Fix Your Shield Before It Fails!!!
- Thread starter Nonuthin
- Start date
rogerthedodger
Member
My Shield is April 2015. Spring is good. Thnx to the op. This is a good check when cleaning the gun.
Roger
Roger
BigDog48
US Veteran
This thread is a year old since it started.
Everything in your pistol that you can see should be examined every time you clean it, but...for 99.9% of Shield owners this will never be an issue.
Everything in your pistol that you can see should be examined every time you clean it, but...for 99.9% of Shield owners this will never be an issue.
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flyingbrass
Member
I found this thread recently when searching about slide stop issues.
A friend's Shield from 2017 had this spring problem that bound up his slide.
My new Shield Plus came with a slide stop spring sticking out half way, so this issue remains even today. I tapped the spring in below flush after addressing other issues with the spring.
I think Shields are decent pistols, but nothing is perfect. All guns have quirks. It's good to learn about and pay attention to the known weaknesses of one's firearms, particularly those intended to be used for defensive purposes.
The attached pictures show how my Shield Plus' slide stop spring came from the factory and how deeply it can and should be seated. You don't need tools to examine yours. Just take a look at the spring.
You don't have to remove the trigger block to seat the spring deeper. My 2017 vintage "1.0" Shield's spring was also sitting a little proud when I examined it today. I hadn't paid any attention to it before. The side is shiny from wear. I tapped it in to a little below flush using a small punch without disassembling anything. Even though my 1/16"ish punch doesn't fit down into the slot, angling the punch allowed setting the spring deeper. Only very light taps are required.
Is the slide stop spring not being seated properly a problem? It sure can be. It is an easy thing to check and resolve. I thank the OP for describing this issue.
A friend's Shield from 2017 had this spring problem that bound up his slide.
My new Shield Plus came with a slide stop spring sticking out half way, so this issue remains even today. I tapped the spring in below flush after addressing other issues with the spring.
I think Shields are decent pistols, but nothing is perfect. All guns have quirks. It's good to learn about and pay attention to the known weaknesses of one's firearms, particularly those intended to be used for defensive purposes.
The attached pictures show how my Shield Plus' slide stop spring came from the factory and how deeply it can and should be seated. You don't need tools to examine yours. Just take a look at the spring.
You don't have to remove the trigger block to seat the spring deeper. My 2017 vintage "1.0" Shield's spring was also sitting a little proud when I examined it today. I hadn't paid any attention to it before. The side is shiny from wear. I tapped it in to a little below flush using a small punch without disassembling anything. Even though my 1/16"ish punch doesn't fit down into the slot, angling the punch allowed setting the spring deeper. Only very light taps are required.
Is the slide stop spring not being seated properly a problem? It sure can be. It is an easy thing to check and resolve. I thank the OP for describing this issue.
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haywood
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My Shield Plus slide wouldn’t release from the frame for cleaning after about 1,500 rounds and I had to return it to the factory for repair. I’ve since put another 1,000 rounds through it without issue, but it had bothered me that I didn’t know what caused this. Now I do. Thanks for the heads-up on this.
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STRANGE.............I have 3 in 3 different calibers that go bang all the time with no problems.
Marshal Tom
Member
I have a Gen1, purchased April of 2012 with thousands of rds through it without an issue. I just took it apart and checked it and it is fine. I will keep an eye on it however!
RobzGuns
US Veteran
How do you know it's time for a new RSA? Are you starting to experience FTE/Recoil issues?
My Gen1 has well over 36K rounds through it, still using the factory original RSA.
If you talk to 3 different service techs, you'll get 3 different GUESS-timations on what 'round count' one should replace it (anywhere from 5K to 15K, or more).
While I did get a replacement RSA a few Yrs back, I'm waiting for some sign (increased perceived recoil, FTEject, etc) indicating that the original is 'feeling its age'.
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cracker57
Member
no FTE or any issues yet, however I can feel its slower getting back into battery. It just done have the same rhythm it had. it does rack easier than it did new, I believe I will wait for the next "my new shield is hard to rack" thread, and offer to sell my old RS for big money...
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I know this thread is 8 years old but I'm really glad I found it.
Thank you to the original poster and all the responses. I have a 1-1/2 year old Shield Plus PC that has run flawlessly since day one and it has eaten about 700 rounds since I bought it.
Last Sunday I put a quick 50 rounds through it. When I got home I was going to clean it as I always do. For the first time since I owned it I could not remove the slide. I resisted the urge to force it and went straight to the computer and Google. It brought me here and I immediately performed the three-handed spring re-seating procedure and got the slide off.
I was very tempted to re-seat the spring with a punch like the OP described but the ragged looking condition of the spring had me concerned. When the slide was stuck the spring was pointing up and toward the rear of the gun so it was likely bent too. I was going to atttach a photo but it looks like the photo has to be on a hosting site??
Since Smith has a lifetime warranty I decided to call them. I had a first-rate experience with their customer service, with about a one minute wait time at 11:00 on Monday morning. The guy was polite and quickly took my information to send me a pre-paid return label. The surprising thing was that he asked if there was anything else I wanted to have checked while they have it. I told him actually yes, there was. I told him that I was a little disappointed with the trigger because I was hoping that the Performance Center version was going to be smooth and crisp. Mine has a gritty feel in the initial take up if my finger isn't 100% square to the trigger. With any pressure at all to the side. the trigger feels gritty.
The service rep said he would add it to the work order.
I am shipping it with the slide off so they don't have to go through that exercise again.
So, its on it's way to Tennessee tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted on the outcome.
Thank you to the original poster and all the responses. I have a 1-1/2 year old Shield Plus PC that has run flawlessly since day one and it has eaten about 700 rounds since I bought it.
Last Sunday I put a quick 50 rounds through it. When I got home I was going to clean it as I always do. For the first time since I owned it I could not remove the slide. I resisted the urge to force it and went straight to the computer and Google. It brought me here and I immediately performed the three-handed spring re-seating procedure and got the slide off.
I was very tempted to re-seat the spring with a punch like the OP described but the ragged looking condition of the spring had me concerned. When the slide was stuck the spring was pointing up and toward the rear of the gun so it was likely bent too. I was going to atttach a photo but it looks like the photo has to be on a hosting site??
Since Smith has a lifetime warranty I decided to call them. I had a first-rate experience with their customer service, with about a one minute wait time at 11:00 on Monday morning. The guy was polite and quickly took my information to send me a pre-paid return label. The surprising thing was that he asked if there was anything else I wanted to have checked while they have it. I told him actually yes, there was. I told him that I was a little disappointed with the trigger because I was hoping that the Performance Center version was going to be smooth and crisp. Mine has a gritty feel in the initial take up if my finger isn't 100% square to the trigger. With any pressure at all to the side. the trigger feels gritty.
The service rep said he would add it to the work order.
I am shipping it with the slide off so they don't have to go through that exercise again.
So, its on it's way to Tennessee tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted on the outcome.
Very happy so far with customer service. I shipped on Thursday March 27 they acknowledged receipt on Monday March 31 and it’s being returned to me tomorrow April 10.
I’ll let everybody know what they did when I get it.
I’ll let everybody know what they did when I get it.
Received the gun on time and everything was repaired properly. Work order says that the slide stop was replaced and a new spring was installed. My complaint about the gritty initial trigger pull take-up was also cleaned up satisfactorily. Ran 50 rounds through it Thursday night and cleaned it this morning. All good.
I did notice that the shop applies a lot more lube than what the owners manual recommends. The recommended lube points are just a drop on top of the the slide guides but the gun came back with lube on the inside of the rails and other places. Not excessive but noticeable.
All around great experience with Smith and Wesson customer service.
Pic of the new spring.
I did notice that the shop applies a lot more lube than what the owners manual recommends. The recommended lube points are just a drop on top of the the slide guides but the gun came back with lube on the inside of the rails and other places. Not excessive but noticeable.
All around great experience with Smith and Wesson customer service.
Pic of the new spring.
