40 shield issue

sdeeut69

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Messages
51
Reaction score
5
Location
Utah
I took a 40 shield in trade for a shotgun I had. I LOOOOVE my 9mm shield, so I thought.. what the hell. A few days later I have it at the range and shoot a few magazines worth of ammo and my son notices the pin (I don't really know what it's called) above the trigger assembly in the frame is 1/2 way out. What the? So I knock it back in place and continue shooting. Again, the pin is 1/2 way out after a few more magazines. When I got home to clean the pistol I noticed the pin behind the safety is poked out a little farther on one side... ?? Is anyone else having/had this kind of issue with their 40 shield? I have fired.. and this is not a joke.. thousands of rounds through my 9 shield, not ONE single issue. 200 - 300 rounds every visit to the gun range with the 9 and it is rock solid. The 40 left me a little bugged to say the least. I'm sure it happened to the prior owner hence the reason he was willing to trade it, with 3 extra mags and ammo, for a VERY WELL used Mossy 500. I know I can sell the gun and get more money, but has anyone had or having this same kind of issue with the 40 or is this just a "my gun" thing? Anyone?
To be honest though, I don't really even like the 40 compared to the 9. While I think it's still a great gun, the snap in the 40 just isn't that much fun to shoot over and over compared to the 9. And in quick fire drills, the 9's speed and tighter grouping is just so much better. The 40 did shoot great, and I was really impressed at with slow shooting at 20 yards with the 40. Bulls eyes were easy. But to carry every day and shoot often, I'm sticking with the 9.
Sorry about the mild rant there. But has anyone else had an issue like I described? Is it the power of the 40 vs 9, or maybe something else?
 
Register to hide this ad
Call S&W and they will send you new roll pins. I hope the previous owner did not screw up the holes they go in. The other thing you can do is put a little glue in the hole the pin is in.
 
I'd mushroom out the pins a little and skip the glue . Just a few taps.....
 
Last edited:
I heard that theoretically, roll pins should be replaced if they are punched out. What happens in practice is usually very different, but you roll the dice if you don't follow the practices. As the others said, new roll pins or a very slight mushrooming of the head should fix it.
 
I heard that theoretically, roll pins should be replaced if they are punched out. What happens in practice is usually very different, but you roll the dice if you don't follow the practices. As the others said, new roll pins or a very slight mushrooming of the head should fix it.

Roll pins are not to be used again. That is an industrial standard that goes beyond the gun industry. Lock washers and lock nuts are single use items also.
 
Technically, yes. Once use only, but most often you can get away with reuse.

There is the possibility the PO might have reamed out the hole with a tool that is not appropriate for the purpose. Rolled pin specific drift punches are $10-15 for a whole set. They have a raised center to engage the rolled pin, so it self-centers.

Drift out the pin and see if a new one slips in easily. Hopefully not.
 
Those are actually "spring" pins, not roll pins. I've not found a roll pin that will work in a M&P in that location. I ended up ordering a bunch of spring pins from McMaster Carr in high strength stainless. I wasn't having problems with them walking out, but the front pin gets pretty hammered by the shock of the front block catching the barrel every cycle. I've had the pins start to disintegrate (I did a post on that a while back). So now I replace them regularly (probably every 15K rounds or so).
 
great info

Those are actually "spring" pins, not roll pins. I've not found a roll pin that will work in a M&P in that location. I ended up ordering a bunch of spring pins from McMaster Carr in high strength stainless. I wasn't having problems with them walking out, but the front pin gets pretty hammered by the shock of the front block catching the barrel every cycle. I've had the pins start to disintegrate (I did a post on that a while back). So now I replace them regularly (probably every 15K rounds or so).
So would you say it' s more specific to the 40 caliber? Or have you or others seen/heard about in either shield caliber? As I stated in the original post, I have fired thousands of rounds from my 9 shield and nothing has moved/shifted and seemingly has no issues of any kind. I do appreciate all the feedback. Since I'm the farthest thing from a gun smith I'll have someone look at and see if can be easily rectified. I guess I'm just curious if this is going to happen again if I do fix it? Has anyone else had this problem or should I suspect the previous owner did something to the gun? Thanks again.
 
It sounds like what everyone else is saying is that the original owner probably drove it out, and didn't replace it with a new pin, or messed up the hole and now its loose. FWIW I personally have never had such an issue nor have read about one either till now.
 
Last edited:
It sounds like what everyone else is saying is that the original owner probably drove it out, and didn't replace it with a new pin, or messed up the hole and now its loose. FWIW I personally have never had such an issue nor have read about one either till now.
Sounds like it might not be the norm, but I did find another poster on here from over a year ago with the exact same issue and others in that same post that have had the same issue. I'm glad not everyone is having the same issue. It really is a nice gun, I just don't love it enough to keep it. The 9mm Shield is magnificent and I'll be keeping that one forever.. but the 40 is on it's way out the door.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top