.45 Shield Magazine Dropping

[Charlie Foxtrot]

I have a .45 Shield that has been experiencing magazines dropping while shooting. I previously posted about this.
I see there have been a few threads where people have experienced similar problems with various caliber M&P pistols. Magazines were fully seated and I did not push the magazine catch while shooting. I'll be calling S&W regarding this.

 

[Steven D. 20910]

Charlie, my new .45 M&P 2.0 is also dropping the mag. Did you get any satisfaction from S&W?

 

[M1A4ME]

Guys, take a closer look. I've got some steps listed below but before you go through all that let me ask a question. Are you inserting the magazines with the slide forward, or with the slide to the rear? Asking just in case the slide is fully forward causing the top round to jam into the bottom of the slide and require more force to fully insert the magazine. Sometimes you've got to really smack that magazine into the magazine well to get it to latch in fully. When the slide is back there is no interference or problem getting the magazine fully locked in.

Unload the pistol and field strip it.

Take a look from the top at how far the magazine catch stick into the magazine well and the appearance of the right side of the button in the frame.

While looking at the right side of the button insert a magazine you've had issue with (slowly) and see how that right side of the button looks in relation to the frame.

I've seen a couple pistols in the past (not M&Ps) that had issues with either the magazines or frames or magazine button size/shape and the button didn't quite fit in the notch/hole in the magazine like it should. It would go in enough to hold the magazine in place but not all the way in. After a shot or two the magazine would fall out.

I'll usually strip a magazine down to the shell and also insert it to see if it locks in better stripped vs. assembled. The magazine will go it just a bit farther without the lips on the top of the magazine base hitting the frame.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

Charlie, my new .45 M&P 2.0 is also dropping the mag. Did you get any satisfaction from S&W?

Steven, S&W has been unable to fix this problem. I tried numerous 6 and 7 round magazines. All magazines drop out regardless of whether I fire the pistol one handed, two handed with left and/or right hands.

S&W replaced the magazine catch, but the magazines keep dropping.

M1A4ME, thanks for your suggestion. In my experience, the magazines are placed in the pistol at the range with the slide locked to the rear. I ensure that they are fully seated in the pistol, and that the magazine catch has engaged the magazine before closing the slide.

Steven, I suggest that you do not waste any more ammunition "testing" the pistol. Either S&W can fix the problem, or they can't. Neither you, nor your daughter, should be Beta testers!

 

[Pulse76]

My new M&P 45 2.0 is also doing this. Seated the mags with slide locked back. Doesn't matter if I shoot one handed, 2 handed, right handed, left handed.....it keeps dropping mags. Sent it back to S&W. They had it 4 weeks, only to say they could find nothing wrong with it. They specifically told me not send my magazines back with the gun. How can they troubleshoot without using the same mags I'm using? I took a magazine apart and insert it into the frame. It looks like there is barely anything holding onto the magazine.

 

[M1A4ME]

My new M&P 45 2.0 is also doing this. Seated the mags with slide locked back. Doesn't matter if I shoot one handed, 2 handed, right handed, left handed.....it keeps dropping mags. Sent it back to S&W. They had it 4 weeks, only to say they could find nothing wrong with it. They specifically told me not send my magazines back with the gun. How can they troubleshoot without using the same mags I'm using? I took a magazine apart and insert it into the frame. It looks like there is barely anything holding onto the magazine.

If that's what you see try taking the magazine apart and inserting only the shell/body of the magazine. Removing the base plate from the shell/body allows it to go just a bit further into the mag well/frame. If it locks up fine then the issue seems to be either the bottom of the frame is a bit too long or the mag release hole in the frame is a bit too high. The base plate contacting the bottom of the frame is a factor, but not the complete cause. If the mag. release sticks further into the magazine body without the base plate on it I'd call S&W and tell them that. A new frame might fix it if S&W will go that far.

If not, and I really liked the pistol, I'd remove small amounts of polymer/plastic from the bottom of the frame till the base plate and frame stop making contact and the magazines firmly/completely lock in to it.

The above paragraph would only be done if it was all/several of my magazines not working vs. just one not working properly. If you know it's all the magazines then it looks like the frame has to be replaced or modified.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Download the mag by one round and see if it still happens.

 

[Groo01]

Check your grip [shoot left handed]
I have seen many a Ytube vid about various guns dropping mags.
Almost to a one you can see the shooter regriping the gun and hitting the mag release [ not all the way but enough to drop the mag on the next shot
or using that #%$&* thumb high hold placing the base of the left thumb
over the mag release.
Try with a "Hammer hold" with the thumb level with the barrel....
PS I shoot s 45 shield PC 4 inch and others and have had "NO" problems...

 

[zaitcev]

My Shield 45 had a well defined mag drop problem of the early magazines. Adding the channels in the followers cured the problem completely. The S&W issued updated magazines, which work.

If you experience mag drops with the new magazines (with channels), then it's a different root cause.

In the photo, you can see the channels that I added, which make followers clear the magazine catch.

 

[mrshyvley]

My new M&P 45 2.0 is also doing this. Seated the mags with slide locked back. Doesn't matter if I shoot one handed, 2 handed, right handed, left handed.....it keeps dropping mags. Sent it back to S&W. They had it 4 weeks, only to say they could find nothing wrong with it. They specifically told me not send my magazines back with the gun. How can they troubleshoot without using the same mags I'm using? I took a magazine apart and insert it into the frame. It looks like there is barely anything holding onto the magazine.

- I'm assuming it doesn't jam, just drops the magazine?
- It drops the magazines with all types of ammo or just some?
- It drops the magazine and leaves an empty chamber?

Here's another test to try that may give insight into what's happening in light of the fact that not much holds these magazines in.

When you get a chance.
Try firing it with ammo that drops the magazine, BUT firmly hold in on the opposite side of the magazine release button so it can't move.

Does the magazine now not drop out, but instead it now jams with the tip of the cartridge jammed against the top of the chamber opening?
Let me know how this test goes and I'll have some more to add.

 

[Steven D. 20910]

My new M&P 45 2.0 is also doing this. Seated the mags with slide locked back. Doesn't matter if I shoot one handed, 2 handed, right handed, left handed.....it keeps dropping mags. Sent it back to S&W. They had it 4 weeks, only to say they could find nothing wrong with it. They specifically told me not send my magazines back with the gun. How can they troubleshoot without using the same mags I'm using? I took a magazine apart and insert it into the frame. It looks like there is barely anything holding onto the magazine.

S&W has had my .45 MP 2.0 for just a week, no response. I also found it stupid to not have the mags returned with the pistol if there appears to be a mag problem. If they tell me nothing is wrong then I'll flood X Twitter with videos showing the mag ejections. As a former Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic I suspect a defective machining on the mag release slide/clip so penetration into the mag is down to thousandths, just enough to hold until the frame is expanded by pressure from firing. To answer some of the questions, occurs on both factory mags, after a round or two by my daughter and five or six by me, always leaves chamber empty, and never jams.

 

[mrshyvley]

S&W has had my .45 MP 2.0 for just a week, no response. I also found it stupid to not have the mags returned with the pistol if there appears to be a mag problem. If they tell me nothing is wrong then I'll flood X Twitter with videos showing the mag ejections. As a former Aerospace Ground Equipment mechanic I suspect a defective machining on the mag release slide/clip so penetration into the mag is down to thousandths, just enough to hold until the frame is expanded by pressure from firing. To answer some of the questions, occurs on both factory mags, after a round or two by my daughter and five or six by me, always leaves chamber empty, and never jams.

In my post #10, where I suggested pushing in on the opposite side of magazine release so it can't move, and then firing the pistol, was to see if instead of dropping the magazine and leaving an empty chamber, it INSTEAD jammed with the cartridge nose against the upper opening of the chamber?

I have a pistol that did this, and when I prevented the mag release from moving and forced the magazine to stay put and it jammed, it tells me that leverage of the cartridge jamming angled upward on the upper edge of the chamber opening, that the pressure of the slide pushing forward put hard downward leverage on the magazine and popped it out.