I got the 9mm Shield and extra bag that came with it so I have five mags. I know the mags are stiff so I loaded all mags and they have set here for a couple of weeks. Went to town yesterday and got a membership at a indoor range. Shot all the mags and then reloaded a few times. I shot about one hundred rounds. I use a "Makershot" mag loader and at the end of the day my thumb hurts so bad that I would not be able to load them all again.

Been retired for awhile, so is my thumb week? Does people load with gloves on? Different mag loader?

Maybe the mags need sitting loaded for a longer time. Of course I shot by myself so may have went a little fast but I could not see doing this all day. I don't have much ammo anyway, but some day I will?

Ozarkdave

Ain't about weak thumbs, it's simply about the right tools. Whatever works for you is good. Just gotta find the right stuff. I use the upLULA loader and it works fine for me. Just need a stable platform to work on. Very comfortable and not that spendy, last I checked. The first handgun I ever bought was a Ruger Mark II. Came with 2 mags. The first time I shot it, me and my brother put 1500 rounds through it. Little button on the side wore our thumbs out! Then a friend told me to use an empty .45ACP case over the button and no more raw thumb. Find what works for you. This sport shouldn't be painful.

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The best I can with what I got

Dave—no one has enough ammo any more to have this problem!!

Seriously, those Shield magazines are notorious for being stiff—you can run a search in here. But they are great guns—everyone I know personally that has one loves it. I was not familiar with your brand of mag loader, but I looked it up. It looks no different that the others I have used.

And welcome to the forum.

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Possum—The other white meat!

This is the only way to go for a mag loader, The Maglula. Works with double stack and single stack, 9mm to 45ACP. Makes easy work of those Shield mags.

Maglula UpLULA Pistol Mag Loader Unloader Polymer Black

Ozarkdave, the magazines could set fully loaded for decades and the spring never weaken. I'd get a upLULA loader, leather gloves, son or a grandson (if old enough) to load up the mags.

+1 for the Uplula. That's all I ever use on my Shield and all other types of mags.

Another 2 thumbs up for the Uplula magloader. Mine works great for Shield and full size/double stack mags.

I’ve been there, after a day of plinking where those little buttons (Buckmark and Victory for me) just were a pain. Found a little “loader” from Hilljak that was around $10, very basic and works slick. Especially for when running a lot of ammo having fun..... which for many sadly isn't happening right now.

This is your answer. I tried a couple different mag loaders till I got one of these. It doesn't require any thumb strength at all, and laughs at Shield mag springs.

Once you get used to it you will be loading mags in seconds, literally. I'm certain I could load a Shield mag in 10 seconds if I tried.

Another +1 for the upLULA. Nothing else comes close.


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I had the Uplula for a Sig and have one for a TX22. So easy to load mags with it. I EDC a 9 EZ now, so no more thumb hurting for me

Uplula mag loader is your friend. Think 9mm mags are stiff? Try Shield 45's.

Clip a few coils on one for an easy to load range mag and see how that works unless you leave them loaded all the time which is why they are so stiff. My pcc runs on greasegun mags that have crazy strong springs that I’ve cut down with no issues. The only mags that stay loaded all the time are the 3 that go with my edc, a .380 Colt Mustang.

Springs become less stiff by full cycles, loading, unloading (shooting)
Over and over.
Leaving them loaded for months, even years isn't going to help.

Just put some rounds through it, and the mags will get easier to load.
When I buy a new Shield I buy a cheap Range Tray loader for that caliber, it helps get that last round in. But after a while I don't even need that.

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U. S. Army Veteran

uplula...and buy from a reputable dealer. apparently alot of the uplulas on amazon are counterfeits.

I have to also chime in for the UpLULA. I got mine in a LGS. Might be the best 35 bucks I ever spent. Man that 10th round is tough to get in there for the full size 45acp.

Uplula does not sell on Amazon because of the counterfeits.

Well I got one! In the beginning I knew I needed a loader but only found like one brand on the bay. Yesterday I searched for the Maglula and found one in Paducah, Ky. at a sports store so I bought it online and picked it up.

That thing works so good!!!! It should be a sticky!

Thanks guys, I needed that. Now I need ammo to load!

Ozarkdave

Good to hear! Now get out there and shoot! Once or twice then stop. Ammo's expensive!

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The best I can with what I got

I think those Maglulas are so god, the only thing better is having someone load mags for you.
And the accessory piece that narrows the opening to make it easier to load single-stack mags is a great option. No worry about holding steady.... it does that for you.

I agree. The hard-to-load magazine topic is raised so frequently here that mag loader recommendations should be a sticky. When I first moved from .22s to centerfires years ago, I was fortunate to learn of the Uplula loader at that time. I have loaded all of my centerfire semiauto mags with it from Day One. Total rounds loaded is around 55,000 and my Uplula is still going strong. I give it two undamaged thumbs up.

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What, me worry?

It's more a matter of a cycle of compression and decompression, compression alone won't quite do it.
To loosen up the spring, it's got to get worked back and forth. Invest in a really good mag loader like the UPlula, and use it to just load mags, unload mags, load mags, unload mags. (Fun times, I know, I know)
They'll break in eventually and become easier to work with.
M&P mags are really stiff when new, so much so that after loading up the mag, just inserting it in the gun all the way took a good amount of force for me in the beginning.

Did someone mention Uplula yet?

Being in a restricted state, my 10 round OEM M&P mags still use fullsize springs. So hand loading starts with the equivalent of 7 rounds already in.

Or, just always use the Uplula and skip the load/unload break-in.

What happens when you're out somewhere though, and you don't have it with you? Then you're back to loading by hand; much easier with a broken-in mag.

[QUOTE=

Seriously, those Shield magazines are notorious for being stiff—you can run a search in here. But they are great guns—everyone I know personally that has one loves it.[/QUOTE]

The recoil springs are notoriously stiff as well.

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm

Another plug for the Uplula. BTW, mine is a hot pink. So there!

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Let's be careful out there

Another here for Maglula. Best money you'll spend on accessories for the range bag.. and your thumbs.

Screw the over-priced, over-hyped magdula. I load my mags with a $6 gizmo very similar to what glock include with their pistols.

they used to. Amazon sold them direct for a while. I got mine from them back in 2014 and it was legit as they come. ... must have been later on they stopped selling them.

Get the loader. Trouble free after that.





I also enjoy the Fixxer grip extension on the bottom of the magazine.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

The Uplula and Maglula are perhaps the greatest firearm accessories ever created.