Hello everyone. Proud owner of a new M&P Shield 9mm. Just got it 48 hours ago. I decided to clean and lube before the first shoot, but cannot for the life of me reassemble the pistol!!! I can't push the slide back far enough to reach the slide lock.

I read the instructions manual, read the other threads, and still cannot reassemble it.

The spring appears to be on the correct position. The yellow lever is pointing down towards the magazine well. The take down lever is pointing down. The slide is sitting on the rail correctly. Everything is well lubed.

But when I push the slide back, it appears that I am literally hitting a wall that is preventing me from pushing another 1/6 of an inch to reach the position where I can push the slide lock upwards.

Prior to the clean and lube work, I was having issues releasing the slide when I did a few dry fires. I never had to push down the slide lock so hard in order to release the slide the forward before. But I'm not sure if the difficulty in releasing the slide has anything to do with the impossibility to now reassemble the pistol.

HELP!!!

is the trigger and seer working as it should without the slide?

exactly what was the take down procedure you used?

how far did you take it down?

what parts were removed for cleaning?

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M&P FS 9mm

I had the same issue. The recoil spring wasn't seating correctly.
It was sitting just outside the groove and catching just enough that when I was trying to slide everything back, the recoil rod was sticking out a bit further than the barrel.

Is the take down lever in the right position?

This is more than likely the problem. The spring has to be perfectly straight or it will catch on the slide and prevent it from going all the way back. I had the same problem when I first got my 40 shield.

Yep, its the spring. Try rotating it 180 degrees

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

This exact issue happened to me a couple days ago when I first disassembled my Shield. I took the slide back off, reseated the recoil spring, and it went back on without a hitch. Seems the Shield recoil spring placement is pretty finicky.

Some have had issues with one of the coils on the recoil spring sticking up just enough to cause the slide not to go all the way back. You can try to slightly rotate the recoil spring. Also, the slide lock is just that, a lock. It should NOT be used to release the slide. It says this in the manual. You should pull the slide back and release.

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Shield9-LCP Custom-M&P 15-22

I had that problem also. I took it apart again and started over. I'm not exactly sure what was stopping the slide from going all the way back, but after a couple tries, it got past the hangup. The slide lock should loosen up as you use it more. Mine was extremely hard to move, but I was told it would get easier after the gun has had some use. I've worked with mine and it does seem to be easing up. I don't think it has anything to do with the problem of the slide not going back all the way though. I'm sure if you work with it, you'll get it reassembled.

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Misty

I just took mine apart again and got it to act up for me....for the last 20 minutes!!!! Frustrating! But anyway, mine has a test fire of late last month and I think their tolerances might have slipped in the panic. I finally had to force the fat end of the rod end that touches the barrel, into the barrel slightly deeper than the purch it sits on and it worked for me.

cut a piece of non-slip shelf liner, place it over the slide, now you can grip the slide and slide it over the frame with no problem!

Mine does that too. Making sure that the guide rod is in correctly will most likely take care of the problem. If not, rotating the spring 180 will work. I wonder if the spring will relax and straighten out and stop bowing out to the side.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I took out and reinserted the spring rotated by 180. And it now works!!! Thank you.

My hands and fingers are SUPER sore sore from struggling with the Shield all day long.

I have one more problem that I could use help with. When the slide is locked into place, the slide lock button is SUPER hard to release -- particularly if there's a magazine in the pistol. I have already developed a bruise on my right thumb pushing the lock button to release the slide. It's so hard that I often use both of my thumbs to bush the slide lock button.

Does the slide lock button soften up over time? I lubed it pretty well along with the slide rail, and it didn't seem to make a difference. I started pulling the slide back first, before pushing the slide lock button. But that seems like an extra step to do. Never had to do that with other pistols.

All help on this additional issue is certainly appreciate. Thank you everyone.

Oh, I just saw the last line of Mailman's post about the slide lock being just a slide lock, and that I shouldn't use it to release the slide without first pulling back on the slide. Bummer ... but I suppose I can live with that.

The slide lock on the rental gun I used was much easier to push though ...

As mentioned above, the "slide lock" lever is NOT intended as a "slide release."

Pull the slide back manually and move the lock lever down with your thumb.

It may wear in a bit, but it's not intended to work that way, and has been known to break.

If the slide is locked back and you rack it, you don't also need to move the lock lever with your thumb...it will release itself.

The Shield is very stiff at first. I inserted an empty mag when it was new, which helped get it reassembled. After several hundred rounds, it loosened up enough to do it without the empty mag.

Enjoy!

Same thing happened to me so I re-re-read the FIELD STRIPPING ASSEMBLY instructions and found my problem-see page 24, FIGURE 33/34 of the Safety & Instruction Manual.

I had the same issue when I first got mine.I actually called S&W and they couldn't help.I finally yanked the slide back as hard as I could a while shoving the frame forward as hard as I could and the slide stop caught.I am far from a weak handed person but the new sheild was so stiff I had just not experienced any semi needing this much force to lock back.Now that I know I don't have any problem.I just have to get a good grip and let'er rip! If you continue to use the slide stop button to release the slide it will get easier, right before it quits working.Use without releasing tension by pulling back on the slide will cause excessive wear to the notch corner in the slide and the sharp edge of the button. It's ok to do it for an emergency reload, but not all the time.Both these issues are due to the heavy recoil springs on these small pistols.

Thanks for the info. My right thumb is too sore to ever use any slide release/lock button again!!

There is no reason not to use the slide lock to release the slide. It shouldn't be super hard unless you have an empty magazine inserted.

Try this, without a magazine in the gun, lock the slide back. Now press on the slide lock. Is it easier?

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Freedom isn't free.

Will the slide release if you slam a loaded mag in like on the fs m&p?
I haven't tried this yet on my shield.

My 9mm Shield won't.

Sorry to bring this thread back but I have a question.

So I just picked up a new Shield (9mm) and I too had the problem of the RSA hanging up and making things difficult to reassemble, when I finally did get it to free up not only did the slide go back into home position but the take down lever clicked into the locked position.

I assume that this is not normal and that the RSA was hung up on the take down lug ?

I did try rotating the RSA a few times and made sure it was not off center however it was still a pain in the arse.

This is my first m&p pistol however far from my first handgun (mostly Glocks,Sigs and XD's) and have never had a issue like this before.

Sounds like at the very least a few people have had issues with the recoil spring at the time of re-assembly. I don't think it's getting hung up on anything. I'm going to speculate that the spring may have been manufactured poorly, so it'll only fully compress when placed at a certain angle. back into the slide above the barrel. Almost as if there's a certain "side" of the spring that needs to face a fixed direction every time you put the spring back.

I never had this issue with my other pistols, but have it with my Shield 9.

Exactly what happens to mine. The spring is not consistent and has to be installed so there is no bow or misshaping of the spring. Have been thinking about marking mine with a white stripe so it can be reinstalled back the same way each time..

May even talk to S&W about this.

I did talk with S&W Customer Service about this, and they sent me a new recoil spring assembly, but it has exactly the same problem. If you can, try to reach someone higher up on the manufacturing side.

You might want to try marking the spring itself. It looks like my spring is "walking" around the guide rod as the Shield cycles, which may explain why the slide failed to lock back a couple of times at the end of the magazine.

i see no mention that the seemly spring hard to pull the slide back might be why the recoil is not bad. snappy yes on the 40. but nothing that someone who wants the 40 energy/ stopping power considers. i have friends that change the recoil springs to a larger weight to change the recoil on their pistols. like on rifles to reduce recoil. to protect the frame/ slide. there is noticeable hardness chargeing a pistol, but there is less recoil. personnel option. a suggestion, empty chamber, safety on, pistol grip, thumb and fingers of left hand front of slide, lock slide back. insert mag. pull slide back, charge pistol. maybe a suggestion until strength is built up to pull the slide w/ out trouble. also maybe buy the spring grips to build up strength in the hands.

Some aren't used to such a strong spring, but some, me included, clearly have a spring that is binding for some reason.

My biggest concern is whether or not this binding will result in a premature spring failure down the road.

I brought my new Shield home last week and immediately disassembled it to install an Apex USB and do a thorough cleaning. When trying to get the slide back on, it stopped just short of the notch for the slide stop. I struggled with it for a couple minutes. My hands got all slippery from the lube. The slide slipped out of my hands and shot into our new stainless steel refrigerator leaving a nice dent. Needless to say, my wife was not very happy. At least the slide was not damaged. I rotated the recoil spring and eventually got the slide back on.

Oh man glad to hear the Shield is OK.....but as far as the refer......it sucks to be you...

Yup, I have the exact same problem as the original poster with my recently purchased Shield. (I also had the yellow sear deactivation lever pulled down during reassembly.) And I was very, very careful to line up the recoil spring assembly both vertically and horizontally. To get the slide fully retracted I had to increase the force needed by about 3 or 4 times.

For my gun, the problem is definitely the recoil spring since the slide moves freely without the spring installed.

LOL!! My slide slipped too and flew across the room. Fortunately, it did not hit anything other than the floor.

If the slide doesn't go all the way back to slide lock position easily, you need to take the slide back off and twist the spring until it does.

I cleaned mine again tonight, and it was the first time I was able to reassemble without fidgeting with the spring! 1 out of 5 isn't too bad. LOL

My slide flew off too but thankfully didn't damage anything.

I fired my Shield 9 for the first time yesterday. 214 rounds and nearly flawless operation, just one failure to eject at about the 125 round mark. One would think that 214 rounds would sufficiently soften up the recoil spring. After cleaning, it still took me several tries, spinning and centering the recoil spring assembly, before I was able to pull the slide far enough to the rear to engage the slide stop upon reassembly (and move the locking lever back into place). I'm really at a loss with this issue. Once the slide is reinstalled and the locking lever is back in place, the slide retracts far enough to easily engage the slide stop perfectly without binding. It really doesn't make any sense that it should be so difficult to reassemble. I cannot visualize what might be causing the problem.

I've dropped a few slides over the years, but never had one fly out of my hands because it was slippery. You guys are using way too much lube.

Good evening, I am new to this forum and I found it by a search for this very issue on my new Shield .40. I am going to try to attach some photos of what I found and fixed. The main recoil springs edges were sharp enough to cut, and some edges where the spring has to pass with very little clearance were sharp as well. Polish the spring edges enough to make it feel like a round wire spring and orient its install in the slide as shown. Break leading edge on recoil lug and most importantly the underside of the slide rails. It now goes together smoothly with no issues every time. It seems spring orientation is important. This may be because it is not like a normal spring with flat ground ends. I hope the pics load and and this helps.,,,,GaryShield Photos by gw_bucket | Photobucket

For all those having issues. Reassemble with this part of the spring facing as shown, and see if it still gives you any trouble.

Good catch kodiakpb, look on page 24 of the manual, figure 34 "SPRING CORRECTLY ALIGNED" and it shows the spring end in the exact same upward position as your posted photo!
Coincidence or are you really that good?
I'm going with the latter.

Thanks nickle plate...funny coincidence. I actually experienced the same issue when I bought my Shields until I took a closer look at the RSA. I did not realize that the owners manual also specified this orientation.

I haven't looked at the manual in a while. It's not explicit is it? IMO, parts of the manual could be clearer. If they were as detailed in all areas as they are in the safety/safe handling portions, it would be 110% clear.

Fig 34 on page 24 of the manual shows it, but does not explain it very well.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore...04-02-2012.pdf

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Inconsistently consistent

It sure doesn't. That illustration could be interpreted as making sure the RSA is not cockeyed.

I agree that the manual is referring to the assembly being cocked, but the pdf images are much better that the ones in the printed manual.

Yep either way, orienting the spring and seating it properly as shown does correct the issue.

I agree that spring orientation is key.

Thank you very much for pointing this out. It solved my assembly quandary!

I had the same issue with mine. Its still at repair center because I had some other issues with the shield. I think they should have designed the spring better to not have this issue. Cause the spring does walk if the gun cycles from what i've seen trying to diagnose problems with my shield.

Picked up my NIB M&P 9 Shield with NO SAFETY Thursday 7/03/14 just like my M&P 9 pro 4.25” & M&P9c both with no thumb safety. How in the world could I image it would be the hardest gun I ever owned & it would be a nightmare to reassemble. Googled how to reassemble the M&P shield & got the S&W Forum which I’m a member of. Was amazed at all who had the same problem. But unfortunately with all the helpful suggestions mine still remains unassembled. I called S&W that evening and was able to get some in tech support, before they closed for the holiday weekend. Paul gave me the same advice as did the forum, & told him did it all. He said that there have been some issues with the recoil guide rod, and would send me a replacement Monday. Well I guess I have to wait to see if that will be the fix. If not???

Papajoe, there sure are a lot of crazy replies in this thread with people thinking it is normal for the recoil spring to fully retract in only a certain rotated position. As if the recoil spring won't rotate while firing. You did the right thing in requesting that S&W replace the RSA.