What would you consider a high round count for the shield?
I am looking at one that has around 2k rounds through it. He did not say what type of ammo. Pistol look pretty good.
It’s a 1.0. I think if I get it I ll just ad some trip tape and add to the round count. Lol

I’ve got almost 10K through my 2012 Shield and have only replaced the return spring assembly. 2K is just warming up.

There is a prominent YouTuber who claims to have 9mm Shield with over 10000 rounds. I’m pretty sure my GF has 2000 rounds on hers.


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Mammas has 2k through it and its like new.

How do you know when the recoil springs need to be replaced?
Do you go by round count or by feel?

I have an estimated 3600+ plus rounds through mine with no problems. E mail S&W customer service and they will send a RSA free, I don't what the symptoms are for worn RSA other than some have broke.

2K is not really a high round count for the gun. It is for many shooters with many guns who never shoot a thousand rounds through any gun they own.

If the gun looks properly cared for, then look for recoil spring wear through repeated cycling. I’ve had guns need springs in less than 1K,; others go 3K. You can tell when they need replacement by hand cycling a new gun in the store then yours. If your slide can easily slam all the way to the rear and the effort needed is much less than on the new gun, get a factory replacement recoil spring assembly (RSA), or upgrade to one of the aftermarket drop in stainless steel RSA’s.

You cannot harm your gun by replacing an RSA too early. You can somewhat accelerate wear by waiting too long, and shooting may be a little less comfortable.

Word of caution: your gun is going to be stiffer to cycle for a couple of hundred rounds.

ETA: You could send S&W Customer Service an email and probably get the best answer to this question.

No 2 springs are alike, nor do they ware alike. It is difficult to say how many rounds a spring can cycle especially due to inconsistent pressures from each cartridge so for me, I pay closer attention to feel and performance..
My GLOCK .357SIG had just over 13k rounds through it and I noticed my grouping was not as good and shortly thereafter my GLOCK went full auto on me (on qualifying day at that) so at that time I replaced the trigger assembly went back at it and the grouping was still off of my norm so I replaced the guide rod and spring which put her back to my norm.
My M&Ps do not have anywhere near the round count as my GLOCK and quite honestly I feel the factory guide rod and spring will outlast the GLOCK 1,2 AND 3rd gen factory guide rod and spring.
Lastly, proper cleaning, care, use, good quality ammo and inspection as regular maintenance is epic.

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M&P 357sig,G31 357sig,M&P 9

Does anyone know what to look for when doing a visual inspection of the Shield guide rod & spring assembly?

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

2k is only 2 cases. I do 500 - 1000 before even trusting a gun. 2k is nothing I wouldn't worry about it. It's like a car with 5k miles

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2K rounds is nothing... Mine is one of the originals, made in the Spring of 2012. I have over 26,000 through it (probably closer to 30K?) and I don't shoot mine as much as some others here do. It's my EDC.
The only modification I've done to mine is to use the MagGuts springs (to make loading rounds and mag insertion easier).

Some may say you NEED to replace springs every 5000 rounds, but mine is still using the original Factory RSA and is still functioning perfectly.
I did pick up on a replacement a few years back, when there was a big scare about them, but I won't actually replace the RSA until it starts malfunctioning.

I got the shield bought. Hope to have it in a couple of weeks. I ll post pic when it comes in.
It also have mag guts. Never herd of them. Hope they are good springs.

I called S&W customer service last year and asked them if I should send it in to them to inspect because I had, at that time, about 4,000 rounds through it. The CSR responded that as long as it is functioning properly it was not necessary. He recommended that I send it in when I reach about 7,500 rounds through it. Again, assuming it was functioning properly. FWIW.

9,000 at least here over two and a half year period. No problems or issues. Nothing has been changed or replaced. Same as out of the box. It gets cleaned and lubed (per manual instructions) after each range visit. It's like the energizer bunny.

MagGuts are an aftermarket spring system thats designed to allow more rounds to be put into the magazine. (+1 or +2 not sure)

While I do not have any myself, I have never seen anything bad said about them and BTW they are quite pricey. As much or more than the mag itself, so if you are getting them with your gun its a real bonus

Two major problems have occurred with Shield recoil spring assemblies. The first is a bent spring retainer disc at its aft end (the one that goes up against the barrel lug). See attached photo below. Mine came from the factory that way. While the Shield will function with a bent disc, you may get more failures to eject than normal. The second problem is immediately obvious: The recoil spring assembly flies apart upon removal from the slide. It cannot be reassembled. These problems have greatly diminished in frequency over the last couple of years, so you are unlikely to encounter them now.

Attached Images

IMG_0064.jpg (50.9 KB, 85 views)

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What, me worry?

I've put 9500 rounds thru my Shield 9 mm while using it for IDPA for two years. It also doubled as my carry gun at the time before i sold it to a friend for his wife. She still has it and loves it. The only thing I've done to it was replaced the sights with Ameriglo SW245 dot the I sights and replaced the mag springs with new springs from Wollf and a couple emails to S&W I got a new replacement RSA. The finish held up very nicely on the barrel and slide.

IMHO, the M&P Shield is good for tens of thousands of rounds, maybe at least 100,000. Who knows...

I'm at 1430 rounds in my 2014 Shield 9mm. It is my EDC. Was planning to ask if I should consider any major maintenance.
However, based on what I am reading, in the thread, 1430 seems like a relatively low round count.
Any additional thoughts are appreciated.
Thanks for all of the feedback in the thread.

You can buy a new 9m/m Shield at Palmetto State Armory for $249 including free shipping. They have had all the bugs worked out of the original design for a long time but I don't think I would want to save 50 bucks by buying an early production gun. If I could get one REALLY cheap than sure, I would probably buy it.

I limit my shooting to five magazines per gun when I head to the range. Like M&M's, it's hard to stop with just a couple. And I handload using bulk supplies of components to keep costs in line with my time and wallet. It doesn't take long to use up a thousand rounds.

After the first magazine full which I had a FTF, I've put probably 2K through my one magazine with the Mag Guts spring (+1) without an issue. They ain't cheap but they do not effect performance.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

The flat -wound recoil springs are vastly different from the round piano-wire recoil springs, and frankly I have seen broken assemblies but never an actually worn-out flat wound recoil spring. A competitor friend ran one of the flat-wound recoil springs 63,000+ rounds in one season, and it was the trigger spring that failed, not the recoil spring. He replaced all the springs at the end of the year just because the wanted all the small parts new for the next year. My 2006 M&P Pro 9mm has the original ISMI RSA with 40K+ through it. I had the striker chip off the end as the only failure. I replaced the trigger spring due to the insert looking ratty.

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Science plus Art