Shield plus magazine issues

So this was not my gun. I was at a LGS today and wanted to handle a Shield +. So they had a used one in the case.
A couple of weird things were going on with that gun or magazine. The first thing I did when he hand d me the gun was pull the slide back to make sure it was clear, the slide would not lock back on the empty mag, hmmm, that's weird. So I tried to drop the mag and I couldn't get it to drop, hmmm, what's going on here? So after fiddling with the mag release I finally got the mag out. The mag release felt really weird like it was hanging up on something. I locked the slide to the rear and inserted the mag, I tried to use the slide release and I couldn't get the slide to close using the slide release. The slide release.would.just not push down. So I fought with the mag release again to drop the mag. The follower was all scared up across the top, it had deep grooves cut in the follower like something on the slide was tearing into it. I passed the gun to the salesman and told him something wasn't right with that gun. He struggled with it for a bit before putting it back in the case.
Just a strange experience I wanted to share and discuss. I've never seen a gun that just would not do basic functions like that.

We usually call it "mass production".

In the World of polymer handguns there is a margin for bad production. Not 100% of items delivered to Customers are perfectly correct. Some of them are already bad, out of the box, some will fail after some time.

In this case, the question is - what actually is wrong with the pistol and who is gonna take care of the problem? If that was a used one and nobody took care of it so far... the next owner might be very unhappy.

I probably would have asked if they had another magazine to test in the thing. Really not that many things that could cause the failure as described, with a messed up mag, i.e. someone stepped on the thing and then used a pair of pliers to "fix" it, being IMHO the most likely.

On my Shield Plus, I cannot thumb down the slide lock lever to drop the slide unless a round was ejected with the magazine in. To explain it better, if I lock the slide back with a magazine out, or I lock the slide back with an empty magazine in, depressing the slide lock to drop the slide is extremely difficult, although it can be done using two thumbs.

However, if the slide locks back after ejecting a case, a live round, or a snap cap, and the magazine was still in, a normal press on the slide lock drops the slide easily. This doesn’t bother me because I could use the slide lock as a release if I was reloading after firing the gun empty, which is really the only time I would need to.

If you go to YouTube, Justin Opinion has a review of the Shield Plus and he complains of not being able to use the slide lock as a release, but later in the video he easily drops the slide on a reload. I think it’s just the way the gun is designed.

kbm6893 said:

On my Shield Plus, I cannot thumb down the slide lock lever to drop the slide unless a round was ejected with the magazine in. To explain it better, if I lock the slide back with a magazine out, or I lock the slide back with an empty magazine in, depressing the slide lock to drop the slide is extremely difficult, although it can be done using two thumbs.

However, if the slide locks back after ejecting a case, a live round, or a snap cap, and the magazine was still in, a normal press on the slide lock drops the slide easily. This doesn’t bother me because I could use the slide lock as a release if I was reloading after firing the gun empty, which is really the only time I would need to.

If you go to YouTube, Justin Opinion has a review of the Shield Plus and he complains of not being able to use the slide lock as a release, but later in the video he easily drops the slide on a reload. I think it’s just the way the gun is designed.

Click to expand...

For the 1 millionth time since the 1.0 original Shield was released, it's a slide lock and not a slide release. With that said, it will loosen up after it's worn in.

Tu_S said:

I probably would have asked if they had another magazine to test in the thing. Really not that many things that could cause the failure as described, with a messed up mag, i.e. someone stepped on the thing and then used a pair of pliers to "fix" it, being IMHO the most likely.

Click to expand...

I wasn't all that invested in it.

Well Armed said:

For the 1 millionth time since the 1.0 original Shield was released, it's a slide lock and not a slide release. With that said, it will loosen up after it's worn in.

Click to expand...

Releasing the slide was not the only issue with that pistol, as I said, It was very difficult to drop the mag, there were gouges across the follower and the slide didn't want to lock back on an empty mag. My first thought was it must've been the wrong mag for that gun, like someone stuck a Taurus GX mag in it or something. I didn't look for S&W markings on the mag but it was a black mag with an orange follower.

Well Armed said:

For the 1 millionth time since the 1.0 original Shield was released, it's a slide lock and not a slide release. With that said, it will loosen up after it's worn in.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the education. I am aware what S&W calls it. I also know that many people like to use it as a slide release, and as long as an empty case is extracted with the magazine in, which would be during a normal reload, it can easily function as a slide release if the user intends it to.

Whether it breaks in or not with use, I don't know yet. Haven't fired it enough to find out. Maybe 500 rounds through it, and it still has not loosened up to be able to drop the slide lock easily, other than after a case or live round extracted with a mag in.

I have to say that I’m tiered of hearing “Shoot it and It’ll break in, it’ll get better, the trigger will improve”. I call it BS.
Aren’t all those parts made out of harden steel of some sort?
If all it took for a good trigger or in this case a working slide stop/release was to fire the gun 500 times those parts would be wore out in no time at all.

HeavyLoad said:

I have to say that I’m tiered of hearing “Shoot it and It’ll break in, it’ll get better, the trigger will improve”. I call it BS.
Aren’t all those parts made out of harden steel of some sort?
If all it took for a good trigger or in this case a working slide stop/release was to fire the gun 500 times those parts would be wore out in no time at all.

Click to expand...

I’m not sure the gun was designed to operate any other way. It is referred to as a slide lock. But if there is an empty mag in when that case or round is ejected, the slide lock works effortlessly as a slide release.

Interestingly, I bought a new old stock Shield 1.0 last week. Brand new in the box. I go to clean it and lock the slide to rear to break it down. Pull the slide to release the slide to press the trigger and take slide off. Slide lock will not drop and allow slide to move forward. Had to pull slide to rest and force slide lock down. Only way it would work. Even pressed the ejector down instead of pulling the trigger and it wouldn’t work. Loaded a mag full of snap caps and pulled slide to rear. Just wouldn’t release.

I don’t know why it was doing it. The other two Shield 1.0’s I have owned did not do this. But after a thorough cleaning and fiddling with it, it operates as it should now.

HeavyLoad said:

I have to say that I’m tiered of hearing “Shoot it and It’ll break in, it’ll get better, the trigger will improve”. I call it BS.
Aren’t all those parts made out of harden steel of some sort?
If all it took for a good trigger or in this case a working slide stop/release was to fire the gun 500 times those parts would be wore out in no time at all.

Click to expand...

In the machining world 2 hardened pieces of steel can be smoothed out with lapping. That is rubbing them against each other, usually with some abrasive compound. But even without the abrasive lapping can make them match up better, smooth the surfaces and take off any burr that is raised on the edges. After all this is done the metal will slide against each other with less drag. It will not solve every issue. But can make some things function better.

With my new Shield Plus Performance Center 4" the slide "lock" works fine as a slide release, with or without an empty or loaded magazine. Also from a slide locked open condition, when I insert a loaded mag and slap it home the slide returns to battery on its own. I have only put about 150 rounds through it so far.
Maybe the PC models are put together better with more attention to parts fitment? All I know is that mine has been 100% since new.

MTC(SS)Ret said:

With my new Shield Plus Performance Center 4" the slide "lock" works fine as a slide release, with or without an empty or loaded magazine. Also from a slide locked open condition, when I insert a loaded mag and slap it home the slide returns to battery on its own. I have only put about 150 rounds through it so far.
Maybe the PC models are put together better with more attention to parts fitment? All I know is that mine has been 100% since new.

Click to expand...

The slide going forward on its in when a new mag was slapped in was normal on the 1.0 M&P pistols and the design of the slide lock was deliberately changed to prevent it from happening in the 2.0 models. I know I wouldn’t want that feature.

The slide lock lever is small. Under stress and let’s say bloody hands(for whatever reason), using the slide lock as a slide release is a REALLY BAD idea! Your chances of the slide releasing are slim to none.
Rack the slide back as it was designed to be done (slide serrations are there for a reason). Train using the proper method! Just my 2 cents.

I may be the only one that has a problem with a full magazine in the gun and having a lot of difficulty racking the slide to load the first rd.The gun is 6-8 mo old and the mags have been in the gun most of the time so it's not the amount of ammo. I have talked to CS at SW and they deny the problem exists.They tell me I'm loading the gun wrong but it's the only gun I have ever had that I have to lock the slide back then insert the mag and then sling shot the slide.I talked to 2 different agents and one sent me 2 followers that weren't for the plus and then sent me a RSA that I didn't requestor need.They seem to not be experienced enough to handle CS.I have given up trying to get an answer.My thought is the mag needs a tad more length to ease the pressure on the stripper rail.I won't be buying anymore SW.

No issues with my Shield plus dropping the mag and I am left handed so only use the slide lock as it is intended to be used.


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I just pulled my Shield Plus out of the safe and the mags both drop freely without needing any encouragement. And the slide locks back every time on an empty mag.

Mike

Since you mentioned it was a used gun and that the follower had a gouge in it, I would suspect someone didn't understand how the controls worked and somehow damaged something trying to force it during disassembly or reassembly.
Without seeing and trying it out in person it's hard to tell more.

Was it the correct magazine for the pistol?

The issue is that on an empty magazine, the follower is slipping past the slide lock instead of actuating it. The follower wedges next to it and past it, causing it to stick and get gouged up.