Got an EZ in August tried shooting it for 3 weeks but nothing but trouble. First it shoots left so adjusted the sight all the way to the right still shoots left. Loaded 8 Remington shells it ejects the 7th casing plus the last bullet from both clips. If you only load 5 shells and it don't kick the 5th bullet out along with the 4th casing the slide won't stay back so you don't know if you have one more shell or not. Sent it in 3 weeks ago not back yet. Anyone having issues like mine?

well as far as shooting to the left, adjusting the sights and still shooting to the left tells me that you're right handed and no offense, but probably still needs to practice shooting a wee bit more before adjusting the sights. As far as the other issue, it's hard to say unless we're watching how you hold the pistol while shooting. maybe it's shooters error, maybe its a mechanical thing.

Mine has had zero issues.
Denis

I shot one for the first time last night at an NRA basic pistol class. It shot to point of aim, was very popular with students because of the ease of loading and slide racking. It was brand new, shot to point of aim for me. Had a couple of stovepipes in the first 50 rounds. One caused, I think, by failure of the student to seat the magazine. The other, who knows? Obviously needed some break in rounds down range.

Oh, by the way, welcome to the S&W forum. We often have new folks whose first post is to complain about a S&W product. As RVGshooter noted, we have no idea of your shooting experience. No offense intended, but your use of terms like clip instead of magazine, bullet instead of cartridge, may indicate you are a new shooter. It would be helpful to know for example, how far left is point of impact at what distance? How many rounds total through the gun? Have you had an professional instruction in handgun shooting?

Often we recommend that someone else shoot a problem handgun as a way of determining if there is a possibility of operator error. Too late, since you have already sent the pistol back to S&W. I don't intend to diminish your complaint, as it is entirely possible that the problem is a faulty handgun. It has been known to happen.

However, a compact handgun like the Shield is particularly sensitive to limp wristing, inconsistent grip, or other shooter issues. As noted above, one problem with the pistol in the class was the failure of a student to properly lock in the magazine.

No issues here....

Shooting too far left ??

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John

No issues to report here. My wife and mother both have one. My wife’s shot left when we got it, but the sight was drifted to the left. So we drifted it to center and it shot point of aim. I accidentally engage the safety sometimes but that’s my fault. I ride the frame too high and I have big hands.

Make sure you’re tightening down the rear sight really well. And make sure the front sight is centered from the factory.

Try different ammunition next time and see if that helps with the ejection anomalies. Could be something as simple as a particular batch of ammo.

Don’t lose faith in it just yet. It’s an excellent firearm.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Wait... what?

One thing I found in the beginning with my EZ regarding shooting left is try aiming one ring higher on the target and at the 1'oclock position and that should help. I've got 2,000 + rounds thru mine since buying it in February. I Love this Gun!

As I recall, the early made ones had issues like you are having. It was pretty much resolved with different mag springs. I don’t remember for sure, but if memory serves me right, those made after March of this year had the issue resolved. My wife got one with a manufacture date of late April of this year, and it runs perfectly.

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NRA Life Member, Patron

The barrel direction at time of discharge dictates the path of the bullet. That direction can be changed, controlled by grip, trigger technique, force of recoil. Hotter loads can and will change vertical deviation and aggravate left right errors as well. As stated, low and left POI is commonly attributed to shooter.

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CERAKOTE Svcs.
Class 01 FFL

gwoker,

Please post the results once you get your pistol back from S&W. I'm in much the same boat.

I just bought a 380EZ. It also shoots left (and I'm left-handed), but I haven't even really looked at that yet because I have a very consistent problem with the last round stove-piping!

With both magazines, regardless of ammunition or how many rounds are in the magazine, both magazines stove-piped on the last round about 80% of the time (meaning the fired case of the second-to-last cartridge ejected and the last unfired round would stove-pipe). After a little over 250 rounds through the pistol, one magazine inexplicably became about 90% *reliable* while the other magazine remained about 80% unreliable.

I put a A-Zoom 380 ACP aluminum snap cap in both magazines between the spring and the floor plate. This reduced the magazine capacity to only 7 rounds of course, but the added spring tension seems to have done the trick (both magazine were 100% reliable over 50 rounds fired with only two rounds in each magazine).

It seems like the magazine springs need to be a smidge stronger, but I don't know if S&W has any springs to replace the original ones.

I eagerly await hearing if S&W was able to fix your pistol!

I woulda let somebody else shoot it before I sent it off, but that's just me . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I'm not gwoke of course, but the pistol isn't going to feed reliably (which is the bigger issue) just because someone else is shooting it.

Actually, it probably will. The vast majority of failures with semiauto pistols are shooter induced. An improper grip will without a doubt and most certainly induce feeding and extraction issues . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

It's possible, but inadvertent slide rub and "limp wristing" tend to be overly-diagnosed over the Internet. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to have either be the cause of my pistol's troubles.

Duly noted . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I notice a off and on hang up on one of the original magazines when using the side lever and wonder if anyone else experienced this?

I tell y'all now I got me one of them old timely revolving guns .try as I might "limp wristing" holding high on the grip,ect and so on it goes bang everytime I pull the trigger .Now it only goes bang 5 times but those five are a sure bet . Just kidding my daughter in law got her an EZ last month and so far no issues but she did get professional instruction from NRA certified lady instructor .There is a big difference in learning curve of shooting an auto as Col.Cooper wrote many years ago.

My new M & P Shield 380EZ would not function properly with the Winchester Train & Defend T train 380 Auto FMJ. The gun would shoot the first round and would not shoot the second round until you recycled the slide. Worked fine on Remington, PPG, Critical Defense, & Winchester Kinetic HE

I was shooting, or trying to shoot, White Box Winchester FMJ with very little consistency of feeding/ejecting. It was giving me chest pains...I really thought I had lost my technique. NOW I think it was the ammo, not me. Maybe a little more spring tension might help me also. I always learn best from others so I think I will benefit much by this site.

I have over 500 rds though mine and nary a hick up. Love this pistol....

I have to agree. Over the years I've found it to be mostly true with new shooters that haven't had any proper "formal" training and have developed a few bad habits like proper grip, finger placement on the trigger, etc. Once corrected, there were very noticeable improvements.

As for "most" failure problems. I found many people never fully read the manual, failed to clean the storage lube and properly lube the weapon as stated in the manual before shooting it.

Last but not least. They'll pay $$$ for the weapon, BUT then buy the cheapest "junk" ammo they can find on the shelf. Not to mention giving the weapon any reasonable time for break-in. Then call it a piece of junk if it (the weapon) has ANY problems and isn't an instant tack driver right out of the box. ?!?!?

I'm not (or wasn't), a big 380 fan. But one of the women my wife works with bought an EZ-380 for CCW and showed it to my wife and let her shoot it. Next thing I know we're at the LGS and we now have two of them. My wife thought I needed one to complete my M&P collection (couldn't argue with the wife ). We've got over half a 1 gallon ice-cream bucket full of 380 brass and a new loader set up for 380's. She said she'd like load those little finger pinchers.

We have had ZERO issues or problems with either Shield EZ-380's and both have been outstanding shooters.

Never thought I would own a 380. All I can say is thank you Smith & Wesson for another Great M&P.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

On this forum it seems about equal with those that like them and those that have had issues, but still like them.

I'm a confirmed .380Auto skeptic. I have yet to see one go through even 35 rounds without a malfunction of some kind. I would love to get my hands on one, but alas, they are not available here.

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Freedom isn't free.

Can't argue with that. It's the same with almost everything, whose is best or worse. Then there's people prone to Murphy's Law "what can go wrong will go wrong".

The 380 isn't my "go to" weapon of choice by any means, I got it because it did feel good in my hand, I could get one, it turned out to be a reliable little shooter (same for my wife's) and at short range both hit what I/she were aiming at. Mine is mainly for plinking. As for my wife, she enjoys shooting it, liked the weight, feel, ease of it's functions and the grip safety along with the ambidextrous safety. Grip safety, weight and EZ slide were the big selling points, it conceals very well for her, also well with-in her comfort level. I will admit she about drove me nuts shopping with her looking for the "just the right one" to carry. It helped that the indoor ranges around here do rent. So she could try out "about everything under the sun". EZ 380's are hot sellers around here and don't stay on the shelf very long, very popular with the Ladies for CCW.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I certainly won’t dispute that you’ve seen 380’s malfunction. I have too. What I’ve witnessed has been either shooter error or cheap ammo problems. But on the other side of the coin, I have 5 differnt 380’s including a Taurus PT 58S, and not one of my 380’s has ever had a malfunction. While I haven’t shot thousands upon thousands of rounds thru any of them, I easily have many hundred rounds thru each of them. The lowest number I have thru any of them right now is 400 thru my wifes Shield 380EZ that we got for her back in May. It has performed perfectly for both of us.

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NRA Life Member, Patron

My brother has an original Ruger LCP. And nitna single malfunction. He biught an LCP2 and it is a jam-o-matic. Went back to Ruger and came back identical ****. Fails to extract/double feed. Does so with any and all mags that he has. Brither has het to send it back a second time. But no way he will ever trust that gun to carry. Of fixed he will lrobabky sell it as he has no confidence in it.

I have seen as many failures with 1911’s than I have with 380’s. As a reault It will take a LOT for me to ever even consider carrying either a 380, or a 1911.

A lot of guys use these types of errors to explain away problems. They then continue to claim their guns are "malfunction free." I'm not saying that you are, just that many do.

When I say malfunction, I mean any malfunction. I want the gun that won't malfunction even when the ammo or the shooter is not perfect.

I've heard this too. In fact, there are a lot of people who mistrust the 1911 because they believe it will malfunction a lot. I was one of them.

Then I got one. I went to a class with it expecting to have a few malfunctions during the class; I didn't. I saw a lot of malfunctions, but none from my 1911 or others at the class. Then I started paying closer attention and my beliefs started to change. I noticed that I saw more malfunctions in other guns, but not so many in 1911s.

My favorite gun is a commander size 1911. It went 8,103 rounds before it malfunctioned. The extractor broke, but it continued to work. Even though the gun continued to function, I still consider it a malfunction. It was the only one in 8,548 rounds. I'm going to call that one good-to-go.

Between all the 1911s, I have 14,191 rounds without a malfunction. That's a pretty good record, but not the top. I have a friend with over 30K through his 1911 without a malfunction. I know him personally and know that we have the same feeling about malfunctions so, he would tell me if he had one. He replaced his extractor prior to failure; at least twice.

So, my skepticism about 1911s has been overcome by events. I now have great faith in the 1911 gun.

I had a friend that brought his .380Auto, a Llama, to a class. He told me that his had never failed to work and was looking forward to showing me how great his gun was. About 10 rounds into the shooting, the extractor went flying off into the dirt. The next round stove-piped. I'm was honestly bummed to see that happen, but it's just another statistic in my growing list of .380s that didn't work.


My thinking can be changed. It was with the 1911. Alas, I still have yet to see a single .380Auto, of any brand or model, work reliably. Heck, I haven't even seen one go 35 rounds.

For me to consider a gun reliable for carry, it must go 500 rounds without cleaning and without a single malfunction. I would be happy to see a .380Auto make it 50 rounds without a malfunction.

Today I went to a local gun store to look at a .380Auto, specifically a Sig P-238. Really nice little gun with a decent trigger. Unfortunately they're a little pricey for me to just get one to test on my own. I will have to just wait to see if I see one at the range or in my class.

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Freedom isn't free.

The .380 shooter errors that I have personally observed were poor grip and limp wristing. It’s kind of hard to blame that on the gun in my mind. Many semi auto’s can fail if not handled properly with a firm grip. The primary ammo failures I’ve seen are poor quality reloads. Heck, even my daughter in law brought some cheap reloads she bought from someone to her CPL class. Luckily I was only 10 minutes away when she called in a panic due to repeated failures, and I was able to run her a couple of boxes of factory ammo so that she could finish, which she did without further failure.

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NRA Life Member, Patron

Again, I want the gun that won't do that. Some are more prone to this than others. The sub compact Glocks seem to be more prone to poor grip issues.

Diagnosing a "limp wrist" or poor grip event is very difficult. It could be the shooter and it could be the gun. And I agree, I wouldn't fault the gun if it's definitely the shooter that caused the problem. This is often the case in accuracy problems.

However, I also believe that many blame the grip or ammo when it may indeed be the gun.

Regardless, I'd love to see a .380Auto go more than 35 rounds without a malfunction.

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Freedom isn't free.

I have 1200 rounds through mine,no problems period!

Excellent! I wish you many more trouble free rounds.

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Freedom isn't free.

Then you don t want a semiautomatic pistol... I suggest a revolver. It's physics.... You need to have a proper grip on the gun. I've seen YouTube videos where even Glock 19s and larger pistols can be limp wristing. like you said, that's the shooter's fault, and not a problem with the firearm...

More likely than not, 9 times out of 10, malfunctions are because of the shooter, ammo, or magazine...

That doesn't stop me from wanting it. Yes, semi-auto guns have some weak points. That's life. However, some are more prone to grip issues than others. The 1911, for example, is not prone to a limp wrist issue. It has happened, but it's very rare with that gun.

It's been my experience that the Glocks are prone to limp wrist issues. Especially the sub compact models.

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Freedom isn't free.

I have had my 380EZ for a few months now, and I think it's one of the best M&P guns that S&W has ever come out with. Mine has tack-driving accuracy, and all three magazines work flawlessly. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 rounds through it, and so far so good.

My Glock 42 is also a tack driver, but the 380EZ is giving it a run for its money.

Mike

I have to agree.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

I don't own one yet but, I rented one at the local range a few weeks ago. It was very dirty as it had already been rented several times that day before I got there but other than shooting a bit low for my taste, it performed flawlessly with the Fiocchi ammo they had on hand for it.
The POI was very consistent and once I got my POA right, I was able to shred the bullseye.......made me want one even more.

Bought one in August......got about 500 rounds thru it, no problems of any kind. Would like a fully adjustable rear sight but that's not a real problem.

Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

Has anyone figured out how to take a .380EZ apart beyond field stripping?

Why would you want to do that? It's really a simple design to begin with. if you really want to detain clean the innards then I would suggest Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber.

Just out of curiosity does it make a difference if the pistol has a safety or no safety?

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Well done > well said

Four months and zero additional postings by the OP since the thread was started. And we didn't get any background/experience info on him, so we can only speculate. Maybe he didn't like some of us implying that the gun wasn't the problem.

As far as technique and limp-wristing, the handgun can be thought of as only part of a weapons system. You (the shooter) are the larger and more important part, and if you don't give the gun a firm foundation, it won't be an accurate, functioning mechanical system. That means a balanced stance, a solid hand-arm-shoulder support structure, and disciplined breathing. It's common to blame the gun, but more often than not it's the human that's lacking.

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Southern Comfort
Retired USAF

The OP made his first post, got lots of very good advice and vanished.

Seems to happen a lot on all forums

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Rod
M&P 22A, 40c, 15A, 15-22

I am convinced beyond a doubt that threads like this are a complete waste of time. The Op (long gone) should be instructed to seek advice from a real person, instructor, coach and asked to start a new thread when he has resolved the problem and can offer insight into the resolution.
Then close the thread.
I asked a similar question 7 or 8 years ago on the Ruger forum about a SR9C I had just purchased. Not shooting left... but stove piping and failure to feed on every magazine. I also wanted to know if it was a common problem with a new gun. After about 20 or so responses that told me I must be doing something wrong I got disgusted with the forum and the know it all attitude of everyone. I was told I was limp wristing about 2 our of 3 posts. Bad ammo about every 4th post. The gun needed more break in time.. .400-500 rounds. All manner of operator error but there could not be anything wrong with a new in box SR9C.
I sent the gun back to Ruger in Prescott AZ anyway. I got the gun back about 3 weeks later with a new ejector installed. I have never had a problem with that gun since and my wife and I shoot it often when we go to the range.
My point is that it is really impossible to diagnose a shooter error or a gun malfunction from the internet and we should all stop wasting the ops time and our time. Especially a new poster who obviously doesn't know alot about firearms. I reiterate.. they should be directed to seek help from a live instructor, coach, friend .. any live body that could actually see what's going on.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

I don't agree. You're suggesting that we just quit using internet forums altogether.

Sometimes it happens that a first time poster like this doesn't come back. There could be any number of reasons for that. Not all are due to irritation. Sometimes the problem could be shooter induced or ammo induced. That's just life. Sometimes it's a mechanical problem. You just never know.

Some times we can figure it out here. In fact, I've seen many problems solved over the internet. I have personally helped hundreds of people with various mechanical and shooter problems through conversations in gun forums just like this one. No, this is not a waste of time and it can be helpful even if the help is just for someone who isn't participating, but reads this later.

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Freedom isn't free.

We will agree to disagree. This a huge disservice unless of course the OP engages back right away... which they often do not. Other than that it's a waste. Let me qualify. The forum and help on the forum is not at all a waste. I have given and received hundreds of posts with very helpful information. It's the reason I donate as a member and this is far and away my most visited forum. The waste comes when an OP (especially a new poster) asks a question and then disappears. Unless they show some semblance of firearms knowledge, (this OP did not demonstrate that in the single post) then engaging them with all kinds of things to try is doing the Op a disservice. He/she needs to seek real live instruction for their own benefit and benefit of those who have to stand next to them at a range.
On the other hand if someone even a "new OP" asks question that shows they have at least some knowledge of the subject I would engage them. As long as they continued to respond. But if they ask one question and disappear... shut it down.

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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

Nope, sorry to say it, but you are not only mistaken, you are entirely wrong.

These threads serve the purpose of creating & maintaining visibility for all those ads at the left side of the screen.
Denis