Shield mag release changed ?

Again, counselor (you do have a law license, right ? Oh, I'm sorry - that was me. The one with a valid law license). I was commenting on the reports by other forum members, with .40 Shields, reporting problems. On this forum. In this thread. Only.
Nice try.
 
I think the mag springs are playing a role in this problem. In my 9 Shield I've never had to slam a mag home as hard in any other gun, but you sure have to with the Shield. That along with frame flex could be an issue for some of the .40's. The frame could be more dense on some, less in others as well. Everyone should try this test, as I noticed it today. Load in a loaded 7/6 rd mag into your unchamberd Shield, grip firmly then release the mag & see if it feels kind of relieved to let it out. I felt that feeling today & it made me think about the mag drop issue. Don't know if it means anything, but I wanted to pass it along.
 
Last edited:
Shielded said:
I think the mag springs are playing a role in this problem. In my 9 Shield I've never had to slam a mag home as hard in any other gun, but you sure have to with the Shield. That along with frame flex could be an issue for some of the .40's. The frame could be more dense on some, less in others as well. Everyone should try this test, as I noticed it today. Load in a loaded 7/6 rd mag into your unchamberd Shield, grip firmly then release the mag & see if it feels kind of relieved to let it out. I felt that feeling today & it made me think about the mag drop issue. Don't know if it means anything, but I wanted to pass it along.
Click to expand...

You will get that when you put a fully loaded magazine into the gun with the slide forward. However, I also experience that with other brands of sub-compact pistols with full magazines inserted into the pistol with the slide forward. I'm not sure, but I doubt it is the cause of the "mag drop".

Generally, I'll load a full magazine into my sub compacts with the slide locked open, then let the slide forward to chamber a round. I will not top off the magazine because of this tightness. If I think I need more rounds I carry another magazine or a bigger gun!

As an aside, you will get longer life on that top round of defensive ammo if you insert the magazine with the slide locked open. Inserting it with the slide forward and racking to load will allow the bottom of the slide to drag along on that top round. This is normal and after repeated cycles will start to gouge the brass up.

Edmo
 
That happened with some guys with the 9 when it first came out, only to figure out they were holding the gun a manner that they were accidentally releasing the mag and not knowing it .. user malfunction, not the gun.
 
kris7047th said:
That happened with some guys with the 9 when it first came out, only to figure out they were holding the gun a manner that they were accidentally releasing the mag and not knowing it .. user malfunction, not the gun.
Click to expand...

I grip the Shield the same way that I grip all of my other pistols, including a Kahr, M&P 9c and other compact/subcompacts that i have owned or shot. If my grip, that works fine on every other gun, is causing accidental engagement of the mag release, then that is a gun issue. The mag release needs to be re-designed if that is the case.

If I need to use a special grip for the Shield, then i'll be getting rid of it. Too high of a risk that in a pressure situation i'll revert to a normal grip and drop a mag.
 
It isn't an issue of hitting the mag release. Perhaps that's happened to some, but I specifically fired a few mags intentionally avoiding the mag release just to make sure of this.
 
Have not been able to test at the range, but I just ran this little test downstairs.
All tests ran without a round chambered.
Serial # DXP21XX

1. Magazine empty - Inserted 6+1 mag
A. Wiggled mag back and forth (slide open) and pulled.
Would not disengage
B. Closed side (no round chambered).
Wiggled mag back and forth and pulled.
Would not disengage.
C. Repeated all tests with 7+1 mag with identical results.

2. Magazine full - Inserted 6+1 mag
A. Wiggled mag back and forth (slide open) and pulled.
Would not disengage
B. Closed side (no round chambered). Wiggled mag back
and forth and pulled. Would not disengage.
C. Repeated all tests with 7+1 mag with identical results.

Will run a complete test the next time I go to the range, hopefully tomorrow if all goes well.
 
I posted this on another thread here but seems like a bunch of different people on this thread so.... My .40 Shield was dropping the mags first time at the range. I c a r e f u l l y took note of grip placement to ensure I was not inadvertantly engaging the mag release. Problem persisted. I dropped the gun off at S&W and it was returned a week later. Paperwork stated the mag release catch was replaced and weapon test fired. I took it to the range and put 60 rounds through it. That was all I had left in my bag. It did not drop the mag. I won't be fully satisfied until I get another hundred or so without failure. The issue is real and (based on input from the other thread(s)) does seem more prevalent with the .40 cal.
 
My Shield is doing the same thing as shown in the video, except that it is dropping the six round mag also, just not as frequently as the seven round mag.
 
Looks like I have one of the good ones. I have fired over 500 rounds out of my Shield with no feed problems or mag release issues. Every time I read posts like this one I go out to my range and fire 50 more rounds looking for any issues like the mag release. So far not an issue at all. Seems like a heavier spring would fix the problem with some of your guns. For me things are working just fine. Oh I did have a mag release once when I was putting the gun in my holster. I had hit the mag release, LOL. Good luck
 
shoot your shields and hold the opposite end of the mag release to see if it still drops.This will tell you id the problem is the catch or the tension on the catch spring. Does it release also with just a couple of rounds on the magazine??
 
Shielded said:
Here's a vid I found show the probs, gives you a good look at whats going on.

M&P Shield .40cal...... - YouTube
Click to expand...

Noticed that you load your magazine with your slide close, try loading the magazine with your slide retracted to allow it to fully travel up w/o effort and release the slide to put one in the chamber. I noticed that my 9mm shield magazine had so much tension compared to my other 2 single stack handguns
when loading it with the slide closed.
 
My Shield 40 is also doing this. Read up on this forum and at the time only had ~75 rounds through. Now have ~150 and this exact issue is happening. Will be calling S&W tomorrow.
Thanks for the video. Helps.
 
It is a mag release issue, not any kind of operator error. Regardless, the mag should load correctly both ways.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
 
As I posted on the other string, I also have the problem with the extended mag dropping as shown in the video, but also note that both mags seem to fit loosely. Have not had a problem firing with the short mag. Emailed S&W but have not heard. I guess I will have to call but will wait a bit in hopes they will come up with a fix. Otherwise, a great gun.
 
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