Hello everyone, New to site, and a new S&W owner.

I just got a .45 shield and did what you all said, load the mags, let sit for a week, rack back slide as well. I went to the range and sure enough i have the FTF issue like many on here. I had a friend and a RSO shoot it as well, and same issues. We shot 100 rounds of magtec and had 11 FTF and 3 mag drops. What i did notice is on a full mag when i pull the slide back (not a full rack) the striker plate rides on top of the round, this is where my gritty resistance is coming from, i can let go of the slide (if im doing is slow) and it will stay put where i stopped because it is stuck on the round. I called S&W and they claim this is all part of a break in period, to put another 100 or so rounds in then call them back. Back the range this weekend then.

My trouble turned out to be a bad 7rd magazine. Zero problems since replacing it.

My 45 Shield just got shipped back yesterday. FTF on just about every brand of ammo I put through it.

Welcome to the forum.

Please let us know how it works out when you get it back.

I shot two more mags with half hollow point and half ball ammo using the .45 Shield Hogue Handall that I just got.

No issues so far.

Went to the range today with my 45 Shield, my buddy and his 45 Shield, and another friend. My Shield was stored with the slide locked to the rear for 3 weeks. The 4 magazines were fully loaded and for 3 weeks. All rounds fired were factory ball. All firing was initiated by locking the slide to the rear, inserting a fully loaded 6 round magazine, and either slingshoting it or depressing the slide lock lever. Two handed slow aimed fire at a silhouette 7 yards away.

1. I shot his Shield with my magazines – on the first magazine a FTF of the 2nd round in the magazine. Also happened again on the third round in the magazine. Rounds getting hung up on the bottom edge of the locking block. Had additional FTF’s with the other magazines.
2. He shot my Shield with his magazines – he had the same FTF as above on the first magazine fired in my gun.
3. I shot my Shield with my magazines – same FTF issues.
4. My other friend shot my Shield with my magazines – all rounds fed and fired. No malfs. He was using a stiff armed isosceles triangle hold when firing.
5. I normally shoot the modified weaver stance with both arms slightly bent. Stiffened up my arms and shot several magazines of double taps – no malfunctions.
6. I tried some one arm retention shooting at the 1 yard line and fired several magazines without malfunctions.

So it looks like my shooting style is not compatible with this pistol. I will follow up in another post with a possible mechanical issue.

Took the Shield home and broke it down to clean it. After taking the slide off I took a hard look at the lower edge of the locking block and noted a distinctive edge/ridge where the rounds are catching. Then I inserted a magazine into the well and fully seated it. Seems that when the magazine is in place the front part of the magazine almost touches the bottom of the locking block. The thickness of the front of the magazine is practically the same and the protruding edge of the locking block meaning the magazine and locking block are practically flush. Then I stripped the internals from the magazine and fully inserted just the magazine body back into the Shield without the follower or magazine spring. I noted that even fully seated and held by the magazine catch, the magazine body can move up and down about 1/16 of an inch. When the magazine is fully up into the frame there is virtually no gap between the bottom of the locking block and the front edge of the magazine. When the magazine is fully down there is about 1/16 inch space between the bottom of the locking block and the front edge of the magazine. That is enough space to allow the round to catch on the bottom of the locking block. When the magazine is reassembled, and inserted into the frame, the spring and follower push the magazine down opening up that 1/16 inch gap between the bottom of the feed ramp and the front edge of the magazine. So it appears the magazine catch is undersized allowing up and down movement of the magazine and that may have something to do with my reliability issues.

Obviously I am not a gunsmith. The above observations and conclusions are pure speculation on my part. But they could be a factor in some of the feeding and magazine dropping issues. I will probably call S&W and see if they are willing to take a look at it again.

Operator203,

Sounds similar to what I've been experiencing. I forgot to mention previously that in addition to changing my grip, I also changed my stance from a Weaver type that I've only recently been trying since before getting the Shield, back to an Isosceles which I had always used before and seem to have worked around the problem. I don't really like the fact that I've had to make such changes to get the gun to work well. I noticed the sloppiness of the magazines too, figured it was just due to the stiff springs.

Would be nice if it could be corrected so I don't have to work so hard to get it to work reliably.

Thanks for the detailed report. Sounds like you might be on to something.

I went back to range last weekend, had one FTF with first round. Something weird, the top of shell casing was crimped. I racked it out, and just opened a new box of WWB ammo. The mag now loads like a dream. Shot 50 rounds and no issue. I'm in Mass and waiting for better weather to get back out and chalk up some more rounds. It was so weird with the spring being SOOOO friggin stiff. I haven't tried the 6rd mag at all as I like the grip on the 7 only. Still getting used to POA on this one. Seems like I really have to raise up the nose and aim over target compared to my other MP with Tru Glo sights.

Sent mine back in yesterday, here is the note i sent with it.

I am returning my M&P Shield .45 as I have had to many failure to feed issues and mag drops.
I have put only 200 rounds through and experienced an estimate of 20 plus FTF and countless mag drops. Mag drops happen if a FTF occurs and sometimes even if a round loads. I am not sure if the recoil is causing the mag pin to move or if the FTF is forcing the mag out. I have 2 types of ammo. Magtec 230 grain and Winchester White. I also had my RSO fire the gun as well to ensure it was not my grip or user error, he shot 3 full mags and experienced 2 FTF and 1 mag drop.

Ran four more magazines through, hollow points and ball, all Winchester White Box. Not a single hiccup.

From my experience with this gun so far, it seems to me that it might require a firmer grip technique than some other guns, which makes sense because it's a short barrel, very compact, lightweight package for a .45 caliber.

Those who already have a real solid, firm grip may not experience any issues, but others like me may have been getting along fine without any problems using a less firm grip with other guns and not realizing it.

It is strange that I and others have reported that it worked fine at first, but then started having malfunctions after a short period of use. I think this may have to do with the stiffness of the magazine springs when new. My problems seemed to start about the same time as the magazines became easier to load. Maybe the original stiffness of the magazine springs was making up for the problems caused by the less firm grip.

There may be more to it than that as well but anyway, that's my theory at this point.

Keep shooting it. It needs to function well in a variety of gripemergency self defense situations. You may need it in a loose grip 45 degree angle or something.

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Painted my Mag release red

Methinks I should have found and read this thread before picking up a new Shield .45 on Saturday. Damn, I hate how S&W uses us and customer service in lieu of actual quality control.

Guess I've got some serious testing to do, don't I?

Why? Just because he had an issue doesn't automatically mean you will.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Fired off 100rds in my new 45 shield and 40shield using the 6&7rd mags both in 15deg temps and both ran 100% perfect. I have been nervous reading all the problems folks been having with these guns. The mags on both were tuff to load more than 3rds so I fully loaded all the mags and let them sit for a few weeks.

Why? Because it sounds disturbingly common. Much more so than some of the other issues that have plagued S&W's various plastic guns.

Only because problems are posted. How often did someone post about not having problems? Put it this way....Back about 5 years ago I asked about the reliability of S&W 3rd gens on another forum. You should have seen the complaints from current and ex LEOs. You'd think they were junk. Extractor issues, accuracy issues, trigger issues....Etc..

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Had mine for 7 months now....probably 2500 rounds downrange both target and JHP's....no problems to date...but I always back slap the mag's before insertion...but thanks for the heads up...if problem rears it ugly head, I will know what to look for...............

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Hipcocked45

Well, it's a moot point now. I bought the damn thing. It's not like me to buy a brand new design without reading a ton on it first so bad on me. I guess what disturbs me most is that this is a problem which could cause a stoppage in the worst possible situation... unlike, say the Shield .40 kaboom issues that mainly related to bad reloads and over-charged boutique ammo (neither of which I would ever use).

Anyway, not the end of the world. I'll test the bejesus out of it and send it back to the mothership if necessary. I don't blame S&W as much as I blame myself for jumping too early. Again, bad on me.

Yesterday's info, included a link, that shows S&W producing 1.26 million pistols in 2015. I'd say the complaint issues are a minor fraction of guns in service. The internet complaint sections, always seem to blow everything out of proportion.

Earlier last summer, I read numerous articles about the Shield 45. Most were very positive. I was still skeptical, as I wondered about a 45 crammed into a smaller package. I picked one up, and couldn't be happier with it. It's never failed. I've thrown many different brands & types of factory ammo at it, as well as numerous types of reloads. Accuracy is beyond expectations. Recoil is low, and it fits well as a IWB carry. Pure satisfaction here, without a hint of remorse!

A lot of automatics have problems with unusual grip conditions. Practice self defense modes with these to know your firearm. Practice recovery from a malf. Protect yourself by having a plan to follow if you find yourself in such a god forbid emergency situation, all out survival instinct situation. U can run your firearm thru these drills with out ever firing a shot to remain safe from a mistake. U can fire it under safe practice conditions following all the safe patterns of usage but never risk firing it without knowing what you are aiming and firing at..in these grips you need to practice. A lot of this caution goes back to contact or near contact self defense, the most common type of intense criminal endangerment. Usually there is little or no warning of the danger to your life that is coming.

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Painted my Mag release red

I've fired my 45 Shield with probably every possible grip situation and it always functions fine. Every angle except upside down. Dirty and full of sand and grit, or clean and dry. Works great.
If it didn't, I wouldn't carry it.

If your pistol malfunctions from nominal limp wristing it needs to be fixed.
The only grip thing that will cause a malfunction from a properly set up Shield is a grip that pushes on the magazine release or slide lock when firing... IMHO

I think some these reported mag dropping and FTF issues are from mag locks that are not fitted properly in the pistol, and this has been quite rare in the short history of this model.
JMHO

I've run many more mags through with several different types of ammo since my last report and it has been flawless, not a single malfunction of any kind. I even bought another magazine and it is working perfectly. Haven't cleaned any of the magazines in quite a while.

What a great little shooter of big fat bullets. Having a lot of good fun now with it. Guess I'll have to try to see if I can get it to malfunction again just to do something different besides hitting the target every time. And to see if I should send it in just to make sure everything's up to snuff. Would be really hard to part with it now though.

I'm becoming very good friends with yet another gun. This may be the best one yet. It might be so good that I won't need to buy any more. Oh, no.

I called S&W two days ago and discussed my issues with one of the CS representatives. I explained that the Shield had been back for repairs and that I am still experiencing FTF's. I was considering sending it to the Performance Center for the M&P Action Package. He was very helpful and told me if it wasn't fixed they wanted it back. He emailed a shipping label. I delivered it to FedEx this morning. S&W will have it on Monday.

dang, sounds like you guys have been through the ringer. the commonality of these issues makes me REALLY nervous for if/when my .45 shield starts crapping out... I knew I should have waited and not bought a new design. uggg

I think the magazine follower is causing a lot of the issues. It's a molded plastic with a metal plate inserted. On my magazines I noticed the side towards magazine release was very slightly puckered. The magazine release is very limited in engaging the magazine as is. I posted a thread yesterday with what I did to modify the follower and the magazine.
Shield 45 Magazine Drop Issue Mods

I think with the manufacturing tolerances being so tight there is issue when a part exceeds the standard. All the parts are still in spec but when you get two or more parts on the high side it may add up to issues.

Haven't been on here in a while. Sent my Shield 45 back with both mags as it was not allowing the slide to rack and feed/chamber a round. It has been repaired and I'm waiting for ship notice. I was told they changed one mag, fixed the other, and changed the barrel. I enclosed pics of my issue and also sent back BOTH mags as the issue surface with both. Strange, but happy with Customer Service and communication.

My 2 cents, sure you should grip the thing good but you may have a "limp wrist" in a bad situation. Gun should shoot and reload every time no matter what in my opinion, otherwise you may have a one shot auto.

I love my new 45 shield, ran 284 rounds through it so far and didn't have an issue till I tried Remington 230 UMC JHP, I had 5 FTF.

I chose Remington after trying several USA brands in my other pistols. In the 45 Shield-UMC 230 FMJ for target, no problems. HTP 230 JHP, no problem. Immediately after having FTF with the UMC JHP, I tried the HTP JHP in the same magazines and no problem.

So, I guess I stay away from the UMC JHP, keep shooting and testing with other USA ammo and once I find the right stuff I stay with it.

Just an update on my 45 Shield. It went back to S&W for a second time to address FTF issues. They had it approx two months. I received it last week. The paperwork said they polished the feed ramp and chamber and test fired it. I took it to the range yesterday. I fired two boxes of ball with zero issues. I had previously experienced FTF issues with ball ammo. Hopefully its fixed. More range time and HP ammo will verify its reliability. Fingers crossed.

I know it's been a while, but I have not been using my .45 Shield because it has continued to have failures to feed unless I work regularly on my grip strength. That's not acceptable to me because like others have said, the gun should work in a self defense situation even if my grip is compromised for some reason.

So here's the latest from my experiences with this gun.

I returned it to S&W with a very detailed description of the symptoms. I included all three magazines as suggested by the rep on the phone since they all have the old style follower, two 7-round mags and one 6-round mag.

It was returned to me rather quickly with the following information.

----------------------------------------------------------
Slide Stops Early
Check for FTF

Performed service:
Evaluate/Repair
Polish Barrel/Chamber
Repair Extractor

Pass with all mags in box
The bottom of each mag was marked with a white X
----------------------------------------------------------

I tested it with four different brands of common 230 grain ball ammo. I ran all three magazines with each brand, 21 shots each. I had at least one FTF (usually between 1 and 3) with every mag load and with every brand of ammo, mostly within the first 3 rounds of the 7-round mags, and anytime when shooting one-handed.

So, I then loaded all 3 magazines with Remington Golden Saber 185 grain hollow points. I fired every single one of them one-handed without a single failure. Twenty-one consecutive one-handed shots with this ammo, flawless. I could not get more than 5 or 6 consecutive shots without an FTF using the ball ammo.

All of the ball ammo measures around 1.260 or greater COL. The Golden Sabers measure around 1.210 COL.

I don't know if it's the bullet weight, the COL, both or neither, but this seems really strange. At least it works best with SD ammo.

Oh, and the magazines were not even cleaned, and no updated followers were installed.

Looks like you should stick to Remington Golden Sabers in that gun.

Clearly, but a little expensive for practice. They are what I want to use for SD anyway, use them in all my guns. I bought a couple more boxes yesterday as soon as I found out how well they work in this gun. I have a box of reloads to try too that I made when I got my hands on some Golden Saber bullets, but they were hard to find last time I looked. Also thinking about trying making some ball ammo with a shorter COL for practice.

I called S&W and told them I'm still having FTFs, and they said send it in again, so I did. They said send in only the gun, no magazines.

Strangely when I got it back it had a 7 round magazine in the gun. The report said they had replaced the barrel locking block and the recoil rod.

I did nothing to it except load ammo in the "new" mag. It did not appear to be a brand new mag.

I loaded it with 8 WWB FMJ and fired them 2-handed with no malfunctions.

I loaded it again the same and fired all 8 1-handed with no malfunctions.

I loaded it a third time the same and fired all 8 1-handed with no malfunctions.

Then I loaded it with 8 Remington Golden Sabers and fired them all 1-handed with no malfunctions.

I thought yay, they finally fixed it.

Then I tried my 3 old magazines with WWB FMJ 1-handed. Every single one of my magazines had FTFs in the first 3 rounds, same as before. All of the FTFs resulted in the next round in the mag being nosed down into the front of the mag.

So I physically looked all of the magazines over for possible differences. The only thing I found was that the "new" mag that they returned in the gun felt like it had a stiffer spring. In fact, I closed my eyes and mixed up all four magazines so that I didn't have any idea which was which and pressed the follower down with my finger on each one in turn. One of them felt clearly harder to push down and sure enough it was the "new" one.

So, I loaded it a fifth time with WWB FMJ and fired all 8 1-handed with no malfunctions.

I called S&W and explained the above to them. I was told I had two options:
1. They would send me new springs for my old mags.
2. I could return the old mags to them for replacement with new mags, but I would have to do that through a dealer because of the state I live in.

I chose option 1 because I want to know if it is the springs or the magazines. I am waiting for the new springs.

I would recommend sanding down those followers when you re-install the springs. Even the new ones have sharp edges that catch or drag a bit when they pass the mag retain slot. I even filed that slot down as there was a bur inside the magazine. Make it as smooth as possible. I used a pick to pop the top of the retaining slot on the magazine out. It gives the magazine release a bit more area to hold that mag in place. I've had no issues since.

Thanks. I'll check that. I have all updated followers.

I found the grip to be too thin for my liking, though I never have had problems with my Shield 45. I added a Houge grip, very tight fit btw, the added width made the grip much more comfortable.

I never liked the thin grip either. I put the Hogue Handall grip on mine too a long time ago and it helped for a while, but the problems continued. It had the added benefit of the stock grip not sandpapering my back when carried IWB.

Oh, and yeah the Hogue grip is very tight but fits the gun perfectly. I used a hairdryer to help with getting it installed, but it was still a bit of work.

I have 3 Shields First a 9. Then a 45 and finally a 40. I haven't experienced any problems with any of them. And I shoot lead bullets through all.

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S&W Accumulator

So, do you guys who have no problems with the Shield 45 have vice-like grips?

Not sure if I have a vise~like grip, but I have close to 600 rounds through my Shield 45 without any malfunctions. I know that's not considered a lot of rounds, but that's with different brands of ball and some hp. 2 mags have the new followers and 2 mags don't. Very little recoil and pretty darn accurate at 10 yrs. I'm starting to really like this one, my first poly striker too.

If I had to hold it like I was choking it to make it work. I'd get "sumpthin" else.

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S&W Accumulator

That's true. I'm debating whether to try a different small 45 like the Springfield XDS Mod.2 which has some promising features that might make it work better for me (but it could be just as bad or even worse since I'm seeing similar complaints about it), or just use the Shield with the ammo that has yet to have a malfunction with it, Remington Golden Saber.

I got a Springfield XD-E (the one with the external hammer) in .45 ACP. I have put 1,000 rounds through it(mix of factory ball, HP's & handloads), and haven't had a single failure of any kind. My wife has an XD-E in 9mm, and it has been 100% for her as well.

The XD-E is a classic SA/DA design, and the slide is markedly easier to rack (SA says 30% lighter).

Try renting several guns at a range for "test drives" to get first hand experience with firing.

Unfortunately, no place like that around here.

My 45 shield was a jamomatic out of the box and the slide stayed back after the last round about 20% of the time. I sent it back to the factory and they replaced the slide stop. The slide now stays back but FTF was far too common. The nose of the round would seemed to get stuck in the mag or feed ramp as others have described here. I hand polished the upper and lower feed ramps and things improved a lot. Still I often had to slap the bottom of the grip before the round would feed. Sent it back to the factory and it was returned with the chamber and feed ramp nicely polished. First box was Remington umc 230 gr. FMJ. The problem persisted. As I began to load some identical looking rounds from Fiocchi, I was planning to sell the gun and hope Taurus would come out with a G2c in 45. To my surprise the Fiocchi along with everything else I tried including lead SWC rounds worked perfectly. I measured the Remington's at 1.2585", a tad longer than everything else I had. It would be interesting to know if anyone has chrono'ed the Remington's to see if they are of a lower velocity. For now the shield seems one weak hand dirty reliable. Nothing else in its class interests me. I hope it will be as reliable as the Firestar 45 I once owned.

I polish all my ramps with Flitz. Works great, but didn't help this gun. Also, S&W polished ramps and chamber first time. Didn't help.

The shorter 1.200 cartridges definitely work better for me than the longer 1.250 ones, especially the Remington Golden Sabers.

I looked at a Springfield XDS 45 Mod 2 in the store and it felt really good. About the same size as the Shield, much better trigger, better front sight. The thing I like the best about it is you can get a much higher grip on it very close to the bottom of the slide which I think could be a big help. Wish I could find one to test fire.

In the meantime, I started having failures with the "new" slide that S&W returned with my gun the last time. Same FTF, next round still in mag, nosed down into the front wall of the mag.

So, I put the Hogue Handall back on, studied my grip and stance some more and made some changes. Went out and shot 3 mags 2-handed with no malfunctions, including one of my old mags with WWB FMJ which always had FTFs. I didn't try any one-handed because I wasn't in the mood for any disappointment.

I believe at least part of the problems could be me. Every new gun I've had has made me a better shooter in some way. Not quite ready to give up on this one yet, but it has been frustrating at times. It is a small, large caliber gun and may require better technique that what I've been used to, but I do have to make sure there's no mechanical issues.

I do think the magazines have something to do with it though, since when they are new and the springs are stiffer, the gun works great.

If I had never shot anything but Golden Sabers in this gun I would be very happy with it.

I know what you mean about not wanting to be disappointed. I do not trust my shield yet, and it will take a lot of shooting to gain my trust. If I'm ever attacked by a paper target at the range, my gun can count on me for a good grip etc. But in a **** hits the fan situation, though not likely to ever happen, I don't want the gun to need count on me for it to be reliable. Revolvers sound better all the time.

Exactly what I was thinking about the gun counting on me, even as I was typing.

I am a big fan of revolvers but it's true that even they can malfunction and when they do, might not be able to be cleared quickly. I've had it happen, my fault, but still.

Got the new mag springs today.

The longest one in the middle of the picture is a new one.

The shortest one is from one of my old mags.

The medium length one is from the "new" mag they returned with the gun last time.

I haven't tried the new springs yet, but I have a feeling the shorter they get, the more FTFs.

Attached Images

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Have you tried getting a friend or range staff member to shoot a couple of mags with your gun? Could be a quick way to determine if the problem is you vs. the firearm.

Not yet, but I will if I get the chance.