New Shield 40 shooting left

[carld]

My new Shield 40 is shooting about 5" left at 15 yards. How difficult is it to move the front sight to bring it in tighter? Elevation is perfect, just windage...
Thanks
Carl

[Bkreutz]

Have someone else shoot it and make sure it's the pistol. Also, try sticking your little finger out (not around the grip) and see what happens.

[Rgoodwin]

I don't know you at all and don't want insult you but I thought the same thing. It was me not the M&P.

[webfarmer]

Yep, my 9MM Shield shoots low left also and I fully believe it is me. Read it too many times here not to believe it. Once I'm done with turkey season, it will be time for more practice to correct it. I heartily suggest the same for the OP. Good luck!

[jeffhughes]

Originally Posted by carld

My new Shield 40 is shooting about 5" left at 15 yards. How difficult is it to move the front sight to bring it in tighter? Elevation is perfect, just windage...
Thanks
Carl

Have a known good shooter try the gun.

You are almost certainly slapping or jerking the trigger...

[accessbob]

I had the same problem with my wife's 9 (oddly enough she didn't). So I fired it from a bench rest so that it was not going to move when I pulled the trigger. Funny thing - it was dead on accurate doing that. So, I realized it was me.

[AR-Getsome]

search tab is your friend. There are several post on the same subject. Use the chart to help you become a better shooter. Everyone will tell you, It's the SHOOTER not the gun.

[scooter123]

FYI the reason so many are suggesting it's the shooter and not the gun is that 5 inches at 15 yard is a LOT of deviation. In order to zero the front sight to correct for this you will have part of the sight base hanging off the slide. It will be far wiser to put in some practice time and see how well those sights are set after a month or two of practice.

BTW, I'll also warn you not to expect real tiny groups. it's a very small pistol with a very short sight radius, so getting the sights lined up perfectly for every shot will be rather difficult. My basic criteria for Defense practice is to put every shot into an 8 inch paper plate and adjust my firing rate to accomplish this at whatever distance distance I'm shooting at.

[tonesurfer]

I have a similar "problem", low and to the right......because I'm left handed

It's US and our trigger control, not the gun.

[carld]

I had thought it may be me. I plan on taking a bench rest with me next time and see if that and more time getting comfortable with it helps. I imagine it will. I basically went straight from the store to the range with a quick cleaning before I shot it. I also have a Taurus Millenium pro in 40. I'solid with it but it shoots very different. Lonngggg trigger pull and slow reset. Hence the shield. Thanks for the info. More range time...

[RacerScott]

My new shield was also shooting a little bit left. About 1.5-2 inches @ 10 yards. I then noticed my front sight was off center to the right by about .020. Since then I had ameriglo night sights installed, but have not had a chance to shoot the gun yet.

[OpsMgr]

Agree with the others - Shoot off a sandbag rest to make sure it is you and not your pistola. Common for most to discover it is them.

Take a look at your grip. Thumbs forward and make sure the heel of your support hand is making solid contact with the grip frame with equal pressure as your strong hand. You do not need a crush grip - Firm grip is what you want. Also, shoot slow and deliberate, concentrating on your front sight.

Buy some snap caps or better yet, dummy rounds. Dry fire practice until the front sight doesn't move as the pistola fires. Do ball and dummy drills at the range - Randomly mix dummy rounds in with live ammo and pay close attention to the front sight as you fire. If the front sight is moving you will see it.

Good luck and keep up the practice. You will get yourself on track if you stay in curiosity and out of judgement...

[carld]

Excellent. Hadn't thought of mixing rounds at the range. I'll try that this afternoon.

[OpsMgr]

Originally Posted by carld

Excellent. Hadn't thought of mixing rounds at the range. I'll try that this afternoon.

Load your mags at home before you go to the range or have someone load your mags for you - Key is to have no clue when you might pull the trigger on a dummy round...

[maranellotech]

Originally Posted by RacerScott

My new shield was also shooting a little bit left. About 1.5-2 inches @ 10 yards. I then noticed my front sight was off center to the right by about .020. Since then I had ameriglo night sights installed, but have not had a chance to shoot the gun yet.

Same problem here. I initially thought it was me just needing to get used to the new gun. Then I looked at the front sight and saw that it is noticeably off center. Now I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to adjust it.

[dullh]

To the OP, moving the front sight is not difficult at all. Most ranges have brass punches on hand. Put a piece of that masking tape they have for hanging targets over the end of the punch, and rap your front sight to the left two times (if your shots are going right, tap front sight to the right). Repeat until your shots go where the sights are showing on a smooth trigger pull. Problem solved.

[RussC]

Originally Posted by carld

My new Shield 40 is shooting about 5" left at 15 yards. How difficult is it to move the front sight to bring it in tighter? Elevation is perfect, just windage...
Thanks
Carl

Carl

I have shot 3, 000 rounds through 3 different ccws in 2 years and one thing I have learned is small guns amplify human error more so than a full size.

Two things that have improved my shooting is trigger control and keeping my eye on the front sight after I pull the trigger. (Follow through)

Sounds obvious but I find myself anticipating the recoil and the very last fraction of a second I will take my eye of the sight. Big no no. I pull it low left every time. I can nail bulls eyes every time if I squeeze trigger straight back with no movement in wrist and keep my eye on that sight throughout recoil.

Russ

P.S. I also place my first joint not pad on trigger. Better fit for my hand size

[carld]

Have it shooting straight. I moved the front sight left aprox 3/16" and it brought poi right in. Also added a crimson trace and the sights and laser are both dead on when shooting from a bench rest. Holding 1 1/2" pattern at 10 yds. Still only 400 +/- rounds so now just more time to settle in. I'm happier.

[SMMAssociates]

My M&P40FS was all over the place.... Turned out that the front and rear sights were both quite a ways off center. Some tape and brass punches (and more than a little cursing ) cured that.

My 40C and 9C were/are more or less dead on for what's necessary - putting about six rounds into a six inch circle at 30'.

Wasn't me - I'm the guy the gang at the range hand a gun with "you try it" .... I don't claim to be great, but I'm old....

My buddy Joe and I were using those "tell you what's wrong" targets one night, and not doing well. The target suggested "get another hobby"....

S&W has shipped more than one gun with the sights improperly installed. If you can fix it yourself, great, but don't jump onto it without getting somebody else to try it, and a good examination of the hardware. Other than the sights being bashed in there by the Samsonite Gorilla, it's a pretty easy fix if it's not the shooter.

(Fixing the shooter can be somewhat more difficult. Especially if you don't have a Medical Degree ....)

Regards,

[Dean1818]

Use a bit of penetrating oil first.... Wait overnight... It does help

Mine had the same problem and is now good to go

[markerbeacon]

Originally Posted by tonesurfer

I have a similar "problem", low and to the right......because I'm left handed

It's US and our trigger control, not the gun.

Yep, same problem with this Lefty. Low and to the Right.

[RussC]

Originally Posted by carld

Have it shooting straight. I moved the front sight left aprox 3/16" and it brought poi right in. Also added a crimson trace and the sights and laser are both dead on when shooting from a bench rest. Holding 1 1/2" pattern at 10 yds. Still only 400 +/- rounds so now just more time to settle in. I'm happier.

Great news.

The only recommendation would be to fly me out and have me shoot her. If I can get the same placement the sights were the problem.

Russ

[OpsMgr]

You guys should really shoot your pistolas off a sandbag rest before you go moving your sights around. Low and left is an extremely common error for right handed shooters and as RussC posted, small pistolas amplify the error even more...

[shawn mccarver]

Originally Posted by carld

My new Shield 40 is shooting about 5" left at 15 yards. How difficult is it to move the front sight to bring it in tighter? Elevation is perfect, just windage...
Thanks
Carl

My answer assumes you are right handed. If elevation is fine, then one potential cause is cranking the right hand around the pistol to get more leverage on the trigger, which causes the pistol to not be in direct alignment with the wrist and forearm. As the pistol recoils just a little while the bullet is still in the barrel, the pistol will recoil toward the place of least support, in this case to the left.

Without seeing you shoot, it is just a guess, but sit at a table, use a nice sandbag rest, put arm and hand directly behind the pistol, make sure you are not jerking or anticipating the shot (flinching) and test it in that fashion. Have someone else load a surprise dummy round somewhere in your magazine so you do not know when there will be a bang versus a click, and if you are bracing for the shot (flinching) it will become immediately apparent to you, assuming you are actually watching your front sight. Have a friend use a smart phone to video tape this exercise and you can watch yourself brace for the shot that goes click instead of bang.

One reason I think it is you instead of the sights is that to be that far off at only 15 yards, your rear sight would have to almost be "over in the next room."

Before you think anyone is making fun of you, understand that anticipating, bracing, flinching, whatever you want to call it, is a problem that almost every one of us have to guard against all the time. We are truly trying to help you and I am giving you some ideas that have helped me in the past.

If your shot is low left, instead of just left, then see attached target for diagnosis.

With all due respect to one poster, I advise against taking your pinky finger off the frame for shooting. Learn to shoot with a proper grip, which involves learning to move your trigger finger independently of squeezing your entire hand. For all sorts of reasons, you want a full powerful grip on the weapon, not the least of which is to fight off a grab attempt by someone who wants to take your pistol from you in an encounter.

[Bkreutz]

Originally Posted by shawn mccarver

With all due respect to one poster, I advise against taking your pinky finger off the frame for shooting. Learn to shoot with a proper grip, which involves learning to move your trigger finger independently of squeezing your entire hand. For all sorts of reasons, you want a full powerful grip on the weapon, not the least of which is to fight off a grab attempt by someone who wants to take your pistol from you in an encounter.

My suggestion was intended to show the shooter that the cause of the low left shot was the shooter and not the firearm. I don't recommend shooting with the pinky extended as a normal grip. Sometimes the hardest part of correcting an error on the part of the shooter is having them accept the idea that the pistol is not the problem. Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post.

[Rgoodwin]

I don't normally shoot with my pinky off the grip anymore cause I'm conscience of pulling the muzzle down with it. At first it was hard to believe. But, practice,practice, practice watch the front sight and when I miss now low left I know why. I used an overlap like golf for a few days but realized its not natural and if you get in trouble you can't be worrying where your pinky goes!

[Gauger]

My shield front site was not alligned properly from the factory. I also had the magazine ejection issue. i sent the gun back to smith and recieved it back correct. Since then I have friends who have purchased new shilds recently and they both have front sites that are slighly off center. Both are getting night sites installed so it won't matter but both shot slightly left of center, the same as mine. If you look closely at the front site, you can see it is not centered on the slide.

[carld]

I don't take any offense by any answers as I was looking for answers and that is all anyone has offered. Answers and possible fixes. I probably should have mentioned I've been shooting and ran a gun shop a long time, just usually had someone else take care of smithing issues. The front blade was slightly off-center to the right and by moving it left the problem was fixed. As someone said, the small/short site relation makes small movements (flinches) equal huge POI changes.

I also should have mentioned all the initial shots were from a rest and I watch the front site closely as this blade is slightly narrower that the rear site notch making it easy to have the dots aligned but still be off centered.

Ultimately moving the sight fixed my problem, confirmed by the laser, sight, & point of impact now being in-line. Continuing to put rounds down range with it will only make things better.

Thanks for all the help.

[GRB5111]

These issues can go both ways. After getting my NIB 9mm Shield back from Springfield for a new barrel due to chips on the end of the feed ramp of the original barrel, I took it to the range to put it through its paces. I was shooting 10+ inches very low and left from POA at 25 yards. I shot it for an hour and probably put 150 rounds through it. No change. Brought it back again the next week, and bench rested it. No change. Had others shoot it. No change. I've been shooting for many years and had a CZ 75B with me that day that was shooting tight groups center mass, same distance.

Called the factory, and they requested I send it in immediately, as they wanted to spend some more time with it. That was in early April.

Just spoke with the S&W technician today, and he indicated they had to adjust the sights for height among other things, and he was including a target in the return package that I would be pleased with. I'll receive the full report tomorrow when I receive my Shield. And so it goes . . .

[shawn mccarver]

Originally Posted by Bkreutz

My suggestion was intended to show the shooter that the cause of the low left shot was the shooter and not the firearm. I don't recommend shooting with the pinky extended as a normal grip. Sometimes the hardest part of correcting an error on the part of the shooter is having them accept the idea that the pistol is not the problem. Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post.

No, I am sorry for misunderstanding your post. I agree with everything you said!

Shawn

[Roger S&W]

The problem is you're using your first knuckle crease wrapped around the trigger and you're right handed.
You need to back out and use the pad of your trigger finger only. Also, don't anticipate the shot. do these two things and get back with me about how your shooting has improved dramatically

[Roger S&W]

When right handed people finger the trigger like this....they always shoot left. Left handers shoot right.
Ask me how I know

[logictrumps]

My solution to the M&P Shield shooting left,

Apology first, for reviving an old thread. I felt compelled to register and leave a post on this particular post and a few others where people posted the shooting left problem (in case their search brings them to another similar thread) I found my answer buried in the echo chamber of replies stating the same thing "user error." Google returns MANY threads with this same issue, and everyone literally ignored the actual problem, me and many other people have.

STORY:

YES, some of you shooting left MAY be squeezing your thumb too tight, or using TOO much trigger finger. If fixing these things (or you weren't doing them in the first place,) didn't work, I offer you the solution I found:

Brand new shield 9mm (no mag disconnect, no safety,) been breaking it in over the last year. Stock sights from factory, shoots dead nuts. No problems. Want to start carrying this as CPL, decide to upgrade sights.

Gunsmith down the street installs TruGlo TFX Pro's (so far awesome btw.) Take the pistol out a couple months later and it shoots left 3" at 7 yards, wont hit my small target at further distances.

A shield rear sight is un-adjustable for windage or drift (per owners manual.) It should be perfectly centered and set screwed into place. I think there may be .002" adjustment but that will not effect shot that much. You should be able to eyeball your rear sight and see it perfectly centered. You should also technically use a straightedge and a caliper.

Front sight is completely adjustable for windage (drift.)

SOLUTION:

Check your front sight post. Its completely adjustable for drift. Mine was aligned slightly to the right. In order to get the pistol to bullseye, assuming you are using correct shooting technique, you will need to move that front sight post LEFT.

If you shoot left, you need to check if your sight is aligned to the right. If it is, you will need to have a gunsmith adjust your front sight post.

Personally, I did it myself, carefully. I took a pencil and drew an outline of the sight on the frame. This way, when it starts moving I can see if it adjusts past the pencil mark. I used doubled electrical tape as a barrier between a wide punch and the post and I tapped the post LEFT. Start out with a few short put followed through taps. See if it adjusts. Admittedly, I did have to tap it pretty hard to move it. It will start moving. Don't over adjust.

I hope this helps clear up some confusion on another possible problem instead of the cop-out "its your fault." If you google M&P warranty issues you'll see the slew of **** they do. Their customer service sucks. That said, we do trust our lives to their products. So we need to hold them to some standard.

Also, some argument that I saw people make, "Oh if it shoots left 4" you'll still hit your target and put down the threat." Another one: "just aim right, and deal with it" - These are both false. Even hitting center mass with a 9mm or .40 there have been plenty of real world situations where the threat was still able to engage. IMO, practice an accurate double tap center mass with accurate follow up double taps until the treat is eliminated. Your pistol should shoot on target 100% of the time if you do your job. This way, in a situation, if you miss, only you are to blame. Also, if you are in a situation that doesn't allow you to aim properly for whatever reason, you know that pistol will shoot straight if you aim in the right direction. You dont have to account for that extra few inches. Confidence is also important.

Anyway, end rant. Sorry again for reviving an old threat.