I have a slight concern with my new Shield. When chambering the first round, fresh eight round mag, the slide does not fully return without a little push. It hangs with about 1/8" hanging over the frame. It takes very little to push it forward to full seat it. I haven't shot it yet, just cleaned it and polished the rails a little. Anyone else have this issue?

Shoot it.... It will loosen up. I had the same issue. It didn't hang after a full rack and release letting it slam home but it i was gentle it would need the extra help. Not with 1k rounds through it... No issue at all. Love this gun so much

Thanks. I was hoping that someone else had the same issue and it loosened up.

When you rack the slide for that first round, how do you do it? Slingshot the slide? Press the slide stop?

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Freedom isn't free.

Sounds to me like your pistol is a bit tight. I would advise that before going to the range that the pistol is properly cleaned and properly lubricated to reduce the potential for cycling problems.

Use a fairly firm grip when shooting.

After a few hundred rounds the pistol should loosen up a bit and be just fine.

Best of luck!

I grip the slide with my palm over the slide and push the grip forward, releasing my grip on the slide at the end of travel. The slide stop isn't engaged when doing this.
The gun was cleaned and properly lubricated. Additionally, I dressed the rails (with 1200 grit sandpaper glued to a popsickle stick) to smooth out any burrs from machining. The slide racks very smoothly without a magazine. I have other S&W's, Sigs, Berettas and never saw this issue before. I'd like to get some range time with it to see.

That's how I do it too. However, there is a potential to ease the slide forward when doing it. You may not even realize it.

So, just a suggestion, when racking the first round, try to rip the slide off the back of the gun. This should result in your support hand going to your shoulder. This method ensures that you don't "help" the slide forward and you get as much forward momentum from the recoil spring as possible.

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Freedom isn't free.

You "polished" the rails a little? With a Dremel tool? Just need to "oil or lube" the rails a little.

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

The OP posted that he used 1200 grit paper and a popsickle stick.

It never fails to amaze me as gun guys, how we can fix something that ain't broken until it is.

The rails had a very slight sharp edge similar to the edge when cutting steel. You could run a finger nail along the edge and it would,ever so slightly, dig in to the nail. It was very, very minor. All I did was 'polish' it with 1200 grit paper until a fingernail slid smoothly across. A Dremel wasn't used.

You should not have to shoot hundreds of rounds through a pistol to 'break it in' (read: do the finishing work that should have been done at the factory).

Your pistol should work out of the box! If it doesn't, send it back

How can you use one of these things in a life or death situation if you aren't sure it works?

I fear that S&W is conditioning its customers to accept less than what is reasonable and used to be customary in the firearms industry.

Just my opinion, of course.

My Shield just logged it's 700th trouble-free round - never had a problem out of mine from day 1 so sorry can't help...

1 of my friend's .40 shield does that if he doesn't sling shot the slide when chambering. It's a benign non-issue.

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

Mine was just fine right out of the box but I have heard this before. Almost all semi autos need to be broken in, ie fired and then they are fine. Just shoot the darn thing a bit! It will more than likely be fine after a few hundred rds.

Tom

I see no problem with a light sanding with 1200 grit sandpaper. That grit has almost no abrasion to it. Nothing wrong with trying to make your gun better. Do you have the problem with one less round in the mag? Leave the mags fully loaded, this will help reduce some of the pressure, as the springs will slowly fatigue. As someone suggested, make sure you are "fully" pulling the slide back and then "completely" release it. You will get maximum forward thrust from the recoil springs. If it doesn't clear up, call S&W. There may be an issue with the mag, recoil springs, or?

Bob

Sounds like user error to me. Rack the slide like a man and you wont ever have a problem. Think about how a round fires and the slide pushes back so fast you cant even see it. Try and imitate this and I guarantee you will not have an issue. My wife is bad about riding the slide and this would happen to her.

Wrong. Some guns can do this after a round is fired.

No you're wrong read the op post. He says it happens when you racks the slide.

I agree. If you have cleaned and lubricated your Shield and it still won't cycle...never take to sanding anything. Send it right back to the factory...it's defective. Mine shot right out of the box...right off of the shelf at the gun range...after lube...and never missed a beat. No FTF's or FTE's. It's supposed to work that way. Machining is toleranced. Something isn't working well together. You sure wouldn't want to pull you weapon in selfdefense only to find that the most minuscule amount of grim has caused it to malfunction, because you just barely got the weapon to function properly. Unless you can check tolerances...let the guys who can, fix it. Nothing, other than a perfectly working firearm, is acceptable.

Remember, all the manufacturer's have repair departments. Some just use them more than others.

Just my two cents.

Interesting, do you have first hand experience with this happening? Any youtube videos of this occuring or is this all second hand information? First I've heard of a Shield ever doing this when firing.

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

Of all my semi-autos, only my three Shields will hang out of battery. And each one does it so it must be a design flaw.

I can't get any of my other M&P's to do it, even when I ride the slide, pull the slide open an 1/8", nothing will make them stay OOB.

None of my third gens do it.

But my Shields all work like they should, I just have to be sure the slide is forward when I present the gun.

As far as having any gun ever stay OOB when firing, I have a 15-22 that still does it after coming back from S&W for firing OOB. So not only did it hang OOB, it would fire in that position and blow debris out of the chamber.

Now it doesn't fire OOB, but because it keeps hanging up, it just doesn't fire at all.

.

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Kirk / Spock 2020

I don't know what you are saying is wrong, but this doesn't help the OP at all.

Actually, I do have first hand knowledge of a gun hanging out of battery after being fired, but not with an M&P.

I bought a Colt Delta Elite once. At least once on every magazine, it would hang up just out of battery. The slide would stay back about 1/8". A little bump on the back and it would go into battery and fire. Alas, that was years ago. If I knew then what I know now I probably could have fixed it. Since I didn't, I ended up returning it.

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Freedom isn't free.

I'm well aware it can happen, for a while Glock 30s were having issues with failure to return to battery. What I'm not aware of is any wide spread problems with the Shield having failure to return to battery issues, although I do know that some shields can be prone to not going back into battery if not racked correctly. Easy fix is to just push it forward if it happens, because from my observations it doesn't happen shooting, nor have I heard of any reports of it happening.

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

Yep, that's my experience as well. Further, even if you have the issue while racking the slide, it goes away after a short period of use.

I had that issue with my .45 and now I can't make it stop short of fully closed even if I try.

I think all guns should work perfectly right out of the box. Alas, that is not always the case with inexpensive guns like the M&P series.

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Freedom isn't free.

M&Ps might not be expensive guns, but in my experience they're damn fine guns, accurate enough, durable and reliable as I could wish for. Even H&Ks can have problems and I'd rank H&K the company with the highest quality duty/defense handguns... Being that H&K no longer makes a striker fired handgun, I'll pass on them. I've found Glocks have more out of the box issues than M&Ps, by a fairly wide margin, which is why I no longer shoot them.

As far as I'm concerned a gun that sometimes doesn't go right into battery when new when not racked correctly, but goes into battery when fired is a complete non-issue.

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

I may not understand why you'd drop a company because they don't make a striker fired gun, but I agree with this:

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Freedom isn't free.

I used to carry a USPc .45 but realized I was MUCH better shooting my Glock 19, I could never get used to the transition between DA/SA, very unnatural if you ask me. I despise manual safeties so cocked and locked was out of the question. I tried it and had frequent nightmares of squeezing my gun and it not going off when I needed it. I strongly considered LEM trigger, but after a little trigger time it's WAY different than striker fired and.

As you may be aware, H&K is in financial trouble, perhaps they should look at the Glock or S&W business model, providing customers what they want, moderately priced striker fired weapons of varying calibers and size. No doubt in my mind H&K's even with a higher price point would sell like hot cakes if they ever came out with striker fired polymer pistols, but I wouldn't count on it. Why they go after military sales when they're priced higher than everyone else is a damn mystery to me.

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

Try some "Boresnake Venom" lubricant. I used some on my Shield before my first range session. It had been stiff, and tending to hang, but, after field stripping and using a touch in each of the recommended lubrication spots, it cycles like silk now. Not one problem in over a hundred rounds at the range.

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Bob
NRA, MSI, SAF Member

Let the slide slam forward full force when chambering a round.

Actually, a hammer fired pistol is arguably more reliable in that it is more likely to fire a hard primer.

This is one reason the DAK trigger SIG and the LEM trigger HKs seem to get these federal contracts.

The H&K USP with the LEM trigger is one of the best pistol innovations in recent years. If I could get one I'd buy it in a heart beat.

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Freedom isn't free.

If it ain't broke fix it 'till it is......

It could be either:

- Ammo issue
- RSA issue
- User issue: as in not power stroking the slide properly when chambering the first round.

I surmise it's the latter.

I just shot two brand new 9mm shields this afternoon and did not experience this phenomenon.

I've yet to have a failure to fire from either a Glock or an M&P in many thousands of rounds. That "advantage" is theoretical and hammer fired comes with disadvantages that far out weight the theoretical advantage.

I tried to like the LEM trigger, but the reality of it was I simply was not as good with it as I was with a striker fired trigger, so I decided to keep it simple. Every once in a while I think about buying an HK45 with an LEM/Match hybrid trigger to play around with, but I know what the result will be...

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unrepentant M&P fanboy

First time out with my Shield 9 I experienced the OOB condition until I quit candy assn. the rack.....after the first mag...no problem....I really do like "Slide Glide" grease and use it on all my semi-autos.....as far as the Shield is concerned.....it's a keeper....and my buddy that was with me who is anti S&W was duly impressed....AND....said he might "look around for a "cheap" 6906 after he shot mine

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witty signature goes here

Any update from the OP on the Shield??? Have you put more rounds through it?

I did read that. You said it had to be user error. I said that more guns than just Shields can fail to return to battery even when a round is fired and not just when racking the slide. You act like the OP is a wuss and needs to be a man. I say you are wrong.

I have seen Kahrs do this. Mine did it when I first got it. To make it stop, I polished the inside of the chamber with a dry Dremil felt tip. It happens because something is snagging the round as it leaves the mag and enters the chamber. That plus the tremendous upward pressure of the mag spring pushing the next round against the bottom of the slide slows the slide enough to make it stop before it closes. This is something that breaking in the gun will usually take care of, especially with polishing and running the gun wet.

I try to control the slide too much through the cycle. I should just pull back and let go.

Try this...

When you go to rack the slide, use an over hand grasp. Then, try to rip the slide off the back of the gun. When it gets as far as it will go, let your support hand continue all the way to your shooting hand shoulder. This method will eliminate the potential to ride the slide back a little.

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Freedom isn't free.

OP, did it ever get better after firing more rounds?
I got a shield 3 days ago and have the same problem. Put 150 rounds through it and it's still happening.

Saw your post on this old thread. Here's one I did on this topic last November. My work on the slide I don't think really fixed the issue, but I've been carrying the Shield ever since and have never had a problem. I think it gets better over time as the pistol wears in, I don't know. But it's not an issue for me carrying it.

You should go to the 1911 forum and read some of the problems that custom pistols have "out of the box". My cheap Shield .40 has never had an issue. Neither has the shield 9 that I gave to my son.

Same question as I put to the OP, how are you trying to chamber that first round? What method do you use to work the slide?

Yeah? OK, but I'm already a member of at least one 1911 forum. I'm not sure how this is relevant, but I stand by my statement; any new gun should work correctly right out of the box.

It doesn't matter if it's a 1911, M&P or whatever. The owner shouldn't have to "finish" the build process for the manufacturer by putting $250 worth of rounds through the gun.

All the guns I currently have worked right out of the box with one exception. That was repaired by the manufacturer and hasn't malfunctioned yet. I had another gun that malfunctioned within the first 200 rounds and it never did become right. They refunded my money on that one.

If it doesn't work right the first time, it's broken in my opinion.

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Freedom isn't free.

bought a shield 9 a few months back. Initially I was very disappointed, mags were like iron, extremely hard to load, never went to battery, always had the small push to get into position.

Read all the posts and thought, well, it will do what others have said, loosen up, etc. About 1K rounds later, same issue with battery. Easy gun to carry, shoots well, mags work now that I use the Uplula loader, but as a very long term shooter of semi's, I have never seen a gun that resists racking the slide like the shield does.

My glocks are flawless in this regard, and I have rented a 40 compact that I intend to buy, and when I use the slide lock to release the slide, it works perfectly.

My shield slide lock is still tight and not able to operate it consistently with the thumb.

As much as I love S&W, this baby is going on the sales or trade block. Do not trust it and the usage has not changed what I thought were design issues months ago when I bought it. Cleaned, lubed, well shot, issues still there.

Come on S&W, give us stuff that works out of the box!

That is not a slide release like a 1911. It is a slide stop which is why it is hard to thumb release. They even say so in the owner's manual

some 1K rounds through the Shield 9 now, still have the failure to return issue. I try to use the slide lock release method when I can, still stiff, but always goes into battery that way. But if I try to use the old fashioned conventional slide pull and release, its about a 1 in 4 or 1 in 5 fail rate. As I got this for EDC, it creates some anxiety but always make sure its seated before going in the holster. upgrading to a glock 26 later this year, have rented one a couple of times and while thicker, its never failed at anything. like all glocks, it just works. I think my S&W inventory will just be revolvers in the future, too bad but I never want to worry about what might happen when I need it to work