Dual or single is irrelevant. Either design is fine as long as they both have the proper weight.

Again, or still, that is the spring not the rod. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me how the guide rod can damage the gun. So, I'll answer the question, it can't. Unless it's horribly wrong, i.e. bent or the completely incorrect part, either of which would be noticed immediately upon assembly and thereby would not damage the gun, it can't damage the gun.

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Freedom isn't free.

Yes, if the spring is too light a weight, I would imagine it could have an effect. Like struts on a car. Too heavy a vehicle on too light a strut, you'll end up rattling components until they fail. My thinking is same with the guide rod. I love the idea but from what I've read it does long term damage. But I have also read the s&w assemblies fall apart...

Define long term. If you're a competitive shooter that burns 10000 rounds a year, which I doubt most are and likely not with a shield, a too light spring (for that load) can cause damage over time. Most probably buy cheap practice ammo and only burn the more expensive SD ammo once in a while.

If someone wants to burn large quantities of +P out of a compact light weight 45, more power to them. Besides being a bear to control, I suspect there still will be damage over time regardless of what spring is used.

Well, of course a single-spring design or a dual-spring design can work fine if the weight of the spring(s) is appropriate.

I strongly suspect that only one spring from a dual-spring system does not have the proper weight.

Any updates from those using the SS guide rods in their Shield 45s?

My gun is doing fine

No problems although I haven't been shooting it much as of late. I have the utmost confidence in it to perform as advertised. One thing is for sure, it is much more pleasant to manipulate the slide since I've dropped this RSA in compared to the Factory unit and I'm betting that is the number one complaint about the Shield, the action is stiff. For some, especially many women, this could be the deciding factory on whether to buy one or not...

I have a new 45 Shield with the factory spring. I have only fired 100 rounds with it, but there were no hiccups. I haven't noticed that the slide is hard to retract. But I am used to 1911s, so by comparison it is a piece of cake.

My experience is the opposite. In comparison to my Springfield XDM full size, my Shield was much stiffer until I swapped out the factory RSA to the SS rod assembly.

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I have both a Shield 9 and a Shield 45. The recoil spring assembly on the 45 is such that the slide has always been fairly easy to rack. In contrast, racking the slide on the 9 has always been stiff with each of the four S&W RSAs I've used with it. And they don't loosen up much with use.

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What, me worry?

I recently got a .45 Shield, the spring assembly tends to fall out when I remove the slide. If I do it upside down it doesn't fall out but I can see that it isn't really tight enough to stay in place.

Is this defective behavior?

Yes. Contact S&W customer service for a new recoil spring assembly. If that one also falls out, your slide or barrel lug may have been machined incorrectly, and you'll probably have to send your Shield back for repair.

My Shield 9 was delivered with a defective recoil spring assembly, and ever since, I've field stripped each new gun prior to purchase to be sure there were no "surprises".

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What, me worry?

My Shield 45 also came with a guide rod which would fall out. S&W sent me a replacement which was a tighter fit, but not much tighter. I put an ssguiderods.com recoil assembly in mine. I shot it today and it ran 100%. This is the first time I fired it, so I can't compare it to the stock unit.

I am considering getting the SS guide rod...my stock RSA seems to work fine, stays in place, and I don't think the slide is particularly difficult to rack. I just like the idea of a steel part, as opposed to polymer, which may be ironic since the frame of the gun is polymer and not steel.

Polymer with a steel sub-frame.

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Freedom isn't free.

Which is how the guide rod should be made...

For what it's worth. I've shot over 9k rounds thru my M&P shield 9 between 2015-17 during USPSA/IDPA matches before I requested a new RSA from S&W. Two emails later I received not one but two new in package RSA's. The reason why I wanted a new RSA wasn't because I needed it then & there, but to keep in the event I did need it during a match. The pistol also doubled as my EDC. The springs that I did have to replace were the magazine springs. After around 5-6k rounds they started to weaken & not lock the slide back consistently after the last shot. Wolff springs set me up with some replacements & I really would recommend Wolff springs as replacements/upgrades for your mags....point is, I see no reason to replace perfectly designed parts in a carry gun. The stock recoil spring assembly is a very stout piece.

I pulled up this thread and read all of it today. I too was curious about the single spring v. double spring issue, and what the difference in spring rate was between the two. Until I get a real, not subjective answer, such as it makes it easier to pull the slide back, I am going to stay with the factory assembly. There is an appeal to the stainless unit and its claim of smoothness, but if that is due to a reduced recoil spring rate, then you will batter the gun. Simple physics, folks. I do not use +P in a 9mm, and see no need for it in the short barrel of the Shield, either 9 or .45 (I have both). I have spares of the factory units for each gun.
Still interested to hear some info.

Try contacting SS guide rods and posing that question to them. They advertise improved durability whatever that means.

I've had no issues with mine. I bought mine not because I had issues with the factory assembly, but for easier manipulation of the slide which it performs as advertised.

I don't recall anyone on this board who uses them complain either, although that likely isn't a huge sampling.

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I would love for them to work. I just don't think you can only use the outer spring, and not the inner, and think all is well. The factory developed or decided to use their version of the dual spring system for a reason.
I am not one who thinks the factory knows best, but this change is a pretty big one.

Mine still works fine

I've owned two Shield 9mm handguns. On both, the slide was locking up on the frame because of an issue with the guide rod. I had to whack it with a rubber mallet to free it up. I sold my first Shield because of this. I installed the SS Guide Rod on my second Shield and haven't had a problem.

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otis

I put one in my VP9 but replaced the spring it came with with the stock one. Now I can buy springs as I wish. I had to heat up the retaining bolt with a soldering iron to free the loctite but it came out just fine after. The spring wasn't difficult to install and I applied loctite to the bolt before reassembly. Haven't had an issue since installing it. But I run stock guide rods on my m&ps.

First they sent me a guide rod that did not function in two different pistols that supposedly it was designed for. They apologized, said they had a bad batch of springs and sent a return label which I used. They then sent another guide rod that did not work either. I returned it with their label and they received it per tracking. They approved a refund which has never been issued. Do not order from these people! They do not ever answer the phone, have all kinds of excuses and do not issue your refunds even though they approve them. I ordered a standard Sig guide rod and it works perfectly in both of my Shields.

The shields production #'s are at 3 million + today.


Smith & Wesson Ships 3 Million M&P Shields

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

I have an earlier P229 in .40, and it has a hollow tube steel guide rod, and a multi strand spring. Think twisted rope.

My KelTec P-11 shipped with a plastic recoil rod. The P-40 (.40 S&W version) shipped with a steel one. If you get a high mileage P-11 or P-40 with the steel rod, it wallows out the hole in the slide because the rod tilts when the slide slides rearward.

Trust the engineers until there is a lot of evidence they screwed up.