i know this has been covered many times before but shield mags are the hardest to load of any mag i have ever tried to load. i can only get them fully loaded with the help of a loader

Hi OP. I would say if you came in and asked about the Shield mags being difficult, many of us would have recommended the Uplula loader. Heck those work for many mags across the board.
I always used one for my Shield mags, I figure may as well go the easy route esp at the range. Adding i had several thousand rounds thru my Shield and the mags never eased up that much.

What technique do you use to load when not using a loader?

Another vote for Uplula

Have to admit, my Shield 45 was the hardest of all my mags to load. What worked for me was loading them up and letting them sit for several days, then empty and reload. After a few weeks they loosened up some. They are still a little stiff, but load them by hand. Was just too cheap and lazy to get the Uplula.

just the standard hold mag with one hand push shell down into the mag with the other thumb same as i have been doing it for the past 30 years. never had a problem before but then i am getting old

I use an Uplula also. The last round is tough without a loader.

The hardest mag I have ever loaded is the S15 Shield mag for the Glock 43x. I don’t recall S&W Shields all that hard to load.

Yea, my .40 Shield magazines were so dang hard to load, first time I tried to load one I thought S&W had included 9mm magazines with my new gun!

They've either gotten SLIGHTLY easier to load over time, or my thumb has built up some muscle.

Well maybe, but the Shield 9 magazines are a real wrestling match without a loader. One of my shooting buddies, a 26 year old weight lifting volunteer fireman sorta kid, turned me on to a simple loader, and I bought two off Ebay the same day.

Ha, now I can load several magazines in a single session without feeling like I need carple tunnel therapy and a new thumb.

The amazing thing is the Shield can even strip a round from a full mag

You know what's hard? Trying to load that seventh round into a 6-round Shield .45 magazine. They're stamped with a 7.

I didn't understand what it was you were saying, so I called my friend who owns a .45 Shield.

He said it all depends which floor/base plate is on that particular magazine that determines how many rounds that mag. will hold, but they all have a 7 on the bottom hole window...wow.

I could see where that could be a little confusing at first.

How's your thumb?

Thumb is sadder but wiser. The 6-rounder fits flush or nearly so, and the 7-rounders are extended. The older I get, the more easily confused.

Yea me too, but fortunately I'v never been all that wise to begin with so aging is no big deal.

That one put a smile on my face

Sooner or later I'll grab one in .45, and keep that lesson in mind.