I Just recently bought my new S&W shield 9mm. I have been on the waiting list for this gun for a long time. This is the first pistol i have ever bought brand new and i was having some problems.

When i got the gun i cleaned it thoroughly and looked over the manual. I am shooting PMC 9mm Luger 124 gr. FMJ. The first time i racked a bullet in the chamber the slide did not come all the way back up so i cleared that shell and the slide come all of the way up the next time. Then i tried shooting and nothing happened. So once again i cleared the shell and shot again and it fired the entire mag just fine. I looked at the shell and the firing pin hit but didnt fire.

I shot 75 rounds through the gun. 3 different times i noticed the slide did not go all the way back. Although the slide is very hard to pull back i tried to make sure i was pulling it back as far as it would let me and the problem still persisted. Also i had 4 bullets not fire although the firing pin was hitting. which leaves me worried about the gun especially as i plan it to be my CCW and i know the gun is not broken in yet which takes more than just 75 rounds but i have never heard of anyone else having this problem. Could it be bad ammo? or a problem with the gun?

Have you tried a different brand of ammo? I use PMC myself & I haven't had any problems with it. I haven't tried it in my Shield yet. PMC is not what you would consider top of the line ammo. Of course these days we are all shooting whatever we can get.

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Lounge Lizard Extraordinaire

I would not declare a "gun problem" until I had malfunctions with my carry ammo. Buy 250 rounds of Winchester 9mm +P+ 127 grain JHP and try that ammo. Save a box for carry. It works fine in the Shield.

That would cost as much as the gun! If you could find it?

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Tony

There is a problem.

Could be ammo.

Could be user.

Could be the gun.

You should contact S&W


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I'm no expert but perhaps a dissasembly and cleaning would be a good start. As another member stated, try a differant brand of ammo and grain for that matter although mine shoots even the old, slow 147's without a hitch. If all else fails, call Smith.

Did you clean the gun before using it for the first time? They ship them loaded with packing grease....some more than others. Try running some Federal or Winchester through it. My first outing with my 9mm Shield I shot about 100rds of Federal without a problem.

Like the Boston ladies and their hats, it is assumed that "gun people" already have their ammo. And magazines.

As to cost, well my peace of mind is worth the price, not to mention my life. I hope you are not underestimating the value of yours.

As a new to handgun CCWer, you need to get some good instruction.

Schedule a session with a reputable defensive handgun instructor.

Take this gun with you to the session(after you clean and lube it, Youtube is your friend), have the instructor check it out, and have them bring a gun for you to borrow during the session in case you really do have a problem.

Then send it to Smith if need be...

Also the above advice about 200 rounds of carry ammo through your gun is correct. It's an expense that should be budgeted with every carry gun. I bought 250 rounds of Federal HST 147g +P for around 185 bucks last month when I bought my Shield. Shot 200 and the rest are for carry. 200 rounds of the ammo you intend to carry through the gun is cheap compared to an ammo related failure that costs you your life...

Inspect the ammo that resulted in the FTF, if there is a prominent indentation from the firing pin then you probably have an ammo problem. If the indentation is barely noticeable then you may have a gun issue.

Agree with possible ammo issue. All sub-compact and "pocket-size" semi autos ( regardless of manufacture) are ammo sensitve, and perform better with certain brands of ammo and bullet profiles. Like .22 semi-autos, you need to experiment and find what your gun likes

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John

If there is no urgency to make this pistol a CCW asap, I'd try another brand of FMJ before feeding it $$$ defensive ammo. I agree once you move to defensive ammo, you need to run a good bit through it before trusting that firearm/ammo pairing, but I'd break-in as much as possible with FMJ.

To be honest, ammo usage is the biggest beef I have with the reports of brand new Shields with issues. Yes, S&W will make it right, but it sucks if you have to keep "re-certifying" the pistol when it returns from being serviced. Some owners have sent theirs back 2-3 times before 1-2 issues were cleared up. Pricey ammo is one thing. FINDING that pricey ammo is another.

If my (on-order) Shield eats 200-250 rounds of FMJ without issue, I'll move on to my JHP rounds.

I've shot 40 pmc in mine.. only 25 rounds. Although it ran fine for those.. just picked up some blazer brass and plan on running some steel through it at some point

Agreed. I did not mean that he should do the SD ammo until the gun is running well with any fmj off of the street. I have shot PMC, UMC, Tula, Wolf, WWB, Federal Value Pack, as well as the HST through mine. Over 1000 rounds for sure, no failures at all...

Just a question for clarification if you don't mind? You are recommending +P+? I thought I saw somewhere that S&W specified not to use it? I have been shooting Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P as carry ammo but would appreciate your clarification as if you have had no problems I may give +P+ a try.

Thanks!

There is no SAMI spec for ++P, so Smith can't say it's okay.

Extensive use of high pressure ammo will cause accelerated wear and tear, but a few mags won't hurt anything, and your weapon will for sure not go kaboom...

I think I'm reading that the slide does not go fully FORWARD into battery when you rack the slide or when the pistol recoils and tries on it's own to chamber a new cartridge.
This could be a gun issue due to:
A Dirty or Rough chamber that does not allow the cartridge to seat fully.
Deformed magazine lips that do not properly position the round into the chamber.
A rough feed ramp.
A sharp edge on the rear of the chamber that catches the round and prevents feeding.

Before you get discouraged with your gun, it may be you that is the problem. When you manually try to feed a round, you may not be pulling the slide BACKwards far enough or you are holding it ever so slightly while you release it (riding the slide).
Both conditions can slow the slide down and reduce the forward force enough to prevent a round from fully chambering.
If you are trying to pull the slide back like a sling shot and having trouble, you should try putting your weak hand over the slide to grasp and hold it, and then pushing the frame forward with your strong hand.

Limp wristing can also cause the slide to not have enough force to chamber the round. Check your grip to be sure it's solid and if the problem continues, see if one of your more experienced friends encounters the same problem with the Shied. If you are new to shooting pistols, google something like how to grip a pistol or pistol shooting techniques to get some pointers.

Don't shoot +P+ ammo and welcome to the forum. Good luck.

Thanks for all of the tips everyone. I'm going to try some different ammo as soon as i'm able to find some and see how it goes from there.

Sounds like some of 'your' problem is similar to one I asked about last week.My new 40 Shield has had now 6 failures to fire(ignite the primer) in about 210-220 rounds.The primer is contacted by the striker but rather weakly.There is indentation of the primer but a small crater results and obviously not enough striker energy to set off the round. The previous round fired and cycled the action so the striker should be re-set but ...? Can`t duplicate it in dry firing. Does this sound like what happens ? I have already contacted S&W and it appears that they want me to return the pistol. John

@fox22 - Have you given the pistola a good cleaning?

I had no issues with mine, but I purposely caused a malfunction by loading an empty brass in the magazine with live rounds... Just wanted to practice since the thing feeds and ejects so well. The empty brass locked the gun up.. I'll put more rounds through it.. I wonder what the odds would be of this happening on it's own.

I have had the issues you mention here:
1. Battery failure, either using the slide lock to unlock or manually allowing the slide to go into battery by holding onto the slide.
Solution: Always slingshot the slide, pull all the way back and release.

2. Failure to fire.
Solution 1: Battery problem, see #1.
Solution 2: Ammo choice. The only FTF's I have had, not caused by batery, have been with WWB. I have read many other accounts both on this Forum and others of the same problem with the bulk 100 rnd WWB. I now shoot Federal 100 bulk, or other name brands in the 50 count boxes.

I will add that I have not had any issues since. YMMV.

$.02

Yes i have cleaned it twice now. And much ado i havent had it happen any other time than the first round i chamber after that it seems to function fine.

Could be light strikes from the firing pin but I'd try several different types of ammo (yes, I know, WHEN you find it) before declaring a gun problem. If the dud shells had a well defined striker mark it could well be the ammo. I am absolutely sure that a lot of ammo is being made cheap instead of good.

I am with HCH. These malfunctions with a first time gun owner are 90%+ chance of user error (no offense intended to OP).

Round not chambering initially is probably from riding the slide. Slide needs to come all the way back and then just let go and let the firearm do the work to chamber the round.

Failures while firing are most likely from limp wristing.

Practice will fix both. I would ask someone experienced to shoot the gun before running out and buying all new ammo.

Not saying it absolutely can't be an ammo problem, but it's the least likely option.

Tracy

the packing grease in the firing pin channel? That would seem to hinder proper movement.

Lad

Reached 1000 rounds through my .40cal M&P Shield today since Dec. 2012. Only 5 misfires and that's from the reloaded ammo. All factory ammo was perfect and not one malfunction with the Shield. Gun is pretty broken in right now and handles great! Very little recoil, even my wife with her small hands, can handle it just fine!! It's my everyday carry gun in a Winthrop OWB holster. Put Trijicon night sights on it and @ 20 yards, it's right on bullseye every shot. The Shield is highly recommended both in 9mm and 40cal......
Brand new Shields should be field stripped and cleaned and oiled thoughly. Work that slide back and forth and ALWAYS try to use FACTORY ammo when you can. If you do use reloads, know where you're getting them from and that they're a trusted reloader! If all else fails, have a gun smith look at your Shield....

I have a 2 month old Shield. I have put 600 rounds thru it so far. I love shooting it and can hit what I aim at.

I have had several FTFs, always when I rack the first round. I use cheap bulk ammo. It happened pretty regularly the first few clips but I would just bump the rear of the slide after racking the first round of the mag and all was well. I stopped doing that after the first 5 or 6 mags and did not have the problem until today. I put 200 rounds thru it today and the last mag I loaded the first round, the one I racked, FTF. I thought at first it may have been due to the tightness of the gun but the more I think about it and read about it, it's probably due to the way I have been racking the first round. I will admit my hands are tired after jamming 200 rounds into the mags.

"Bump the rear of the slide."

Are you saying the gun is Out of Battery until you nudge the slide forward? FTF = Fail to Fire? F can equal Function, Feed, or Fire.

If the gun is Out of Battery, it is not supposed to fire. If that's what's wrong, focus on "OOB" and ignore "FTF." There have been a lot of OOB threads here about the Shield, but it's still relatively uncommon. If it only occurs when the mag is 100% full, that will help pinpoint the cause.

Yes, Fail to Fire with first round of a full magazine, prevented by bumping the slide forward after racking. When I pull the trigger there is very little resistance so the pin may not be released. I have not examined the round as they are ejected into a container.

as said above a complete strip down, inspection and cleaning is called for here.
could be magazine related or feed ramp or recoil spring. or crud in FP channel

I think the solution is to lock the slide back. Insert your full magazine. Then hit the slide release with your thumb. The slide flies forward with speed and force thereby eliminating your problem.

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

I too had a light strike with pmc ammo. No other brands had that issue, but some dont eject well for me.

I love PMC ammo and have never had an issue with it..

That being said, I agree with Laddie.. While the gun might be cleaned of packing grease, maybe there is some in the striker channel. I know from my gunsmith, that oil in the striker channel can cause almost a vacuum situation where the striker is not able to go forward with enough umph..

Can someone please post pics and/or instructions on how to disassemble the Shield to get to the striker channel and how to properly clean it?

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

My wife and I went to the range last weekend and we rented a 9mm Shield. Every time she racked the slide she had this exact problem. Never once did it happen to me. I think it's the way you're racking the slide that's causing it to happen with the first round.

My wife, who has shot our Shield numerous times, had trouble today as well. She limp wristed it one time and got pinched by the slide another time which caused the two FTEs that are pictured here (sorry about the out of focus picture). She also continues to have difficulty racking it after insertion of a new mag (it has gotten less stiff but it is still a challenge for her). Great gun, but it isn't as forgiving to a novice shooter as a Glock. As everyone says, practice, practice practice.

Attached Images

	FTE 2.jpg (26.1 KB, 81 views)
	FTE2.jpg (28.8 KB, 79 views)

I remember back when i started out it was common wisdom to fire at least 200-500 rounds thru a new piece just to break it in. It's still good advice today.
It could be the ammo, it could be the pistol, yes on both counts. But it might be a small burr that needs to be rounded off, a magazine issue, or who knows. Thing is get some different ammo (I'm thinking Winchester NATO spec), try a different mag, and shoot the weapon in a normal manner. Only then if it's still having issues you should give S&W a hollar.
Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

In my Shield 9 it was the spring that was hanging up! Mostly noticeable when manually pulling back the slide! Hangs up 1/2 way through its travel! Check it and see if it's the same. I have never had a failure yet but it is very noticeable.

I own a shield .40 and had a problem when it was new. After a couple hundred rounds the problem went away. I would also change ammo mfg, maybe they are getting too Scottish on the loads? Clean it as per instructions and oil it and keep shooting and see if the challenge corrects itself.

Well, since I spoke up on this subject a year ago I guess I should bring my situation up-to-date. My Shield(which failed to ignite the primers) was sent to S&W 3X. The first 2X they replaced the striker, which did not fix the problem as intermittent FTF still occurred. The 3rd time they replaced the slide and barrel and voila!, problem fixed. Runs like a champ now. Of interest(maybe)...I can`t remember the # of dimples on the inside of my first slide but think for sure the newer one is different as it has a pattern of 6 dimples. I guess there was some mis-alignment and the primer(and striker) is now more centered. Who knows ? It works now anyway. John