I'd hate to jinx them, but has anyone else noticed that posts about the Recoil Spring Assembly failures on the Shield have ceased?
Considering the deluge of failure posts in the past, it seems that something must have changed for it to be so quiet now.
I have an RSA that replaced a failed one, and it's heartening to think that maybe its somehow better than the one that failed.

Good question. I am still on my Stock 9mm Shield RSA but do have a back up! And no I have not read any complaints on the RSA lately! BUT know you bought it up we will be flooded lol

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9mm Shield

Bought a shield back in February. Do not see any issues with mine.


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Bought mine 3 months ago. 375 rounds through it with no problems.

I bought mine in May of 2015; Have put over 2,200 through it with no issues. The RSA is as it was when I first got my Shield9. There is no sign of any damage what so ever.

mb

400 rounds through mine and so far so good

No issues here either: over 5,000 rounds on the original RSA without a hiccup. I swapped it out a couple of months ago with a new factory RSA (group-ordered last year with Robzguns--thanks Rob)
I keep the original (still looks good-as-new) as a spare now in my range bag. I do notice that the OEM replacement is much stiffer than my well-broken in original RSA.

Bought mine in Apr 2012, with over 10K rounds and still using the original factory RSA. I do have a replacement, waiting for that day when the RSA gives up.

But yeah... It does seem like there are fewer complaints. While I don't know if S&W makes their own RSAs, or if they are farmed out to someone else... They must have had a bad batch that got dumped (mixed) into the 'parts tub'.

Bought mine last year, no issues. I just make sure it's properly positioned before re-assembly. Don't know how many rounds through it as I don't keep track.

Not just fewer, but none at all lately. For a while, every few days there was a post about an RSA failure. One thread was from a guy who bought three Shields, and he posted pics of two of the RSA's that were broken straight from the box, unfired.
I'm glad that's in the past now. I was reminded of it because of two recent threads about Shield mag springs failing by folding up. Weird.

I have over 6500 rounds through mine on the original RSA. No issues.

It's good to see that S&W apparently has the RSA issue solved. I bought my Shield 9 in May of 2015, and was one of the unlucky ones who had a bad RSA straight out of the box. The replacement was also bad (fell apart after one use). It took S&W three months to get me a good one. I now have two good RSAs, and my Shield has run well with both. It has over 4500 rounds through it, with no problems in the last 800 or so. It is still somewhat ammo sensitive, but has worked flawlessly with Lawman 124 FMJ, Speer Gold Dot 124+P SD, and Hornady Critical Duty 135+P SD rounds.

For a detailed account of my aggravating (but now somewhat amusing) experience of trying to get a good RSA for my Shield, you can read the following thread: Shield RSA one more time

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What, me worry?

My RSA also failed during the "Great RSA Drought" and also took three months to replace.
Saw the wisdom of having multiple guns for carry, in case one gets sidelined for an extended period.

That's what I did with my M&P 40c while my Shield was down. And guess what, my 40c has now become my permanent EDC. I got used to the 40c's greater bulk and weight, and carrying it now doesn't bother me at all. I also shoot it more accurately than I do the Shield, and with a magazine capacity of ten .40 cals vs. eight 9 mms, the 40c's advantage gets even greater. Finally, while the Shield has now become quite reliable, the 40c has had only one FTE and one failure to feed in 7100 rounds. I do carry the Shield on occasion, but the 40c's greater accuracy, hitting power, capacity, and reliability makes it my preferred EDC.

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What, me worry?

mines doing fine about 1500 into it... do however have a back up RSA just for you know whats and giggles.

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why? why not?

I have two shields both function without issues. I didn't know there was an issue with the RSA.

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M&P 9, Shield9.

Yeah, same here. Shield went from EDC to back-up duty, after I got the replacement spring. Still, I'm glad the defect batch is in the past.

I just picked up a brand new 9mm Shield to go with my FS and when I stripped it for its first cleaning I expected to see a polymer guide rod. But to my surprise it's steel. Build date is April 2016. Nice.

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NRA, ISRA, SAF, GOA, GSL

Really thats good to hear. I got my 9mm Shield early this year and it was plastic ! I have not had one issue so far! Guess they finally figured out that it is better to spend a few extra pennies on their top seller

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9mm Shield

I've never had any trouble with the RSA. I could be totally wrong, but I've always felt that at least some of the trouble was caused when people install the spring crooked on re-assembly. Then it jams the pistol, gets broken, etc. The good news is that on the Shield 45 there's a groove at the bottom of the barrel that creates a positive detent for aligning the spring. Hopefully this is a change they'll make to the 9mm and .40.

I never had any trouble with the Shield 9mm RSA through many many boxes of various ammo. I was always very careful to seat the RSA properly when assembling the pistol. No problem, although it was always a bit on the stiff side.

The Shield 45 has a noticeably lighter RSA spring and the assemblage is much easier to put together properly and quickly.

I had purchased a single piece stainless RSA with the spring, but only used it a couple months. It was slightly less stiff in my 9mm pistol, but the design of the way the RSA seats under the barrel is of course unchanged and IMHO slightly " hinky " .... Both RSAs worked just fine in my pistol until I sold it after becoming enlightened to the vast superiority of the Shield in .45ACP which should be obvious to all who cast their eyes upon this marvel of design and manufacturing excellence.

YMMV

I've have a Shield made in 6/2014 and it has a steel RSA.

Bought a shield in Dec 2015 . 1000 rounds fired, no issues with mine.

No kidding.. I got my Shield about a year ago and Plastic RSA, Got a Spare RSA and that was plastic .. Myabe they were just using up the Plastic RSA and now a full run of steel RSA 's

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9mm Shield

Plastic? Please post a pic. All my M&Ps have captured springs. All are steel.

I too would like to see the plastic RSA.

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JAREDSHS
LEO(retired)

Here is a pic of the Factory alot of us have! This is the OEM and has a Plastic pod and a metal spring .. The only metal RSA I have seen were the after market form Galloway I think
Recoil Spring Assembly - Shield [2175] - $12.50 : Welcome to Speed Shooter Specialties

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9mm Shield

That one is metal, no plastic in it.

The springs themselves are steel. What was plastic is the guide rod.

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NRA, ISRA, SAF, GOA, GSL

Your right, I must have had a senior moment :O for some reason I thought the rod on the RSA was plastic,, Checked my spare RSA and YUP I was wayyyyyyyyy offf lol It is my Ruger SR9E that has the plastic rod.. Bummer it sucks getting old lol

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9mm Shield

As one who probably has had more experience with defective Shield RSAs than anyone else on this forum (see Post #12), I can tell you that all four of the Shield factory RSAs that I have owned have been all-metal. I verified this with my newest one using a magnet. It's hard to believe that S&W would resort to plastic now that the QC problems with the original all-metal design have been worked out.

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What, me worry?

I'm glad you got this straightened out. I was fetching my Shield to disassemble. I knew it was steel. Late 15 production, early 16 purchase new.

I had the wrong gun lol It is my Ruger SR9E that has a Plastic RSA! I have not had a issue with that RSA at all . Getting old bites lol..

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9mm Shield

Recent Performance Center Shield 9, 400 rds and no problems except for mag spring folding into itself..

Just put the first 200 rounds through with perfect operation. Nice pistol.

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NRA, ISRA, SAF, GOA, GSL

bought a new 45 Shield this morning
Upon initial disassembly the RSA separated leaving me with a brand new pistol. My other M&Ps including a 40 shield have been flawless, but my new one has me angry .....Thanks for letting me blow off steam, and no, the problem aint yet fixed !@

First one I've heard of on the 45. Hopefully it's a fluke and not a trend. Customer service will get you a new one and hopefully that's the end of it.

Good luck.

600 rounds and no problems. Love the pistol. Eats everything I put in it. Not a single issue. Trigger, not so much. After 600 rounds I had the pull measured and it came in at 9 to 10 pounds. My 9mm FS after 3,000 rounds is at 4 to 4.5.

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NRA, ISRA, SAF, GOA, GSL

I've only had mine a couple of weeks, but 600 rounds and no issues. FYI I love the PC trigger. Not rubbing it in, just FYI.

While on the subject, I have the PC version, and stainless steel guide rods .com (or something similar) says theirs doesn't fit the PC and only the regular Shield. I asked and they said they had a PC customer have an issue, so they put that on their site until they were sure. I'm pretty sure they are identical...am I correct?

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Something really smart

Bought a Shield 9 May 2015. RSA broke around 200 rounds. Got a prompt replacement from S&W that is still working.


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Just bought a M&P 9 Shield for a PC for the wife. Out of the box, the thing was damn near impossible to rack the slide open and even more difficult to release the slide. Have since seen many complaints on the boards about this stiff spring issue. S&W tells me: "One way to help break it in and soften it up is to store the gun with the slide locked back." A lot of good thats going to do for a PC piece. (Oh, please Mr. Intruder, can you give me a minute while I wrestle with my slide?) Has anyone else here had these issues, and if so, what did you do to alleviate this issue? She's in her late 50's so I'd like to fix it to where a pre-teen girl (not trying to be sexist mind you) could operate it.

My husband spoke to the counterman at the LGS to find me a slide I could rack when I first started shooting. I got the Sig P238, one of the easiest slides there is.

Shooting the Shield will loosen it up quite a bit, but it still takes some determination on my part.

I'm curious, what do you mean "PC for the wife"? What's PC stand for? Not Performance Center I assume.

A cleaning and good quality lubricant will help a little. TW25B lube is excellent on slide grooves.

My bad - "Personal Carry"

Just picked up my new shield 9 performance center yesterday. The spring is halfway coming off over end of guide rod. You can take the mag out and pull slide to the rear and it will stay locked back without slide stop engaged. You have to smack the back of the slide to get it to close. Absolutely amazing how these continue to leave the factory especially a performance center model!
My last regular shield had same issue and I sold it because S&W wanted me to send the gun in to get a new rsa. They refused to send or sell me a new rsa. Terrible customer service.

Hmm. My wife's "Personal Carry" is a well-used and smooth 4 inch Model 681 with Crimson Trace laser grip. Just sayin'.

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

That's what happened to mine. The end of the spring slipped past the spring seat, and jammed the slide so bad I had to get a gunsmith to undo it. But the seat was not bent like whats happening to other people, it just wasn't able to capture the spring.

OTOH, I've had mine nearly a year, shot the heck out of it, never had a problem with the RSA.

Anyone know who carries the rsa for the shield. I called S&W this morning and after being put on hold for 5 minutes was informed they are out of stock. And I could call back in a few weeks to see if they are back in stock. I even asked could they put my name on a waiting list and was told no if I wanted one sooner I could order one from another company.
Any help is appreciated as S&W isn't much help.

Did you tell them yours was broken, or that you want to buy a spare?

Everyone I've heard about before whose RSA was broken, was put in a cue until they were available.

I told her the spring is not being captured by the guide rod. And that it is defective. That's when I was put on hold then told they have none in stock and I could call back or order from somewhere else. I was nice and polite and said I don't think I should have to purchase a new rsa from somewhere else. The spring is broke/defective and the gun was just purchased new from dealer last week. Then she said they close for Christmas this Thursday and will re open jan2. And was also told there is no waiting list to be put onto when they come back into stock. Maybe I will call again today and ask to speak with a supervisor. Just has me clueless.