Hi all. I do indeed have the mag drop issue. I would like to relay what I have found with my shield and what i'm shooting when it drops. When I use ball ammo, I have 0 issues with mag drops. When I took my shield back to the store, they t&e'd it and said they could not duplicate the problem with the mags dropping. So I ran a box of 50 ball, then I used hornady critical defense 165 grain SDA, followed by Winchester PDX-1 180 grain SDA. The 7 round mag dropped with both of those SD rounds. The PDX-1 didn't drop the mag nearly as much, the Hornady did almost every time. Those who have the .40 shield, and say they have no problems with mag drops, do yourself a favor and use your SD ammo and then verify that you have or don't have the mag drop issue. I know it's expensive but you gotta know that if you need to use it on the street its not gonna drop the mag and go out of battery on you.
Shield mag drop ?
- Thread starter Hunterfz6
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robkarrob
Member
The mag drop issue is resolved. Call S&W and they will have you return the gun. They will keep the gun several weeks and then send the gun back with new magazines, that have been re-engineered and do not drop.
The issue is the mag is not being securely held by the catch. So if you are using higher power ammo, the recoil is higher and this makes the mag drop more likely.
Don't send your mags back and you'll have two extras. Just takes a small mod to make the old mags like the new mags.
Bob
The issue is the mag is not being securely held by the catch. So if you are using higher power ammo, the recoil is higher and this makes the mag drop more likely.
Don't send your mags back and you'll have two extras. Just takes a small mod to make the old mags like the new mags.
Bob
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Are you saying correctly, that if I just mail the gun without the mags, they will send my gun back with 2 mags? And ill have 4? And, how exactly do you use the punch on the mag to correct the issue? I have been reading about that, but no specifics.
robkarrob
Member
Yes most everyone has sent their Shields back to S&W (including me), less the mags and S&W sends the gun back with two new mags (6 & 7 rounders). There is nothing they fix in the Shield, they just made a fix to the magazines. You have to call S&W and tell them you are having the mag dropping problem. They will email you a FedEX shipping label. S&W picks up the shipping costs for FedEx two day air. S&W will explain what you have to do.
See the photos below for the fix for the original dropping mags. The "bump" makes the mag slot stick out further so the mag catch doesn't drop the mags anymore. I used a 3/32 inch punch. It might also work with a 1/8 inch punch. You will need to pound hard as the metal you are punching out is close to the 90 degree corner of the mag. It is hard to get the metal to move. On the mags I pounded out, the bumps I punched out stick out a little further than the bumps on the mags I got back from S&W. A little extra safety factor. None of my four mags drop out anymore.
Showing my old mag clamped in my vice and how I made the "bump"..
Arrows show the punch area. Factory punched mag is on the right.
See the photos below for the fix for the original dropping mags. The "bump" makes the mag slot stick out further so the mag catch doesn't drop the mags anymore. I used a 3/32 inch punch. It might also work with a 1/8 inch punch. You will need to pound hard as the metal you are punching out is close to the 90 degree corner of the mag. It is hard to get the metal to move. On the mags I pounded out, the bumps I punched out stick out a little further than the bumps on the mags I got back from S&W. A little extra safety factor. None of my four mags drop out anymore.
Showing my old mag clamped in my vice and how I made the "bump"..
Arrows show the punch area. Factory punched mag is on the right.
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robkarrob
Member
Yes as I don't think you would like to accidentially punch the magazine spring and bend it. Twenty second operation to remove the floorplate, pull the spring and follower.
Bob
Bob
