We'll my Shield .45 arrived back at the mother ship today.

I was continuing to have nose down stuck rounds stuck in the mag FTFeeds. But then a new problem came up. My Shield has factory night sights, and the tritium vial in the front sight broke loose and was walking itself out of the front sight post. The "white" dot ring also came of when I tried to push it back in.

I guessing they'll throw a new front sight on there, and also hoping they can fix the FTFeed nose down rounds stuck in the mag issue.

I hope they fix it up for you. Please post your results.

Let us know what they fix for the nose dive, if they tell you. Do you have the new version followers for the magazines?

The original followers are poorly designed. The front edge drags especially around the release slot. I filed mine down so the slot and the follower passed without drag.

Yes I had the new style followers from the factory. Not sure what's up with the front sight. It was sticking out about twice that far before i noticed it.

Just sent my new Shield with night sights, no safety back to the factory, Out of the box the front night sight was not lighting up. Its still at S&W for repair/warranty. It was sent in 12-4-17.

I'm sorry you had to send it back. I hope it comes home quickly.

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Mine went back for some premature slide lockback and problems feeding some ammo. S&W dealt with it promptly and I was very satisfied when I got it back.

I hope S&W fix all things that people are having trouble with while they have my shield 45 in for front sight repair/warranty. I haven't shot it yet.

I think I can see the top round in your first photo is already nose down in the magazine. Looks like a magazine lips problem.

That's how it jammed. Slide is partially forward pressing the case rim. Pull the slide back and the round will pop up an feed fine.

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I have been having the same feed issues with my 45 Shield. I have had it for over a year and have shot over 1K rounds of factory ball thru it. It’s been back to S&W twice for feed issues. The first time they replaced the RSA. The second time it looks like they slightly throated and polished the barrel. I have also replaced the followers with the newest version. I still get an occasional FTF/nosedive which usually happens on the second or third round in the magazine. I noticed last night that Wolff Gunsprings is now offering extra power magazine springs for the 45 Shield. I ordered some for my 6 round magazines to see it that will correct the issue.


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Just got FedEx notification this morning. Looks like it's on it's way back. No idea what they did or didn't do to it. Should arrive Monday.

I have the same problem, interested to know if the new mag springs help.

Sorry to hear about your handgun. I really want to trust the 45 shield enough to carry it off duty. It’s a flat and accurate gun that shoots so mildly for its size and caliber. Unfortunately, it seems some of these problems are surfacing after several hundred rounds. I’m trying not to be overly critical. Hopefully it works out for you.

I have a Shield .45 that had failure to feed problems. They went away completely after I got the new followers and started to polish the lower feed ramp. Since then, I have shot over 600 rounds of both FMJ and HP without a failure of any kind. I use a mild car polish and use it every time I clean. It only adds a minute or two to the maintenance procedure. It's important to polish both the lower ramp, and the wall just below it. Bullet tips tend to hang up where the ramp and the wall intersect (as the photo in Post #4 shows), but polishing seems to help them slip by. Try it when you get your Shield back. It's quick and easy to do, and it couldn't hurt.
Good Luck!

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I have shot maybe 600 rounds through my Shield .45 zero issues and I am very confident in it. I think it is mostly a luck of the draw issue. I had a Ruger SR45 that I loved, it went back to the factory twice for fte, third time fixed the issue, but was never was 100% confident in it. Finally got rid of it, but so many people had great results with them.

Cleaning the mags with Rem Oil helps.

I have had the same results with my 45. I keep hearing all these things and especially the guide rod problem. I can't decide to whether to just keep carrying it or swap out the guide rod.

I have received the extra power magazine springs from Wolff. I called S&W to purchase a new RSA (have about 1100 rounds down range). They said they will send one for free. I have been waiting about 10 days do far. Once the RSA is received I will test fire and report the results.


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I have a Shield .40. I just replaced the recoil spring and rod with a DPM three piece (springs) rod assembly. A bear to install. They send two springs, a shorter one and a longer. Either can be installed. I believe they recommend the longer. Although the shorter was a 'bear' to install. It shoots much faster now especially with double tap. The DPM reduces the recoil. They make the assemblies for nearly all semi-autos. Still has a bit more recoil than I care for. I was shooting 165 gr. new American Eagle Syntech during my qualification last week. Will have an armorer install the long spring in a week or so. He said the DPM recoil assembly protects the slide and such from damage.

I to have the exact same problem with both of my shield 45s. My first one is over a year old,and has over 1,000 rounds through it. It has also been back to s&w twice. They polished the ramp the first time and said no problem found the second. The problem is still happening. I also have the updated followers, my newer gun already had them from factory. I also bought the wolf mag springs. I tested it last Monday. No more nose down jams, instead i had an empty chamber twice in 80+ rounds fired. Now I'm thinking that either the rsa is too stiff or the unusual surrations on the underside of the slide is causing too much friction? The picture is of my shield 40 and shield 45s slides. I called s&w and they told me that it's supposed to be that way but couldn't tell me why.

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4516, shield 40, shield 45

The machine cuts on the bottom of the slide are designed to gently grab the top round in the magazine and push it to the back of the magazine. Because there is precious little space for a .45acp cartridge in the Shield's magazine well, each round must be all the way back, or the bullet tip will catch against the ramp assembly and fail to feed. That's why it's important to make sure each cartridge is fully inserted when loading your magazines.

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What, me worry?

Mine should be back today. Curious as to what the slip says they did or didn't do.

Wife signed for it, so it should be inside warming up!

Speculation on your part or did some S&W engineer tell you that?

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Educated guess. The cuts are rear-facing mini-ledges that appear to be designed to lightly engage the magazine's top cartridge to pull it to the back of the magazine. Longitudinal space is really tight above the Shield .45's magazine well, and it's been my experience (3,800 rounds worth), that if the cartridges are not fully seated to the back of the magazine, there is an increased chance of the bullet tip hanging up below the lower feed ramp, causing a failure to feed. If the cuts have some purpose other than reducing failures to feed, I'm not sure what it would be. Since the customer service people at S&W don't seem to know, I wish some S&W engineer would provide a definitive answer.
Enquiring minds want to know!

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OK, yeah, I thought it was a guess. I'm not convinced that those exist for that function. It's more likely they are just part of the tooling process.

If the tip of the bullet gets caught on the bottom of the feed ramp, then the feed ramp is too long.

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This issue has been kicking around the Forum for months. One poster (I forget who) was so offended by the cuts that he ground them off. I wish he'd report back to tell how his Shield is functioning. Anyway, I'm tired of reading about/fussing with the Great Shield .45 Machining Mark Mystery, so I've just written S&W customer service asking for them to do some research and provide a definitive explanation. When they respond, I'll post their answer, and we can all move on.

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What, me worry?

I called s&w last week and asked why it had those grooves and he didn't know, but took my number, said he would call an engineer in the morning. He said he would call me back at 12 noon the next day. He didn't call me back. I wish I would have gotten his name.

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4516, shield 40, shield 45

Yeah, I'd like to hear about that as well. I'm pretty sure he buggered his gun. It takes all kinds.

I was just curious. I wish I could get a Shield 45 so I could do my own testing.

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Is that because it's not "California approved"? If so, what a bummer. I like mine a lot. Some time when you're out of state, I hope you'll get a chance to shoot one.

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What, me worry?

I sent my request by email. That way whoever reads it can take the time to find an answer. Because emails generate an S&W "ticket number". I'm hoping that will generate an actual follow-through and a satisfactory answer in order to close the ticket. If they don't answer, I'll keep throwing their open ticket number at them until they do.

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What, me worry?

Yeah, like that ever happens in an internet forum...

What? You mean you don't want this issue resolved so that we can go back to spending more time on rebates?

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What, me worry?

My email to S&W customer service has been answered. I started a new thread with it. You can read it here: The Great Shield .45 Machine Mark Mystery Solved: Official Answer from S&W

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What, me worry?

IDK the purpose of the steps on the bottom of the slide, but my experience with nose diving rounds says either rounds are too short or magazine springs are too weak.

I wasn't happy with the rear sights on my Shield at all. The white dots popped off after a few session. I put some model paint on there, which I should not have had to do, but I didn't want to send off the pistol for the. To me that's like getting a gun with an overclocked barrel. A gun company KNOWS that people expect a gun to sight and shoot straight, just like they know sights are subject to repeated shock. So how does a top drawer gun manufacturer not know how to paint dots on a three dot sight? Just a plain don't care attitude. Just get 'em out the door.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

So... the paperwork says -
Performed service:

• Evaluate / Repair
• Replace Barrel Locking Block
• Replace Sights
• Passed Range Testing

It also came back with a 7rnd mag in the box which I did not send in with the gun. So now just to get it to the range and see what happens.

Hope things go well for you. My shield 45 has been flawless. Pleasant to shoot and one of my most accurate guns.

When S&W had your gun did they mail you a repair quote? I had my Victory in for repair since November and just last week I got a itemized letter in the mail totaling $184! It should be under warranty since I only had it for 3-4 weeks. #smh

Nope, the only communication I received was that they had received my pistol, and the FedEx notice that it was coming back.

Sadly, my Shield .45 still has feeding issues. Not sure what I am going to do. Maybe just trade it on a 2.0 Compact 9mm.

Yeah that's a tough one; will S&W trade it out?

Not sure. I definitely have zero confidence in it as a cc gun and that's what it's made for. I don't know if I want to deal with sending it back S&W again, or just go to my LGS and trade it on something else.

Problem not happening until 2nd or 3rd round suggests weak mag spring.

That's tough. I understand not wanting to send it back, but I wouldn't give up just yet.

I had a S&W 1911 that had a feeding issue. I sent it back twice with no resolution. After the second failed repair, I asked them what was next because sending back time after time didn't make sense. They gave me three options:

1. Send it back for repair again.
2. Trade it for a different pistol of equal value.
3. Send it back for a refund.

I took option 3. It took two weeks, but they sent me a check for the entire purchase price including tax. They may do the same for you.

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Well, guess what!
I took my 45 Shield to the range this morning and experienced one of the FTF failures just as described in this thread. The first round fired, but the second one jammed in the magazine with the nose against the front of the mag. I would describe it as a failure for the nose of the round to rise quickly enough. Pulling the slide back and releasing it cured the problem. The magazine was a brand new 7 rounder. There was one failure, out of three magazines full of Speer 200g +P defense JHPs. I also fired three mags of my reloads without any issues. My reloads use Ranier 230g plated hollowpoints. The length of the Speer rounds is close to that of my reloads. One difference that I see is that the Speer bullets are wider at the front than my Ranier bullets, which are more tapered. Also, the Speer ammo is +P, whereas my handloads are more like standard velocity and feel less powerful to shoot than the Speer.
I should also mention that out of perhaps 300 rounds fired so far, this was my first failure of any kind. Almost all of those 300 rounds were my handloads.

I still think the magazine and magazine follower is problematic. If you disassemble the 6 rounder (easier) and insert the magazine in the pistol with slide locked back. Use the spring to push the follower along. You can observe how it passes the magazine retaining slot. Mine hung up just a bit. The follower would drag. That would be where rounds two and three pass the slot. Once past, never an issue.

I took sand paper and took off all sharp edges off the follower. I filed the magazine retain slot (from inside the magazine) as it had sharp edges. Observed the follower slide through the magazine and it was much smoother. No issues feeding now.

Takes about 15 minutes. Try one see if it improves before you part ways.

One thing I find curious about this gun is that S&W feel a need to keep the rounds in the back of the magazine, and to prevent them from moving forwards until they are in the top position. I say this because:
1. The scallops on the bottom of the slide surface that extends backwards from the breech face are cut so as to push the round under them backwards just before it is picked up by the breech face for loading into the chamber. No other semi automatic that I have ever seen used this feature.
2. The front surface of the magazine has a stamped detent at the next-to-top-round position, in the center. The effect of this is to push the nose of the next-in-line round backwards. Again, I know of no other semi automatic that uses this feature.

Attached Images

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Swsig, I am puzzled by your post. The photo in post #4 shows the bullet nose down against the front of the magazine. It is not touching the feed ramp or anything else outside the magazine. So I am wondering how polishing the feed ramp would be helpful here.

I couldn't see that in the original photo, but once I figured out I could click on it to enlarge it, I can see that it is caught on the front of the magazine. When my failures to feed occurred, I was mainly concerned about getting my Shield back in action as quickly as possible. I examined the jam as best I could under the dim lighting at my range, and it appeared to me that the rounds were caught up on the small ledge at the bottom of the lower feed ramp. I figured that if I smoothed out and slicked up the feed ramp area, that any round that touched it would be more likely to slide on by.

I suppose those rounds could have been caught on the magazine, but without brighter lights, I had no way to know for sure. I had been pretty diligent about loading my rounds firmly to the rear of the magazine. (They make a slight click when they are fully seated if you're using an Uplula.) In addition, I was rapping my loaded magazines against the heel of my palm for insurance. Thus the possibility of having the round caught on the front of the magazine did not occur to me.

Unfortunately, I did not use a systematic approach to solving the problem that would have let me determine which of the fixes I employed was the most effective. I essentially cleaned the mags, installed the updated followers, and polished the feed ramp area all at the same time. After cleaning, I worked the followers up and down vigorously about 20 times to insure they were not binding. My failures to feed disappeared after that, and haven't returned. And that's all I cared about.

If I had the same problem as the one shown in Hunter8282's photo, it's possible the magazine cleaning and the working of the followers was the key solution, especially since he already has the updated followers. Maybe I don't need to polish my feed ramp after all, but I'm going to continue to do it, just in case.

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What, me worry?