I just bought a used Shield in .40 (purchased new in October of this year). The lever was in the depressed position the first time I inspected it and it stays in the depressed position, even when a mag is inserted. I have to pull the trigger to field strip it. Should I be concerned?

Not sure exactly what you mean. When a mag is inserted, the lever is in the vertical position and the sear is "activated" and ready to fire. When mag is removed, the lever stays in the vertical position. It must be pushed down into the horizontal or "deactivated" position in order to remove the slide without pulling the trigger. I hope this helps.

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Randy

Thanks for your comment Randy. I understand what I am looking at now. Will the pistol be harmed if I choose not to use the lever and pull the trigger to strip it?

No. Just remember to check to make sure the gun is empty, and then check it again.

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Randy

I appreciate the advice Randy. I will take it to heart.

Not to be a jerk but I went through the Arrmours course for M&P pistols and the instructor told us that the lever should be used so as to not damage the sear. I have inadvertently pulled the trigger to field strip my M&P's before taking the course and never saw any damage. Just thought I would pass this along. Frank.

The pistol will not be harmed, but you, your property or a loved one might be if you forget to unload, treat it as a loaded weapon, point in a safe direction and do not make sure of your backstop and what is behind it. In other words, follow the universal safety rules and MAKE TRIPLE SURE your pistol is unloaded. Reminder: ALWAYS remove magazine FIRST, then clear the chamber. Then TRIPLE check.

That is very interesting. If it really causes damage, then that is an unfortunate weak point in the design. I asked the question to one of S&W's design engineers perhaps 2 or 3 years after the M&P was introduced. I was told it won't hurt anything. In either event, I hate removing the on board tool, and even if I were using the sear deactivation lever, I would push it down with my little finger, or a Bic Pen or something similar.

If it was true that dry firing it would damage the sear, then live firing the pistol would damage the sear. (Snap caps would have no effect on what's happening to the sear)

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Minimize the variables

No because the way it was explained to me was that the slide moving forward would catch the sear. I never saw how it could as I said before. I tried to hang the sear up but never found a problem. I think it is a safety issue as if you do lower the sear with the lever there is no way to pull the trigger and have the gun go off if you were to leave a round in the chamber.
Frank.

Frank:

I tend to agree with you. I think they are giving the "company line" at the armorer's classes with regard to this issue since it is a safety issue and it is a big item that sets the M&P apart from the Glock, which S&W sees as an agency selling point. But, I could be wrong.

Shawn

Just read through the manual I received for the course and though they have as part of the disassembly process pushing the lever down before removing the slide I did not see anywhere a warning that damage can be done to the sear or anything else. I used it for safety sake, but I do not, and please do not take this as an expert statement, feel you will do any harm to the pistol. Just, as already stated, make sure and then again very sure, that the chamber is empty before you pull that trigger.
Frank.

If the manual says do it one way, why would you take it upon yourself to do anything different? It's not a Glock, don't use it like one. Follow the manual.


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From what I've read, a major factoring difference in field stripping a Glock (for example) is that the slide does NOT need to be fully retracted in order to unlock the slide and some people have um... Bypassed ensuring that the chamber is empty prior to pulling the trigger to complete releasing the slide, resulting in a ND.

Perhaps I'm overlooking something obvious, but in order to lower the sear deactivation lever, the slide needs to be locked rearward. In order to rotate the Take down lever, the slide needs to be rearward. Normally, the simple act of moving the slide rearward extracts any round still in the chamber, does it not?
While I can see a Sear Deactivation Lever being an asset on a Glock (or pistol that unlocks the slide like the Glock mechanism), I only see it as an unnecessary redundancy on any pistol that needs to have the slide fully rearward to unlock it.
Has anyone racked the slide back to field strip their M&P and NOT have a chambered round extracted?

I'm a safety freak. I like having all my fingers and toes and fully intend to exit life that way, when at the age of 95 I'm unexpectedly sat on by an elephant while asleep in bed.

The beauty of the sear disconnect lever is that in order to use it you have to have the slide back AND the mag out - - making an ND as near to impossible as I can imagine a mechanism doing, absent a "bullet detector interconnect" or some such silly overcomplication.

While it's true that the "frame tool" (in reality, the retaining pin for the grip pad) can be a pain to remove, there 's no reason to use it if something else of similar dimension (barrel rod, screwdriver, pen... I've even used a Q-tip) is ready to hand.

You won't find me sticking my finger down the ejection port, though - - I have way too clear a mental picture of what would happen should the slide lock get nudged while I'm dangling my pinkie finger down in there.

I got my index finger caught between a piston bearing and a crankshaft once, when the friend up top drove the piston home with a mallet. No wish ever to repeat - - I bounced off the bottom of the car 5 or 6 times before I got loose.

Yes, it's called a broken extractor. (not joining in the argument, how I strip my M&P is my business)

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Minimize the variables

Touche'... Although I did mean under normal (every day) situations, I left myself wide open for that one.

Yes, and the extractor was not broken. It is possible, however unlikely, that a round is chambered in front of the extractor. I've had it happen to me. Thus, pull the slide back and the round is not ejected.

There is no need to remove the tool from the grip. Use a pen, pencil, small screwdriver, a stick, your finger, or any other small thing to move the sear disconnect. It's so easy there's no valid reason not to do it. Even so, it's your gun, do it how you like.

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Freedom isn't free.

I like to use a cheap wooden shish kabob stick to move the lever down. It does the job great and won't damage anything.