A friend took his new shield 9 to the range last night and on the second round it locked open. we removed the mag and had to work like hell to get the slide to close. Tried different mags and shooters the problem continued. We field stripped it and didnt see anything obvious.

So its going back to the factory, but he is quite down about it. Between the guys at the range last light 3 other guys have shields that have been great, so we tried to reassure him it will work out fine and he will love the pistol when returned.

Any clue what the problem could be?

Slide stop fit?

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NHI, 10-8.

Was it cleaned/lubed correctly prior to first rounds fired?

Was it reloaded ammo?

What type of ammo?

Try a different mag?

We need info here.

Not ammo related the shell was ejected and slide locked open. The mag was removed(tried 3 different ones) and with no mag or ammo the slide was a bitch to get closed.

But was it cleaned and lubed beforehand? Almost sounds like metal stuck in the grooves of the slide - or metal to metal galling or something like that.

Bad fit.........

Shop time, if you did not dismantle the weapon.

Even if NOT lubed, it should be able to have the slide work.

Sorry to hear this. I have no solution, but I am concerned, since I am on the verge of buying one. What's the deal with QC these days? We complain about the quality of Chinese made stuff, and then get a brand new Made in USA handgun, and it's broken out of the box. I thought handguns were test fired before shipping.

And it's not just Smith & Wesson. My Sig P227 had a weak/bent/malformed trigger return spring that if you reset the trigger slowly, it would stop partway. I fixed it myself, but why should I have to? After two years of shipping the 14 round mags for the P227, Sig still has no answer to the dismal reliability of that magazine (made by Mec Gar but sold with Sig Sauer's name on them).

Springfield Armory's XD/XDM line STILL ships with a substandard striker retaining pin that can break and render the gun worse than useless, since it can break with a live round in the chamber and no way to get it out. A $3 Powder River Precision retaining pin solves the problem, but why should I have to finish the gun for SA?

Sig for nearly four years is still trying to get the P938 right. Earlier almost one in five was defective. Now, some low quality parts cause premature wear and expensive upgrades to fix. Meanwhile Sig knows the problem, ships parts or repairs without question but will not recall or upgrade the OEM parts. And this is a $750 pocket gun!

There are other stories, but two of the three above I experienced myself. And we're not talking Hi-Point or Taurus or other bargain guns. My Sig P227 cost me $870, and those 14 round "Sig Sauer" magazines are expensive, too.

This Shield will be my first Smith & Wesson handgun. I've also considered a Ruger LC9s for this pocket pistol purchase, but the Ruger has some issues too.

Sorry, as I said, I have no solution, just a sympathetic rant. Good luck with it. I'll probably still buy one, so maybe I'm part of the problem? I should write a letter and explain why I'm NOT buying one? This is just like politics. Our republican majority in congress is similarly defective, yet we keep electing them, because we don't want democrats?

Oh well. It's too early to start drinking.

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Bill

I'm thinking the return spring is binding up the slide. I've had something similar happen when I reassemble the gun. I replaced the return assembly and have not had a problem since.

Possibly something simple as improperly reinstalled recoil spring assembly.

Gun was cleaned and lubed before shooting. We did field strip and closely inspected. Didnt know if anyone has seen this. I will update. Again we know the shield is a great pistol and occasionally a mass produced device will have a hicpup now and again.

We need more info if you are going to post something like this publicly.. exactly what ammo, was it stripped, cleaned and lubed before shooting and by who? Can't make a determination with the info you provided..

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Jack C

No shells were stuck in the pistol, so what difference does the ammo make? And yes it was cleaned and lubed as stated in earlier post. The who is the owner with 50 years of shooting experience. Also 3 other shield owners inspected the pistol for the obvious.

What difference does it make if I post ''publicly"? What is a forum for? Is it not ok to share experiences?

sure, share your experiences, 50 years of experience and you don't think ammo makes a difference.. this is a perfect example of why I inspect a new gun, shoot it for functionality, then clean it.. what is so difficult about answering the question about what ammo was used.. if you want [public help, you need to answer the questions of the guys trying to help.. What's so difficult about that... 3 shield owners and 50 years of experience and you have no clue...

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Jack C

There is another thread about the critical positioning of the recoil spring on the guide rod, unless you have the aftermarket ss guide rod and spring. Removing the guide rod assembly does seem like the easiest way to eliminate that as the problem and assure that the slide operates properly on the frame. Please try that and report back for the benefit of all, including those of us who are now undecided on the purchase of a Shield.

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Bill

An orange GN really?? Not right!!! lol That is flying fast just imagine how much faster it would be if it had all its cylinders.

On a serious note the owner of the Shield just sent it back to the mother ship. They sent it in locked up, so soon we should know whats up.

Shot my new Shield for the first time today. 50 rounds of the ranges cheap FMJ ammunition and 25 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense. No FTF, no FTL no FTE. I was even satisfied with my group at 10 Yards.

hi all, im new to the forum so bare with me. not taking any thing from the original post. i was at the range today. mp .40 shield. shooting blazer brass 165 gr. and 180 gr. on a reg basis, well only about 250 rounds so far. had it about 2 months. today i shot winchester 180 gr.
fired 3 rounds and the slide ( i dont want to say jammed, because it didnt ). round was still in the mag but slide just acted as if there werent any rounds left. i engaged the slide and continued fireing.....all well until loaded the mag again and the same thing happened. reloaded the mag with the blazer rounds and all good. any ideas????

could this be similar.

My Shield 9 has over 1,000 rounds through it now, without any problems. The first time I cleaned the Shield I was a little concerned about how the recoil spring just rested on the tapered portion of the barrel without any notch to set it into. But I guess that's what the engineers figured was OK and it seems to work fine.

So you don't clean your guns before you shoot them the first time?

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

You may have a bad slide stop spring.
SAW will fix it without all the drama.

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Foster Positivity.

yes, that's right, unless it looks like it needs it. I have purchased many new S&W weapons, I inspect them, as long as there is nothing excessive looking, the barrel is clear, I run em... make sure they function, then give them a good cleaning. Pretty simple, it eliminates me being the problem should anything malfunction.

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Jack C

Sounds like you may just be thumbing the slide lock during fire and engaging it. Especially if you have no issue releasing the slide when this happens. The op has stated that not only does the slide lock open but then it is stuck in that position and cannot be released.
Free movement and proper spring on the slide lock is where I would start if there doesn't appear to be any obvious damage or misalignment in the slide and rear frame area.

I suspect the ammo. Winchester ammo can be problematic in many firearms. I won't buy it unless I am desperate and that's all they have. You say everything functioned properly with the Blazer, so just don't buy Winchester again.

Update

My friend just got off the phone with Smith for an status report. He was told the barrel was replaced and will be test fired tomorrow.

He had the selling LGS send it in, he dropped it off on Monday 3/21.

What, Sigs have problems too, I'm stunned.


J/K .....check those frame rails though.

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Sure you did

They replaced the barrel? I wonder exactly what about a barrel that survived assembly and factory test fire would have changed so that on the first trip to the range the slide repeatedly locked open and was repeatedly difficult to close.

With all due respect to S&W, if my doctor communicated with me as badly as the technicians do at S&W with their vague explanations and work orders/reports with no explanations, I would not be happy.

I find it frustrating to read through these threads thinking there will be an answer at the end, and all we get is "barrel replacement."

Naturally, this is not the fault of the OP. My frustration is directed at the lack of explanation or diagnosis given to the poor customers who have to send brand new guns back when a pretty good argument could be made that it never should have left the factory in the first place.

I hope it works upon its return, but I have my doubts based upon what I perceive to be a non-sensical explanation.

Sorry S&W.

It's a mechanical device, and not matter how good a companies QC is, there is no such thing as a gun manufacturer that experience "zero" problems with its products.

The shield 9mm is a fantastic handgun. I've owned one for years. You can be confident that you are purchasing an excellent gun. Enjoy it.

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Stay protected my friends.

Maybe the gun was made on a Monday or Friday. The last two I have purchased were made on Thursday and Saturday. They both function really well. Yeah I spent 45 years in manufacturing so bad work does sometimes happen the 1st and last day of the work week. No excuse for it though.

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Endeavor To Persevere

News flash Shawn... the tech at S&W isn't a doctor and a gun isn't your body. Not to mention, it doesn't cost anything but a little time, where as your doctor is giving you a pretty hefty bill for 2 minutes of his time. So lets get real, 1 gun has a problem and S&W fixes it, and all you can do is complain... really... ?

Oh ya .... sorry Shawn..

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Jack C

News flash yourself there Jack. As a mechanic myself I am able to evaluate and repair correctly, and able to describe the work preformed so that the owner knows what they have when done.

All that was needed was a note saying something like. Found barrel lower lugs out of specs. replaced barrel.

Would that be to much to ask. I think not.

Were those two guns actually made on those two days, or test fired on those two days?

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USAF, 69-92
Vietnam, 72-73

Sounds like a pretty good explanation to me.


Don't be stealing my punch line ...... the barrel was replaced, obviously it was defective.. and of course being a mechanic myself, I have had to replace brandy new, defective parts. I am sure you have to.. did you send the part back to the factory and demand an explanation as to exactly what was wrong? ... no, I guarantee you didn't! You replaced it and told the customer it was defective.. Too many guys here just hate S&W, any way they can complain, they do. S&W takes care of a customer and still it isn't enough.. I just don't get it.

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Jack C

It is not necessarily what day the gun was made but when and how often the tooling/cutters are changed out. I've seen some Shields with very visibile tooling marks and other Shields, like mine, that look fine.

And then that detailed explanation would have been posted here, some owners (with the right measuring tools) would compare and post their own barrel measurements, and then S&W customer service would suddenly see a surge in barrels "needing" to be replaced by upset customers.

Or S&W could continue to be vague. Which approach do you think a department manager would choose?

Don't you just love it..

As a paid mechanic I was the one that determined which part was defective and why. I then in turn explained to the customer what I discovered.

You don't know me.

Don't you just love it...

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Jack C

Explanations. I think it mostly depends on volume...and extent of anonymity. How many repairs, how many customers, and how much interaction. Sometimes, it just isn't practical. Lots of stuff to get done and limited time. I work on computers, computer networks, and related stuff for small businesses. I explain everything I do or recommend, probably to the point of causing some business owners to fake interest.

If I worked in a big building, and I had to get 25 items, that came in by UPS, repaired and over to QC by the end of the day, it would be different. The time to write a note on each one, beyond what management requires, might leave me 3 items short at 5pm, and my productivity rating gets a ding. Management wants the work done. Someone else is in charge of PR. Little company. Big company. Different.

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Bill

They were made on those two days. I don't know when they were test fired as I didn't get a shell casing with either of them and I bought them new. I bought a new Ruger pistol last week and didn't get a shell casing with it either. Must be something new?

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Endeavor To Persevere

Who gives a rodent's rectum how detailed the explanation was.. The Shield had a problem, was sent back to the factory, was repaired and sent back in a timely matter.. You can't ask for anymore than that.. END OF STORY.....

Well that opinion is all fine and dandy but if we left it at that this thread would have been pretty short and not nearly as entertaining.
Full disclosure I do NOT own a shield nor would I ever own one.

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Forum consigliere

Yeah I do, Instead of throwing parts at a problem until it goes away. Maybe some quality service is in order.

hahaha, that makes no sense based on what we've been talking about.. To imply I throw parts at a problem involving a defective part ....... don't see the relationship there. Get your panties out of a bunch and go back to explaining to your customer why the part failed.. that should make everyone feel better..

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Jack C

I have purchased three Shields over the last year and all have worked just fine. No issues. Keep this thread going but wait until I can get some more popcorn.

The wife is whipping me up some popcorn tonite... I'll have to tell her to hold the butter.... in case I need to type..

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Jack C

Gentlemen,
Keep the discussion civil. We'll be generous issuing points if additional attention is required.
Please note (from the general posting rules):

Sincerely,
chad

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"I also cook."

I have two Shield 9s and both are flawless after about six hundred rounds in each. But, I too have wondered how the RSA fits. I think
I'd prefer how the RSA rests on Glocks.
Like you say___the way the engineers designed it and it works.

UPDATE

The shield is back at the LGS and will be picked up tomorrow. I am confident that the issue has been resolved since it was not and intermittent problem. I will update after range time.


I started this thread mainly to see if anyone had run into this, not to bash the shield...

You're acting like these people can just make repairs without telling anyone what they are doing. Documenting what was done would not be an EXTRA step... I guarantee that the people doing the repairs need to document their repair at the very least for internal reporting / record-keeping. Big company or little company, doesn't matter. Any company who gives a damn would require their service techs to document the testing, the diagnosis, and the repair steps. It's part of their jobs regardless of "productivity ratings".

Looking forward to final results.