Shield Problem I hadn't thought of.

[Rastoff]

I bought the gun for CCW but also, for my lady. She has small hands and the shield is a perfect fit for her.

This is a common mistake when buying a gun for a woman. Often people think that a small gun will be better because they have small hands. This is rarely the case. In fact, more often than not, the women I've worked, with preferred the larger guns.

I have larger than average hands, but like the small back strap on my M&P 45. My wife's hands are much smaller than mine, but she prefers the large back strap. Surprising, huh? It just goes to show that you never know until they manipulate and fire the gun.

Guess what she bought, after the Salesman at the gunstore got thru w/ her: A new Beretta 92. ...Being of slight build, she can't even control the 92 w/ one hand, much less 2...
...she could not charge the pistol after numerous attempts...
...she could not decock the pistol to safe it and had to wait till Hubby got home to do so. And then he had to read the manual to do so... This is a recipe for utter disaster, IMHO.

(edited for brevity)
I agree with you that this could be disastrous.

The Beretta 92 series has to have the easiest slide to operate on the market. It's 9mm and full sized so, the recoil spring is light. Further, I'm stunned that she couldn't operate the safety/decocker. Seriously? That switch is so easy to drop, many people do it accidentally. Yes, this is not the gun for her.

The grip on the Beretta 92 is rather large. Even men sometimes have difficulty with it. I own one and have qualified expert with it in the military. It's a great gun, but not for everyone.

DeadWhiteGoose,
Have your lady handle a full size 1911. I know this may not be the most popular on this forum, but you might be surprised at her reaction. Many women find the grip very comfortable.

 

[Bud33]

The slid on my shield is still hard to overcome BUT I found a little device called a HANDI RACKER and that took care of the racking problem. I have got about 1000 rounds thru my shield and it is still a problem to rack BUT it shoots so nice I may have to overlook the heavy racking.

Safest way to rack your pistols Handi-Racker

 

[Jayhawkokie]

I got my wife a.380 Bodyguard, she loves it, she has no problem with the slide. When I brought my new Shield home yesterday and handed it to her she said I like the feel of this, so when we can get to the range she's going to give it a try.

 

[DeadWhiteGoose]

Hey some really great replies here guys I appreciate all the input. I love my 640 j frame and it's my daily carry so far so adding another one to the collection might be a good idea. At home I already have a 1911, a 686 and a Glock 19 as well. She said the 1911 and 686 are just too heavy and doesn't feel comfortable holding onto them. The Glock works no problem but she's not comfortable with the grip. She does however like the idea of loading a magazine better than loading a cylinder. Even though both my revolvers are cut for moon clips even , the process is just hard for her because she has bad depth perception. See? It's an enigma of sorts haha

 

[mafbloggerdanny]

I have been taking my little sister to the range lately and started training her a little. We are both still very green and noobs and my sis is very petite and although she is very athletic (she runs marathons and I'm an overweight fatty) she still doesn't have the physical strength to manipulate the slide on my Shield 9 even though its well broken in with a few thousand rounds now.

I have tried training her properly on the 2-handed slide manipulation techniques described above and although it has improved things for her, she still has trouble with it. I started searching for a new gun that would be easier for her to train on. I thought about .380s.

I unfortunately had to rule out the BG380 due to seeing so many posts about reliability problems and the really stiff trigger, i tried dry firing it and did not like it. I knew she would hate it even more. The Sig P238 was very appealing and the slide is so very easy to manipulate but in the end I settled on the G42 because of it's larger size and striker fire.

Now that she has has the G42, she is still having a little bit of trouble racking that slide even on the G42... ugh... how did I not see this coming. The Sig P238 probably would have been a better choice but I wanted polymer and striker fired. I might still try to get a P238... or hope that someone comes out with a reduced power recoil spring for the G42. I know at least one company has it in the works but who knows if they will ever come to market with it.

So my conclusion is that for very petite women, you have to be really careful about that spring tension, make sure they try working the slide A LOT and are comfortable with it before buying. And consider a revolver too!

 

[Jayhawkokie]

Have you checked out the Bersa Thunder .380, I have the Thunder Plus with 15 round mag, they are fun and easy to shoot and a the slide is easy to operate, plus the price is reasonable. The Bersa has been my EDC until I got the Shield.

 

[Horn]

Similar Problems

Well, I've had my share of issues with my Shield 9mm as much as I want to love it. It's been to the range 4 times and has yet had a perfect run. (FTF's and FTE's on all 4 trips). Of course, S&W with their excellent customer service has already offered to service the pistol at no cost to me. Now, here's the kicker. I bought the gun for CCW but also, for my lady. She has small hands and the shield is a perfect fit for her. It was suppose to be her go to gun in my safe since nothing else I own really fits her well. Unfortunately, she is literally not strong enough to manipulate the slide! She can't even load a round in the chamber unless the slide is previously locked back! I've noticed how high the tension is on the recoil spring and have trouble even myself, especially with the slide lock. I hadn't even thought of that as being an issue but apparently, it's damn near impossible for my lady to use. Which is sad because I love all my S&W's but I just don't think this one is fulfilling it's purpose. Has anyone else experienced this? Or is my recoil spring from the darkest depths of hell? Might just be back to good ole J-Frames for me

Yes, I had some issues too. First one was failure to extract. Every few rounds the shell casing would wind up half out with the next round in the mag pressing up against it__pistol jammed.
Called CS and they sent the shipping label. It came back noting the chamber had been polished.
Next within fifty rounds the last round of either mag would fire but the pistol remained in battery.
CS sent another shipping label. I called the last week in October to inquire__replacing the pistol. It arrived today. Cleaned it and lubed it (according to manual) Will be taking it out on the desert next week with four hundred rounds ready.
I want the pistol to be perfect. Like the Shield! Have a G26 Gen4. Have been packing it since the Shield wasn't here.
I'm hoping there's no issues with this Shield. There's zero issues with the G26. Its not as easy of a carry as the Shield. (Fat)
Good luck with yours. Call CS__they're tops.
___"Violence is seldom the answer, but when it is the answer it is the only answer"

 

[Rastoff]

OK, I hear you DeadWhiteGoose. The search for a gun for a woman can be difficult. Another aspect that she might not mention, but can play a huge part, especially with women, is aesthetics. If it doesn't look good, even if she doesn't say anything, she won't like it. The same is true for men, but we'll never admit it.

Have you tried a Browning Hi-Power? When my wife was searching, she shot a lot of different guns. Without exaggeration, handled at least 50 different handguns and shot at least 25 different ones. In the end, I got her a Hi-Power and she's in love with it. She can rack the slide. It's not too small, but not too big either. The 9mm recoil is easy for her to handle.

They're not cheap, but great guns. Just an idea that is often overlooked.

 

[Smoke]

so I didn't think the shield would be 40x harder to do.

Yeah, how'd that work out for you?

 

[lhump1961]

Your Shield's recoil spring is probably out of spec, which is a common problem because they have crappy quality. It is probably contributing to your gun's problem of FTFeed and FTExtract if the slide is not fully cycling.

You might want to have the lady try a 38 special S&W airweight revolver or Ruger LCR at the range. Try the models that have a hammer.

Smith has sold every Shield they could make for the last two years..."crappy quality"...really? I'll bet they all shoot low and left as well...

 

[27Veer]

One of the first things I learned as an instructor is to NEVER choose a gun for a woman. My wife has the same problem as do at least a dozen of our students this year, they cannot rack the slides of the 9mm on up guns. W've found that most CAN rack the slides of .380's.
Here are the .380's we use for training and are subsequentely chosen by the women we teach.
1. S&W MP 380.
2. SIG P290
3. Glock 42
4. Ruger LC 380.
We teach many older folks with arthritis and they can handle these very well.

 

[Deadeye Dick]

Not really anything I can ad to what hasn't all ready been covered by others here. Just to summarize:

1) It's always best to let your lady choose her own gun, with some knowledgeable guidance of course. If at all possible she needs to not only shoot the prospective guns but needs to attempt loading it and operating it on her own before making a final decision. Sure she can shoot the bull out of a target with gun X once you have loaded it and chambered a round for her but that's not operating a gun. Can she load the magazines herself? Can she rack the slide herself? These are things you need to find out before you buy.
Compact and pocket pistols require heavier springs than full sized pistols to compensate for the lack of mass of the slide. Simple physics.

2) Don't discount revolvers. Statistics show that most confrontations end one way or another with less than a hand full of rounds fired so a double digit wounder blaster is rarely required. Revolvers are simple to load and simple to operate. The other advantage is that if a round fails to fire all she needs to do is pull the trigger again for a shot at a fresh round.

 

[Stratajema]

Smith has sold every Shield they could make for the last two years..."crappy quality"...really? I'll bet they all shoot low and left as well...

Read carefully. I was discussing the recoil spring, not the overall gun.

The recoil spring in the Shield has very poor quality. That is no secret on this forum.

 

[Protected One]

What kind of ammo are you using ?
I am on my third Shield, all in 9mm. The reason the first two are gone is simply because the third is a no-safety model. The new owners are quite happy. Never any issues at all.
Several women in my training group, who purchased Shields after trying mine, have the same experience: no issues what so ever. I would not hesitate even a second to recommend the gun.

Do not go to a weaker spring. Either send it to Smith to sort out your issues, or choose another gun. Given that this is not carry gun for you, maybe try an M&P compact. Still has a pretty small grip profile.

.....or get her a Glock 42.
My wife has small hands also, and is extremely recoil sensitive. The Glock solved both problems, and she loves it.

 

[edraven]

Racking the slide is not about strength.
It is all about technique.

Rack the Slide | Cornered Cat

 

[Bud33]

Rack the Slide | Cornered Cat

You've obviously never had arthritis!!!

 

[Rdgallo]

Might look at the new Ruger LC9S. My wife is considering it. It is easy to rack and has one of the best triggers. If I didn't own a Shield, I would be purchasing one of these for myself.

 

[kozmic]

My wife had an issue with the slide on her 9mm Shield. Google "woman racking a slide" or "racking a slide with weak hands" or similar. There are many videos that address this. My wife mastered her slide in a matter of minutes by basically using both hands and her body.

No need for a different gun, just a different technique!

 

[kenh999]

The slid on my shield is still hard to overcome BUT I found a little device called a HANDI RACKER and that took care of the racking problem. I have got about 1000 rounds thru my shield and it is still a problem to rack BUT it shoots so nice I may have to overlook the heavy racking.

Safest way to rack your pistols Handi-Racker

+1 for a racker tool to easily 'exercise' the slide. I didn't buy one but made one from a piece of scrap 1x4. It works on my Shield and SD9 and I keep it in my range bag. If you want to exercise your slide to loosen it up this is an easy way to do it.

 

[Bozz10mm]

Rack it for her, chamber a round and engage the safety. Store it in the safe that way. Then all she has to do is click the safety off to fire the weapon.