Ok I have been fighting this intermediate light primer strike issue on my shield 9mm since it's been new. Have about 1300 rounds through it now. Seems to get light primer strikes every 300 rounds or so. Primer gets hit way off center when it happens, Yet it's full battery (100% SURE). I am not new to guns and am very confused by this, Because if you get a off center light primer strike it's usually slightly out of battery. This issue has happened to both my shield 9's as well and both have been back to Smith and wesson with no condition found. It's not the ammo either as I've tried most (federal, American eagle, S&B, etc). One thing I want to mention is that if I take the light primer strike round and put it back in the mag it will fire everytime. Striker and channel is clean and dry as well. Any help on this before I get rid of both of them would be appreciated.
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Shield 9mm light primer strikes 1.0 (NEED HELP)
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Ray1970
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Stock pistol or had anybody done any “upgrades”?
Has a ssguiderod and Apex trigger, yet it happened to the completely stock one to.
Smakmauz
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I would start by taking out the striker and inspecting it closely to see if there are any marks on it indicating some kind of interference. like hitting the striker block or something. look for any nicks or shiny spots. usually not gonna a problem on something like a shield but in the absence of any other ideas its all I got. if the striker is somehow glancing off of the block it could cause this. if the loop on the trigger bar is opened too much, it can cause timing issues between the striker block and striker. not super common but it could happen. this type of issue is much more common on the apex FSS kits for the full sized M&P 1.0's if they are not adjusted properly.
Light strike Shield
Bought a new Shield 40 a few years ago( could it be 4-5 years ?) and encountered light strikes;in fact the very first round I attempted to fire was a light strike. My chance of mis-fire was much greater than the frequency you note , maybe 30-40 rounds. My Shield made 3 trips back to S&W and they replaced the striker and a little clean up in the striker channel the first two times...the problem persisted. Third time was the charm as they replaced the slide and barrel and presto, no more problem. All freight charges paid by Smith. On the third go-back I had a conversation with a service rep and he indicated that they would be willing to replace with a J-Frame but I said that I wanted 7 more powerful rounds in a similar size package compared to 5 in the J. Hope this helps, John
Bought a new Shield 40 a few years ago( could it be 4-5 years ?) and encountered light strikes;in fact the very first round I attempted to fire was a light strike. My chance of mis-fire was much greater than the frequency you note , maybe 30-40 rounds. My Shield made 3 trips back to S&W and they replaced the striker and a little clean up in the striker channel the first two times...the problem persisted. Third time was the charm as they replaced the slide and barrel and presto, no more problem. All freight charges paid by Smith. On the third go-back I had a conversation with a service rep and he indicated that they would be willing to replace with a J-Frame but I said that I wanted 7 more powerful rounds in a similar size package compared to 5 in the J. Hope this helps, John
PPS1980
Member
A friend had a similar problem and when I cleaned the striker channel I found a piece of grit/sand that apparently randomly shifted the striker just enough or impeded its movement just enough. Clean the channel, and as Shakmauz said inspect the striker (I'd use a magnifying glass myself) to see if it has any dings or irregularities. If not those then do as much ado said and send it back to S&W. Good luck.
I guess my main concern is why I can shoot hundred rounds no issues and then get a box where I get 4 or 5 off center strikes and no fire until I reload it in the mag. Hard to find this weapon reliable enough to trust my life on it. My 40 and 45 shield don't have this issue. Anyone know if S&W will void the warranty if I have a apex trigger installed?
OK here is a couple of pictures from today. Right is off center strike, but it did fire fire the first time. Now left is a off center strike and no fire first try, but fired second time. Still S&B ammo. I did try 7 rounds of HST and no issues. Do you think it's a hard primer issue? Have for Speer lawman 124 grain FMJ to try Monday.
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Smakmauz
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They don't void the warranty with apex stuff installed bit don't send it back to them with aftermarket parts. They told me that at one point. You might not get the parts back or they might just send it back to you without doing any work.
Btw, I've never had any issues with the S&B in any of my guns. Don't think they have hard primers. Stay away from NATO spec stuff in M&P's though. Those seem to have harder primers and the stock M&P strikers are a little weaker than say a stock glock or a DA/SA like an M9
Btw, I've never had any issues with the S&B in any of my guns. Don't think they have hard primers. Stay away from NATO spec stuff in M&P's though. Those seem to have harder primers and the stock M&P strikers are a little weaker than say a stock glock or a DA/SA like an M9
Funflyer
Member
OK here is a couple of pictures from today. Right is off center strike, but it did fire fire the first time. Now left is a off center strike and no fire first try, but fired second time. Still S&B ammo. I did try 7 rounds of HST and no issues. Do you think it's a hard primer issue? Have for Speer lawman 124 grain FMJ to try Monday.
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From those striations on the brass and the off center firing pin dent, it is very obvious that you're not getting full lockup of the barrel. There is only one reason I can think of for your issue and that is the chamber is machined too shallow and the round is too tight against the breech face. I'd remove your aftermarket parts and send the gun back insisting they inspect the barrel dimensions and to replace it.
But why does it not do it every time? I can go through a hundred rounds zero issues. Makes no sense.
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Me either except these shield 9mms. One is completely stock and have the same issue from time to time.
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Funflyer
Member
Excessive heat or powder residue adding to the already tight tolerance?
What does makes sense is those marks on the brass are parallel in the direction the barrel travels during lockup and mean one thing, there is binding going on. The firing pin CANNOT move that far off center so it only makes sense that the barrel hasn't traveled high enough into lockup to center the brass.
OK I'll try my barrel off my other shield 9mm and this should prove it correct?
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Funflyer
Member
I'd say so, yes.
Ok I'll try it and report back tomorrow or Monday. Thanks for the help.
Ok so that worked. I shot 200 rounds and no issues. 100 S&B and 100 Speer lawman all 124 grain. Now I did replace the striker with a new one as well. Do you think that had anything to do with it? Old striker did not look bad, just a little dirty. Was wondering if would of caused the off center strike. Thanks for you help.
Funflyer
Member
Barrel issue for sure then. Striker can't move that far off center.
Time to send it back to S&W with a detailed note as to what you had going on and let them know your other barrel corrected the problem. Also send them a few of those casings with the striations and off-center primer strikes so they can see that it has a lock-up problem.
Just got off the phone with Smith and Wesson and was told that they won't allow any fired casings. He said to include a detailed note of what happened and they will the care of it. Thank you again for all your help. You were right on the money.[emoji106][emoji106]
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