9mm Shield battery question

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baird

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I read through many older threads and might have missed if this was brought up before.

I carry my Shield with the 8rd. mag and one in the chamber. So far I've not had any feeding issues at all, but have noticed a troubling problem. If I lightly push back the slide (as if to press-check), the slide will stay out of battery. A light nudge will return the gun to battery.

The Shield is carried in a Blade-Tech Klipit appendix holster (which I love!) so the chance of accidentally being pushed out of battery is very slim. My concern is this: How can I see if the gun will fire out of battery without possibly blowing off some fingers? I don't have any primed brass to test that way. It appears as if the trigger disconnect would not let the gun fire, but it still worries me.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
 
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I've occasionally had a gun slide a little out of battery when inserting it into a snug holster, but it always returns when it's drawn. I have a 9mm Shield and I can't say as I've ever had the problem you're experiencing. And while I'm no expert, and while I doubt the gun would fire, I'd never advise trying to fire the weapon even slightly out of battery.

Good luck!
 
It's a pretty common thing. I've seen it discussed with several different m&p's, not just the shield. The pressure of a full mag and one in the chamber pushes up on the slide of the gun with so much pressure that the slide can stay out of battery. I've only been able to make it do so when going out of my way though. Never had it happen while holstering.

Also, it should not fire when it is out of battery like that.
 
My lady-friend was smitten with the Shield, and got one when they first came out. She routinely had this problem, even after firing. It had to do with her grip more than anything. I fired 300 rds through it, without a hiccup, in case it needed "broken in".

The scary part was, depending on how far out of battery it was, it would either light-strike the primer, which results in just a "click", or not drop the striker at all. It went back to Smith, but they returned it, saying it was "in spec" which I can't argue with, as it always worked for me.
 
petepeterson said:
My lady-friend was smitten with the Shield, and got one when they first came out. She routinely had this problem, even after firing. It had to do with her grip more than anything. I fired 300 rds through it, without a hiccup, in case it needed "broken in".

The scary part was, depending on how far out of battery it was, it would either light-strike the primer, which results in just a "click", or not drop the striker at all. It went back to Smith, but they returned it, saying it was "in spec" which I can't argue with, as it always worked for me.
Click to expand...

Possibly limp wristing caused her to have a ftf issue and the bullet got a little hung up when feeding. Or it's also possible that because of a poor grip, there was difficulty ejecting the last piece of brass which also could have hung the slide up just enough.
 
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This goes out to the OP. But how old is your shield? how many rounds have been fired? My guess is it either needs a good cleaning or more likely a new recoil spring.... I would also suggest disassembling the magazine & cleaning it as well, I do that on all my mags I use.... But regardless, It shouldnt be doing that...
 
Thanks everyone. The gun only has about 5-600 rounds through it and it is very clean. I just visited a friend who purchased a new 9mm Shield two weeks ago and has not yet shot it. We compared them and both do the exact same thing.

I have never had it go out of battery while holstering it and have not had any operational problems at the range. I think I'll continue shooting it and just keep an eye on it.
 
I would do just that, keep on shooting it! These guns have really tight tolerances and its gonna take some range time to "break" them in... I put in so far about 400-500 rnds in my Shield 9mm and its just now starting to loosen up a bit, but mine never did that tho... Just keep shooting it, keep an eye on it and hopefull (probably) it loosen up and wont stick on you....
 
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baird said:
My concern is this: How can I see if the gun will fire out of battery without possibly blowing off some fingers? I don't have any primed brass to test that way.
Click to expand...
This can easily be tested and requires no ammunition.

Unload your gun.
With a full firing grip on the gun, reach under the gun with your support hand. Using your fingers grasp the slide and press it back just a little like this:
Chamber%20Checksmall_zpstfypl3i3.jpg


This picture was taken to demonstrate how to do a chamber check. That's why you see a casing in the pic. However, the motion is the same. Of course you won't need to pull the slide back this far; just enough to simulate what you saw with the full magazine.

Then, with the slide held back a little and the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, pull the trigger. Did you hear a click? If you did, then you'll know the gun will fire with the slide back a little. If you didn't hear a click, and you won't, then you know the gun won't fire when the slide is back a little.

This is how to check for the potential of an out-of-battery discharge. By using the underhand grip on the slide, your hand never gets in front of the muzzle. Thus, with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, there is no possibility of hurting anyone with this method.
 
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macski222 said:
Possibly limp wristing caused her to have a ftf issue and the bullet got a little hung up when feeding. Or it's also possible that because of a poor grip, there was difficulty ejecting the last piece of brass which also could have hung the slide up just enough.
Click to expand...

It would feed, then light-strike the primer. It was user error, for sure, but a self-defense pistol has to work in less-than-optimum conditions at times. We fixed it, though...with one of those Austrian thingies. No problems after that!
 
CaptRon956 said:
These guns have really tight tolerances and its gonna take some range time to "break" them in...
Click to expand...
Just a quick note here, the entire M&P line is designed with very loose tolerances. It's what makes them more reliable. No "break in" period is necessary. If the gun isn't working right out of the box, it's broken or needs adjustment. This should be obvious from the OP's response that he's had no trouble when firing the gun.
 
Rastoff said:
What "Austrian thingy" are you referring to? A Glock? I've seen more "limp wrist" issues with a Glock than with any other pistol. I'm glad her's is working for her.
Click to expand...

A Glock 19. I think the extra weight helps provide a little more stability, plus it seems a little more forgiving to a softer grip. No scientific stuff to back it up, just an observation.
 
petepeterson said:
A Glock 19. I think the extra weight helps provide a little more stability, plus it seems a little more forgiving to a softer grip. No scientific stuff to back it up, just an observation.
Click to expand...
The G19 is much larger than the Shield. Therefore, it's easier to get a solid grip for most people. She might have been just as happy with an M&P 9c.

No matter, the Glock is working for her and that's what really counts.
 
Rastoff said:
The G19 is much larger than the Shield. Therefore, it's easier to get a solid grip for most people. She might have been just as happy with an M&P 9c.

No matter, the Glock is working for her and that's what really counts.
Click to expand...

Agreed on all counts. I don't own any Glocks, but I can certainly see why people do. It's an excellent tool. No soul, though, but that's another thread!
 
A direct comparison between the Shield and the G19 is not reasonable. They are two completely different guns. A better comparison would be the G26 and Shield. Still quite different, but closer.
 
I just talked to a second co-worker who just purchase a 9mm Shield. He also has not shot it yet, but found the same thing when he lightly pushed his slide out of battery with a full magazine and one in the chamber.

As best I can tell, it won't fire in this condition, as it seems to be just into the area where the trigger disconnect kicks in. My biggest worry is to have it fire out of battery and lose some fingers. I think it will be ok.
 
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