No use in try'n to help folks . The husband has it all squared away as to what she will learn to shoot . Hopefully his wife will find what she likes .

Good luck with whichever direction you go in. As you mentioned, this is new territory and it may take a few tries to get it right. She's lucky that she has someone with your expertise helping her make the right decisions and providing her with some options and guidance. I'm sure she'll end up finding the right gun with your input.

I also have a new Shield that I picked up a few days ago. I didn't notice the slide being too hard to rack, but getting the mags full was another story. I had to use a Glock loader to get the last rounds in the mag. I left them sit fully loaded a few days and then removed one round and put it back in without too much problem.

Your slide will probably get better with use.

You're right of course, but for all intensive purposes, it's very much like the 1911. The "manual of arms" for this gun is the same. It's carried in condition one. Every shot is single action. It has a hammer.

The lack of grip safety makes it easier for some to get a good grip. Some struggle with the proper grip and the grip safety on a 1911.

The field strip process is essentially the same. The BHP is easier for most people because of the dual purpose of the safety and lack of barrel bushing.

It is a little smaller than the 1911 and that's a good thing. I've never fired one chambered in .40S&W, but the 9mm is really easy to operate.

Yes, not a 1911, still....


Retiredguns,
About two years ago, my wife and I went through the same process. My wife wanted a gun for carry, but couldn't find one she likes. Part of her indecision was the expense. She was worried that we would buy a gun and she wouldn't like it in the long run. After firing about 20 guns, she said that she likes the BHP. I had a friend that was selling one so, I snatched it. Even if she didn't like it, I did. Well, much to my chagrin, she likes it.

It might take a while, but it's worth the journey. Don't lose heart. Just keep working on it.

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Freedom isn't free.

Mine was very VERY difficult to rack. After many times racking the slide on an empty gun, and shooting it 110 times, it has loosened dramatically.

Well Folks, ended up trading the Shield straight up for a Glock 42. First Glock in my household. Wife can rack & shoot it like a pro. Put 250 rds through it today and she killed it!

Thanks for all the advice & encouragement.

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USMC RETIRED

Rick: The new PT111 G2 is getting some good reviews. I'm actually considering one. It wouldn't replace my EDC Shield, but for the price point, it'd make a good gun to keep in my Jeep. Only negative is the trigger, and I stopped by a LGS (Actually went to 3 before I found one that had one in stock) and tried the trigger. I could live with it, personally. Taurus is also offering a $50 rebate on them, which makes it more attractive.

If it wasn't right before xmas, I would have bought one today.

Since they don't have the travel to decelerate the slide, their springs are stiffer. I'm not a weakling and I like the 'push' method of racking mostly because the serrations tear my fingers up. I'm also more confident with it and in doing it the gun is right in position to be used.

Keep gun close to body, reach over with weak hand and grab the slide. PUSH the pistol forward while holding the slide and let go. Only problem is keeping the ejection port from being blocked by your hand, but on the first rack this makes no difference.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have the reverse situation. I acquired a Shield this Spring because I've sold scores of them to customers and figured I should probably own one in case I ever wanted a smaller gun for EDC (Glock 23 is my primary). Nevertheless, over the six months my Shield never came out of the safe, until last night.

Took the wife, daughter and son-in-law to the range for family time last night and took the Shield along to try. And the wife LOVES it. I also shot it a bit and could not believe how comfortable it was to shoot given its fairly small size. She has until recently been a revolver fan and just mentioned that she would like a smaller gun for her own to carry and is claiming my Shield for herself.

Maybe I'll get another for myself should I ever decide to downsize.

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NRA/Illinois/Utah Instructor

Retiredguns,
You traded the shield, so this reply is a little late. I don't know how you or your wife grasp the slide to rack it, but the video linked below shows an over the top more whole hand grip of the slide to rack it. I've used the technique and find it stronger than the sling shot type grip I'd always used before. Just for info:

George

That's the downside of many autos...they're hard for some folks to rack the slide. My wife has the same problem. I worry about that jam to clear or that high stress moment she could encounter, wishing all you had to do is pull the trigger!

I know it's already been said many times...a revolver makes more sense for several reasons. It's point and shoot...no safety or slide to be concerned about...just pull the trigger! I own a ton of autos too and love to shoot them.

I put Crimson Trace on my carry M337. It does the job for me and my wife. Sure it barks, but your putting rounds right were you want them in a stressed situation. I have big hands that go well beyond the grips and I manage it very well. It get's enough practice and not among my favorite to shoot. But it is my favorite for all day carry on an ankle holster... 10.5oz. I have all the confidence to place all my shots with fast followup every time.

I know...little gun in my hand huh?
That's okay, I have bigger guns to have fun with too
Model 337.jpgbig mitts.JPG

nothing will fix the racking issues.. the only solution is to get the map bodyguard 380.. my wife was having the same problems .. we watched every video on youtube on racking.. i even tried racking the slide for 15-20 min at a time for a week in an attempt to break slide in.. i would easily rack it 1500 times hard
.. still nothing worked.... in my opinion the most important reason for being able to rack slide is to clear malfunctions...if she cant rack it she wont be able to fix it.. especially fast in a fight.. the saw map bodyguard 380 fixes all these problems.. plus she gets the added plus of a much more deep concealable firearm.. my wife loves the breast holster i got her (because i hate when she purse carry. dont want to give someone a gun if they snatch her bag) .. tuks right under the titts ..ultra light,, easy racking ,, very tuckable,. has a safty(which i dont like but she love), nice shooter. only hang up is the take down when cleaning,, but i do that for her anyways.. so win win .. she still has her shield, its just now her house gun (if shtf)..i keep it loaded and racked for her ... just incase

Try a pair of gripper gloves. My Shield sits in the case it came in. I will sell it when I get around to it. I can rack the slide - but really considered the amount of effort to be annoying.

Decent "how to rack the slide" tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kbayNc6D9HY

There are a few others by and for the fairer sex...HTH

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

My Wife never tried the "pinch" method of racking, but rather the overhand, palm using method which "should" give enough strength to cycle a Ma Deuce, but it just didn't work. A lot can be said for 1st impressions and I wasn't going to make her like it. Full size pistols have never been a problem, but now that she is considering a carry weapon, I want her to be comfortable. She had fun at the range with the G42 so that goes a long way. She did very well at 7 yards and by the end was getting cocky with rapid fire in the head zone.

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USMC RETIRED

Excellent video. This is the method that my girlfriend used in order to be able to rack the slide on my SR1911. She could do the M&P 22 and 9mm, with an overhand grip and just using the non dominant hand. However, the 1911 just wouldn't budge for her until she used the two hand method outlined in this video.

Men typically brute strength the slide and then teach their wives the same method, but unless she can beat you in arm wrestling, she doesn't have the same arm strength that you do, and another method may be needed for her to operate the slide.

Hi, RetiredGuns - I am 5'2" and don't have a ton of hand strength, plus I have small hands. I fired a number of rental handguns at my local range and settled on the 9mm Shield as being most comfortable for my hand, requiring no adjustment to properly place my trigger finger. I had no trouble racking the rentals at the range.

I picked up my new Shield a few days ago, and finally had a chance to work with it at home today using SnapCaps. While it was definitely more difficult to rack than the rentals, it was doable. However, locking it open manually proved to be more than I was able to handle! My son was over and he finally got it locked open, but with difficulty. He field-stripped it and we reassembled. There are other threads discussing the proper orientation of the recoil spring upon reassembly, and I will take a look at that next time I break it down. For now, I'm just using an empty magazine to lock it open.

Meanwhile, tonight I watched a great video that really helped my racking technique. While I CAN rack it with the gun further away from my body and at elbow height (as I learned in my gun glass), I found the technique in the video much easier to manage, and practiced doing so for several minutes using the SnapCaps. Your wife may want to give it a try.

Try a box of underwoods hot 90gr gold dot1200fps 380 ammo in it .

Gotta let the girls pick their own guns.

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John

Glad you found a solution Retiredguns.
Honestly, you wouldn't have found a satisfactory solution for your wife by changing things on the Shield. She would have been the one to have had to change. A weaker recoil spring would batter the slide/frame and additional appendages to the gun would make it more likely to snag on something or make it less concealable. Folks who initially have troubles with the Shield either find a better technique or simply get used to it and overcome any problems.

As for .380/9mm, the likelihood of her needing the additional "hitting power" of the 9 is very low anyway and while I personally would not choose a .380 over a 9, I would certainly choose it over nothing or over a gun I had trouble operating.

Looking at that target, your wife certainly looks like she can handle that Glock and with her confidence in using that gun, she'll likely carry it and not be hesitant in using it if the need arises.

As you mentioned, orientation is really important on the RSA in the Shield. For what it's worth, I had a similar problem with my 40 Shield. At times I just couldn't seem to find the right orientation / rotation. I called S&W customer service and told them about it. They initially said to shoot it a bunch but I insisted that this wasn't an RSA that was stiff but that the slide actually stopped before I could lock it open (with or without magazines). They ended up sending me a new RSA and that one is far less fussy.

I did recently trade my 40 for the 9 and haven't shot it yet but I already can tell that the RSA in the new 9 seems fine and I don't have to be so careful with orientation. I just make sure it's straight and centered but rotation isn't an issue. I can manually cycle the slide every time.

I too live in the Peoples Republic of Illinois and my wife wants to carry. I have a shield which shes does well with but she really liked the 9c. Turns out the 9c is too big for her to really carry unless she wants to dress kinda "sloppy" for a woman so shes thinking the shield for herself or even a bodyguard.

Now she has no problem racking the slide on the shield, but shes a crossfit woman so stronger than the average there. Thinking about your problem, perhaps for carry a revolver might be better for your wife? Maybe a .38 bodyguard?

Now from a shooting standpoint my wife doesn't LIKE shooting the M&P Bodyguard 380 but she can manage, after all its for CCW not plinking fun, so maybe the revolver would work for your wife for carry, or is that too much of a mouse gun? As a side note the slide on the bodyguard is actually far harder to rack than the shield, its got a pretty tight spring due to its micro size.

Just throwing out ideas, we are still debating what to get my wife for her carry gun as well. The ranges in our area have lots of M&P and Glocks and XD's to rent but few revolvers to try.

You may have missed my post above but we ended up with a Glock 42 which after a range trip, 7 types of ammo & a lot of handling seems to be a good fit for my Wife. She doesn't care to shoot snubbie wheel guns and has tried a few. The trigger on the BG is a big turn-off. Not sure if they make kits, but it feels like you have to pull the trigger dang near into the plastic guard to fire it. I watched a guy at the range really struggle with his as the mags kept falling out as well. I wanted my Wife to like the XDs 9 as I carry the .45 version, but it is too wide front to back on the grip. We could have shared holsters & accessories.

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USMC RETIRED

Yea I missed that post, glad she likes the 42. They do make a kit for the BG but personally I LIKE the trigger pull for what amounts to a pocket pistol. I think of it as a safety being it would take multiple errors to ND a BG.

From what I gather the mag issues etc were with the original BG, the M&P version gen 2 I find MUCH nicer than the original. The trigger isn't quite as bad either but it still doesn't break until it almost touches the rear guard.

I've heard a lot of bad things about the 42 as well, I think these micro 380's are just prone to having faults.

Yes, I was concerned about the 42, but I called Glock and they said they would put all the new parts on and make it work if necessary. Fortunately it runs like a champ with all ammo tested and a tiny Wife shooting! My little TCP shoots all but super ammo like buffalo bore as well. The only small pistol I have owned so far that was unreliable was a Nano. It jammed no matter what I shot and the lack of a slide latch made it a pure b!tch to clear. Traded it to a dealer for an XDs.

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USMC RETIRED

the best solution is to sell it and get a 3" model 60.
no slide to rack
shoot 38's not 357's
pull the trigger and it fires
if it doesn't pull the trigger again.
5 shots is plenty
nice adjustable sights and single action trigger means she can shoot it well
If she doesn't like the grip -change it easily
she may even enjoy shooting
that means she(you) can buy more guns!

I sold a lot of these on that basis when I was a S&W rep a few years ago.
most women really like the gun when they shot it at a range day.
Larry in Reno

I am new to the forum and to M&P Shield 9mm. This is or was the most difficult gun to rack. And yes my wife also does not like the Shield due to the hard to rack issue.

However I have purchased a "Shield Stainless Guide Rod Assembly" which uses one spring instead of the standard two springs. I have shot it with the replacement spring and it works as a factory standard. No issues. It a drop in ready product. Guide rod and spring complete.

The replacement recoil spring now allows my wife to rack the gun with little or no problem. The cost is $39.95 plus $3 shipping.

The company is Stainless Steel Guide Rods Inc.
Stainless Steel Guide Rods - Sig Glock Beretta SS Guide Rods
They are located in the Tampa Florida area.

I hope this helps with others that have the same "racking" problem. It helps to have the spousal unit shoot also!

My wife liked shooting the Shield but hated racking the slide. I replaced the recoil spring assembly with one from stainless steel guide rods here. now she has no problem with the Shield.

Was just going to recommend this very way .. saw a young lady about the size of your wife using that method at a range a couple of years ago .. she didn't have any trouble racking her side .. I don't remember what it was but was in 40S&W because it surprised me she was shooting that round as small as she was .. she couldn't have been 5 foot in heels .. had no trouble at all ..

I tried it a few times when I had a broken thumb that caused me a little pain and it is easier to do that way or at least seems to feel like its easier ..

Wishing her good luck with it !

Funny how I have trouble opening a tight jar lid and hand it off to my wife who pops that sucker right off. Tell her to treat the Shield like a jar of pickles and put some muscle into it.

Yes!!

Smith and Wesson Shield Stainless Steel Guide Rod Assembly - Stainless Steel Guide Rods

Trade it on a revolver and the issue will go away.

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Dave

To the OP, first, thanks for your service. I do understand why your training may cause you to make a decision "You" feel is correct and then try to make it work for someone else. It's a guy thing, a military thing, a sheepdog thing. I'm glad you have the awareness to know when something isn't going to work. I've have my Shield40 for several years now and have put quite a few rounds down range, left the slide open for days on end and it will forever be too tight for my wife to rack.
She enjoys shooting it, it feels good in her hands, she is very
accurate with it. Dry fire practice, magazines with snap caps,
quick reload practice and she struggles with the racking. It will not be the gun she'll rely on when the SHTF. I wish we had
one that loosened up, it never did.

When I purchased my 9mm Shield I was hoping for it to be a "Step" for me and to end up a CC for my wife.....turns out she likes the old .357 Mag Ruger we have "inherited" from my parents.

Her opinion is it has less "kick".....my opinion....it is heavier so she is holding it more firmly and the weight of the gun is enough to "help" with the recoil.......I could be all wet on that though.

Never even got to the racking issue....she has requested speed loaders for the Ruger......

My daughter in law had a smith airweight. I got a deal on a ruger lcr 357. I made the mistake of showing it to her. Now it's her edc.

The ladies are always in a conundrum as they like guns that are light and "feel good" vs those that are easy to shoot at the range.

Since most ladies will not carry a full size service pistol or revolver, compromises must be made.

I'd cut the OP some slack as it appears the decision was hers...both times.

Mastering a double action trigger is one of the toughest challenges in shooting, especially out of the little guys. For a long time shooter a snub nose revolver makes a good option. For a new shooter that lacks both confidence and ability it's often a terrible choice.

I put a new recoil spring in the wife's BHP 40 and she has trouble racking that now. She should just give it to me. She can get that Glock she's been talking about.

Well it's been over a year since I started this thread and the Wife has since got her CCL and still has and shoots the G42 very well. Me on the other hand sold my XDs & TCP and bought an XD Mod2. It's a fabulous pistol, but I needed another summer carry weapon. I went back & forth like may others, but in the end bought a Shield 9. This time it's for me! Already bought a Tommy Theis single clip IWB holster, talon grip cover, Pearce mag extension for 7rd mag and Wolff replacement mag springs. I'll see how it goes before I decide if it needs any mods. I don't really like modding my carry guns.

So I am back and hope to participate.

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USMC RETIRED

There is a recoil spring assembly for the Shield. It is from Stainless Guide Rods Inc...google it or amazon it...It makes racking the slide so much easier...just don't shoot +P and you are good to go! Wolf mag springs OR MagGuts +1 are necessary as the oem mag springs are junk

If I might add to the conversation. I'm not sure about other guns, but the Shield recoil springs are tough. There are 2 springs on the recoil rod. I've read that the reason was so that +P ammo could be used.

There is a stainless rod with single spring on the web. Thought I saw it on eBay, can't remember. It did state in the ad that +P ammo can not be used with this spring set up. Here's a link: SSspring

I hope this helped,

Thanks folks. Not too worried about the stiff spring as I have no problem with racking the slide in any fashion. I did agonize over the Shield or an XDs 9mm as right now Springfield is giving away 4 mags and some other stuff as a promotion. The Shield was only $315 at GAG so I snagged it. I'm sure it;s a good pistol.

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USMC RETIRED

I have one of those SS guide rod assemblies for my 9mm shield. I bought it early on when a lot of people were
having issues with there (figured better safe than sorry). I have only popped it in once, definitely easier to rack
and no discernible difference in "feel" while shooting. My stock set up has proven to be problem free and it
has loosened up quite a bit after 1000 rounds going through it, but it's still tight.
When I rack my 9C or my XDM .45 I can't believe how much easier and smoother
they are than the shield but it works just fine.

I've owned the Shield and remember it was always stiff to rack, although I'm a big guy so it never got in the way. I have a Ruger LC9-S and it is much easier to rack. As for the trigger being "dangerous", I wouldn't quite use that word, but it is scary light and smooth. I'm generally a manual safety in semi auto guy, but I've owned Glocks and others without them. But I would never carry the LC9-S Pro. The safety on the lc9-s is smooth and easy to operate.

Ruger is really coming out with good triggers. Watch the Hickock45 video on the SR9-C. He raves at the trigger and he says on a gun with a trigger that light, he would insist on a safety and to use it. And he's a huge Glock fan

I bought my first Shield 9mm 4 years ago. When shopping for a new gun the one thing I liked over the other pistols I looked at was the trigger on the Shield. To me, it felt the best and it was one of the primary reasons that caused me to decide on the Shield.
True to what everyone says and my own personnel experience, the pistol was hard to rack or fully load the mags. 4 years later and it has definitely loosened up some.
Coincidentally, to the resurrection of this thread, I just bought another Shield 9mm a few weeks ago and the new gun is noticeably stiffer than the one I've had for 4 years.
Regards to my wife, I've let her shoot most of my pistols and she has settled on an older H&R revolver in .32 long that I've owned for many years. This is the one she likes to shoot due to lower recoil and the simple operation of the gun. I'm not gonna try and change her mind and convince her to shoot something that she doesn't want to shoot.

I handed my Wife the Shield and said "Rack it". She did with little effort. I think after handling, shooting her Glock so much and taking her CCL course, she is just learning and getting use to pistols. She told me she still loves the G42.

Here is our current EDC lineup.

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USMC RETIRED

I wish I could love the Shield since everyone else seems to. Plus it's 9mm and a great size. When I bought one a few years ago, I couldn't even lock the slide back to clean it. At the range I had all kinds of problems. Never had problems with 9c. I sold that Shield as quickly as I could. Now, I still want one because of it's positive attributes, but I'm not going to get one. I'd rather go larger and deal with the discomfort of carrying a pistol a little thicker than the Shield. I haven't tried the single stack Glock---maybe that one is easier to deal with. If the Shield is difficult to handle at the range, I doubt it would suddenly get easier in a stressful situation. Maybe buying a well-used one is the answer, but I'm probably one of the few people who have sold their Shield!