M&P Shield 9mm: this normal fit and finish?

McLaren · #1 05-13-2015, 11:54 PM

Hey all,

Picked up my first handgun yesterday and loved the feel of the M&P Shield 9mm.

Was inspecting it a bit more today and noticed some imperfections that I didn't catch in the shop. This will be my daily carry gun so not too concerned about looks here, but wondering if others have seen this.

Looks like there are little plastic "flakes" right behind the trigger that I hadn't noticed in the shop.

Also curious if the wear on the finish I'm seeing in the barrel chamber is normal. It's on the bottom right corner--the finish looks worn and seems to be showing as silver/gold.

Pics below. Thanks for any and all help.

ATF · #2 05-14-2015, 12:01 AM

The plastic looks like mold marks. The gold you are seeing is brass from the ammo you are using. What ammo is it?

McLaren · #3 05-14-2015, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATF

The plastic looks like mold marks. The gold you are seeing is brass from the ammo you are using. What ammo is it?

Thanks for chiming in. That's kinda what it looked like to me too.

The gold makes sense. I'm using Winchester Super X. Have only practiced loading and unloading the gun and chambering a round. Won't get out to the range until this weekend. Gun hasn't been shot yet.

Sorry, new to all of this.

CaptRon956 · #4 05-14-2015, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren

Thanks for chiming in. That's kinda what it looked like to me too.

The gold makes sense. I'm using Winchester Super X. Have only practiced loading and unloading the gun and chambering a round. Won't get out to the range until this weekend. Gun hasn't been shot yet.

Sorry, new to all of this.

Maahhhhhhhhh. Use snap caps for that...

But no, what you are describing is pretty much the same of what I see on my two shields. I just use a #11 Xacto blade and gently scrapped the flashing from the mold marks to smooth it out and then wipe down with a oil treated cloth...

ATF · #5 05-14-2015, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren

Thanks for chiming in. That's kinda what it looked like to me too.

The gold makes sense. I'm using Winchester Super X. Have only practiced loading and unloading the gun and chambering a round. Won't get out to the range until this weekend. Gun hasn't been shot yet.

Sorry, new to all of this.

Ok one thing that's very important and please take this in the way it's intended. You must NEVER cycle live ammo through any gun. Two reasons are you may have an accidental discharge and hopefully you'll only shoot your TV and secondly cycling the rounds can push the bullet further down into the bullet casing which can create a higher pressure when fired and cause damage to you and your gun. There are other problems too but these are the main ones. All my handguns always have a round in the chamber and it's a JHP but when I go to the range I remove the mag and insert a mag of FMJ's and shoot the JHP from the barrel. It's not a good idea to rack it out and reuse it. At home use snap caps to practice cycling and dry firing and keep your live ammo in a separate room. There have been so many accidents caused by people dry firing then loading up and forgetting. So be safe

McLaren · #6 05-14-2015, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATF

Ok one thing that's very important and please take this in the way it's intended. You must NEVER cycle live ammo through any gun. Two reasons are you may have an accidental discharge and hopefully you'll only shoot your TV and secondly cycling the rounds can push the bullet further down into the bullet casing which can create a higher pressure when fired and cause damage to you and your gun. There are other problems too but these are the main ones. All my handguns always have a round in the chamber and it's a JHP but when I go to the range I remove the mag and insert a mag of FMJ's and shoot the JHP from the barrel. It's not a good idea to rack it out and reuse it. At home use snap caps to practice cycling and dry firing and keep your live ammo in a separate room. There have been so many accidents caused by people dry firing then loading up and forgetting. So be safe

Thank you! Good stuff to know. Is it best if I set those rounds that have been chambered aside at this point to be safe?

Should have clarified that this is my first gun of any kind and I have a ton to learn.

McLaren · #7 05-14-2015, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptRon956

Maahhhhhhhhh. Use snap caps for that...

But no, what you are describing is pretty much the same of what I see on my two shields. I just use a #11 Xacto blade and gently scrapped the flashing from the mold marks to smooth it out and then wipe down with a oil treated cloth...

Thanks for your input, Cap. I'll get some snap caps tomorrow.

ATF · #8 05-14-2015, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren

Thank you! Good stuff to know. Is it best if I set those rounds that have been chambered aside at this point to be safe?

Should have clarified that this is my first gun of any kind and I have a ton to learn.

Welcome to the forum and I would suggest you get some instruction from a qualified instructor or experienced shooter because not only will you need to learn proper grip techniques but also how to quickly and safely clear a jam and spot a squib and a multiple other things. You can start with a few You Tube videos. Enjoy your Shield

McLaren · #9 05-14-2015, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFineLine

Bullet setback is a concern for self defense ammunition. Many brands will use a cannelure (a crimp on the brass just below the base of the bullet) to prevent setback. It is understood that self defense ammunition is often loaded, unloaded, then loaded again from a firearm for any number of reasons. Folks will load the magazine, chamber a round, then drop the magazine to it top off to make it full capacity. The issue develops mostly when repeatedly cycling the top two cartridges, one to chamber one to top off. When you need to unload, and you will, just keep an eye on the cartridges. Instead of flipping the top two cartridges, move the one that was chambered to the bottom of the magazine. Every so often you'll want to shoot your SD ammo and replace it. If you are starting to see setback (compare overall length between NIB and your chambered rounds) you'll want to discard the cartridge (soak in water for a day or two to deactivate the primer and toss it out). When you get setback it decreases the amount of space in the cartridge thereby increasing pressure. Too much pressure is bad but again this is a known concern and most SD ammo is crimped to prevent this from being an issue. Before I understood the risk I cycled the same SD ammo hundreds of times in between range trips and had no setback so, ya know...... Your Super-X is not crimped. I suggest Hornady Critical Defense. Get some snap caps for practice. You're going to have a great time shooting. Get a lesson or five from a good instructor. It is worth the money. Welcome to the community and enjoy!!!

btw, my wife and I both carry matching Shields (among other S&Ws). Its a great little gun. I bought my first firearm in 2007, and started shooting. Now I have an extensive collection I'm very proud of (Performance Center 1911 Round Butt is the newest!), do competition shooting and tactical training, and even load my own ammunition. It's a ton of fun.

Thanks for the info. Even outside of the setback problem, there's no reason to cycle live ammo when the snap caps are available. I ordered a handful last night.

Ranger17 · #10 05-14-2015, 10:09 AM

OP, i'd also suggest (was a newbie 2 yrs ago) that when you hit the range that you let them know this is your first time and they (hopefully) should make sure they give you the time needed so your first outing is both safe and productive. Be more concerned with learning the correct grip, stance, and mechanics of it all and not if you are in the bullseye each time.
Not knowing your location, I'd also suggest that as you head to the range, do not have loaded mags in the same bag/case as the Shield, and don't have anything in the chamber as well.

Good luck and let us know how it went

McLaren · #11 05-14-2015, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ranger17

OP, i'd also suggest (was a newbie 2 yrs ago) that when you hit the range that you let them know this is your first time and they (hopefully) should make sure they give you the time needed so your first outing is both safe and productive. Be more concerned with learning the correct grip, stance, and mechanics of it all and not if you are in the bullseye each time.
Not knowing your location, I'd also suggest that as you head to the range, do not have loaded mags in the same bag/case as the Shield, and don't have anything in the chamber as well.

Good luck and let us know how it went

Thanks Ranger. I'm located in Des Moines, IA. I'm a Chicago transplant, and due to the laws in place in IL on handguns I have had very little experience shooting. Used to shoot pellet guns all the time from ages 12-15, but we all know that's not the same thing.

I'm actually leaning towards getting range instruction first before shooting on my own. Easier to start with good habits than try to break bad ones later.

marine6680 · #12 05-14-2015, 03:28 PM

Instruction is always good.

Bullet setback is preventable, and knowing what to look for goes a long way. If you use a pistol for defense, meaning loaded and ready to go, ammo is going to be loaded and unloaded due to the fact that there are simply times it needs to be unloaded. Cleaning, going to the range for practice, you will need to unload and reload after.

Quality defense ammo is tough, but attention will need be paid. Depending on how often you need to load and unload, you can shoot up some of the old every couple months or so.

General rule of safety is to never mess around with live ammo unless necessary. Avoid repeated loading and unloading unless the situation demands it. Times like cleaning...

Snap caps do make for good practice for handling and manipulation where ammo is concerned. It's even good for training you to shoot better. Have someone load a mag for you and sneak a snap cap in the mag somewhere randomly. If you see jerking of the pistol when you pull the trigger on the snap cap, that is a sign that you are anticipating the shot and messing up accuracy.

ca survivor · #13 05-17-2015, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McLaren

Thanks for chiming in. That's kinda what it looked like to me too.

The gold makes sense. I'm using Winchester Super X. Have only practiced loading and unloading the gun and chambering a round. Won't get out to the range until this weekend. Gun hasn't been shot yet.

Sorry, new to all of this.

I would advice you about, STOP loading and unloading at home, at least use snap caps, you don't have to have live ammo to get familiar with the gun.

OKFC05 · #14 05-17-2015, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Have only practiced loading and unloading the gun and chambering a round.

Even though it is rare, it must be assumed that ANY gun may fire when loaded, and the muzzle must be kept pointed in a safe direction. A barrel full of sand was used in the military as a "clearing barrel" for loading and unloading for base duty. In 27 years in the military, at every base I was on, SOMEBODY managed to fire a round into the clearing barrel. At about half the bases I was on, somebody shot the wall because they didn't quite have the pistol pointed into the clearing barrel.
I still have a 5 gal bucket of sand at home for my clearing barrel.
And I have some shooting friends who made fun of it until they shot their walls, and in one case, their washer.

Magload · #15 05-17-2015, 03:45 PM

The bucket of sand is a darn good idea now if I can keep the cat out of it. Don

McLaren · #16 05-26-2015, 11:28 PM

Thanks for the replies all. Been using snap caps consistently and have not been chambering live rounds. Excuse my prior ignorance.

Another question I had for you all. I disassembled my shield this evening and did a little cleaning of it as I'm planning on heading to the range tomorrow. Noticed some weird little deposits in the bore. Did a search of the forum and it looks similar to copper fouling. Would you all agree? Anything to be worried about?

McE · #17 05-27-2015, 12:50 AM

What's wrong with bullet setback? It turns my standard pressure ammo into +P for free!

hoc9sw · #18 05-27-2015, 03:03 AM

Some deposits & crud are to be expected, as they would have run at least a few rounds through it before packing. Mine looked like it had already been to war. The CS guys tell me that random pistols are fired more than whatever is standard for QC tests, and I may have gotten one of those. (I knew mine was really new, as it came from a batch directly from the factory earlier in the day).

They are not cleaned after testing so you'll know they were fired. Likewise if you send it in sparkling clean for repairs. It will come back nasty if the repair involved a firing test.

Johnmuratore · #19 05-27-2015, 07:14 PM

That's not fouling. You want to see fouling, shoot a couple hundred rounds through the barrel and look again!

And welcome to the Forum!

McLaren · #20 05-27-2015, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnmuratore

That's not fouling. You want to see fouling, shoot a couple hundred rounds through the barrel and look again!

And welcome to the Forum!

Thanks for the welcome, John. What do you suspect those deposits are?

Shot about 100 rounds through the gun at the range. Shot just fine. I needs LOTS more practice and a couple of instruction sessions before I can really group my shots. Groups started to clean up a bit towards the end of the range session, but need a LOT of work.

Also, holy **** are guns loud. When I first walked in to the range and the shooter in the next stall over fired, it scared the hell out of me at first.

Prasko · #21 05-28-2015, 01:20 AM

Ears on before entering, and hoppes #9 for the copper fouling

ATF · #22 05-28-2015, 03:15 AM

Stop looking down gun barrels it will only lead to a very nasty experience and maybe your final experience

If a bore snake or cleaning brush goes through it'll be fine

McLaren · #23 05-28-2015, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prasko

Ears on before entering, and hoppes #9 for the copper fouling

Had ears on before walking in. Still seemed LOUD.

Johnmuratore · #24 05-28-2015, 09:52 PM

McLaren
Copper jacketed bullets leave a little residue in the barrel, nothing to worry about as the folks have said. It'll come off.
Indoor ranges are very loud, even a short-barreled .22 makes a lot of noise inside. That's why I prefer outside shooting whenever possible. Get a good pair of hearing protection; look for the highest dB you can find if most of your shooting will be indoors.

Magload · #25 05-28-2015, 10:34 PM

You can even wear ear plugs while wearing the good ear muffs. I have bad hearing anyway so spent the bucks for the kind that amplify but cut off the gun shots and if there is someone shooting something real loud I will also turn off my hearing aids. Don

McLaren · #26 05-28-2015, 10:48 PM

Thanks for all the serious responses to my noob questions.

What a fantastic community.