Shield Plus Unsafe Condition! Better check yours!

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ten-8

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Just picked up a Shield Plus yesterday. Broke it down for an initial clean and lube. I noticed the Striker Block (plunger) seemed to be stuck in the depressed (deactivated) position. Striker moves completely forward without the drop safety plunger stopping it. Pulled back a little bit on the striker tang expecting the usual "pop" and the upward movement of the plunger but NOTHING.

Pulled out my department issued M&P 9 2.0 and the plunger works just like it should.

E-mailed Smith, waiting to hear from them on how to get this fixed.

This creates a pretty dangerous condition so if you have one, better check it.

I was going to replace my off-duty 43x with this Shield Plus but how can I trust it?
 
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ten-8 said:
Just picked up a Shield Plus yesterday. Broke it down for an initial clean and lube. I noticed the Striker Block (plunger) seemed to be stuck in the depressed (deactivated) position. Striker moves completely forward without the drop safety plunger stopping it. Pulled back a little bit on the striker tang expecting the usual "pop" and the upward movement of the plunger but NOTHING.

Pulled out my department issued M&P 9 2.0 and the plunger works just like it should.

E-mailed Smith, waiting to hear from them on how to get this fixed.

This creates a pretty dangerous condition so if you have one, better check it.

I was going to replace my off-duty 43x with this Shield Plus but how can I trust it?
Click to expand...

maybe the plunger is out of spec and a bit too large. Or possibly just needs some shots down range or dry fire. I haven't looked at mine but will do so now.
 
Maybe some debris holding it in the depressed position? I would remove the back plate and striker assembly and shoot a bit of chlorine free brake clean or Gun Scrubber in and around it and work it manually to see it it loosens up. *Disclaimer, I'm not a gunsmith but a tinkerer.* My plunger works as it should.
 
Could be debris in the plunger hole, but being a LEO I'd call S&W and get a return label and have them fix and reinspect it, if you don't you might not have 100% confidence in it.

If you call them, tell them you are an LEO and hopefully they expedite it for you.


Good luck, I love my Shield 40 M1.0 and have 100% confidence in it.



10-42 LEO
 
Have you cleaned and lubed it? The striker channel needs to be kept clean and absolutely lube free. Like surgically clean. Follow the advice above about brake cleaner. I bet you flush out some debris left over from the manufacturing process.
 
I too would remove the rear cover plate & striker/firing pin & clean it out with some sauce & a Q-Tip..
One granule of sand in there could hold the firing pin safety plunger up..
Let US know how it turns out..
Gary/Hk
 
I have found there can be a small machining burr at the intersection of the striker and striker block channels. Usually this just contributes to the gritty feeling of the trigger pull and eventually wears away. In your case it may be big enough to impede the travel of the striker block.

You could fix it.
A local gunsmith could do it.
You can send it back to S&W. It is a simple QC problem most likely, but you will be without your new gun for longer than a month if you send it back.
 
Cleaning Striker Channel on M&P

I had forgotten we are NOT dealing with a Glock first off..
To get the safety plunger out of the M&P Series you must remove the rear sight assembly.. BUT you can take the rear cover plate off with a punch & remove the striker assembly..
My 2.0 Shield I just opened up to have a look & it's spotless which means I cleaned it out after the last range trip, Look at the Q-Tip just a smidge of residue in the striker channel..
And Zero Oil in there BTW..

ten-8 I would take the Shield Plus to your armorer & have them remove the rear sight & have a good look for you..

If it where mine I would remove the allen screw from the sight & drift it out with a brass punch & see..

Could just be a Bur as stated above..

Might also be that your M&P+ wants new Night Sights Too!! :D

Thanks for your service ten-8
 

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HEADKNOCKER said:
I had forgotten we are NOT dealing with a Glock first off..
To get the safety plunger out of the M&P Series you must remove the rear sight assembly.. BUT you can take the rear cover plate off with a punch & remove the striker assembly..
My 2.0 Shield I just opened up to have a look & it's spotless which means I cleaned it out after the last range trip, Look at the Q-Tip just a smidge of residue in the striker channel..
And Zero Oil in there BTW..

ten-8 I would take the Shield Plus to your armorer & have them remove the rear sight & have a good look for you..

If it where mine I would remove the allen screw from the sight & drift it out with a brass punch & see..

Could just be a Bur as stated above..

Might also be that your M&P+ wants new Night Sights Too!! :D

Thanks for your service ten-8
Click to expand...

getting rear sight off is a sitch! The front one is even worse good luck getting rear sight off even with a sight pusher
 
Fixed

With my options being...
1. My local dealer buying it back at half price or...
2. S&W taking at least two weeks to get it back to me...

I went with door number 3, having an acquaintance/gunsmith take a look.

The plunger safety channel was ALL Jacked up. Took a good bit of elbow grease to smooth it out. It was actually so bad it was locked in the depressed position. He couldn't even force it down once apart.

All that said, it's probably better than new now so at the end of the day I'm happy.

Just can't understand how f'd up their quality control is.

Thanks all for the replies.
 
ten-8 said:
The plunger safety channel was ALL Jacked up. Took a good bit of elbow grease to smooth it out. It was actually so bad it was locked in the depressed position. He couldn't even force it down once apart.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Forum!

I understand why you wouldn't want to wait for the factory to fix your plunger, but had you sent it back, S&W would have become aware of this serious safety issue and could have done something to prevent any more of these in the future. Please call or email customer service and let them know what your gunsmith found. If your messed-up plunger channel was part of a batch of them, there could be a bunch more Shield Pluses out there with this problem that need to be recalled.
 
ten-8 said:
Just picked up a Shield Plus yesterday. Broke it down for an initial clean and lube. I noticed the Striker Block (plunger) seemed to be stuck in the depressed (deactivated) position. Striker moves completely forward without the drop safety plunger stopping it. Pulled back a little bit on the striker tang expecting the usual "pop" and the upward movement of the plunger but NOTHING.

Pulled out my department issued M&P 9 2.0 and the plunger works just like it should.

E-mailed Smith, waiting to hear from them on how to get this fixed.

This creates a pretty dangerous condition so if you have one, better check it.

I was going to replace my off-duty 43x with this Shield Plus but how can I trust it?
Click to expand...

I am new here and this is my first post.

I discovered that my Shield Plus is doing something very similar.

There seems to be something hanging up the striker from resetting after the plunger is depressed I am also able to push the striker forward. If I jiggle the striker or bump the striker block it will reset with that "Pop" you are describing.

Is this normal? Seems unsafe. I sent it back to Smith and Wesson and they said they cant get it to repeat what I am describing.
 
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