When FIELD STRIPPING the shield 45, does it do any damage to pull the trigger (like a Glock) or is it better to use the sear deactivation lever?

Dry firing won't hurt a shield. As for the sear deactivation lever I have no opinion.

To answer your questions in order: No, and it depends.

The sear lever is a viable way to fieldstrip your Shield if you're hesitant to use the pulling the trigger method.

Me personally, I make sure the mag is dropped, visually inspect the chamber, release the slide, and then and only then pull the trigger to release.

Interesting. So pulling the trigger on an empty chamber with no magazine in means I don't have to flip the sear deactivation lever? With my FS I am able to use the rod that holds the back strap on but always wondered what Smith had in mind with the Shield.

I always pull the trigger on my shield and other two M&P I have. Only the ones with mag disconnect pulling the trigger won't let you remove the slide.

__________________
M&P 9, Shield9.

I use the sear deactivation lever on all 4 of mine. It just seems safer to me!

Have 2 M&P's and 2 Glocks, I always use the trigger method. Just keep you head screwed on straight and be safe.

Use any device that fits in there. You don't have to use the tool that holds the back strap in.


I always use the sear deactivation lever. By doing it this way it is impossible to have an ND. Pulling the trigger works and won't damage the gun. However, if you're doing it in the name of ease, what else are you likely to miss?

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

It does no damage to the pistol, I do it all the time to my Shield. Its just easier and quicker, just always make sure your firearm is unloaded, its that simple.

A regular pencil works best for me.

I'm fairly sure S&W doesn't say pull the trigger because some moron would skip the sentence on checking the chamber and then sue S&W for killing his dead TV or wife.

I have to pull the trigger on mine because if I use the sear deactivation lever I can't get the slide to come off. I tried pulling up on the slide as I read in one post, but it was to no avail.

Quicker rarely equals better when it comes to firearms.

The Glock has no provision for this; you have to pull the trigger to take the slide off. There are hundreds of documented accounts of NDs from Glock owners who failed to check the chamber.

Your gun is broken and needs repair. If this one part isn't working correctly, who knows what else was improperly made at the factory. Send it back to S&W. They will fix it for free.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

I sent mine back same reason (sear deactivation lever) didn't always disengage the slide. They sent it back with nothing done or changed but I got a free magazine . Took almost a month turnaround time.

It turned out that I was pressing the sear deactivation lever too far on my shield. I now just flip it out into the magazine well without pressing firmly down and all works well.

Interesting. I didn't even know that was possible.

Glad you got it sorted out.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

New owner here of S&W Shield 9mm. I'm also new to using a sear deactivation lever when field stripping a gun. I guess I got used to field stripping a GLOCK for years. Anyways, since I'm not used to that "yellow lever", after I reassembled the Shield (slide and all), I tried pulling on the trigger and it won't "click". Tried it a few times and still nothing! I started to panic a little bit wondering if I broke the trigger, until I realized that the yellow lever is still "down"! So I inserted a magazine to push the lever up and tried the trigger again and voila! It worked! I guess when that lever is down the trigger won't work? Am I correct?

I have a couple of M&Ps, and I never use the lever. It's a pain, and not necessary in my opinion.

Yes. It lowers the sear so it won't engage the striker. Thus, the striker will never be cocked as long as the lever is down.

Of course the lever cannot stay down if a mag is inserted. So, using the lever doesn't hinder the operation of the gun in any fashion. It only makes it safer to disassemble.

__________________
Freedom isn't free.

On my FS, I have to slide it forward, and it goes just slightly past battery, and then slightly back, and then it slides off. My Shield just lower the slide release and one motion off.


I just tried this on my FS, the lever on mine doesn't feel like it could "go to far" I tried lifting it back up slightly, same result as above.

__________________
Something really smart

^^Me too.^^

This may be an obvious question and I'm missing something but, if you had a trigger failure, wouldn't the sear disconnect make it much easier to field strip?

__________________
Something really smart

I never realized that's what the rod is for I just use a small screwdriver

__________________
Retired Career Security Guard

Simple as can be.....read and follow the instructions found in the owner's manual.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/sites/d...s_06-01-16.pdf

__________________
Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I pushed the yellow lever down the day I got the Shield 9mm and have never seen it or touched it since.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065