I have a question, that may be silly to many of you, but... if I manually load a round in the chamber (M&P Shield 9), release the slide, then insert a 7 round mag, essentially having 8 rounds, do I need to rack the slide after my first shot or will the trigger automatically detect and load the second round from the magazine? Thanks for only laughing to yourself

First squeeze of the trigger will cycle the slide automatically! Welcome, doubt you'll find too many here that will laugh at you for trying to learn.

No need to rerack, the slide will cycle normally after the first round's fired.

insert full magazine ,rack slide, remove mag add 1 more round to mag reinsert into pistol

I have a "brand new to guns" friend who recently asked the very same question when I was showing her an M&P Compact. I guess it's not as unusual a question as we may believe.

NOTICE!

What you described “can” be done but it’s absolutely not the way you should do it. While most semiautomatic firearms can operate this way, there have been plenty of examples of how this isn’t the safest way to approach it and it isn’t necessarily healthy for the longevity of the firearm. This is because the extractor is designed to have a loaded round fed up from below, and it helps to guide that round in to place. It was not designed specifically to slam in to that round and slip over it’s rim.

Post #4 is a succinct description of how you ready a pistol to be carried if you wish to carry at full or “plus-1” capacity.

Nobody will laugh at your question! Asking these questions and getting a full grasp of what is going on puts you miles ahead of other brand new gun owners. There is massive value there, and we are talking about firearms where NOT knowing what’s going on will literally put folks in to harm’s way.

Isn't dropping the slide on a chambered round hard on the extractor?

I keep an empty mag around, which I use to load a single round, remove it then insert the full mag.

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SWCA #2817

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whataboutbob is giving excellent advice and I am sure many others will agree. It is never a good idea to manually insert a round into the chamber as it is unsafe and could also cause damage to the pistols extractor.

As others have noted there is no such thing as a "dumb" question, especially if you are new to firearms as so many people are these days.

The proper way to load the gun is to insert a full magazine, either work the slide or allow it to go forward, which will chamber a round. Then remove the magazine and replace the round that is now in the chamber and re insert the full magazine. The gun is now loaded and ready to fire. It will fire each time you pull the trigger until the magazine is empty. All of this takes place with the gun pointed in a safe direction of course!

All good advice here, but there's one question the OP asked that didn't quite get answered.

When you shoot a round in the Shield (or any semiautomatic handgun), some of the energy from the round will push the slide back. When it does, it will eject the spent cartridge. And if there's a fresh cartridge waiting at the top of the magazine, the slide will load round that into the firing chamber when it slides back into battery.

So, technically, it doesn't matter how the round got into the chamber ... as long as the next round is waiting in the magazine, it should get loaded.

As others have said, though, it's better to always charge the gun from the magazine. Dropping a round in the pipe and then letting the slide fall on it is hard on the extractor.

Mike

Welcome to the forum.

Now that you know to chamber the round from the magazine, there is a technique you should use when doing it, called "Slingshot".

Some people might tend to grip the slide and hold the slide force back a little as it moves forward, stripping a round from the top of the magazine and pushing it up the feed ramp and into the chamber. This sometimes fails to fully chamber a round and make the gun ready to fire.

When a magazine with ammo is in place, pull the slide fully to the rear and release it, allowing the slide to move forward freely. This is the "Slingshot". If the magazine is empty, the slide remains open during this maneuver.

I think taking a class or going to the range with a knowledgeable gun owner would be a good place for you to start your firearms experience.

No worries, we’re all here to learn. No one gets laughed at and there are no stupid questions. I’ve had three new shooters try to load rounds into a Glock or S&W mag backwards. What’s worse is it took me a few minutes to realize why they were struggling w/such a straight forward (I thought) task.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Welcome to the Forum!

You've gotten some good advice above, and you should always feel free to ask for more from our resident sages. Additionally, good advice is always available from the owner's manual that came with your Shield. If you did not get a manual with your Shield, you can download one here:

Owner's Manuals | Smith & Wesson

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What, me worry?

Even folks who SHOULD know better screw things up. Remember this HK ad.

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LOVE THAT AD SO MUCH, and I have for like a decade-plus!

Again, welcome to the forum. You'll receive a plethora of good information here. What may also help you is to read the owner's manual for your pistol. Most likely there will be pictures or diagrams of the loading & firing sequence. This will help you understand the function of the semi-automatic pistol. If you do not have a manual, I suggest that you contact the factory and they most likely will forward one to you.

Good luck!

JPJ

What he said. Loading from the magazine protects the extractor from excess wear.

Welcome to the S&W Forums.
It sounds to me like you may be very new to semi-automatic pistols and perhaps new to firearms in general. As others have stated, it is highly recommended that you take a firearms safety/training course to learn how to maintain and safely use that pistol.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

To add a footnote to this and Seven' posts...... IIRC hand loading a round into the chamber and then dropping the slide ... has often been blamed for the extractor braking in the early S&W pre-39s with the short extractor.

Always load from the magazine.

Triggers don't have detectors built into them .
When a round is fired the gun automatically loads another round from the magazine... hence the name auto-loading or automatic pistol ... it's done by recoil ... no electronic sensor's are involved .
Be sure and load the magazine with ammo and things should go just fine.
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Thanks, I’ll check it out. I’m not new to firearms, but I am new to semi-auto. Smith & Wesson .38 special was my first carry gun in 1995. I also have a .357 mag, .44 mag and 3 different single action guns along with a 10/22 Ruger. I trained and qualified with my shield 9 along with a Beretta 3032 Tomcat. I’m used to just point and shoot. I learned about loading the chamber with one round in the mag, rack, release empty bag and insert fully loaded mag and your ready to go. Since the Tomcat has a flip up barrel that you manually load your first round, I was curious about applying that technique with my shield. I’m learning lots from this forum and very much appreciate your input. Thanks again!

Thanks for your input. I’m not new to firearms, but new to semi-autos. I own and have carried a S&W .38 special for 25 yrs. I’ve had my firearm safety traing with my shield recently and did learn how to load one in the chamber with a mag, rack, release and insert fully loaded mag. I understand this is the safest way to get an extra round in the chamber, was just wondering if the other method would work as well. Thanks again. I’m getting lots of feedback and input from many. Life’s all about learning. Thanks again!

Mostly just a spectator on this forum, but posts like this is why I check it out on a frequent basis. Awesome, civil and intelligent people populate this place.

Not if it's a Beretta Tomcat.

When it comes to firearms, ask every question you need to. No silly or stupid questions. Err on the side of caution.