Got it last night. Shot about 30 rounds. Today I shot about 80 more. Around the 35 mark today I had the slide lock open with 3 rounds still in the mag. Then both magazines were dropping when I fired. Not always but regularly. It seemed more prevalent when the mag was full. I'm pretty sure I am not touching the release as I can't press it when gripping the pistol even when I try. Any idea what is going on? I do use a high grip and I am gripping pretty hard to manage recoil. By the way. I love the pistol and shot very well today.

Are you sure the mag is locking when you insert it, I know I have to push mine real hard with a full mag.

Good call but yes. Especially once it happened a couple of times. I was very deliberate to make sure the magazine was seated. Slammed the bottom and racked the slide to continue shooting on a couple occasions. I'm really confused. I shoot with my thumbs up high as I'm use to resting my thumb on top of my safety on 1911 pistols in order to not engage it while shooting. Really strange.

Ok. I've looked things over and everything looks good. The release can be pressed with very light pressure. Far less than what my glocks or 1911s need. What do you guys feel? Does it take a deliberate press to release the mag on your shield or is it very light? I'm thinking something is wrong with the magazine catch on my pistol and it's not holding like it should.

Anyone? How's your release compared to other pistols?

Well. After another trip to the range to confirm it wasn't just me the pistol is still dropping the magazine when fired. The 7rounder drops on every shot and the 6rounder only drops occasionally. The good news is I called smith and they said no problem send it in.

It figures I finally found one an hour and a half away and it seems it is defective. Mainly just wanted to report that smith and Wesson customer service is great. I will give a full report when I get it back.

Trade it for a M&P 40c,9mmc,or 45c problem solved.

Wow, where r all the shieldaholics when one is actually not functioning correctly and its not user error? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!
But it sucks for you bro, waited and waited only to wait more. But your right, the magazine should only drop with a firm deliberate push on the release. I donor own a shield but my buddies has a firm and stiff mag release, similar to my 9c...

sorry im late i also have a .40 shield and it sounds like you have a problem good thing you sent it in my mag release has to have a definite push to release the mag. but it is possible that your thumb or another finger is hitting the mag release when you fire. i could see it happening

Yea I have to push on mine to get it to eject. I can't really compare it to any other handgun since my 9mm shield is my first handgun. I however have small hands being only 5'5 so that could also be why I don't press it ever.

Thanks for the response guys. I was starting to think it was something I said. mazdaspeedrx8, I thought the same thing and really questioned myself causing me to take one final trip to the range. I was overly sensitive to make sure the magazine was seated properly and had all fingers clear. Like I said, I will let you guys know what Smith and Wesson says. I'm sure it's a fluke but with thousands being made there are bound to be a few problems and that is when forums really help. It's fun to share pictures and ideas and success stories but it is really comforting to have a place to go for advice when you have problems.

I bought a Shield in April and had the same problem. I was kind of alone in my plight because the gun was so new and no one else was reporting any malfunctions.

There is another member here who had the same problem WE experienced. I sent my gun back and after 3 weeks I got it back and its good to go. The problem is the chamber contacting the slide at full extension. If you field strip the gun, look at the barrel/chamber and you should see to points where its hitting the slide(likely 4 and 8 o'clock positions).

Search this forum some and you'll find a few threads on it.

BTW, I am over 1000 rounds since the repair and I have no more issues with it.

Here are some pics to give you an idea....

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Wow, thanks cj. I will check it out when I get home. I hope three weeks is all it takes to get mine back. I'm not very good at being patient. Still waiting on the return label from Smith. What did they do to correct it? Replace or repair?

It looked like they replaced the barrel. Also, the gun shop that handled the shipping/receiving said that they did some work to the slide.

Oh yeah, if you send the whole gun in, leave out the magazine....I just sent the gun and S&W sent it back with a new 8 round mag.

S&W's customer service is awesome in my opinion. Hope your experience with them is similar to mine. In addition to sending your gun without a magazine, you should include a note asking for a magazine. It works quite often. Even if you have to pay for it....they are pretty scarce right now.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm thinking I need to send them as part of my problem is the magazine is dropping when fired. It's likely the pistol as both have done it but I fear the extended magazine may be defective as it drops on every shot.

Yep, in the instructions I got when I sent in my wife's Sigma, it stated to send in the mags if that was potentially part of the problem. And since it is the mags that drop, I'd say they are part of the problem.

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G21C,Shield.40,LCP

Same issue with my .40. Purchased 6/10 but didn't get to the range until yesterday. Repeated the the failure multiple times and assured myself that my thumb was not engaging the magazine release. After I became aware I confimed mag was fully seated, gave it a firm tap and it would not come out when pulled on. But, after firing a few rounds, it would dis-engage and move slightly down so as to not be seated correctly.

Sorry to hear you are having problems. I too, shoot with a high grip (1911) and have had no issues with my 40 Shield. The mag release on mine feels like it takes more pressure to drop the mag than full size M&Ps... On the full size guns, I've been known to grind the mag button down so that it takes a more deliberate action to drop the mag. Maybe that would work on your Shield. Since the gun is new, a trip back to S&W might be your bet bet though.

Just back from a quick trip to Springfield (I live near Hartford, CT) and dropped the Shield off at the guard gate. Now the waiting begins.

Fantastic smart and so intelligent post to a guy having some issues with his gun. Thank you soooo much.

It will be interesting to see if this is a widespread problem with the 40s or is relatively isolated. I shot my new 40 Shield for the first time today (May 17 cartridge fired date). I put 150 rounds through it, including 50 self-defense rounds. Flawless performance and no issues, as of yet, with the mag dropping. Will continue to evaluate before carrying this gun as I am concerned about the reports of mag catch failure.

I seem to think that on this & other threads the .40's are the ones having this prob, correct?

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John 3:16, Carry Everyday!

Based on my limited reading, that appears to be the case but I am still uncertain. Would love to hear from more 40 Shield owners who have several hundred or more rounds through their guns and get their input.

Which problem? The mag dropping or the slide locking?

If your talking about the slide locking/sticking, I know of a couple of 9's that had the slide problem.

I have the 9mm Shield, and from the first few rounds I put through it, the magazines would disengage and drop with every shot I fired. This happened with both magazines. I called S&W customer service, shipped it back to them, and got it back in 2-3 weeks, with a note that they replaced the magazine release. I've put about 250 rounds through it so far without another issue.

Despite this one little hiccup at the beginning, I love this gun. It has become my go-to carry gun.

Mine was returned from smith yesterday. I'm out of town until tomorrow. I will let you know how it looks when I get back and what they said they did.

S&W called yesterday. Shield should be delivered Monday. Gal on the phone said they replaced the magazine release catch.

Smith said mine was in spec and sent it back. Must be me??? No problems with my 9mm but the 40 is for sale at my lgs.

Bought a .40 Shield yesterday and took it to the range today. Had mag drop problems with both mags. Mags dropped on probably half of the shots. Very frustrating. I'm a huge Smith and Wesson fan, owning 2 full size M&Ps, a compact and an AR. All have been flawlwess. Thie Shield is, unfortunately, worthless until the mag drop issue is resolved.

I'll try another trip to the range tomorrow, but based on the comments here it doesn't sound like a break in issue. Hate losing the gun for three weeks to fix a problem that Smith should have detected and corrected during development.

Shoot it one handed. Also I assuming you are right handed move your thumb on your support hand up rotating the support hand a bit. No problems when I shot mine that way but I can't be that careful in a defensive situation changing my grip to make the pistol work for me. And that's why I no longer have it.

Well, I'm really glad I read this thread. I have the 9 and was going to get the 40 but I think I'll wait awhile. Thanks to all.

Fired a few rounds through my new Shield .40 and found it jammed up on a regular basis. Later on I found that I couldn't break down the weapon for cleaning. The slide lock wouldn't engage. Oh well, I heard the S&W warranty repair centers were good. It's on the way for replace or repair and I will hope for the best. It's a sweet little piece and very accurate. I hope they can resolve my issues soon.

My .40 was returned from S&W. Enclosed documentation states "REPLACE MAG CATCH RANGE TESTED/MEETS SPEC". Took it to the range, only had 60 rounds of .40 in my range bag. It fired all 60 with no issues.