SW Shield Slide Cracked

[HeavyDuty Ken]

Interesting - two guns with the same machining problem. If two showed up on the web, how many more are out there?

 

[M&Pmeister]

I just purchased this gun and received it 2 days ago. I've never posted it anywhere else.

I have a tough time believing this was a brand new gun. The slide shows clear signs of the slide catch dragging on the side rail, as well as wear marks on the center rail. Either this gun has been fired repeatedly, or somebody has been racking it vigorously. I'm more inclined to believe it's the former.

Sorry to cast doubt on you story, if indeed you are dealing with a serious problem, but something is not adding up right...

 

[RalphMP9FS]

My new M&P 9FS showed similar wear before I fired it. In fact, I asked the gunsmith at Gander Mountain about it before I took it home, and he said that was absolutely normal since it was fired at the factory.

EDIT: I just took mine apart, and it does not look as worn as the shield pic and still looks new. Here's a pic from today with 600+ rounds fired through it:

 

[M&Pmeister]

None of mine looked like that brand new. One test shot - or even a handful - does not produce wear marks like that.

On rare occasions, I've had gun counter clerk try to pass pistols that obviously have been handled and fired repeatedly - though still looking relatively fresh - as brand new. Don't worry, they say... it's because they test fire at the factory. I just politely ask if they have a different one. If they don't, I thank them for their time and walk.

I also do not let any store send my firearms to the mfr for service, even if they offer to do so for free as a courtesy. Had a less than stellar experience that told me people are not always on the up and up.

 

[droshi]

I have a tough time believing this was a brand new gun. The slide shows clear signs of the slide catch dragging on the side rail, as well as wear marks on the center rail. Either this gun has been fired repeatedly, or somebody has been racking it vigorously. I'm more inclined to believe it's the former.

Sorry to cast doubt on you story, if indeed you are dealing with a serious problem, but something is not adding up right...

I'm really not sure what you're getting at here? I've never purchased a firearm that wasn't test fired from the factory...mine came with a bullet casing as proof as do pretty much every gun I've ever seen.

It of course requires racking to and manipulating the slide to get the gun apart, and I've done a bit more than that...but no drops or abuse. It's literally brand new.

Other than my broken pistol which I'm sure will get fixed, my only intention with posting here was to see if this factory defect was an isolated issue, or if it's generally a problem with other pistols.

 

[droshi]

If appropriate, I can post where I purchased this from. I haven't contacted them yet because I assumed it was a factory defect. It was purchased online...

Here are some more pictures showing more detail.

Here we go, higher res now.

 

[droshi]

Also, each time I have a problem with a gun I learn a bit more. This lesson has taught me to learn how to field strip a gun before I purchase it, and at least do that before receiving it at my FFL. In this case I could have then refused the firearm and gotten a different one.

Still, the rest of the gun looks brand new to me, I hadn't even considered it could have been a used gun they sent me. But I'll contact the place and send them pictures and see if they offer anything. In my experience, once you receive the firearm there isn't much they ever offer or can easily do. I guess the paperwork for them to get it back and send a new one is a hassle.

 

[droshi]

Here's more pictures of the rest of the pistol. Although from the outside it doesn't look like much if any wear...the inside is a bit worn IMO.

So what do you guys think...used? It almost looks that way to me, or excessive "testing" at the factory.

 

[droshi]

Here's what the place I bought it from responded:

This gun was factory new from my distributor, yes they do fire the gun but you are right there should not be much wear from them testing the gun. I am very sorry about the gun having a defect, I will contact my distributor and make sure the gun was indeed factory new.

Again, I know how disappointing it is to buy a new gun and it not be right. I assure you this gun was sent to _______ from our distributor as factory new. If I find out that there was a mistake and we somehow received something other than what we advertised we will make it right.

 

[Jiman]

Wow, that is crazy.

My understanding is the same as yours regarding inspecting the firearm prior to going through with the FFL paperwork.

I'm not sure anyone can really fault you for not field stripping the gun at your LGS though...I certainly can't. I generally just lock the slide back, check the breech face, ramp, put the slide down pull the trigger, reset, the feel of the slide function, and check to make sure the mags drop free. Other than that I just look at cosmetic stuff.

IMO, even if the store you originally purchased the gun from sold you a used gun, or even if you raked the **** out of a brand new one, it should still never crack like that.

The example you have is just a bad gun period that was poorly milled and/or bad metallurgy. They make zillions of them and like any machine, sometimes they don't turn out as designed and still make it past QC. My guess is that it left the factory without the crack so it probably passed a quick visual inspection and maybe even the test fire.

But based on how thin that area was milled it was just a matter of time. I'm glad you caught it before you shot it.

I wouldn't be surprised if S&W replaced the entire gun vs. just replacing the slide. To many 'what ifs' for Smith to take a chance on other unseen issues/damage to your frame. I'd think they'd have records on which lot your slide was machined and they'll also probably check the machine yours was build on to check its program.

I'm gonna show my coworker who owns a Shield these pics tonight. He's gonna **** his pants, LMAO!!!

From everything I've heard about Smiths CS they'll definitely take care of you. It might take you a little longer to get the warm and fuzzies back but in the end you'll hopefully be happy/confident in the brand/model in short order.

Thanks for posting those pics. Please also update us on what happens.

 

[droshi]

Wow, that is crazy.

My understanding is the same as yours regarding inspecting the firearm prior to going through with the FFL paperwork.

I'm not sure anyone can really fault you for not field stripping the gun at your LGS though...I certainly can't. I generally just lock the slide back, check the breech face, ramp, put the slide down pull the trigger, reset, the feel of the slide function, and check to make sure the mags drop free. Other than that I just look at cosmetic stuff.

IMO, even if the store you originally purchased the gun from sold you a used gun, or even if you raked the **** out of a brand new one, it should still never crack like that.

The example you have is just a bad gun period that was poorly milled and/or bad metallurgy. They make zillions of them and like any machine, sometimes they don't turn out as designed and still make it past QC. My guess is that it left the factory without the crack so it probably passed a quick visual inspection and maybe even the test fire.

But based on how thin that area was milled it was just a matter of time. I'm glad you caught it before you shot it.

I wouldn't be surprised if S&W replaced the entire gun vs. just replacing the slide. To many 'what ifs' for Smith to take a chance on other unseen issues/damage to your frame. I'd think they'd have records on which lot your slide was machined and they'll also probably check the machine yours was build on to check its program.

I'm gonna show my coworker who owns a Shield these pics tonight. He's gonna **** his pants, LMAO!!!

From everything I've heard about Smiths CS they'll definitely take care of you. It might take you a little longer to get the warm and fuzzies back but in the end you'll hopefully be happy/confident in the brand/model in short order.

Thanks for posting those pics. Please also update us on what happens.

Yeah, as you mention, I'm fairly confident S&W will take care of the problem. I've heard great things but never had to deal with them. I went with email instead of phone so I'd have written documentation, but other than that all should be fine.

My only main problem right now is that I'll be continuing to carry my larger Glock 19 until I can get this one back...but it sure felt nice to have such a thin gun by comparison. I carry pretty much exclusively in a Smartcarry and the difference is quite nice.

 

[skip4309]

As mentioned in a previous post, I received it only a couple days ago. How would I find out it's build date?

Your gun came with a fired case in a sealed envelope and it has a date on it...also what is the pre-fix of your gun's serial number?? The NS Shield is a fairly new product/offering from S&W. Something just doesn't seem right...you should know this info...

 

[M&Pmeister]

All I was trying to say was that you can never be sure how that firearm got from the factory floor to your hands, and what transpired in between. When things go wrong, it can be anything from QA/QC problem at the mfr to some person(s) mishandling (or misrepresentating) in between... or both.

I have purchased pistols that came with the typical witness spent casing, but the firearm itself showed absolutely ZERO sign of wear. And some of them were conventional bluing. Melonite is one tough finish in comparison.

Regardless, it's on S&W to make it right.

 

[droshi]

Your gun came with a fired case in a sealed envelope and it has a date on it...also what is the pre-fix of your gun's serial number?? The NS Shield is a fairly new product/offering from S&W. Something just doesn't seem right...you should know this info...

I'm not sure why I should have known that info was there, I thought maybe the serial number was the only way to find out and wasn't sure how...

I don't really look much at the spent casing and didn't realize that info was there, but here's a picture.

Looks like the date is 7/14/2014, is that the manufacture date? Or just the test date? Or are they usually pretty close?

Serial number you can see in the photo, I guess I don't see much of a reason not to post it.

 

[droshi]

All I was trying to say was that you can never be sure how that firearm got from the factory floor to your hands, and what transpired in between. When things go wrong, it can be anything from QA/QC problem at the mfr to some person(s) mishandling (or misrepresentating) in between... or both.

I have purchased pistols that came with the typical witness spent casing, but the firearm itself showed absolutely ZERO sign of wear. And some of them were conventional bluing. Melonite is one tough finish in comparison.

Regardless, it's on S&W to make it right.

I had thought that Melonite was more of a hardening process to the steel, and that afterwards they coat it with black nitride or something? My glock finish seems to wear off from holster use pretty easily, but underneath is the hardened steel that doesn't rust or degrade very easily.

Either way, even the place I bought it from did agree it seems like there's excessive wear on the pistol for it being new.

I'm also starting to wonder if the No-Safety model is maybe quite a bit different from the standard model and required all new tooling? It may explain some of these issues..

 

[N4KVE]

please forgive the newb question, but this makes me curious should it ever happen to me. If something like this occurs with a new gun does it still go directly to the manufacturer for repair/replace or are there instances where it could/would be instead returned to the dealer for a replacement.

again just curious and thanks

On our receipts at work in the fine print, it clearly states that should there be a problem, the customer has to deal with the mfr directly. Also, you want to send the gun to S&W directly, because if you have the store send it in, & then you want to call S&W to ask about the progress of your gun, they won't tell you anything as you didn't send the gun, the store did, & you're not the store. Just a few tips I've picked up over the years. GARY

 

[RalphMP9FS]

In the last four months, I purchased three new semi's and each one of them had some light rubbing wear on the friction points. I don't buy the notion that it should show zero wear out of the box, just my experience so far.

On a different note, that Shield slide should have never ever left the factory. There's been far too many postings with M&P problems lately. I feel lucky that my M&P looks and fires fine. With that being said, my one and only S&W purchase will be my last S&W purchase.

 

[droshi]

In the last four months I purchased three new semi's and each one of them had some light rubbing wear on the friction points. I don't buy the notion that it should show zero wear out of the box, just my experience so far.

On a different note, that Shield slide should have never ever left the factory. There's been far too many postings with M&P problems lately. I feel lucky that my M&P looks and fires fine. With that being said, my one and only S&W purchase will be my last S&W purchase.

I'm not that convinced yet to completely write off S&W. If my experience with customer service goes well, and the new slide doesn't look extremely thinly milled in that area, I'll be happy and assume this was an isolated incident. Anything can happen, but if they make it right I'll be happy.

 

[epj]

I would expect them to correct that problem. And for all the furor, makes no difference if the gun is brand new or has ten thousand rounds through it.

 

[Bishop99]

I would hope quality control would catch that. If not Houston we have a problem. You might have a used gun with some hot loads ran through it. No way a new unfired gun should look like that.