Smith & Wesson 380 EZ issues?

[George9]

Hi, my wife has really bad arthritis so we were thinking about a 380 EZ but after reading about all the problems and watching a lot of videos of last round with live round stove piping I'm not so sure. Wondering if they fixed the easy now that it's been out for a while? Also on another note do they make an easy in a 9 mm? If so are there any issues with that current model? Thanks! George

[Fulton722]

No, and No.

[MikeAEZ]

The problem appears to be random going by postings in this forum. Some EZ owners have the live round stovepiping issue like me- others do not.

My gun is coming back from S&W. We'll see if they fixed it but my gut tells me it won't be.

[Lab4Us]

Wife has 1950 rounds through hers. Had some stove piping first couple hundred rounds, none since. I chalk it up to she was brand new shooter with this gun and needed to learn how to grip. And after the first couple hundred of rounds, gun parts meshed together and magazine springs settled in. SW will fix it for free under warranty - if necessary. While there are a few who have had issues (squeaky wheel the loudest), there are many with no issues. Even folks who buy $4k handguns sometimes have problems that have to be returned for repair. I don’t think you’ll disappointed in the 380EZ. Can even go the Performance Center route now if that interests you!

[DrOlds]

My wife has had no issues with her .380 EZ. She’s only put a hundred or so rounds though it, but it has been flawless.

[jnichols2]

Keep it clean and lubed. Don't hold it in a loose grip. Those are the folks that have stovepipe issues.

A nice firm grip results in a reliable .380EZ. There never was anything wrong with it.

[christak]

Originally Posted by jnichols2

Keep it clean and lubed. Don't hold it in a loose grip. Those are the folks that have stovepipe issues.

A nice firm grip results in a reliable .380EZ. There never was anything wrong with it.

While there may be some user induced issues with the EZ, not all stovepipe issues can be attributed to the user. I'm confident that there is an issue with some of the guns. Maybe it's just the older ones like mine...or maybe not. But, I've been shooting for more than 50 years and my EZ is the first gun I've ever had that exhibits this kind of behavior. I visit the range each week, own a variety of handguns, and don't have any problem with my other guns (Walthers, CZs, Rugers, Sigs, etc.) There is something wrong with my S&W Shield 380 EZ and I seriously doubt mine is the only one with a problem.

[MikeAEZ]

Heck, even Hickok 45 got the stovepipe on his YouTube review of the EZ.

[oldiesradio1560]

I've put 2,000+rounds thru my .380EZ since Feb. 2018 since she's my daily carry and I go to the range monthly. No problems.

[George9]

Yep did see Hickok 45s video on the 380 Shield EZ. In fact he was quite surprised the first time he got a live last round stovepipe. He was thinking and said maybe it's something I did check his thumbs recheck and recheck then in fact he did get a 2nd live round stovepipe. He was thinking magazines. He really didn't know for sure he thought it was strange. That prompted me to look for more videos. Most of the videos I tried to watch We're supposed to be first-time reviews of the gun so they were not someone being loud about an issue with the gun. They were quite surprised also. This is the reason I posted this question. On the boards a lot of guns did come back that actually went to Smith & Wesson after their spring fix was sent to the gun owners without fixing issues. Many or most of the people got back the guns working exactly the same as they did when they sent them in. Still would be the perfect weapon for my wife with terrible arthritis. Can't help but wonder I know it's called an easy but if a slightly stiffer recoil spring could be added. One that would help feeding yet not take away from the easy feature that awful much to notice. Stronger mag spring Maybe. Also The dimple on the 45 magazines were there for a reason back in the day. Don't know just thinking out loud a little aggravated finding something that may be ideal for her. Still going to take it to a gun shop and look one over. Then decide. Yes gun is under warranty and can be sent back to Smith & Wesson as many times as it takes to fix it. But it does seem like they're having issues doing that with all the guns that go back to them. Don't want it to be an endless back-and-forth deal. In fact I hate sending guns back. George