Some do not think it is a problem because they are not as obsessive as some of us about our weapon. I am talking specifically about the SMITH AND WESSON SHIELD PISTOL IN 9MM, AND IN FACT, I OWN TWO OF THEM THAT I AM REFERRING TO. THANK YOU!

The pickup rail is the problem coupled with the bl lock up and reset tab all timed to happen at about the same time that cause's the slide to hang just out of battery inadvertently in your pocket or in your fanny pack or even while holstering.

I have even cut one full coil off two 7 rounders and tried them and they work 100% with over 300/150 rounds of amm through each one hoping it would help but none at all.


A person would not want to go more than one coil because the pressure pushes the round up under the extractor to feed. They lock perfectly on the last shot.

The pickup rail is a bit low in the slide aggregate and the angle of the grip to the slide pick up rail is aa contributor.

The nature of the design trying to be built to use the same extractor with two rounds so different in case rim diameter was not a good choice either.

The guide rod recoil spring assembly is flawed too.

To fragile and the recoil butts are too thin. I replaced both these with the Stainless guide rods and paid the 40 buck Smith and Wesson cheated us out of to make the gun sell at a cheaper price.


This hangs-up problem has too many contributors to be fixed and cannot be shot in wore in or adjusted in.

These guns are flawed and until Smith fixes the design there will be one million slide hanging Guns out there with junk recoil spring assemblies.

Now truthfully the Shield is a wonderful concept and if you can live with this malady or are one of those that are simply not nearly as worried about drawing your gun under stress and that one second your gun is not in battery costs you the first shot and you eat one between the eyes or in the heart, more power to ya!

If a Smith Rep would like to talk to me my email is [email protected]
I would be happy to help remedy some of these problems but it is going to take some redesign work to do it.

I tried to use Google translate but came up with the same gibberish.

Do you own Shield pistols? Are you trolling my post or are you just being facetious?

??????????Shield?

In the future, you should start with a description of the firearm you would like to discuss. Waiting until the 12th paragraph to let us in on the secret is not effective writing.

Try this: Bottom line up front. Start with a quick summary, than a more detailed description of the problem at hand, then end with another quick recap.

What's a recoil butt?

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I do hope you either replace the springs you've 'Modified', or at least tell whoever you sell/trade them to, that the springs have been modified.

Obviously, the Shield is not the right pistol for you. It makes me wonder why you bought two of them.

Glocks are great pistols. Good luck, Fair Winds and Following Seas.

thin piece of round metal at the end of the recoil spring assembly.

yes I have new ones. be blessed and watch yout top knot.

Everyhody that owns a Shield will know which pistol I am talking about.

Yes, not the Badge, not the Badge forum!

I have numerous S&W Revolvers, one I carried for 18 years of my 26-year career. I have the model 19 Combat Magnum I started with in 1978 and shot at the Academy.

I have an older pin bl 4 inch Model 29 I carried Bow hunting in Colorado and I have a 4 inch M&P no problemo.

I am not anti-Smith, I am a realist and I am an experienced Gunsmith too because I retired early and worked professionally at two major shops. Love my other Smiths. I am honorable and honest thank you, SO MOTE IT BE!

Got it. Never got into Smith autos. I'm glock, sig, hk guy.

I see you are a SW armour? Is nomenclature all you noticed or do you have any ideas about the causation of the numerous problems I mentioned on the SMITH AND WESSON SHIELD 9MM PISTOLS I OWN?

I own a Shield.

I don't own a shield. I require a gun to just do what it was built to do....shoot. if it does that reliably there is nothing that needs tweaking or working over.

FULLY LOADED MAGAZINE AND ONE IN THE CHAMBER, MOVE THE SLIDE BACK A HALF INCH, DOE'S IT HANG OUT OF BATTERY?

CAN YOU MAKE IT HANG JUST OUT OF BATTERY?

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ANY SHIELD DOING THIS? HANGING OUT OF BATTERY?

I just need help, help to make my guns work right, that is all!

Nope, do not go there! I am a certified NRA Firearms Instructor and past Certified ALETA LEO ACADEMY INSTRUCTOR. I also have Judicial notice as an expert witness in Arkansas as a Firearm Expert. I am NRA DISTINGUISHED AND 1993 Combat Master. I do not know everything and obviously an asking for help here with two pistol that I really would like to make work.

Nope, I own a Shield, an M&P9c and a standard M&P9, and frankly, the way you start in the middle of a subject, use poor grammar, misspell words and use incorrect terminology, it was darn hard to decipher what you were talking about, let alone what type of pistol you were talking about. I honestly thought you were intending to reply to an existing post and accidentally created a new one instead...

Anyhow, good luck with your new Glocks, and keep working on it, they say English is a challenging language to master...

No doubt about it, the post was poorly written and hard to follow. I finally repaired my Glock 19 to work the way it is supposed to. The factory representative has denied that failure to eject and brass in face was ever a problem even though it is all over the internet. Good luck with your Glocks.

Pretty much everyone who has responded to this thread has said that your topic is poorly communicated and we're all wrong?

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Retired Career Security Guard

My best guess from trying to decipher your posts is that you sir are the most probable "causation" of the problems with your Shield. From the previous cryptic information you provided, it sounds like you have cut coils off of at least two of your magazine springs, and replaced the "defective" recoil spring assemblies. Perhaps it's just me, but making these kinds of modifications to a new pistol sounds like a bad start if trying to solve a problem in a mechanical device that you have not been trained to repair.

Since the gun is under warranty and is by your own estimation defective, why not contact Smith and Wesson Customer Service and have the gun, or guns evaluated. It's a toll free call, 1-800-331-0852. Shipping is free. It would cost you nothing to have a trained armorer evaluate and repair the problem.

Seems a bit "puzzling" (pun intended) that you are posting here for advice and help when you are "selling them off".

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I have a Shield and I had no idea what gun you were talking about until the end of your post. I've never had the problems you describe either.

I talked to a true gun guy recently who was also sold on sigs and hks.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

As far as 'hanging out of battery' when doing a Press Check, a new out of the box Shield is not the only pistol on the market that hangs during a Press Check. Check the other Forums and you'll see that the XD-S, G26, Nano, Solo, LC9 variants, to name just a few, have multiple threads about Press Check hangs.

What do all the various forums say to do with those various pistols?
1. Load it to +1, Holster it and don't Press Check.
2. If it hangs OOB, press it back into battery.
3a. If there is enough friction to press it OOB during holstering, perhaps the holster is too snug.
3b. If there is enough friction to press it OOB during holstering,there's enough friction to pull it back into battery during the draw.

When my Shield was new, I could make it hang OOB if I Press Checked, but only then... and I don't Press Check. If the mag is in the Pistol, it's loaded to +1.

For the record... This is not a 'Shield Only' Sub-Forum... It's the M&P (FS, C, BG AND Shield) Sub-Forum. Obviously YOU knew you were referring to the Shield, but it seems that nobody else did (including me), until the last part of the post.

I've heard a LOT of great comments about the Shield, from people that actually use them and I've heard some negatives, a few being persistent like the recoil assembly and the slightly out of battery problem.

I bought a Shield recently and love shooting it, but I reload my own ammo and had problems with the short barrel leade and have greatly reduced the OAL of my reloads to accomodate the Shield and also a Kel tec that I own. Consequently, I haven't truly been able to evaluate either gun. My next range trip with all ammo that will cleanly plunk test in all of my pistols, I hope to have a good evaluation and include the Shield in my defensive gun line up. Right now the only guns I trust are my model 686, model 36 revolvers and my 3rd gen model 5943. Again, I hope to add two pistols to that line up if I can prove their reliability.

PS I find the short leades in both guns so restricting that I'm considering getting them reamed to accommodate OALs up to about 1.135" or so where as now I'm limited to 1.0155". However, I'm also aware that compact pistols can be a little picky as to the ammo they work best with and I don't want to mess anything (especially with the Shield) up that will affect them negatively. I have heard people say a slight chamber reaming doesn't hurt.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I own a shield and cannot make it do what you are talking about...

Good luck with your Gluck.

Thanks to all who replied and for your service.

Real Gunsmiths will understand what "Slide aggregates" and "pick up rails" are. Some of you refer to it as "Gibberish" which is understandable because you know nothing about it. Sorry for assuming someone here might. Again, thank you for the replies and I have actually been contacted by a person email is able to understand the dimensional terminology that may be able to help me.

I've carried a Shield 9 since June 2012. It has always hung OOB when doing a press check, so I don't do that. It has a loaded chamber check hole so there's no need to press check. Every time I go to the range I draw and shoot at least one round to verify it is functional. It has never failed to fire, and obviously never been found OOB. I have full confidence in it.

OK, so let's try this again.

Yes, my Shield used to hang out of battery after a press check. I had to ensure I pushed it forward to fully reseat. This was not an issue with a full slingshot. After a few hundred rounds, it doesn't do it anymore.

Yes, the RSA could be made a bit more sturdy. However, I've had no issues with mine.

I use an Uplula to load all my mags. The last one is really tight so I often do it by hand.

My Shield is nearing 1 1/2 years old (to me) and just shy of 600 rounds. Can't estimate how many dry fires and takedowns. It hard to not "fiddle" with it.

These issues are, by no means unique to the Shield. My FS M&P mags are a bear to fully load and I really have to whack the full mag to insert on a closed slide. My Sig also used to hang on a press check with a full mag until it "broke in".

Good luck with your Shield, Glock or whatever you choose.

Well,I'm happy to announce that neither of my Shields suffer the described "malady." :confused

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Blessed be the Lord,my Rock

The John Browning tilt locking barrel design requires a positive lockup of the barrel chamber in the slide (in battery). However, it must also slide in and out of battery. The force required to unlock the breech and move the slide back and tilt the barrel down is directly related to the rearward force the cartridge exerts on the breech face upon firing. It is fast and significant. That's the DESIGN.

When you putz a slow, soft , wimpy chamber check and then expect an action that is supposed to require a significant amount of force to either lock or unlock, to relock smoothly and easily, especially when parts are new and not worn in, you are expecting more than most mass produced new guns can deliver. Your expectations are the problem, not the gun.

As mentioned, there is no need to press check a Shield 1/4" for a visual confirmation of the loaded status and induce your problem because of the viewing port. If you must insist on setting up the situation, don't show your ignorance (any further than your atrocious lack of written communicating ability) by blaming a properly operating gun.

You can polish and re-profile the offending parts so a chamber check will allow a full lock up under the minimal spring pressure exerted by the recoil spring assembly at just slightly under its greatest and weakest extension, but there may be a concomitant easing of the force required to unlock the action upon firing a round. Custom tuned guns have such a feature, and well-worn guns (thousands of rounds shot) too.

We all agree the RSA could be more robustly constructed, but the 99% of us that have no problem with ours think you are making a mountain out of an ant hill.

Ditto on mag loading. Asked and answered many times over the years for many, many guns. Springs are tight to begin with by design so they last longer. They relax some with repeated cycling. They eventually wear out from repeated cycling.

What you are demanding is a custom tuned gun at a manufactured gun price. I doubt you will find a Glock or any other modern manufactured, new pistol to be much different. But if you do find such a gun, please get on their board to talk with them about it. You've put forth your confusing and argumentative opinions here plenty.

This was a fun thread. More please!

Actually Sir, NOW YOUR TALKING MY LANGUAGE,1911 AND P-35 along wth the small pocket Browning blowbacks in 380 and 32 along with the small Browning 25 copied by Baur.

What is funny about your statement that I want a custom for a modest price is THAT MY MODESTLY PRICED GUN IS A GUN AND A GUN SHOULD WORK NO MATTER THE PRICE, RIGHT? LMAO

OK, so you are saying that the BROWNING DESIGN IS UTILIZED IN THE SHIELD, WELL SORT OF BUT not really. Every Browning auto design had internal locking recesses and the Glock and Smith do not, course you know 1911 runs on a link and the slide actually begin the recoil and bl drop via engagement on the barrel locking recess to move it downward and begin the extraction feed cycle.

Glocks? Well, I have fired a minimum of 50 thousand rds through them and I have had stuff break yes, but never a slide hang like I have described here.

I already have a GLOCK 26 a Glock 21 I carried the last 7 years of work. I also have a Glock 17 gen 4 and a Glock 42 I just acquired.

Glocks work, but I would rather sell them all and go to ALL AMERICAN MADE GUNS, AMEN?

They must be 100% though, even at 350 bucks yes? Yes.

All my stupid Austrian Guns work and that is what chaps my rear end, why I am not seeing 100% AMERICAN MADE GUNS IN Policeman and Military Holsters here in the USA.

WHY IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR STUFF TO WORK?

MY LIFE MATTERS, THAT OF OTHERS TOO, THE 1873 THUMBUSTER EVEN WORKS, WHY CAN YOU NOT GET IT TOGETHER SMITH AND WESSON ON THESE LITTLE GUNS?

Now here comes all the Smith Goblins after the FNG and try to berate me for numerous things but can we all not agree that this slide hanging thing should not be happening?

"Polish" which parts? I am a Master 1911 Man, worked for years at both in NW ARKANSAS and am slide to frame fit specialist so yes, I know about the browning lock up.

Thank you sir for your service!

Oh, you mean you are talking REAL gun talk. No wonder us lay dudes didn't get the drift. The REAL gunsmiths mostly on the gunsmithing forum. But I have heard not to do the press check in the past, but I think I'll drill the peephole out a few sixteenths so I can see into the chamber better.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Patientoctor, it hurts when I do this.
Doctor: Don't do that!

Shield hangs out of battery? Don't push it out of battery. Problem solved.