Got home with my brand new M&P 9mm Shield - I loaded up a magazine and tried to put the gun into battery. The slide would not go all the way forward.

I called S&W Customer Support - their idea was to clean the gun since I hadn't done it yet. I cleaned the gun. (It wasn't dirty - no grease or gunk in the chamber). I asked the customer support rep if they test fire every gun at the factory, which he said they do - 2 mags worth. I'm not sure how the test fired this one?

I think they didn't machine the chamber deep enough so when the shell casing seats, it's not in deep enough.

Does anyone know how deep it should be?

S&W has told me to ship it to them and they will look at it.

Pictures of the issue:

Are these reloads?
Have you tried a completely different bullet design to see if it goes into battery?
Karl

Check your ammo length. It looks long,

Brand new factory ammo
Factory "reloads"
Reloads made at home

What weight bullet.

I had a 9mm that didn't like reloads of any sort , just factory and just .355 diameter bullets. It didn't like 147 grain bullets either .
It shot fine with 115 gr and 124 grain jacketed factory ammo. But not my reloads and not cast bullets .
Ammo with .356 dia. bullets did just as yours does and wouldn't close. That gun had a tight chamber and hardly any throat. I bet your's has a too tight chamber or maybe just not not quite deep enough. Should be an easy fix but it shouldn't have shipped out like that.
Gary

Brand new ammo, tried Remington, UMC and some Korean stuff. Same result. I don't think it's the ammo.

Does anyone know how deep the throat is supposed to be machined to in the chamber? Mine is 15.1mm, .595", I've seen some generic diagrams that show it needs to be around 16.1mm.

L3 - E = 16.17mm

I have a m&p 9 back in 2012 had the same problem.115 ball would chamber barely hollow points not even close to chambering. Headspace good on a empty resesized case.There was almost no throat. 115 ball would just touch the rifling you could see rifling marks on the bullet.

Ask S&W to send a Fedex label to send it in for inspection. Include a copy of your photos, etc.

Pistol went back to Smith last Thursday. Probably be a few weeks before I get it back and update this thread.

My Shield measured .615"
Did you rack the slide and let it's full force so the extractor didn't bind? On mine, if I ride the slide forward without letting it rack, it will easily remain OOB.

Update:

Fed Ex brought me a box from Smith & Wesson's warranty department today. They replaced the barrel and test fired the pistol.

Tomorrow I plan to go the range during lunch and test her out.

Per my experience S&W has been putting out a small number of lemons. I do not believe they test fire every firearm, they could not have test fired yours or mine. The CS on returns is good but VERY slow indicating to me there are a good number of returns.

I finally got my brand new Shield back from Smith & Wesson warranty and took it to the range yesterday along with my 9C which I purchased used but haven't shot yet.

Indoor range, 7-yards - the goal was to get some rounds through the Shield to break it in and to try out the 9C compact.

I shoot the 9C very well - 3" groups, great trigger, very accurate for me. The Shield also shoots ok, but bigger 6" groups and the trigger is heavy and not great compared to the 9C.

Not sure why the triggers are so much different between the too very similar guns - but I loved the 9C and only just like the Shield. The Shield will have it's place for daily concealed carry, but if I want to go shooting the 9C is my go to now.

I ran about 4 mags (48 rounds) through the 9C with no issues. I ran about 150 rounds through the Shield and had one failure to fire with UMC ammunition. Ran it through the gun twice and it still didn't fire. I won't be buying that stuff again. I also shot white box Winchester, some decent ammo from Korea, UMC and some Remington jacketed hollow points (carry ammo).

The 9c is a decent pistol. While I'm no expert, I would say that geometry differences between platforms account for difference in trigger press. I have both the 9c and a 9mm Shield (as well as comparable Glocks). While the Shield trigger takes a little more pressure to fire, there was not enough difference for me to have any noticeable effect on my shooting. The differences in grip shape and dimensions, for me anyway, took more to get used to. I would suggest dry fire practice 10-15 minutes a day with both. Master the stock triggers with both and your groups with the Shield will tighten up.


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As walkin' trails mentioned they're two very different firearms, and the biggest difference between the two is that the 9C was used. From what I've read most triggers on all guns need a little time to "break in". Keep sending some lead down range see if it doesn't get any better. Also keep in mind the Shield is a SD pistol, some people prefer the heavier or longer trigger pull given its intended use. I've fired a couple Shields and thought the trigger was great compared to my buddies 40C.