New 9mm Shield Issues

I picked up a 9mm Shield in the Great Rebate Show this Summer. Well, I actually got it for my wife as a purse gun, but the spring is so strong that she can't really work the slide, so I guess it is mine now. Anyway, I just had my first chance to test it today. It did not go well.

I have not owned a 9 in many years, so I picked up a box of Remington UMC 115gr FMJ to take to my range spot. I loaded the full 8rd mag, chambered, and pulled the trigger. It went bang and basically hit where I aimed. I immediately thought that this was going to be a good day. But not for long. I pulled the trigger again, and got "CLICK". The striker activated, but no bang. So I opened the chamber to see that no round was in the chamber. I chambered it myself, and got the same thing again, bang followed by click. So I chambered again, this time I got a bang with a feed jam. And so on, and so on. On about the 6th shot, I actually got a fully-actuated cycle, got a follow-up shot, ending with another jam. The slide did lock back at the end of the mag, so I loaded it again. Same thing again, only the end of the second mag failed to lock the slide. In total of the 16 rounds, I got 2 successful cycles, 1 successful slide lock, 1 unsuccessful slide lock, 5 empty chambers, and 7 jams of various sorts. The ejection pattern was at about 1:30.

So then I tried loading a single round into the mag to check slide action. Out of 6 rounds done this way, I got exactly zero slide locks. So that puts my day at 2 out of 14 feeds, and 1 out of 8 locks. Not exactly a weapon I want when I need it.

So does anyone with one of these have any idea what is going on? I can understand that the ammo may be a bit weak, but this seems a bit ridiculous. I know plenty of people that use this ammo in a number of different machines, and none of them have ever had this kind of trouble. Maybe a 1 in 100 issue, 1 in 50 at worst. But 19 out of 22?

And we haven't even begun to talk about the trigger on this thing. Just terrible.

Bump. Still seeking guidance if anyone has any ideas.

Have you field stripped it since you got home? Does the RSA look ok?


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Everything looks good, it is just really stiff. And the slide release lever is ridiculously tight. It took a good amount of force to release the slide before it was fired, but I could do it with my thumb while holding the weapon. Now that I have run a few rounds through it, you can't even begin to release the slide with your shooting hand. I have to use both thumbs with near-maximum force to push down the lever and get it to release.

The shield does not have a slide release, it has a slide stop.
Page 12 of owners manual

MODEL AND FEATURES
IDENTIFICATION
FIGURE 2
Slide
Slide Stop Notch

I could not find any statement in the owners manual the suggests that you should use the slide stop as a slide release. Did you try different magazines? If your difficulty continues I would suggest talking to your local gun store where you purchased it for advice. If no improvement I would cont S&W and send it back to mother ship. Be Safe,

As stated above, the Shield does not have a slide release, only a slide stop.

Shield 9mm recoil spring assemblies are notoriously stiff, and they don't loosen up much with use. That's something you just have to get used to.

Regarding your failure to cycle problems, I have a couple of suggestions:
1. Overlube (not too much!) your Shield with a slippery, high-quality gun grease. I like Slip 2000 Extreme Weapons Grease. Your new Shield may simply be too tight to work using the minuscule amount of lube that Smith & Wesson recommends for normal use.
2. Shoot some heavier and more powerful ammo. Your Remington 115g may not have enough power to cycle a new, tight barrel/slide. Get some good +P self-defense ammo, like Speer Gold Dot 124g, or Hornady Critical Duty 135g. Both of these work very well in my Shield 9. If these don't cycle your Shield, probably nothing will, and you'll have to send it back to S&W for repair.

Good Luck!

Does it make you guys feel better about yourselves to pick on the slide release people?

It's a perfectly acceptable method of dropping the slide on a fresh mag that a lot of pro shooters use and to waste all this time on semantics is childish. I don't usually use it as a release either but a ton of people do and that's ok.

Back to the subject. Did you have trouble with both mags or just one? If just one, check the mag spring... sometimes they get put in backwards. Otherwise it probably is the recoil spring. Clean all the junk oil off from the factory and lube her up with some good stuff. And then just rack the heck out of the slide about 200 times and then lock it back and leave it open for about a week.

When I got mine, the little nub that engages the notch in the slide was rough as hell. I took two thumbs to drop the slide. A little smoothing and polishing turned the slide stop into a slide release. Now it works fine.

I have put over 1k rounds thru my Shield (PC model) with all being 115 gn. Over half of that has been the Rem umc ammo. Zero issues, which would lead me to think the Op's concerns are not ammo related.
As for the slide stop; I use it for what it's stated purpose is and not for anything else. Yes others can choose to use it for a release it just may not always work that way (my .02 only).

Back on point I too would check the rsa alignment and leave the slide locked back a few days to see if that helps any.

What is your experience in shooting a compact semi-auto?
A lot of feeding issues are often related to proper grip and wrist strength. It is pretty easy to 'limp wrist' a small semi and enhance failure to feed problems.

I don't attempt to use my slide stop/release (Shield 45) as a 'slide release' so I have no issues there as I prefer to pull back and release the slide as part of my routine to chamber a round.

I would let someone else shoot your gun, don't inform them of any issues that you have had, just see how it shoots for them with your ammo and learn from there. Perhaps at first something other than the 115gr ammo will be helpful in break in, my Shield 45 was very tight, very very tight and now it is a dream. I did once let an experienced shooter that shoots a very compact 380 auto shoot my gun, three failures to feed but none for me Do make sure your slide rails are lubed as well as other points on barrel as outlined in manual.

The trigger? Terrible? Well there are many variables in a trigger that some people like and dislike, none of those are that difficult to refine on this gun so in time on its own it gets better and with a little bit of tinkering it can easily be amazing as is mine now!

I think with a little time and patience you will find out just how sweet your Shield 9 really is!
Karl

Regarding the stiff action, I'm afraid they are just plain stiff. However, there is a remedy, but it requires spending another $40 for an after market RSA. Google Stainless Steel guide rod for M&P Shield. Their product is a single spring setup that makes working the slide easier and smoother. A superior unit over the factory unit IMO. I have one for my PC Shield and it was money well spent.

Here it is: Smith and Wesson Shield 9mm & 40 cal Stainless Steel Guide Rod Assembly - Stainless Steel Guide Rods

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"Its still sort of a free country so you have the right to say what you want, just be prepared to get called out for being a d*ck. "

Careful, "Smak.." Your slip is showing.....

Smakmauz said:

Does it make you guys feel better about yourselves to pick on the slide release people?

It's a perfectly acceptable method of dropping the slide on a fresh mag that a lot of pro shooters use and to waste all this time on semantics is childish. I don't usually use it as a release either but a ton of people do and that's ok. Its still sort of a free country so you have the right to say what you want, just be prepared to get called out for being a d*ck.

Back to the subject. Did you have trouble with both mags or just one? If just one, check the mag spring... sometimes they get put in backwards. Otherwise it probably is the recoil spring. Clean all the junk oil off from the factory and lube her up with some good stuff. And then just rack the heck out of the slide about 200 times and then lock it back and leave it open for about a week.

Click to expand...

I didn't take it as picking on people, just being clear about whether it is intended to operate as a release. No issues if someone wants to use the Shield's slide stop/release as as release - it's a free country.

But part of the reason this comes up with some frequency is a poster will start a thread (or post a video) about how freaking impossible the release is to work - to the point that they wonder if there is a defect. This creates a lot of unnecessary FUD / chatter on boards.

The fact appears to be that for the Shields S&W did really intend it to function as a stop, and not so much as a release. The Shield manuals always speak to "slingshotting" the slide after loading, and does not ever speak to pressing the stop / release. By contrast, S&W 3rd Gen semi-auto manuals expressly call for pressing the stop / release. Similarly, my manual on a CZ 75 semi-autos speaks to either pressing down on the stop / release or slingshotting. I personally take this omission of the Shield manual referencing using it as a release (combined with the fact that it is really freaking hard to do so without some polishing / work to make it easier) that it's not really intended to operate as one.

Again - no issues if one chooses to use it in that manner - and maybe search for posts from CB3, a member here, on what he does to make the stop / release work more effectively as a traditional release.

OP - that sounds like a messed up situation, and I've not heard of one like it before. I might give it a few more mags with some other ammo to see if it just needs to be broken in a bit, but I'd be inclined to send it back to S&W with a description very similar to your original post.

OP should send it back to Smith for repair.

No excuse for a new pistol to be so reliably unreliable.

flyinphill,
Are you a right handed shooter?

Where do you live? There are multiple things going on here. Difficult to troubleshoot over the internet. You may need someone to see it in person. Lots of guys here will be happy to help if they're nearby.

Trigger? Well, that depends on what you're used to. If you normally shoot a 1911, yes, this trigger is terrible. However, it's not bad for a striker fired gun with a trigger bar.

The Shield spring is stiff . Being somewhat new to firearms what I did was learned how to start pushing the frame while pulling the slide back . I don't have a lot of strength in my hands and I am a senior . Easiest way to lock the slide back is leave the mag in then drop the mag then take down lever etc . It can be a bear to put slide back on after field strip has to go all the way back to lock on slide stop while pushing up the slide stop.

Wow, tons of responses for me to reply. I will do them in one or two posts rather than quoting them all individually.

Slide Stop/Lock/Release-So if it is called a slide stop in the manual, then so be it, I will call it a slide stop. If you push the slide stop up, it locks the slide from moving forward. If you push the slide stop down, it releases the slide to allow it to move forward. Why it is proper to call it a name after one of its functions, but improper to call it a name after its other function, it all just seems like a homonymous semantic argument to me. And others have already chimed in so I will leave it at that.

Use as Release-I know it is probably not technically considered proper technique to use it this way on this weapon. But I have never fired a weapon that would not work smoothly this way. Even this one worked smoothly until I actually fired it. There are tons of videos of this same weapon used this way. Maybe this is a good time to change my habits and get into the routine of slingshotting. After practicing a bit last night it does actually work a little better all around for me with this mega-stiff RSA.

Other Mags-I only had the 8-round with me. But I can't see that the mag is the issue in this case. The slide does not move back far enough to lock, I don't see how the mag has anything to do with this. If I am missing something here, please point it out. Either way, next time I get a chance to shoot it I will try both mags.

Experience w Subs-I have personally never owned a sub. I have fired friends subs including a Walther PPK, LC9, Glock 9mm (I think it was a 26, I can't recall exactly), and some kind of Taurus (no idea which, that was a while back). I never had any issues like this.

Limp Wristing-Maybe, I can't really say other than I have never experienced such issues with anything before. I don't fire thousands and thousands of handgun rounds a year, so I don't necessarily have a large enough data set to really say. I can say this, I am a machinist and a drummer. I don't have weak hands. Not that strong hands is a guarantee of no limp-wrist issues. But if this weapon is so sensitive to grip, then my 115lb wife will probably never be able to depend on it. And in a real defense situation, you can't always stand with flat feet, both hands, locked out arms. You may have to move, fire with one hand, fire while falling back, etc. I don't know that I really want to carry something that is so sensitive to grip technique that it won't operate in a real-world situation.

Using +P Ammo-That may very well fix the issue. And that is what I would plan to have in the mags when I am carrying it. But ammo that is nearly $1 a round is not a very cost-effective way to get in practice. It would be a good way to see if it will cycle at all, however.

Handed/Location-My standard handgun side is right-handed, but rifles are lefty. I live in Charlotte.

flyinphill said:

Using +P Ammo-That may very well fix the issue. And that is what I would plan to have in the mags when I am carrying it. But ammo that is nearly $1 a round is not a very cost-effective way to get in practice. It would be a good way to see if it will cycle at all, however.

Click to expand...

I mentioned that in my post. What I forgot to add is that there is a 9mm FMJ target ammo that is loaded hotter than most, Winchester NATO. It is basically +P, but isn't labelled as such. It is priced comparably to other quality 9mm rounds, and can be found on sale for $12-13 per 50 rounds.

Clean the gun. Still has factory dust on it.

Lube the gun. 9's generally come really dry from the factory.

I think your mag spring is backwards. Check it or pull your mag apart. Check for flashing on the follower while you have it apart cleaning it. I HAVE pulled shrapnel out of mags in the past (not S&W)

I have been doing this all of two years. First thing I learned is that you have to clean and lube a new gun. (24 in 24 months)

Its a slide lock. Yes, everyone uses it as a release also. No biggie. If yours is a little too tight then slick it up a bit

UMC ammo can be total ****. Try different ammo.