I am a first time firearm owner and I purchased a M&P Shield 9mm. Last Sunday was the first time I took it to the range and I put 100 rounds of Winchester FMJ 115gr and I only had 1 stove pipe. Yesterday I went back and put another 50 rounds through it and had 1 stove pipe and 1 casing got stuck in the chamber. Today I put another 50 rounds through and had 2 stuck in the chamber 1 live round and 1 shell casing along with 5 stove pipes. I have also put 25 Winchester hollow point with no issues. Am I doing something wrong or should I just keep shooting it. Also I live in Mass so it is Mass compliant. Thanks

welcome to the forum, this is a great place to meet new folks and get good info.

First, it is obvious to most but sometimes when we get a new pistol we want to just rush out and shoot it without cleaning first, so, did you clean it? Have you cleaned it since?

Next is grip, not a death grip but a good firm grip on it is essential to preventing ftf and fte.

Lastly, I have shot about 500 white box through mine and not one single failure to feed or eject. I have another 800 of various ammo both hot and regular fmj and jhp, not one failure.

Good luck and good shooting!

__________________
Regards from THE Old Fart

I would second the previous recommendations. When I first got mine I let my 9 year old shoot it and he would stovepipe every other round. I would take the pistol and shoot it fine. Hand it back to him and he would stovepipe it again. Your grip and a firm almost locked arm is necessary to let the gun cycle properly. Have someone with a little more experience watch you shoot and give you some pointers. You could also let them shoot it to make sure it is not the gun.

Thanks, today I was experimenting more with support hand pressure and trigger pull and may have relaxed my elbows a bit. The day before everything whtn left and low. Today that was better and the stove pipes showed up.

I concur with the above recommendations to give it a good cleaning and proper lubing, and to have someone else shoot a few mags through the pistol.
This is odd, but some pistols just take a little longer to settle in than others do. The OP is still well under the 500 rounds that most people seem to consider a break-in thresh-hold for a semi-auto.

Hey, former Leominster guy here. Bro still lives there.

Yes, clean and lightly lube per your owners manual and you should be OK. If not, get your dealer to help send it back to S&W and they will take care of you.

__________________
USAF, 69-92
Vietnam, 72-73

Another Mass. resident here. I've only put about 50 rounds through my Shield 9, no problems. Well, except getting used to the 10.5 trigger. Man, worst trigger ever!

Best advice so far is Let Somebody Else Shoot It . . .

__________________
Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Another Ma resident here. good advice from all clean it well and lube it lightly and try again.
I shoot WWB 115 through mine , and some american Eagle 124 with zero problems.
Federal HP and Winchester PDX1 HP also worked fine.
Probably up to 300-350 rounds now. I also just had the trigger done down to a 5.5 pull and it shoots like a different gun.
I Highly recommend doing that. I almost got rid of it and went with an M&P .40C (my shield is a 9) because
since having the trigger done on my FS .40 I shoot it much better.
Now I'm shooting the shield much more accurately. The stock Ma. trigger is horrible.

1- Clean and lubricate ( as per owner's manual )
2- Get some hot ammo.. I prefer Lawman 124, Federal HST 124, Speer Gold Dots, CCI Blazer 124 or 147s..etc for the first 350-500 rounds before stepping down to 115gr

That process should nicely break in and take care of any FTF or FTE issues.

I had one FTE thru 650 rounds ( Freedom Munitions 115gr ) when breaking in my Shield.

Handgun malfunctions can easily be induced by the shooter, and smaller guns are more sensitive than larger ones. That is why most recommend new shooters learn on a full-size pistol before trying smaller ones. If you have access to a full-size pistol it would probably benefit you to learn on that first before progressing to the Shield.

Since you are a new shooter it is less likely that you have an ammo issue and more likely it is shooter induced (underpowered ammo will cause FTEs, but improper technique will exacerbate this). If you have the ability to go receive some professional instruction that would be the best way to start the learning process. I understand not everyone has access to or the ability to attend training; there are excellent resources available on the internet. I would start by watching some videos from top competitors and respected trainers.

Here is a great video on proper grip technique from Shannon Smith (who certainly knows what he's talking about), with a proper grip shooter induced malfunctions will go away. If the problem persists ammo may be playing a role in the malfunctions, but as mentioned earlier weaker ammo can function fine with good technique and not work with improper technique.

Only thing I've noticed not mentioned is to disassemble, deburr, clean (I use CRC silicone), DRY, and reassemble the magazines. The Shield magazines also get a bit easier to load after this treatment.

A familiar conversation at the range:
"My *&%# gun is jamming!!"
"When did you last clean it and the mags?"
"Why should I clean it? It's brand new!"

__________________
Science plus Art

The US Army Markmanship Manual for pistols, they also have one for rifles, is a good training source. Up can find it for free on line in pdf form.

__________________
USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

OP, don't worry. As others have said, firmer grip should reduce or eliminate the stove pipes. The stiff recoil spring doesn't help either when breaking in the handgun.

Compared to other larger handguns I shoot, with the Shield 9mm, I have to consciously hold it tighter to get a decent cycle action and to prevent stove pipes.

Good news for you is that if you can shoot well with the Shield 9mm, you will already be a very good shooter with a compact or duty-size handguns.

Great vid! I'll be trying the pointers in this vid tomorrow when I hit the range after work.