1st post: bought M&P Shield single stack... slide release is TIGHT

[Frankenstein9309]

The ergonomics are great - but... the slide release is really hard to work with the thumb.

Anybody else had this? If so, I wager this will loose up with use. Correct?

 

[BlackTalonJHP]

It's not really meant to release the slide, S&W intended for the slide to be pulled to the rear and released to move the slide into battery. It might wear in a little, but not much.

 

[gonerydin]

Correct


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ransom]

Yep, Smith & Wesson calls it a slide stop. Insert the mag and then pull back on the slide and let go without riding it. If you hold on to the slide, it may not go fully into battery.

 

[SoCalDep]

It is a slide release as well as a slide stop and using it is a perfectly valid technique.

Change my mind.

 

[gunny4053]

OP, it's normal. Sling shot that slide, it's much easier and faster.

SoCalDep, it's a valid technique, just not a very easy one in the Shield. No sense working harder than need be.

 

[SoCalDep]

OP, it's normal. Sling shot that slide, it's much easier and faster.

SoCalDep, it's a valid technique, just not a very easy one in the Shield. No sense working harder than need be.

Not faster. Especially with some practice, and I've seen more issues with sling shotting than using the lever across multiple pistol platforms. The Shield is more difficult, especially in the beginning, but still faster than a sling shot assuming proper technique.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome to the OP .

Surprised no one asked if the slide release was being tried with a full or empty magazine. or no magazine. It will work least easily with an empty.

To me using the slide is the best but not the only way to put it into battery. If S & W didn't intend for the release to be used, even as a backup, they would have designed it with an internal mechanism (think Walther PP/PPK, among others).

Hope you enjoy your new Shield!

 

[RobzGuns]

Welcome to the Forum!
You are not alone in perceiving this. Barely a Month goes by that someone new to the Shield doesn't ask about the Slide 'Release' (Slide Stop).

A Search of this Sub-Forum, using the words Shield Tight Slide will produce dozens (if not Hundreds) of threads

 

[nanney1]

After 1,000 rounds, I could use the slide stop to thumb the slide. Before that, the sling shot was required.

Oh, and when new, you really have to pull the slide back and let it rip. If you ride the slide at all, it may not feed properly. After 100+ rounds and another 100 slide manipulations, it will loosen up.

All of the tightness was a surprise to me when I first shot my Shield 9mm when it was new. I had tried out a rental Shield prior to purchase. It must have had 10,000+ rounds on the recoil spring. All you had to do was lightly tap the back of the slide and it would fly forward.

 

[Protected One]

Welcome to the OP .

Surprised no one asked if the slide release was being tried with a full or empty magazine. or no magazine. It will work least easily with an empty.

To me using the slide is the best but not the only way to put it into battery. If S & W didn't intend for the release to be used, even as a backup, they would have designed it with an internal mechanism (think Walther PP/PPK, among others).

Hope you enjoy your new Shield!

Took a concealed carry tactics class last year where the instructor had us use our actual edc - unloaded of course.
During the reloading drills I had a heck of a time using the slide stop/release to get the gun back into battery. I called S&W and talked with a technician about it, AND whether Smith "intended" for it to be used as a release. He explained that with an unloaded mag it is much more difficult to release the slide but it works fine with a loaded mag. I confirmed this during my next range session.

He also explained that in the manual S&W calls it a slide stop simply because the goal of the gun was to be as "slim" as possible (for carry), which meant reducing the width of the stop/release lever, thus making it more difficult for some to use as a release....so they went with STOP. But he emphasized that there is no reason it can't be used for both!

 

[Flyingfool]

I have 2,000 rounds or more through my shield. I bought it used so 2,000 rounds is minimum.

And my slide stop lever required tow hands/thumbs to use the lever.

Thus the stop is a stop and not functionally usable as a release. If it has not wore in to be used in 2,000 rounds, I have no idea when it will become functionallly usable as a release.

Using two hands is MUCH slower than using two hands to sling shot.

Also even on all thise other guns out there that the release does work. So does sling shotting them. Thus I am almost assured that every self sefense handgun wil work with the slingshot method.

Muscle memory is critical when the SHTF! And I dont want to remember what weapon brand or model I happen to have in my hand. I want to build muscle memory through repetition and a process that works on ANY pistol I happen to have in my hand.

The slingshot method works on every brand I know,S&W, Glock, Walther, Sig. you name it it will work.

Using a release is only faster when that method just happens to work in the specific weapon you are using. But if you train yourself to use the stop/release and in a critical situation have to use my shield. You will be screwed! Ain't ni way your beloved and ingrain release method will close the slide. Unless you are the freaking HULK.

But if I happen to be forced to use your weapon in a pinch. You better believe my infrained slinghot muscle memory WILL work!

Just my personal opinion and philosophy and choice of how I personally train and why. Everyone can, and should make up their own mind for their own reasons. Thus, YMMV

 

[SoCalDep]

Good post. I think slingshotting is a perfectly valid method of manipulation, just as use of the slide stop as a release. There are advantages and drawbacks to both methods.

Another thought is that slingshotting does not help the slide stop to wear in and become easier... if one wants to make it easier to release the slide, make sure the pistol is empty with no magazine. Lock the slide to the rear and release it with the slide release over and over until it becomes easier. This can take a while.

 

[CB3]

The ergonomics are great - but... the slide release is really hard to work with the thumb.

Anybody else had this? If so, I wager this will loose up with use. Correct?

As I have posted in numerous similar threads before, S&W will not adjust their slide stops on production guns to function also as a release. It costs them time to do this, and that is money.

HOWEVER, it is a very easy process for a gunsmith or even an owner to do. Simply reduce the friction between the slide notch and the release lever. Letting this occur naturally through wear is a laborious, slow and often unproductive process.

With a properly adjusted slide stop, it will still function 100% reliably as a stop.

The slide can be released by the sling shot method.
The slide can be released by the overhand method.
The slide can be released by hooking it on an object.
The slide can be released with finger or thumb pressure on the stop lever (making it OH MY a release).
The slide can even benefit from the fastest method of closing it, the auto-release.

Every way you can imagine of getting a slide closed is still available for the choice of the shooter. Options are good.

Custom guns, experienced professional shooters, and even some of us lowly, normal every day civilians choose to close a locked back slide in the fastest way possible, because in a fight (or even competition), fractions of a second count.

The overhand and slingshot (OH/SS) methods are absolutely, unequivocally the slowest methods of release and getting back on target, and neither is foolproof. They are taught because instructors have to teach to the mechanical level of the average mass manufactured gun, which does not have a tuned slide stop/release. It is ONE way of getting the slide to close, and it is a good way for average users with average guns. It is very universal. It is easier to teach one method, and THAT is why it is taught and promoted, not because it is the best.

Manufacturers promote this release method to excuse that they do not make the proper initial adjustment at the factory. The idea that OH/SS is the right, only, best, fastest, easiest, most correct, etc. way of closing a slide is just plain ignorance of a simple mechanical principle--friction.

All cut engagement surfaces on mass manufactured guns are microscopically very rough. Some of the high points will slowly wear down with repeated use, like the high speed interface of the slide and rails, and even some components of the trigger group. This can be very slow and never reach the desired level of smoothness produced by judicious polishing--one of the hallmarks of every custom gun.

Remove the slide. Raise the stop lever. With oiled 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper and without changing any angles, polish the engagement surface of the lever. Do a few swipes inside the corresponding notch on the slide. Test. You will likely have to do this 2-3 times before you get the friction reduced sufficiently to allow you to consistently use the STOP also as a RELEASE using your finger or thumb. Even finer polishing will allow you to progress to adding auto-release as an option for closing a locked slide--all without interfering with any other method of closing the slide you choose.

Once the components are polished, they do not wear like unpolished surfaces. They tend to just continue functioning smoothly. There is no downside to this, unless you change engagement angles and over polish. It is easy for a 'smith to re-establish the angles and correct this problem. No need to replace the slide, or even the stop, although it is always wise to have an extra stop lever on hand because as a stamped part under significant stress it is one of those parts that can have a relatively short life cycle.

Please stop the madness. It is also a release and is called such by some manufacturers. No matter what it is called, its functionality is what is important. It can easily and properly function as both a stop and a release. Really.

BTW, that button you use to RELEASE a mag from the grip? If it wasn't first a MAG STOP you would have nothing to release, right? So if its first function is to hold the mag in the grip, why isn't it called a mag stop? Terminology is less important than functions.

 

[Muss Muggins]

BTW, that button you use to RELEASE a mag from the grip? If it wasn't first a MAG STOP you would have nothing to release, right? So if its first function is to hold the mag in the grip, why isn't it called a mag stop? Terminology is less important than functions.

Glock identifies it as a "magazine catch . . . "

 

[Frankenstein9309]

Excellent replies, folks. Thanks!

 

[kgpcr]

My release worked by finger after 500 or so rounds.

 

[ScaryWoody]

If you look at the slide stop engagement area it is square. You can round it a bit to make it easier to release.

 

[jim46ok]

It is a slide release as well as a slide stop and using it is a perfectly valid technique.

Change my mind.

S&W says NOT.

 

[CB3]

S&W says NOT.

Correct.

S&W will not take the time to adjust it so it can be used as a release.

But you can.

Then it can easily and properly be used as a release.

Which is also correct.

As stated before, simple nomenclature may not adequately define multiple functions. The "stop" has many mechanical characteristics:

1. The follower of an empty mag will cause the stop lever to rise, overcoming the downward stop lever return spring pressure, and lock the slide back.

2. The operator can manually lock the slide back by using the external tab on the lever to lock back a manually retracted slide, which is specifically designed for this function.

3. By manually retracting a locked back slide (OH/SS or hooking the slide on an object), a shooter can relieve tension of the stop engagement surfaces, allowing the stop lever spring to push it down and out of the way of the slide stop notch. Even if the spring is broken, gravity might allow the stop to drop, but reliability may suffer until the spring is fixed.

Manual slide retraction is often done improperly, especially by inexperienced shooters, and the slide does not go into battery. Wearing gloves also can foul slide retraction and closing. This action requires two hands unless well trained in hooking the slide on an object for release. It also requires the releasing hand to be farther away from a firing grip, which logically and realistically takes more time to execute than other methods.

4. The operator can use the stop lever tab, which is designed specifically for this use when slightly adjusted to set the proper amount of friction between the engagement surfaces, to release the locked slide by pushing down on the tab, overcoming friction and stop spring pressure, to close the slide while obtaining a firing grip. This has been the preferred method for releasing a locked slide for millions of shooters over the last 100 years because it works reliably and is fast. This method is so common that some manufacturers and many shooters call the lever a release. This is not any more wrong than calling it a stop—it functions both ways. Everyone understands both descriptive terms. It only becomes a problem if someone tries to make it into a terminology/function problem. Using this method there is no chance of riding the slide and preventing it from going into battery—one of the most common reload problems with the OH/SS methods.

5. Finally, a properly adjusted slide stop lever can auto-release a locked back slide. When a loaded mag is inserted in an empty grip with moderate (standard) force to seat it, the jarring motion is enough to reduce the stop's friction against the slide notch. The stop lever drops and the slide closes while the shooter is acquiring a firing grip and ensuring through (unnecessary) finger tab pressure that the slide has closed. This method is common but not widespread because it takes a little more finesse in stop adjustment. It is the fastest way to effect a slide lock reload.

Every trained pistolero practices the OH/SS methods of closing a slide. There are times when such manipulations are required. People who use other methods to unlock a slide don't say the other methods are wrong; it's just that for common slide reloads they prefer different methods.

So given this variety of functions, what is the proper nomenclature for such a device? It is most commonly called a stop, but that in no way limits its function to only performing in limited ways.

It's a stop. And a release. And a catch. And a thingamabob. And a doohickey. But it is NOT just a stop, no matter what a profit-oriented manufacturer may title it.