I have a shield 9mm and a shield 45, I love them both, but if I don't rack the slide with authority on the 9 it will not return to battery. It hasn't caused any problems yet, I am learning to rack the slide and completely let it go without my hand slowing it down. My 45 always returns to battery. So will my 9 loosen up after I shoot it more? Or is this an issue with the gun itself? I am new to the game of semi-auto so any advise would be appreciated?

Have you disassembled the gun and cleaned it and lubed it well?

Check to see if the ammo isn't causing trouble.

Shoot a couple hundred rounds through it.

If so, this not-quite-going-into-battery thing has been a common complaint. If somebody doesn't come along with a good solution, call S&W for a shipping label, ship it to them. Warranty work moves quickly and you'll have the gun back probably in about ten days or thereabouts.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

The recoil spring will loosen a little but the real issue is don't ride the slide. You have self-diagnosed the problem. Many guns will not go into battery if the slide is impeded in any way.Keep working on it.

As stated above, don't ride the slide. Slingshot the puppy and all should be well.


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NRA Life Member, Patron

AGREE 100%.

additionally, after a few hundred rounds this problem (of not returning to battery) will tend to go away on it's own

Mine still does this occasionally if I ride the slide and it has over 2k rounds through it. It's completely normal and I have several others that will do it as well. As others have said, rip the slide back and let it slam shut.

1100 rounds and never had he issue not going into battery but I have always let the slide slingshot.


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thanks for all the input!

I too have the same problem sent it to s&w and they said the gun is in working order but it does go out of battery when holstering sometimes.

Ah, this brings back memories of my step-dad. He fought every semi-auto firearm he ever had because he KNEW the slide should still go into battery even when ridden down.
When I got old enough to buy my first semi-auto, I let it slam shut and never had an issue. He lectured me that I was tearing up my gun by letting it slam shut (which I ignored), and 50 years later, my first semi-auto works just fine, even though the finish is long since worn off.

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Science plus Art

I had the same problem with mine at first. Now that I have a few hundred rounds through it and have learned to completely let go if the slide, I have zero problems.

Good luck.

Take it apart and reassemble minus the recoil spring. run the slide slowly and feel for any binding. If none reassemble and shoot a few boxes of ammo through it. Also I'd make sure it has the proper spring in it.

This problem is fairly common and mainly shows up when the gun is a tight fit in the holster. Simple solution is to place your thumb on the back of the slide and push it into the holster. Problem solved.

On the other hand it's very likely the slide will go back into battery when the gun is drawn from the holster however I prefer to holster the gun using the method above. Practice this over and over and it will become natural.

I just bought a shield 9 a week ago and momentarily had the same scare. I realized that i was not pulling the slide ALL the way back which is what caused the issue. I was still a little worried until i fired 100 rounds with no issues.

Same issue with mine. Only about 150 rds through it, so hopefully it will loosen up. The spring is so tight that I have to pull all I can just to release the slide stop.

Happened to me once. Actually my daughter, but I wound up diagnosing the problem (easy since I watched her steps). I never knew about riding the slide, but I wound up actually using that same phrase!

I've had my Shield 9 since Nov 2014. More than 1500 rounds through it. It hasn't really loosened up much. One thing to help.. when gun is not in use, remove all ammo & mags, then lock slide to the rear and leave it there for several hours. Makes the slide a little easier to pull fully rearward, which helps it slide all the way forward. YMMV.

I was not talking about racking the slide ,,the problem is when gun is locked an loaded, if you bump the front part of the slide the gun goes out of battery.