Went to shoot my Shield 9 today which has a 12/13 birth date and noticed a bunch of cases had minor to major bulges. The thing was, it was only with the 124gr. +P HST & 124gr. +P PDX-1. The standard pressure 115gr. Winchester, standard pressure 115gr. Remington UMC HP and standard pressure 147gr. Speer Gold Dot ammo had not marks or bulges what-so-ever.

So what I can see, the chamber seems unsupported and anything above standard pressure bulges cases. I know this has happened with other Shield 9s, but is this a problem or is the Shield just not set-up to properly handle +P loadings?

I guess I could contact S&W, but this will be the 3rd. S&W firearm I will have sent into them. First my unfired, unfixable 500 that I eventually got a refund for after waiting 6 months and no replacement and my FS9 that held 10" groups at 15 yards after 2 trips back and new barrel. I hope you guys say it's normal because if I have to send in yet another S&W firearm, it may just be my last, but don't hold back the truth.

Here are the cases. The HSTs are worse (first picture) but the PDX-1 is still bulged enough to be a problem. Again, all standard pressure ammo had absolutely no marks or bulges what-so-ever.

HST


PDX-1

With every shot you're fire forming the cases, higher pressured ammo maybe picking up more imperfections in the chamber. I've fired HST and Buffalo Bore with no such issue in my Shield 9.

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CHL Instructor/NRA Instructor

I suggest reading your owners manual about ammunition before contacting S&W.

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Minimize the variables

I already did. It says +P may cause more wear like every other manufacture manual and says SAAMI spec ammo is fine, but it says nothing about not using +P ammo. So is the Shield not rated for +P? I'd be pretty disappointed since most guns today can easily handle SAAMI spec ammo like the manual says it can.

My original Shield 9 didn't have bulging cases using the exact same ammo I shot today either, but this one certainly does.

I had the same exact issue with a Shield. It was due to the fact the inside of the barrel has a burr in it. S&W replaced the barrel, problem solved. Take a bore light and check it out.

Can you post pics of the barrel, with and without a round in the chamber? I've seen some here that didn't seem to seat the round deep enough in the chamber and some with poor craftsmanship around the chamber.

No burrs. just the usual ramp and then the additional contour they do just past the feedramp towards the bottom of the chamber.

Could cast the chamber, visually inspect the casting and then mic it. Maybe a mistake was made when the chamber was cut.

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CHL Instructor/NRA Instructor

Here are some pictures of rounds in the chamber and the best pictures of the inside I can get.

Speer 147gr.



PDX-1 124gr. +P



HST 124gr. +P



Remington UMC 115gr. HP

Barrel shots

I'll add that there seems to be more space under the case than even my 9mm Glocks have. Since these parts aren't really fit, I'd send the barrel in and have them send me a new one if possible, but I'd expect they would want the entire gun and then send it back a half a year later.

From the pics it looks to me that the round is not seating as deeply as some of the others that have posted the same pics. This seems to be common among some of the 9mm bulges seen in previous posts. I agree with you that they will most likely want the entire gun back to check it out but that might not be such a bad thing.

JFR

Maybe it's the angles, but they're actually all flush with the back of the upper lug or a hair's length deeper. It's the same on my other firearms.

Not the greatest picture, but as you can see it's flush. It's a PDX-1.

This seems to be normal with the Shield. All the reports I've read of bulged cases were with +P ammo.

Because of the way they cut the ramp into the chamber, I believe there is a slight variation in manufacturing. Thus, one chamber will have bulged cases with +P and another won't.

For me this is just another reason to save your money and shoot regular ammo. There is no need for +P ammo.

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Freedom isn't free.

That's probably what I'm going to end up doing. The Gold Dot 147gr. is fine for accuracy, but the HST 124gr. +P shoots the best. Hopefully I'll find some standard pressure HST 124gr. ammo some day to test out. I prefer +P in 9mm and .38spl when it comes to defense rounds, but I guess this particular Shield will have to do without.

SGAmmo has the HST 124 grain standard pressure available now.

Well, that's reloaded ammo, for one thing....

Larry

Wow. None of mine ever look like that. Before you do anything get some regular pressure factory ammo from a name brand mfg and try it.

Not being sarcastic, but what is the reason for shooting +P ammo in a small carry type weapon?

One thing I will say is I would never use any reloads but my own!

Problem with some remanufactured ammo, is they rarely use once fired brass. Usually it is range pick ups that have been tumbled, so it is shiny, but....

Say it has been fired 2 or 3 times in a gun with a poorly supported chamber. Each time it has been resized, the "bulge" has been pushed back in, work hardening and weakening the brass. Now you fire it again, in a chamber that is not fully supported, and that weak, work hardened spot it the brass happens to line up with the unsupported part of the chamber.....

That's the real reason for most of the .40 cal Glock ka-booms you hear about. But it can happen in almost any gun under those circumstances. Of course, it could be as simple as a piece of defective brass that was thin in the web section.

I would try a box of known factory fresh ammo, and check the brass for any bulges in the base area. Lots of guns do it, and it is not usually a problem unless you plan to reload brass fired in that gun, or the bulging is excessive. A fully supported chamber is always best, with no case bulging. Some Shield owners have reported partial unsupported chambers on some guns where the feed ramp transitions into the chamber. Might want to think about a trip back to Smith if the problem with bulged cases continues with factory ammo.

Larry

I've been assured by the LGS that the quality of 'factory' reloaded ammo is 'good'.

One would sound like a cap and the next would sound like a +P. The most inconsistent stuff I ever shot.

Don't believe anybody and if you use reloads, make sure they are your own.

The Shield is rate for +p. If ammo is ruled out as the cause, then I wouldn't want it the way it is. I don't shoot +p at the range but I do conceal carry the shield with +p. Even if you only carry with standard ammo, would you really want to carry a pistol that isn't behaving as it should? I wouldn't

I dunno about anyone else but I get the best accuracy from +P ammo. Shot placement is my main concern, and my groups are tightest with 124 grain bullets at 1200 fps. I follow the recipe for 1200 fps when I reload, too.

I'm sad to hear that 9mm Shield barrels have inconsistent chambers, I've decided not to buy one until they get this problem solved. I wouldn't have cared about the spent brass in my younger days, but I reload now and bulges near the case rim scare me.

I certainly can't argue with that. However, how much tighter are your groups?

For defensive shooting, being able to shoot a controlled pair, less than a hand span apart, in under 2.5 seconds, is accurate enough. So, if the groups are .25" smaller with +P ammo, that's not significant enough for me to justify the expense and potential pressure issues.

Does that make sense? I'm not trying to tell anyone what to shoot. This is just why I do what I do.

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Freedom isn't free.

I can't give you an empirical answer, I'll just say tight enough to take out the center of the bullseye and (depending on distance) get multiple shots through the same hole on a good day.


To each his own. If I were content with being "accurate enough" I'd never go to the range.

Someone else on the forum recently had the exact bulge formation recently. You might search it out because I don't remember the results.

Here it is:

Bulged Cases From Shield

I had the same problem with mine. I sent it back to Smith along with several fired cases, and they replaced the barrel. Mine was more prevalent Federal HST also. I think in general, Federal cases are softer than others and that's probably why.

I first sent pics of the cases to Smith, and then they sent me a shipping label.

The point is that defensive shooting is not the same as bullseye shooting. Standing at a nice comfortable range, trying to get the tightest group as you take your time and focus on breathing and trigger control, is good, but it doesn't prepare you for a defensive situation.

So, all I was getting at was that a little improvement in a group, like .25", especially under the stress of defending yourself, is not enough for me to change ammo. Still, it's always best to use what you're most confident in. If you like it, press on.

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Freedom isn't free.

After reading this thread I took my Shield over to the range with a box of Speer 124GR +P Gold Dots. No bulging and no other issues. Gun has a test date of 10/4/13. Guess I got lucky for a change. I can usually pick the bad one. That makes 350 trouble free rounds down range. Guess I can trust it.

I would consider the Federal HST 147gr or Gold Dot 147gr for the Shield. The modern 147gr JHP premium loadings expand over a wide velocity window and are ideal out of shorter barrel pistols. This is the recommendation by the engineers at Federal and Speer. The +P loadings do not have enough dwell time in a short barrel to reach their full potential and they are designed to be more velocity dependent to perform. The 147gr 9mm looses the least velocity due to short barrels. Any size 9mm that I carry for serious business is loaded with 147gr HST standard pressure. Bill

Shot mine today just to check. Only Hornady Critical Duty +p 135 showed signs of case bulging.

WWB no problem.

Barnes Tac XPD 115jhp no problem.

Remington Golden Saber +p 124jph no problems.

I am not that concerned. My Shield has eat everything I have fed it and is accurate. Its also a new 1/15-2014 production.
The Golden Saber +p 124 shoot very accurate and is my choice load as well as the Barnes for a non +p. I believe the Shield's design will bulge some +P loads depending on the brass used. Anyone else try Critical Duty 135 +p??? I bet you will see the same brass bulge.

Oh sure. Speer designed its short barrel specific 9mm ammo to be 124 grain, not 147 grain.

Law Enforcement - Federal Premium LE, Speer LE, BLACKHAWK!, Eagle - Handgun Details

.

Yes, Speer designed a 124gr bullet to work out of short barrels for those that want to run a 124gr bullet. The Gold Dot 147gr works well also. Federal and Winchester didn't as they recommend their 147gr loadings out of short barrels. Good link you posted there. I have used it often Bill

I called Hornady about the Critical Duty 135+P case bulge in the Shield. They did not feel that it was unsafe to shoot them even though a bulge is created. A slight bulge by a unsupported chamber is normal. They equated it as a trade off between reliability and being able to reload the brass. I dont HAVE to shoot CD 135+P and Golden Saber 124+P does not bulge the case so I will use them. The Shield is gonna be like the Glock in this matter.

I took my new shield9 to a range two weeks ago. 100 rounds of Federal champion 115gr were all good. Then 30 rounds of golden saber 124gr +p got FTE twice. Then followed by 40 rounds of gold dot 124gr +p with no problem at all.
I didn't know the case bulging/not fully supported chamber issue until I came back so I didn't check cases.
I will try it one more time next week. If the issue keeps consistent, I might need to give S&W a call.....

Attached Images

20140225_192327.jpg (103.1 KB, 71 views)

And I checked the cartridge that came with the pistol, it has the smily crack on it. The bottom says "RWS 9mm luger". This doesn't look like a +p round either. Going to call S&W tomorrow.....

Attached Images

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That is exactly what my test brass was. I did not have any marks on my test brass. I am pretty sure its not a +P. The question is does S&W looks at their test brass???? Kinda curious the owner finds this and the tester didnt. Call them.

The only reason S&W includes a fired case with the gun is because some states require it. So, rather than pick and choose which guns go to those states, they just include it with every gun. I seriously doubt they look at them closely.

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Freedom isn't free.

Considering the 147gr. Gold Dots don't bulge, I'll use those for now. They have a good reputation for expansion so I'm not too worried, it's just the 124gr. HST +P is more accurate.

Thing is if I send it in, I know I'll be looking at other guns as a replacement since I'm just plain tired of QC and sending guns in to multiple manufactures.

147 Gold Dot and 147 Golden Saber are fine choices and both tested very well. 124 +p Golden Saber shouldnt bulge, they don't in mine.

Thats looks like my sons spent case on his shield 9mm
We have fired 4 different types of ammo thru it.
124 Grain Norinco bulged, Freedom 115 grain and Remington 124 Grain didnt bulge, he also shot some JHP 124 grain (I dont remember the brand) They shot fine.
But I e mailed S&W anyway, that was on 02/10/2014 they never got back to me, other then an acknowledgement e mail stating
Dear Greg Metcalf,

Thank you for contacting us!

We have received your inquiry and are assigning it to a representative. Due to the high volume of correspondence we are currently receiving it can take up to 5 business days to receive a response.

To help track your inquiry we have generated a reference number. Your ticket code is LTK111770XXXXXX. Please use this code in any further communication.
I have not followed up.I suspect it was just the NORINCO ammo
But I an curious on what they do for you.
But I would def call them!
Good luck

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M&P Shield 9MM. M&P 380

That's the normal digital response. When you call them, don't expect to get ALOT of info other than they will want the gun.

Have any of you noticed if your primer looks smudged or the firing pin is leaving a "^" at the top of the primer?
Dale

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