Picking a new Shield .45 Wednesday need advice on break in. Do I take it home and clean it first or just go shoot it take it home and then give it a good thorough cleaning? Starting with Win white box 230 gr. How many rounds is the break in before carry?

I also need a good medium/light range load preferably with a clean burn powder. New to pistol reloading. I have a Mec Marksman single stage and a Lyman Gen 6 to throw powder charge. Also what type of dies and brand are best for this caliber.
Thanks in advance.

I've never fired a newly purchased (new or used) gun without a thorough cleaning and lube.

Be sure barrel is clear, lubed well and shoot your white box or whatever factory ammo. I like to shoot 100 before going into CCW mode. Mine smoothed out after about 2 mags, is accurate and fun to shoot. Not sure reduced loads is a good idea with this model as it is spring tuned for the real deal.

My LGS has its own range on site and I've shot some of my pistols without first taking them home and cleaning them, but I do a field strip and check them before firing them. I actually field strip and thoroughly inspect them before handing over my money.

Any handgun I buy to be used for HD/CC, has to first fire 250 (consecutive) error free rounds of FMJ, then (at least) 150 consecutive error free rounds of JHP before it gets carried.

I always clean and lube a new pistol prior to shooting it and consider it carry ready after a couple hundred rounds.
Enjoy your new Shield 45, I like mine.

I always clean off whatever the factory put on the gun when it shipped. Shouldn't take much to do so. I then lube it sparingly according to the instructions. Before you go to the range, after cleaning, lock the slide to the rear and load all mags completely full of ammo. Let the gun and mags sit that way for two or three days or more before you go to the range. This will allow the springs to begin to take their set and make things easier all around. Then shoot it at least a couple hundred rounds the first time out.

I highly recommend that you purchase a Maglula loader. This will make loading the mags much easier to begin with and it will be some of the best money you've ever spent, even after things get easier from use. When you load the mags full, then smack the rear wall of the mag on the heel of your opposite hand to fully seat the rounds to the rear wall. If you have a bit of trouble while loading the mags, stop and do the same thing. There's not a lot of clearance front to back in those mags for the rounds and the tips of the bullets can bind on the front wall if not seated fully back. Doing this is a habit i have with all semi auto mags, but I've found it's especially important with the 45Shield mags. You have purchased a fine handgun. I think you will be very pleased with it's performance! Congratulations!

__________________
So long ... Ken

Thanks for the congrats. I have a .45 Magpul loader for the Sig P220 I already own. General consensus is to clean first I will give a thorough cleaning and lube. Right now I have Speer Gold Dots and was thinking about switching to HST. As far as the light loads thanks for bringing up the issue about the reduced loads and the spring. I will look at the data on the 185gr and work it up to max to function. I had some FTF with the Gold Dots in the P220 so that's got me looking to try something else. I have also got the habit of bumping the mags with the Sig. Thank you for the info on the Shield mags.
Thank you very much for everyone's input and if you have more fire away.

Ditto. Field strip it, clean it, and inspect it to make sure all parts are present and in their proper place. Then lube it, resemble it, rack the slide and dry fire it to make sure everything was put back together right and functioning properly. Now you are ready for the range.

It may sound silly to do all this with a factory fresh gun but remember these things are assembled by humans and humans make mistakes. I've heard of new guns that had a missing ejector or other part(s). Loose screws are more common than you would think. I even heard of one gun that had no riffling in the barrel. Metal shavings and other crud left behind during the manufacturing process is common as well.

__________________
Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

I always clean a new gun before firing to remove any machining burrs or tailings and in most cases the coating the factory puts on is not a lubricant, it’s put on to protect the gun.

“Gunk Off” - “Lubricant On”

I like LCP.

As I mentioned, I ALWAYS clean and lube a newly received gun. I've found NIB guns dripping with oil and others that were absolutely bone dry.

Like others have said. I always clean and lube a new pistol before shooting, and then every time after shooting.

I don’t think there’s a break in period necessarily. For a carry gun I shoot a minimum of 500 rounds of ball ammo and 50-100 rounds of my carry ammo. If there are no failures and I feel 100% comfortable that I can run it under stress, then it goes into the rotation. If I’m not 100%, then I shoot more rounds until I am.

No break-in is necessary, just clean and lube before you shoot. The trigger will smooth out over the first 500 rounds or so, and that's the only real break-in that occurs. I agree with those above who've advised not carrying your Shield until it fires at least 200 trouble-free rounds of the self-defense ammo you're going to carry. It's also advisable to test a few reputable brands of self-defense rounds for accuracy as well. As we've all heard about self-defense situations, "Shot placement is everything.", and there may be differences in accuracy for you between brands. I like Federal HST and Federal Tactical Bonded in my Shield .45, but those are the brands that work for me. As for target ammo, I use American Eagle 230g almost exclusively with my Shield, because it is one of the hottest brands of factory ball ammo (890 fps. muzzle velocity), and my Shield shoots more accurately with hotter ammo.

Eventually, you are going to break down your magazines for cleaning. You will then discover that reassembling the 7-round magazines is a nasty proposition (the 6-rounders are easy). Fortunately, there is a thread here on the Forum that gives you some useful tips for getting those 7-rounders back together. Here is a link to that thread:

Shield .45 7-round magazine reassembly tip

Congratulations on your new Shield .45. It's a great-shooting little pistol. I think you'll love it.

__________________
What, me worry?

As far as the break in period, with a Shield it's more for you to get used to the pistol. I have Kahr's that recommend a 200 round to smooth everything out. My Shield didn't have any issues. Personally, I shoot at least 300 rounds before carrying. Usually 100 rounds a range trip. Gives the opportunity to see how I shoot it. Get a couple of cleanings under the belt. At 300 rounds you can visually see if there is any issues like peening, unusual wear, magazine issues etc.

You guys were right about the stiff mags I thought my P220's were stiff at first but these are stout. Got it today cleaned and lubed and loaded the mags as soon as I got out the door. Let em sit overnight and go to the range tomorrow..and won't forget the Uplula. You guys are great by the way.

Well got the shield in yesterday. Took it to the range today now it is in the mail to S&W for not firing. No bang,no poof not even a puff. trigger wouldn't go all the way to firing postion.. Great start with my new gun. Anybody know the turn around times for repair.

A watched pot never boils.

Vortex you are not helping...... That thing felt so sweet in my hand. Major bummer.

I'm sorry to hear that. Yours is a pretty rare problem with the Shield 45. (Not much consolation, I know.) If it was a thumb safety model, maybe the safety wasn't completely disengaging. If it was a either a thumb safety or a non thumb safety model, a defective sear disconnect mechanism would cause a failure to fire. As to turnaround, S&W did a major overhaul on my 10,000 round M&P 40c in three weeks. Because yours is brand-new, maybe they'll expedite the repairs.

__________________
What, me worry?

I suspect it is in the safety also when I racked a round in it fire it for the first time the safety was very difficult to move. With mag out and safety on it would seemingly fire but I did not put a round in it. Kind of a moot point if it did.