Shield Plus magazine spring differences

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Wdbutcher97

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Like other Shield Plus owners, I noticed the 13th round was a little difficult to insert into the 13 round magazine that came with my Shield. I ordered another magazine for a spare that arrived a couple of weeks ago. It was more than a bit difficult to insert the 13th round. It could be done with a lot of effort, but it didn't feel safe.
I dissembled both magazines and found that they were both identical except for the springs. On the 4th coil back from follower end the springs are formed differently. It looks to me that the smaller follower end of the spring is more likely to collapse within the larger base end of the spring in the original magazine than the new one. The spring from the new magazine looked like it would be more likely to bind. I would be temped to order a new magazine spring if they were available, but who knows which spring I would get. Most likely it would be the one I didn't want.
 

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It sounds as if S&W's quality control is worse than poor when it comes to their magazines, especially for the Shield 380 EZ. You best move on while you're ahead and stop wasting ammo on your current firearm.
 
tjkoko said:
It sounds as if S&W's quality control is worse than poor when it comes to their magazines, especially for the Shield 380 EZ. You best move on while you're ahead and stop wasting ammo on your current firearm.
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I like all of my Smith & Wesson's. I just question why it's difficult to insert a 13th round into 13 round magazine and why the magazine springs made for the same magazine would be made differently only months apart. I would think that it would have taken so little to make everything work smoothly rather than the way it does.
 
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I took the new magazines apart again and gently bent the spring to match the spring in my old magazine. After I reassembled the magazine I loaded it up to the 11th round, felt some resistance, heard a faint click and was easily able insert the last 2 rounds. I'll leave it loaded until the next time I go to the range. I'll quit my whining now.
 
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Wdbutcher97 said:
I took the new magazines apart again and gently bent the spring to match the spring in my old magazine. After I reassembled the magazine I loaded it up to the 11th round, felt some resistance, heard a faint click and was easily able insert the last 2 rounds. I'll leave it loaded until the next time I go to the range. I'll quit my whining now.
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Thanks for this. I'll have to try it. I bought a couple of extra 13rd mags and got another with the new PC Shield + and I can not get the 13 rd in 2 of the mags, even with an Uplula loader. Tried so hard it dented the case of a cartridge.
 
Welp that didn't work for me completely. I can now get the 12th rd in the mag without the Uplula, but when I put 13 in with the Uplula, the mag body bulged enough to prevent smooth insertion into the mag well.

Has anyone sent mags back to S&W successfully?
 
I guess I got lucky. I can load the two 10 rounders and three 13 rounders I have all to full capacity (with a Maglula). They're all difficult to seat when fully loaded, but once in they all function as they should.
 
pazzo said:
Welp that didn't work for me completely. I can now get the 12th rd in the mag without the Uplula, but when I put 13 in with the Uplula, the mag body bulged enough to prevent smooth insertion into the mag well.

Has anyone sent mags back to S&W successfully?
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Did the magazine springs in your new magazines look the same as the one in your magazine that holds 13 rounds? There was definitely a difference in the springs in my magazines.
 
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I have a friend who just recently purchased a new Shield Plus. He used it to complete his latest LEOSA qualifications and really likes the pistol, with one exception. Guy is very meticulous and very experienced with handling firearms. He called me with his frustrations trying to get the 12th and 13th rounds into his magazines, they WOULD NOT GO NO WAY, NO HOW.
While we were on the phone together he disassembled his mags to make sure they were clean, burr free inside and assembled with the springs oriented correctly. While messing with them, he discovered that when the magazine springs are fully compressed (up to the 11th round) the spring bows out to one side or the other of the magazine body. The follower has 4 legs that align with the 4 corners of the magazine body but they also are supposed to straddle the compressed spring. My buddy noticed that the ends of the follower legs were cut off square and when they were forced down into the magazine on to the compressed/stacked & bowed spring the legs caught on the top of the compressed/stacked magazine which prevented him from getting the last 2 rounds into the magazine. By taking a file and beveling the bottom inside edges of the follower legs to about 45-60 degrees, upon the legs reaching the bowed, compressed/stacked spring coils, the beveled legs cause the spring stack to center up under the follower and it allowed him to get the last 2 rounds inserted.
Just a hint that you folks might look at.
 
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Wdbutcher97 said:
Did the magazine springs in your new magazines look the same as the one in your magazine that holds 13 rounds? There was differently a difference in the springs in my magazines.
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Very slightly, but not as off as in the pic you provided. I tweaked them a little and was able to get 12 in, but not 13.
 
I purchased the Shield Plus back in June and while it was difficult to load the 13th round, it was doable, but still made it difficult to load and rack a round. I purchased 4 new mags in September and the 13th round is pretty much impossible to load and it takes a lot of force to get the magazine in the gun even with only 12 rounds. I took the magazines apart tonight and found the upper 5 coils of the springs on the new mags are about 1/8" shorter than the rest. All of the coils on the original spring are about 1". When pressed down, the original coils collapse on themselves straight like they should. The new springs will bow to either side.
 

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Just to update my above post, I did send the pictures of the spring measurements to S&W and they sent me out new springs for all my mags. Unfortunately, all the new springs have the same issue. Doesn't seem like it's going to be something they'll be fixing.
 
capitaltpt said:
Just to update my above post, I did send the pictures of the spring measurements to S&W and they sent me out new springs for all my mags. Unfortunately, all the new springs have the same issue. Doesn't seem like it's going to be something they'll be fixing.
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That's what I was afraid might happen if I got new springs. It seems odd that Smith & Wesson would continue to make the springs that don't work correctly instead of making them like the originals that did work. I'm not giving up. I gained a lot the last time I made some adjustments to the spring in my new magazine. I'll try again. I'm not a quitter:D
 
I just received the replacement springs from TandemKross and will keep y'all posted on their functionality as soon as they're inserted into my mags for the 380 EZ.
 
Three 13 round mags and they all load fine. Needed the Uplula but most do for these mags. They’re loaded and will sit that way for a month or so to see if they loosen up.
 
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