Is the Barrel supposed to be this tight? Just got done cleaning and oiling. Brand new never fired yet. Just picked it up today from my FFL. My 9mm Shields the barrel just drops right in. Also it's a regular 45 shield with factory night sights.

Not sure if you can tell in the video but the barrel scrapes the sides of the slide. Only where the rails are though. Once it gets pushed passed that it's fine. I've never just never seen a barrel this tight besides on a 1911. My Glocks and 9mm shields the barrel drops right in and doesn't hardly touch the slide as you put the barrel back in.

Barrel drops right in on my Shield 45. Seems you have something a miss. There has been some issues with sticking slides. I'd chat with customer service before firing.

Yes, that's pretty tight. I could hear the barrel scraping the sides too.
My .40 PC and .45 drop right in easily.
There seems to be something amiss with yours.

That's not right at all. Not only can that interference induce wear but it can rob energy from the firing cycle (which can cause stoppages.) Give S&W a call and get it ready to go off the the mothership!

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Dave

If I had to guess what's wrong with it (and there IS something wrong with it) I'd guess that when someone put it in a vice or press to install the night sights, they squeezed the slide too hard and distorted it by crushing it too narrow.

The only other possibility would be that the barrel is oversized because it was machined improperly. I have never seen bad machining in THAT area, though.

In any event, I would do as others have said, call S&W and follow their advice before you fire it.

Best Regards.

So I just got off the phone with S&W and of course they said it's normal. His exact response was. From what I've heard all the 45s are tight because of the bigger barrel. It's funny because the front sight is way off center as well, but I'll just use a sight pusher for that.

my front sight was off abit. POA was off 2 inches at 7 yards. I had a smith center it and all was good. I do not recall my barrel being that tight.

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chasman52

Just a heads up....
I bought six 45 Shields and NONE of them do that! Whoever you spoke to is full of baloney. I'd call again and ask for Technical Support, not customer service.

That's what I did and went through the M&P section. I think the guys name was Dave.

ummm, that's not normal. that's WAY too tight

My Shield .45 is no where near that tight. It should move freely within the slide, front to rear. The technical service guy may have misunderstood your description of the problem.

Now once it's passed the slide rails it does move back and forth easily, but until you get to that point it's extremely tight.

Run a few hundred rounds through it, that will get it broken in.
They start out tight but will not stay that way with extended shooting.
In the old days you had to pay a good Smith to tighten them up so they would be accurate...don't complain. Tight is good !
Gary

Run the slide on to the lower without the barrel or RSA installed and see if it binds on the rails. If it slides freely then I'd do as Gary says and break it in without worry.