9 mm Shield first 135 rounds.... Update..... more range time

[SavageSmoker]

I am pretty sure most gun owner manuals start with suggesting to read the entire owners manual prior to shooting so wherever it states to "clean and lube before use" is irrelevant since that should have been read first.

I have lost count of how many rounds I have fired from my Shield .40 but safe to say it is in the thousands, with only a couple of FTE. I too blame this on cheap ammo. I am sure the gun is fine and the ammo is the issue just as you stated.

Don't tell anyone, but I also fired a few rounds out of my Shield before I completely stripped and cleaned it. I just broke it down to inspect it, made sure it was lubed and fired away...but that is our secrete.

 

[lhump1961]

I am in the process of purchasing a Shield to replace my PF-9. Perhaps I should reconsider my decision? At least my Kel-Tec is reliable.

I would never make a decision on much of anything based on a casual comment from one person. I'm not suggesting the OP isn't being accurate...but it's just one person's experience after one session with inconclusive results.

The vast, and I mean vast, majority of Shield owners are very happy. I'm a 3rd gen fan myself and don't own a Shield but do have an M&P 40c and a 357c that perform perfectly. There's a reason the Shields don't stay on the shelves. JMHO!

 

[shakyshoot]

I just think new Shields are super stiff out of the box and tend to "short cycle" with some of the weaker range ammo. That's how mine was the first 2 range trips, but I've now gone over 500 perfect rounds. Seems to be fine with any ammo now.

 

[bolson]

Hmm, my shield eats brassmaxx just fine. The stuff I'm buying says made in Italy though, not Bosnia.

 

[71velle]

Hmm, my shield eats brassmaxx just fine. The stuff I'm buying says made in Italy though, not Bosnia.

The 50 round boxed are from Italy and the 100 round cans are from Bosnia.

 

[10-12]

71velle,

My intent was not to hijack your thread. Please accept my apology if that is the case.

To all that responded, thanks for sharing your personal experiences. As I stated originally, I have never owned a Shield so I must base my decision, in part at least, upon the experience of others.

Thanks,

Bill

 

[Lost Lake]

Okay Ill respond, I didn't want to but here goes.

I'd be worried also. I advise cleaning, but I wouldn't believe the failures are cleaning related unless there is a definite piece of debris caught in a strategic location such as under the extractor claw.

I think the OP is right to question the gun. I would determine the cause before I went forward. Do the casings all mic the same? Is there a difference in rim shape? Do they chrono at markedly different speeds?

Once you have a solid explanation you can move forward, or at least I could....

FTE could be weak ammo and a too-soft grip coupling to create a partial extraction and immediate reload of the spent case. The same ammo may fire flawlessly out of a gun with a weaker recoil spring or for a shooter with a stiffer grip.

My point is that you will feel better when you can definitively nail down the issue, not broadly say it was 'poor ammo'.

Good luck!

For the record I have 3 Shields and not a single issue with any of them.

.

 

[71velle]

71velle,

My intent was not to hijack your thread. Please accept my apology if that is the case.

To all that responded, thanks for sharing your personal experiences. As I stated originally, I have never owned a Shield so I must base my decision, in part at least, upon the experience of others.

Thanks,

Bill

No apology needed!! I only started this thread as conversation and was not a bitch about the gun. Before I bought it I did a ton of research and its hard to find people that are having difficulty with this gun.

Another poster had the same difficulty with the same ammo so that good information. I bought three 100 round cans of this stuff, an I think 2 of them are being returned.

 

[71velle]

Okay Ill respond, I didn't want to but here goes.

I'd be worried also. I advise cleaning, but I wouldn't believe the failures are cleaning related unless there is a definite piece of debris caught in a strategic location such as under the extractor claw.

I think the OP is right to question the gun. I would determine the cause before I went forward. Do the casings all mic the same? Is there a difference in rim shape? Do they chrono at markedly different speeds?

Once you have a solid explanation you can move forward, or at least I could....

FTE could be weak ammo and a too-soft grip coupling to create a partial extraction and immediate reload of the spent case. The same ammo may fire flawlessly out of a gun with a weaker recoil spring or for a shooter with a stiffer grip.

My point is that you will feel better when you can definitively nail down the issue, not broadly say it was 'poor ammo'.

Good luck!

For the record I have 3 Shields and not a single issue with any of them.

.

Thanks for the post!! I didnt think to save the casings of the bad shells, in the future I will. As far as weak grip I dont think thats the issue with the first 2 FTEs. Possibly the last one with the aluminum case ammo because I think I was getting lazy with the grip at the end.

The higher quality ammo ejected 50 rounds without issue so that why I am leaning toward ammo related.

What ammo can you fellow Shield owners recommend to be solid. The PMC stuff is not always available. I do have 350 rounds of Blazer Brass but have not fired any yet. If the next time out with only proven ammo I will be able to know for sure.

 

[bolson]

The 50 round boxed are from Italy and the 100 round cans are from Bosnia.

Oh. Never seen the 100 round cans.

As far as reliable ammo goes, I havn't had any trouble with any yet. Sellier & Bellot, winchester, brassmaxx (from italy) has all been good. I've got some remington, pmc, and federal, on the shelf I havn't got to yet.

 

[220-niner]

I've practiced with Winchester WWB and Federal FMJ for about 600 rounds. Then Speer gold dot 124 & 124+p for about another 150. Never missed a beat. Very happy with the Shield.

 

[OpsMgr]

Bought my Shield 9mm as soon as they came out. Stopped counting rounds down range after 1K trouble free rounds.

I use Blazer Brass or Wally World 100 round Fed Value pack ammo for practice. Carry rounds are Federal HST 124 grain.

I field strip, inspect, clean and lube every new weapon before going to the range. The "Lube" applied at the factory is more like a corrosion preventative than a proper lubricant, IMO.

 

[Hylndr]

I am in the process of purchasing a Shield to replace my PF-9. Perhaps I should reconsider my decision? At least my Kel-Tec is reliable.

Hey 10-12,
I think that it you research any manufactured equipment (i.e. A pistol) I think it would be hard to find something that doesn't have quality issues. Nothing is absolutely perfect out there, I think just about every gun out there will have a issues in someway or another. As I only have one right now, the Shield... I agree with what some others have said about the shield be a little stiff at first, after a good break in period things should loosen up and be trouble free from there on out... I have a little over 600 rounds through my and I had 3 FTE, the first two where within the first 100 rounds, the last one, I'm blaming on the operator (me) as I probably didn't have the best grip and stance with the gun so I'll caulk that one to me.. I'm completely confident with the gun and I carry it when I can. AS with most things, I never hope to have to use it, but If the need comes up, I'm confident enough with the gun to be willing to have it as my EDC and bet my or my families' well being on it!. Most other brands of weapons out there have some sort of forums that you could look into for any quality issues.

Later,

Hylndr
U.S. Army Vet.
NRA Life Member

 

[oldillini]

I have over 2000 failure free rounds through my 9mm Shield. I carry this gun daily and feel 100% confident that it will function to protect me or my family if needed.

I don't have 2000 rounds through mine, but not a single issue in the first 300, both new and reloads.

 

[220-niner]

The owners skills and the ammo they use are the biggest variable and affect reliability more than the quality control at S&W.

 

[teog]

Oh. Never seen the 100 round cans.

As far as reliable ammo goes, I havn't had any trouble with any yet. Sellier & Bellot, winchester, brassmaxx (from italy) has all been good. I've got some remington, pmc, and federal, on the shelf I havn't got to yet.

The 9 MM brassmax I have is 100 rd cans that are labeled "Made in Bosnia." I only saw them once at walmart and bough 5 cans of it. I still have a few cans left, so I may try again later after I put thru some more rounds in the shield. The shield was extremely tight the first time I shot it. Since then I did the 72 hour slide lock trick and have had the mags loaded. So its a bit loser now.

Either way my g19 eats thes brassmax without problems, so it wont go to waste.

I have been able to shoot steel Tula (black box), federal and wwb without any issues from the shield. All these were 115 gr target rounds. In addition I was able to shoot 124gr speer gold dots without any hiccups too.

 

[Jnks2010]

Totally agree. My wife and I are new EDC holders and we both have 9mm shields. I'm a bit neurotic sometimes and cleaned them twice prior to the first range session. I know twice is not needed lol. Just wanted to get the feel for the gun itself. So far we have about 800 rounds total. WWB 115 gr. no issues. Reloads from her uncle 124 gr. no issues Remington 124 gr +P no issues. And lastly 124 gr Hornady critical defense for our carry rounds with no issues.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[crebble]

Two weeks ago I put 30 rounds of of Blazer aluminum with no issues. The gun was not cleaned or lubed before or after. Today I fired 3 different types of ammo. First, cheep Tulammo brassmaxx made in Bosnia in 35 rounds I had 2 FTEs. Second, 50 rounds of PMC Bronze no issues. Lastly, 20 rounds of Blazer aluminum and 1 FTE.

I do wish I had the time to shoot another box of the PMC ammo to see if the FTEs were ammo related or not. All 3 FTEs happened when I was using the 8 round magazine if that matters.

I will be cleaning and lubing today, but not sure when I will have the chance to shoot again.

I also had issues with Tulammo Brassmax 115 gr. FMJ in my new Shield. I shot the 100 round can over 2 range trips, I had 3 failures to extract. The spent casings were not extracted from the chamber. The gun was cleaned and lubed prior to both range trips and was not dirty when it malfunctioned. Gun subsequently ran fine on American Eagle 115gr.

 

[71velle]

I also had issues with Tulammo Brassmax 115 gr. FMJ in my new Shield. I shot the 100 round can over 2 range trips, I had 3 failures to extract. The spent casings were not extracted from the chamber. The gun was cleaned and lubed prior to both range trips and was not dirty when it malfunctioned. Gun subsequently ran fine on American Eagle 115gr.

Thats good info, another member had issues with that Bosnia made Tulammo too. So that 3 of us and I feel much better about my Shield. Also glad to hear about the American Eagle stuff because I just bought 3 boxes of it.

Maybe we should start a warning thread about the stuff.

 

[Edmo]

I would want the gun to run without malfunction before I trusted it. Out of box clean/lube or not.

IMHO, the quality of your ammo would likely be the problem before a clean and lube. Take it out to the range (OK, cleaned & lubed) and run some better quality ammo through it. If she runs, you have peace of mind. If not, well you might have an issue.

FWIW, my Shield 9mm has been flawless.

Edmo