Bought this pistol today. Noticed these marks, you can feel them with your finger. I have a 9 and 40 shield too, and they do not have this.

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Normal. When I first bought my shield45 I also wondered about that. Called s&w and they told me its normal. Not to worry.

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Mine has the same marks... I think they all do


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Same here. I thought it was wierd. However, the Sheild 45 has been very reliable so I figured I would not worry about it unless there were problems.

I wonder why it is only on the 45 ? Do any of you have other caliber shields ? It is not on those. Just wondering.

I have the 9 shield also, no marks on it


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Thanks for the info. I guess all the 45's are like this.

Threads on this topic have been started ever since the Shield .45 came out. Here is the consensus as I understand it: Every Shield .45 is built this way--it is completely normal. The reason for the semicircular marks is to lightly engage the top round in the magazine and push it to the back of the magazine so that it is seated in the proper position for loading. Note that each mark is actually a tiny ledge that faces rearward in order to accomplish this. The more rounds you shoot, the more brass will accumulate there (unless you shoot non-brass cartridges), evidence that there is contact with the cartridges. I don't know why other Shields are built differently.

Bottom line, if your Shield is otherwise functioning as it should, do as I do, and don't worry about it.

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What, me worry?

Makes sense to me. Thanks again.

Milling chatter. Could have been a slightly loose bit in the CNC, a worn tool turret, etc. Very common in today's manufacturing process. Not pretty, but shouldn't be an issue.

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CERAKOTE Svcs.
Class 01 FFL

Wouldn't you think the "loose bit, worn tool turret, etc." would have been fixed by now? From what I'm reading ALL SHIELD 45's have the machining marks, so that leads me to believe it is by design.

No, not at all. This is far to uniform to be just chatter. As others have said, it's intentional. I'm not sure of the purpose, but it's definitely intentional.

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Freedom isn't free.

Have two 9MM Shields, my wife's and mine, that do not have these marks. Own one .45 ACP Shield and have inspected about three more, and all had these marks. The marks in each one look exactly the same to me. Have heard of several others with the same marks. All of them work just fine. It is a curiosity, but it is normal. Go shoot that sucker and enjoy it!

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So long ... Ken

Just picked up my new Shield 45 today, has exact same uniform markings. It appears intentional by design to me.
Karl

That is what I think too from my machine shop experience .. maybe one cutting tool became misaligned or broke ..

Mine also...they're all the same by design..not to worry.

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Hipcocked45

Except we're now up to eight months or so, of the same cut.
All the same. I go for the intentional idea. I also worked in a large machine shop........even though it was 40+ years ago.

My guess is the cuts are designed to lessen the contact of the slide as it passes over the 45 round. It may serve to also seat the round as the slide comes back providing a better pick up as it moves forward. I wonder if issues will occur as the cuts wear down.

I don't think the brass will wear the steel of the slide. I had taken some 2000 grit paper and gave mine some light smoothing before I realized what the intended ridges were for and have had zero issues with feeding rounds.
Karl

I don't think it's for wear, I think it's for avoiding friction with the round and slowing down the slide.

I polished my Shield 45 with a Dremel and polishing wheel. To me it looked like poor workmanship. There is absolutely no reason to have ridge marks there. Eventually they will become worn down. Even bullet casing that are not steel will have an effect of wear, and especially any steel cases ammunition. Once the wear down occurs, there is not more advantage of the ridges, hence I smoothed them out a bit with 0 reliability issues.

I do not think it is a necessary part, as other pistols, such as my SIG P320 45 does not have them but rather a more aggressive ramp.
Top picture is S&W Shield 45 and bottom is the Sig P320 45. I first noticed the machine marks and felt the heavy "rub" when loading a fully loaded magazine and the pulling the round rearward to chamber a round. Seemed like an area that created more slide friction to me.

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Vern

What ever the reason is, it's not poor workmanship. They are intentional. They've been there since the beginning sales of this gun. I'd also like proof of "absolutely no reason". I've already stated in this thread, that I worked in a large machine shop. This isn't a case of a worn tool, or just shoddy workmanship from a S&W employee. They are either an intentional design, or have to do with the tooling process, such as eliminating an un-needed step for production purposes.

They are there on all of them and therefore I believe intentionally made that way, not "poor workmanship". They serve a purpose, and I'm sure, if asked, S&W would tell you what that purpose is.

In my opinion taking a Dremel to a new pistol is a VERY bad idea.

To the OP, shoot the pistol. If it works perfectly (as mine does), enjoy it. If it doesn't then describe your malfunction to us and S&W and you'll get it resolved.

To the OP: Do NOT use any power tools, on a new pistol.

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Loving retirement!

Great debate. I'm looking forward to some real proof either way...

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CERAKOTE Svcs.
Class 01 FFL

Talked to Customer Support yesterday and today... Yesterday they said it was to slow down the slide. Today they said it was to slow down the feeding of the bullet into the chamber.

This is their link: Contact Us | Smith & Wesson It would be funny if those reading this would call or "chat" with them about this same issue.

I mentioned that Browning years ago had made a incline to do basically the same concept, and that my Sig P320 also uses an incline. "Steve" of CS was not impressed. "They are Smith & Wesson not Browning nor SIG.

Still not a definite answer.
Would make absolutely no sense to think that those ridges slow down the feeding of bullets or slide as every round out of the magazine decreases the pressure put on the slide. By those standards, the last round should not feed, IF this is their idea.

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Vern

If there is less contact surface then there is less drag, that may explain why it is stepped. Somehow I think it helps pull the next round back into the mag to eliminate stovepiping and assist with proper feed?
Karl

Just shoot it.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

I spoke with a Smith and Wesson rep at the NRA show. I asked about the marks and discussed dropping magazine. The cuts are designed into the pistol to push the next round back for better chambering. He said the 9 and 40 have similar but very light ridges.

In regards to the magazine dropping, he said he had not heard of this issue. I told him it's all over the forums.

The Smith and Wesson booth was interesting but the reps were a bit ******y. Glock kicked *** with Guests and Giveaways.