I got a Shield recently and have shot about 300 rounds through and it has not had any malfunctions. However I I have had a couple of times where I shoot the gun and then when the slide is locked back I will insert a new mag and grab it a bit so it will release. I then pull the trigger and the gun won't fire. It will have put a round in the gun though.

I think the problem is just user error. I might be riding the slide or perhaps I am not pulling the slide quite hard enough so it will release. So any advice to avoid this problem would be great

I think you’ve diagnosed your problem in your own last sentence.

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Loving retirement!

Yup, just pull back hard on the slide while pushing forward on the grip, then let 'er rip. You won't hurt a thing by aggressively slingshotting the slide, and you'll be insuring that your Shield is in battery and ready to fire.

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What, me worry?

Yes, I think what BigDog48 is saying is that the gun may not be going into what's called "battery." This means that the slide isn't returning all the way to where it needs to so it can shoot, and I agree that this might be what the problem is.

I have some guns - an old CZ 50 in .32acp, for example - that won't go into battery with a loaded mag installed unless the slide is released with enough force from the open position. I accomplish this either by "slingshotting" the slide or releasing the slide by disengaging the slide stop. Riding the slide causes the problem, though I don't know that this is an issue on my Shield .45. Regardless, I don't consider it a flaw with the gun. Just use one of the two methods I've described. Probably a good habit to get into, anyway - I have some guns that will allow you to ride the slide most of the time, but not go into battery on rare occasion.

Clean it like you love it -- Rack it like you hate it.

iam no gun expert it sounds like you probably answered your own question does it do it when you first start out by racking the slide or in the process of shooting it I no they had some problems when they first came out with the shield magazines in the beginning

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I had the same problem with my Shield when it was new. It was user error, I was riding the slide. It was my first semi-auto and I didn't know any better. Pull the slide back with a new mag and let it fly or slam it forward to seat the new round. Worked for me.

I don't think there's anything a shooter could do while releasing the slide that could possibly be more violent than what's caused by the recoil spring doing its job after a round is fired.

Don't baby it.

My shield did that too in the early rounds, very infrequently, even after firing off some rounds from a magazine. I eventually cleaned the striker channel, and have fired thousands of rounds without the issue since then. I’m really sure I wasn’t riding the side or limp wristing it. Maybe it was the striker channel, maybe it just needed a little breaking in.


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I agree needed break in might be contributing factor. My shield had a very tight fitting slide initially.

Are you using aluminum case ammo? I won't buy it but was given some aluminum case Federal and it caused the same issue with my Shield, and only on the first round of a mag. I had to rap the back of slide with my palm to get it into battery about every forth mag.

That’s not a confidence builder in a self defense gun.

You might be better off with a revolver for now.

Mine did this a few times when it was new. I think it might have been my fault, but I am not worried about it since it has not happened in years.

First of all, 300 rounds isnt really enough to determine anything. As several have said, these guns are quite tight from the factory and need 500 rds minimum to start determining its consistency. Get 500 through it and THEN run 2-300 rds and make that determination.

Clean and lube, clean and lube, clean and lube.

Did you "rap" your mags to seat the shells against the rear of the mag?

Also, you might be riding the slide

As quoted by Ded Roman, This is absolutely essential!

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It's The Carbonaro Effect!

I’ve only had my second hand Shield a short while but have not had any problems w/it. Letting the slide go from slide lock using the catch is still too difficult, especially for a leftie, so I slingshot it and it works every time. This little 9MM is really fun to shoot.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Could very well be "user error".

When racking the slide to chamber a live round, grab the slide either overhand or slingshot style. Pull it hard to the rear, hard enough to make your racking hand come off the back of the slide and slap you in the chest. Even a little bit of "riding the slide" can cause the gun to not go completely into battery resulting in a Failure to Fire.

Take some time to practice sling shot the slide. It's okay for it to slam into place. I think it's natural at first to baby it a bit but that leads to not going bang.

Forget about the slide stop. No point in trying to use that. Slingshotting is the way.

Mine went back a couple of times, and they did eventually replace the barrel after one of the CS guys got frustrated with talking to me, and took it to the range himself, where he had the same problem frequently (fail to go into battery). There was an issue with the chamber finish. This was early on in the production cycle.

I think I drove him to retirement!

Ditto everything said by Tradewind36

Try releasing the slide using the slide stop a few times, I have to do this with my Kahr PM9 (per the manual).

I'd bet you are riding the slide so this should be a temporary fix until it gets broken in.