Shield - quick question on 7 rd magazine insertion

I'm getting ready to get a 9mm Shield in the next couple of weeks to add to my CCW. Normally I carry a Smith Model 36 snub (What can I say? I'm old and like revolvers!). Everything I've seen/heard/looked at have pretty much narrowed it down to the Shield to fit my needs.

Anyway . . . I've been watching some video reviews on the 9mm Shield. One was done by a young woman who was pretty sharp (with guns). In her video, she mentioned that on her 9mm Shield, she has trouble inserting the 7 round loaded mag into her Shield with the slide closed - but no trouble with her 8 round. It clicked with me that somewhere on here quite a while back, I read something about that. From her demonstration, it took her several hard smacks to get it fully seated.

So . . . can someone quickly fill me in no that? Why the difficulty seating the mag with the slide closed?

I'm thinking that normally, when loading, you'd insert the 7 round, rack a round in and then you could pull the mag, insert another round, re- nsert and be ready to carry. - 7 in the mag and 1 in the chamber. If in a SD situation and you expended all rounds, normally the slide would be locked back and evidently she doesn't have any trouble inserting the 7 round mag with the slide back. But . . . if you happened to hit the slide release and then tried to seat a fresh mag, it seems like it could become a real problem.

I'm thinking that when I get the Shield, I'll probably pick up a couple of spare 7 round magazines to carry - 7 round mags to cut down on the length for carry.

What would cause the 7 round mag to be difficult to insert with the slide closed but not the 8 round? Is it just a unique thing that shows up on some Shields? Is there a "easy cure" for it?

Thanks.

I have a 40 rather than the 9, but I can confirm that on mine the six round mag (the smaller one, like the seven round on the 9) is somewhat difficult to seat when the slide is closed. I don't really see this as a real issue though. It isn't something that would be a problem during a hasty reload. I don't "smack" the magazine when inserting it, but instead slide it in and then "squeeze" it in two-handed. I only use the 7 round magazine (8 on the 9mm) on the range so not sure about it in this scenario. (I bought the Shield for compactness, I'll sacrifice one round to retain that.)

As to why, I presume it has to do with the Shield's rather notoriously stiff magazine spring. If you get a Shield, remember the name Mag Lula / Uplula. About $35 bucks you will be happy you spent.

On a side note, I'm an old fart too and J-frames are still effective as ever. But you will love your Shield!

Never had issue with mine... Mags go in fine.

A full mag can be a pain to insert on some firearms when the action is closed, but I find the shield no more difficult than any other.

Ahhhh! That makes sense - the magazine spring with a loaded mag - I should have thought of that! But . . .I'm old so will use that excuse! LOL

I don't really view it as a "minus" - more of something to be "aware of" in case the individual gun has the problem.

PirateJim - perhaps "smack" was too harsh of a word to use - she sort of had to push it two or three times with th heel of her hand to get it in.

The only other 9mm semi I have is a SR9. I purchased a couple of extra double stacks for it when I purchased it about 8 years ago or so. I have one of them that when it is about 2/3 the way in, it sort of "hangs up". I've never been able to get it so it goes in or drops easy so I marked it and just use it for range shooting. A year or so ago, I took an excellent pistol class that was taught by a couple of fine instructors (both LE, one a former army spec. ops. and SWAT). I love taking classes when I can as I always pick something new up that is helpful - and with those guys, I learned a lot! We were practicing clearing and mag changes and I had thrown in the tight mag - when I went to switch out, I ended up with it and in that circumstance, I "smacked it in", racked and continued firing. The former sp. ops. instructor was watching and afterwards, he gave it a try - same thing. And, when the release is pushed, it drops out about a 1/3 of the way and hangs up. He took a look at it and couldn't figure it out either. I chalked it up to something being out of spec. on the mag. - I should just give Ruger a call and see what they have to say.

I'm going with the 9mm as I cast and reload and am all set up for the 9mm. I've never shot a 40 - I know a lot of guys like 'em though. No handgun is "perfect" but the Shield sure looks like it will fulfill just about everything I've been looking for.

On the J frame - I love the 36 snub - liked it so much I was able to find a 36 3" as well. Fun guns to shoot and I end up loading a lot of 38 Colt Short to plink with out of the 3" - a perfect "kit gun" for the farm!

Thanks all for the replies - appreciate the information. As I said, i don't consider the magazine insertion a "minus" - just something to be aware of and if the Shield I get has that problem - learn to work around it.

There is no "perfect" gun. But at this point if I could only have one, I think it would be my Shield. Thank God our constitution says I don't have to make that decision!

Groo here
The usual problem with mag seating in a compact is when you
hit the mag base, you also hit your hand [ the heel]
Try this, when you insert the mag, extend your little finger,
[like afternoon tea LOL]
This helps to clear your hand from the frame bottom.
I started to use this when I was shooting a Detonic MK VI combat master I carried off duty.
That is one of the shortest grips I ever saw.

Groo, I was going to say the same about hitting your hand... but couldn't think how to say it... thanks. I mainly use the extended mags for practice and carry but I always slide the mag in till it stops then give it a whack with my palm to seat it. if the slide is back it snaps in and the whack is not needed. I also extend my pinky out of the way which also keeps my hand from being pinched by the mag.

This happens often with "limited" capacity mags from restricted states. There's simply not enough room to compress the spring with the slide closed. You can search for ton's of posts about the 10 round mags for the M&Ps with this problem.

In the case of the Shield, I believe the 7 and 8 round mags use the same spring, so the 7 has less room and the spring "bottoms out". I recall the springs from my Shield have the same number of turns.

In the case of the other M&Ps, the solution was to cut a coil or two off the mag spring and/or trim the ends of the follower slightly. This gave enough room to insert a full mag with the slide closed. The caution was to not cut too much that you can insert #11. Not a problem with the Shield but you may affect reliability such as not locking back on the last round.

My M&P Shield 9 is my main EDC. My carry ammo is Winchester "defend" which is a part of their "train & defend" series. It is a 147 gr. jhp. I also own a Shield 40 which also finds it way into my carry rotation along with my Kahr CW40. I'm a firm believer in the stopping power of the .40s&w. It is a modern high performance round & to me at least, feels slightly warmer than a good 9mm defense load. My carry ammo for the .40's is Federal white box 180 gr. HST (XM40HC) which is I believe LEO overstock. Either way you can't go wrong with the Shield as a carry weapon.

Here's a pic of my Shield 40 in a alien gear cloak tuck 2 IWB holster, all stock other than a pearce extension on the stock 6 rnd mag. I feel 6+1 .40s&w is good enough for most "get me out of here" self defense situations.

Check into magguts replacement springs. They give the benefit of one addtl round in 9mm and seat much better than stock when installed properly.

When I load one in the chamber and replace it in the Magazine, It is difficult to seat the mag. A "BUMP" with the heal of the hand does the trick.
I've never had a problem otherwise but I don't usualy try to insert a mag with the slide forward!
I have a 9mm shield.

Those of us that are more enlightened tend to rely on revolvers since they don't have failures to feed, stove pipes, stiff magazine springs or any of the feed related issues that afflict bottom feeders. For a while I was the photographer for the match directors of the International Revolver Championship and as such I was squadded with Jerry from whom I learned the “bottom feeder” line. Before the good readers of this M&P Auto thread start a movement to hang me in absentia, I recently switched from the 686SSR that was my daily carry to a 9mm Shield.
At first my fully loaded magazines were difficult to seat with the slide forward and there was a noticeable brass smear on the portion of the slide that runs above the center of the magazine. I left all my magazines fully loaded for about of month in between range visits and the springs have sacked a bit and dramatically reduced the effort it takes to seat a full mag. I have noticed the first round impacts about 2” higher than subsequent rounds with a full 7 rounds in the mag. If I insert a full mag with the slide locked back and then close the slide the first shot does not go high.

I've never had the issue of the first round not hitting POA. Actually, I've never heard of such a thing.

This is not an uncommon complaint. However, in every case, it is a technique issue, not a stiff mag spring issue. Yes, the spring is stiff because you're packing it full. With the right technique, it's not an issue.

Here's a little primer on mag insertion:

First we need to talk about indexing the mag. Here is what it looks like:


Grasp the magazine with your index finger along the front of the mag. This does a couple of things for us. First, it allows us to feel for a round a the top without looking. This way we'll know right away if we grabbed an empty mag of if the top round isn't in properly. If the round protrudes a little, push it back in. Secondly, this helps us guide the mag into the magwell. I'm sure you can touch the heel of your hand with your index finger with your eyes closed. With a properly indexed mag, you'll be able to insert it with your eyes closed too.

Now that you've indexed the mag, touch the flat back of the mag to the flat back of the magwell, but at a slight angle. Like this:


Once the mag is located in the magwell, in one motion, firmly seat it in the gun with the heel of your hand:


Make this one motion. You've all seen it, and most of us have done it, when someone uses a two motion method. They put the mag partially in and then wind up and slap that mag in hard. This double motion consumes time and is not as positive as when one, smooth motion is used. Plus, it increases the risk of pinching he heal of your firing hand. Anyone who's done that knows what I mean.

If you want to know more about the three types of loads and how to do them, check out this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/concealed-carry-self-defense/407850-different-kinds-loads-reloads.html


I have seen several big guys struggle with loading full mags on a closed slide. A few have told me that it's impossible to do. In every case I was able to load a full mag using this method. One, smooth, but firm, motion is the key. Trying to slam it in doesn't usually work.

No problems at all with mine. I can even push it home with my index finger, instead of slapping it.