my ?'s are i seen a few post on broken frames on the shield 40cal. Does the 9mm have that problem also how does s&w take care of it? lifetime warranty ? thought about buying a different brand of gun just be cause i have read a few bad reviews on it. i am on list for 9mm but i want them to honor the warranty. what should i do wait for shield or go with different maker i do not want to have problems with this company i have had Glocks i just dont want a bunch of problems with it. i also thought about ruger or kahr or do i just stick with shield if something goes wrong i want them to just fix it. i dont want to have to fight with them ruger fixes there guns for free i would hope the same from s&w i want peoples opinions on what i should do i been waiting 5 months now i read amazing reviews on them i have held one but it was way over msrp. so opinions please would help

S&W will honor their warranty as well as any other company. They stand behind their products, when it's the product's fault. However, it sounds like you are really undecided, so maybe you should just test out all of the guns you mentioned and pick whichever one you are more comfortable with.

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M&P40c/15-22/SD9VE/Mossy500

The problems you are reading about are all with the .40 and caused by over pressure ammo. The 9mm does not appear to have the same issue, probably because of different barrel/feed ramp/throat geometry. S&W will stand behind their product, but they will not replace a gun destroyed by bad ammo and can not be expected to do so.

I have the 40 Shield.

Its an awesome weapon

All manufacturers have a weapon that kabooms
(look up Glock kabooms)

Glocks are very rugged, but any weapon, if fired after a squib,
Will boom.

The one recently on this board had an old bullet that had setback

The odds of you having one are VERY, VERY low

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Imperfect Servant of Christ

I've only had my 9mm Shield since mid January. But, no problems so far and about 500 rounds fired.

I clean and inspect all of my firearms after each range session. I don't see any abnormal wear anywhere on this pistol.

I bought the Shield because I've owned the 9mm FS pistol for about a year with no issues.

From what I've read, you can generally be assured that S&W customer service will take care of problems. But, in any warranty issues with any manufacturer there are always potential issues regarding what constitutes a defect, and whether or not the owner violated the warranty.

My advice is that if you have been happy with the products and service from another manufacturer, why not stick with them?


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Skinner

It would be interesting to see how many of those cracked Shield frames was caused by an expert reloader or using ammo loaded hotter than recommended.

When I owned a Beretta Nano I shot some NATO 9mm but discontinued after a few boxes. It was obvious the NATO ammo overtime would cause more stress to the weapon.

Another reason l prefer the Shield 9mm over the Shield 40. The frame is overbuilt for a 9mm load but within specs for a 40 caliber.

Russ

Any gun that is subject to over pressured ammunition can fail. This is an exception, not the norm. We have read about only a few incidents, considering the total number of guns in the hands of consumers. If it truly was ammunition related, then the gun manufacturer should not be responsible. The ammunition manufacturer should be held to repair/replace the gun. The Shield 9mm and Shield 40 are identical guns, except for a few minor differences (bore diameter, barrel tang, and the slide opening for the barrel tang). The 9mm Shield could suffer the same results with over powered ammo. Any brand of gun could fail using over pressured ammunition. Anyone using ammunition meeting SAAMI specs, which most commercial ammunition is manufactured to, should never have these kinds of failures.

If you read those "gun frame damaged" threads, you will have noted that no one really knows what caused the failures. The most common thought was defective ammunition. Is that a common problem? No it is the exception, but it can and does happen. The percentage of over powered commercial ammunition, that damages guns, is very low considering the millions of rounds fired yearly. This damage could also have been caused by a "squib round". A squib is a very under powered round, that has so little pressure that the bullet fails to exit the barrel, and lodges in the barrel. When the next round is fired, that squib round can cause so much extra pressure in the barrel, as to cause catastrophic failure, including similar damage as discussed in those threads.

So just pick the gun you want to purchase and use any type of ammunition, that is produced to industry standards. You are very unlikely to have a similar problem. S&W stands behind their guns with a lifetime warranty, to perform as designed under "normal operating conditions".

Bob

I have never had a squib load. I do reload and also shoot factory ammo. It seems that I would notice a squib while shooting. If there is one, how should it be cleared and fixed?
Perhaps that is a good reason to get another barrel from S&W!

A squib can be tapped out with a brass rod.

I havent had one eithef but keep a brass rod around just in case.

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Imperfect Servant of Christ