 5 magazines and a Savior range bag.
Thanks again.
Sounds like a win in my book, the extra magazines justify it. 
Has she put rounds through one?
No place to do that around here.
that is a pretty sweet deal.
These steps will “hand burnish” your firearm and noticeably smooth its operation…
1. New handguns come with slight imperfections in their milling.
2. Drop magazine, check and clear firearm. Check it again! Make sure there is no ammunition in the room where you are performing these actions. Keep your handgun pointed in a safe direction at all times.
3. Operate slide back-and-forth around 100 to 200 times (in groups of 20 “actions” to avoid fatigue).
4. Next, operate the slide back-and-forth 4-5 times, then dry-fire and hold the trigger fully back. While holding the trigger back operate the slide back-and-forth 4-5 times. Repeat this sequence 20 times.
5. Insert an unloaded magazine. While holding down the slide release latch, cycle the slide 10 to 20 times. Repeat this process using each of your mags.
6. Check and clear your handgun, then field strip it. Next, use a coarse non-metallic brush to thoroughly clean all friction bearing surfaces (rails, locking lugs, etc.) of your handgun and each magazine.
7. Wipe your handgun and mags with a soft cloth and lubricate to the manufacturer’s specifications. Re-assemble.
Not really a big S&W fan, the Echelon is a bigger firearm, depends on what the purpose of the firearm is for…
When I spend time behind the counter helping people find what fit them best, I’d usually pull out a selection and see what best fit their grip…
S&W CSX
Kimberly micro 9
P365, X, XL
Hellcat, Pro
Canik Mete MC9
Ruger RXM
Glock 19
Taurus G2C
(Not a fan of the S&W EZ models due to that backstrap safety. You have to hold tight on the grip for a full depress or the pistol don’t shoot. Years ago, during covid, got my uncle and cousin the EZ9, took them to the range, quite a few time. Gun no go bang for them, I pick it up, shoots perfectly… They didnt depress the backstrap safety enough. I would tell customers that story to emphasize the need for regular practice and training so in the heat of the moment, they don’t make the mistake of not having a full grip and therefore a paperweight)….
The general idea was to let the customer handle as many as possible, to see what they liked best and then have them close their eyes and hand them a pistol on after another to see what naturally felt better in their hand…
Might I interest you in the non MOS Glock 45V. It has all the standard set up of a non mos g45 with plastic sights, high price-point, but now there is a V on it and parts may not be interchangeable with the massive glock market.
