New Shield 9 Problem (maybe??)...

kf4jzy · Nov 16, 2012

I received my Shield 9 today after waiting on my NC pistol permit, and I was excited to fire it. A friend and I went to the range and something odd happened.

When I went to fire it for the very first time, it failed to fire. I cleared the round and I saw that the primer did have an indent. I put the mag back in and fired the rest of the magazine with no problem. I did this with the other magazine as well with no problem. I then put the round that did not fire into the magazine and fired it.

Next, my buddy went to fire and the same thing--failure to fire on his very first try. The primer on that round hardly looked indented at all. After that, he continued to empty 2 magazines with no problem.

The rest of the time at the range, the gun performed flawlessly. The ammo I was using was WWB (100 rounds). I also shot 25 rounds of Hornady Z-Max with no problem as well.

I'm hoping this is not a problem with the Shield. I'm leaning that it's not for a couple reasons.

1. For both of us, it has been at least 4 years since we last shot.
2. Both FTF occurred on our very first attempt to shoot it.

Combined with
3. The rest of the time it shot perfectly.

I'm thinking this may have been user error. However, I'm not sure what both of us could have done for that occur. I did clean the gun before I took it out.

Any ideas? Should I be concerned? This will be my primary CCW. Let me know if you need any further information or even photos of anything.

Thanks in advance!

Lost Lake · Nov 16, 2012

I hope you solve the puzzle.

I highly doubt the length of time you have taken off from shooting has any impact on the strength of the first primer strike. I'm leaning towards a gun problem. Hopefully an easy one to fix!

yanici · Nov 16, 2012

Might be that the slide was just a smidgen out of battery and just not all the way forward. Mine did that sometimes while slingshoting the first round into the chamber if I didn't give it a godd agressive slingshot.

kf4jzy · Nov 16, 2012

yanici said:
Might be that the slide was just a smidgen out of battery and just not all the way forward. Mine did that sometimes while slingshoting the first round into the chamber if I didn't give it a godd agressive slingshot.

This is where I was linking our lapses in shooting for a while. Maybe we were babying the gun on our first time racking the slide. Don't know.

I've been doing some other reading on here as well, and see others have experienced FTF with WWB ammo.

shield · Nov 16, 2012

I agree it was probably the slide slightly out of battery. That also happened to me initially if I didn't give it a good pull while racking. Will be much less of a concern after it gets broken in.

TMAXXII · Nov 16, 2012

kf4jzy said:
This is where I was linking our lapses in shooting for a while. Maybe we were babying the gun on our first time racking the slide. Don't know.

I've been doing some other reading on here as well, and see others have experienced FTF with WWB ammo.

I have a Shield 9 and if yours was like mine you need to give it at least 400 rounds and above normal cleaning. They really pack the grease in it. You can not blame the ammo, seeing nothing hit the primer. Put about 400 rounds through it and see if the problem doesn't go away. There really isn't anything wrong with WWB, but beware of UMC, its not your gun it the ammo.

As far as carrying as your CCW, I recommend shooting about 1000 rounds through it and it does it flawlessly. You need to put about 100 to 200 defense rounds down the tube to make sure the gun and you can handle the one you choose. Shields do not seem to like the HST rounds, I modified my ramp so I can now fire them. Good Luck.

robkarrob · Nov 16, 2012

When loading that first cartridge into the chamber, pull the slide fully back, and release it. Allow the recoil spring to do all the work. Do not try to "help" it. This will guarantee a fully seated cartridge and locked breech.

Seeing the dimple in the primer is a light hit. The striker contacted the primer, but not with enough force to lite the primer. White box is usually good ammo. I have also had light hits with UMC, as mentioned in a previous post. I would not blame the gun. Could have been a bad or hard primer. It does happen. Try using another brand of ammo. I have been using the Walmart Federal Champion ammo in my Shield 40, Ruger LC9, and Springfield XD45. I have never had one problem with likely 4000+ total rounds of all calibers down range. Try to find the 100 count boxes, as they are much cheaper than 2 boxes of 50 count. It is good target ammo, but like anything, once in a while you could get a bad one.

Bob

kf4jzy · Nov 16, 2012

Thanks for the replies, guys. It sounds like this is probably not an issue with the gun. I will continue to shoot it frequently to break it in and see what happens. I think I will probably log when I go to the range with type of ammo used, how much, and if any failures.

Hopefully, I won't have to log any more failures. As of right now, I am very pleased with it.

Thanks again!

Maddmax · Nov 17, 2012

kf4jzy said:
Thanks for the replies, guys. It sounds like this is probably not an issue with the gun. I will continue to shoot it frequently to break it in and see what happens. I think I will probably log when I go to the range with type of ammo used, how much, and if any failures.

Hopefully, I won't have to log any more failures. As of right now, I am very pleased with it.

Thanks again!

Sounds like you are on the right track. Logging is good. IF (big IF you can find them),you get more mags,mark those so you can tell if you might have a mag problem down the road. Just a heads up...

DON'T baby it. It might be small,but it's built tuff,rugged and can take a good beating (if need be). Shooting does work wonders. The more you shoot the better it will get.

bobojay · Nov 17, 2012

Had the same problem with the Springfield Armory XDM 9 that I had prior to my 9c.
Very first shot out of the box after cleaning I didn't get the slide all the way closed because I "babied" it. Baffled me for a bit till I saw what I did.
Burn some ammo in that Shield so it'll get loosened up some

Bikemobile · Nov 17, 2012

Or machining debris in the striker channel?

kf4jzy · Nov 17, 2012

Thanks for the replies. I will be sending plenty more rounds through this gun to break it in, for sure

. This is a fun gun to shoot, and I am really happy with it. Like I said, it's been a while since I've been shooting, so I appreciate your help.

vern m · Nov 18, 2012

I had the exact same problem with my Shield 9. My first shot out of the box was a light strike, I cleared the round without checking the slide and a friend who was with me suggested that I had babied the slide and that the gun was probably out of battery. After that I made a point to make sure that I pulled the slide all the way back and then let it fly, 200 rounds later and never a problem, until I let a another friend try it 2 weeks later. Exact same scenario, first round was a light strike. I gave him the same advice and he put 50 rounds down range and never had another problem. All told, I now have about 500 rounds through it without a hitch and my mind is at ease using this as my every day carry. I feel confident, that if I ever need to use it in a defensive situation, that my Shield will perform, which I can not say about my last choice for carry.

Enjoy your new Shield, I certainly am enjoying mine. I am heading to the range now, to try out the TFO sights that I just had installed a few days ago. I was having trouble getting on target quickly with the factory installed front sight and expect these new sights will make a big difference.

On another note, I have read the posts where others have complained about their new Shields being really dirty and or full of grease. Mine was just the opposite, it was quite clean. I can't imagine that my LGS inspects and cleans every new gun that comes in, but just for laughs I might just ask him.

shield · Nov 18, 2012

vern m said:
...On another note, I have read the posts where others have complained about their new Shields being really dirty and or full of grease. Mine was just the opposite, it was quite clean. I can't imagine that my LGS inspects and cleans every new gun that comes in, but just for laughs I might just ask him.

Mine was reasonably clean too, no excess grease. Maybe it's a recent change, I got my Shield shortly after they came out.

kf4jzy · Nov 18, 2012

I bought 100 rounds of Federal Champion today, so I will be visiting the range to beak it in some more. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. I'm expecting it will be 100% now that I learned my lesson.

RIDavid · Nov 18, 2012

I went today with my shield and out of100rounds had one ftf. Had more problems with my bro in laws 1911.

xswilly · Nov 18, 2012

when my shield was new
i noticed that it didn't snap all the way shut when i racked it
so when ever i put a new mag in, i rack it then take the palm of my hane
and hit the back of the slide to seat it closed
I olny did that the first 2 times at the range
after that all was good
prob had to wear in

kf4jzy · Nov 19, 2012

Range Report

I went to the range today and fired 100 rounds of Federal Champion, and I'm happy to report that it was 100% flawless! Thanks again for all you guys' feedback. I'm lovin' this gun the more I fire it.

So, I'm sure it was user error that caused the initial problem I reported.

Brent

RIDavid · Nov 19, 2012

I gotta ad though..the ftf did strike the primer but it didn't fire. Maybe the cause was the walmart ammo. Only time that happened out of maybe a thousand rounds.

TMAXXII · Nov 19, 2012

kf4jzy said:
I went to the range today and fired 100 rounds of Federal Champion, and I'm happy to report that it was 100% flawless! Thanks again for all you guys' feedback. I'm lovin' this gun the more I fire it.

So, I'm sure it was user error that caused the initial problem I reported.

Brent

I am glad to hear your problem is solved without sending back to S&W. Be thankful you bought the 9 not the .40, then it would be the gun not you. I have both (2) .40 and (1) 9mm and I am getting another 9, because S&W is taking back the .40 I had all the trouble with, the other one has been flawless. When I get it is another question. I just brought a Ruger SR40C at gun show brand new, I already had the SR9C, it seems .40s have a lot the problems like the Shield .40 is having. I almost bought a XDMs, lucky I went to their website and there are issues with that gun too. The only thing I can say for sure is my Glocks never let me down. Happy Shooting!

New Shield 9 Problem (maybe??)...

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