Wicat3,
You are not alone. When my wife finally decided to carry she looked for months and finally decided on the Springfield XD9SC. Bought 1 for each of us and several thousand rounds later have yet to have a single problem with either of them. Only issue is that they are double stacks and heavy. She eventually decided she wanted something lighter and easier to conceal and the comparisons between the XDS and Shield were pretty much equal. Decided on the Shield. Ironically our LGS actually had several at a decent price. As with the Springfield we tried to buy 2 so that we carry the same. We looked thru their inventory (7+) before we could find 1 pistol that had the front sight in the center. The others were not even remotely close. Not sure if S&W has Quality Control people or not. Finally found a second Shield (correctly assembled) across the state line and had to do the FFL thing.
Like yours both of ours were almost impossible to lock the slide back. It does get better after you put few hundred rounds thru it.
Our first trip to the range with the Shields was the worst I have ever had in over 30 years. Took 5 different types of ammo. My wife had several FTE's and we both had multiple Out Of Battery issues, something I have never seen before with any brand. Sometimes the slide would eventually pop into battery on its own, other times you had to push it in manually. I wish I kept count but I was so shocked at their performance I didn't. Eventually decided not to waste any more ammo and went home.
Cleaned both guns again and inspected them, found nothing wrong. Emailed my holster maker and canceled their holsters (he has an 8-9 week backlog so I ordered as soon I had both guns in hand).
Decided to work with them again before I called S&W to get them worked on so that I could sell them and get something that works and we could trust. Loaded up again with multiple brands of ammo and hit the range again (btw, they ate anything I feed them, brand didn't matter although I did not try anything cheap). This time was different. Shot both guns in just about every manner I could think of. Each gun had a single FTE and between them only 4 Battery issues total. Finally quit when my hands got tired and started shaking.
Next trip with my wife we introduced JHP and had 1 Battery issue on the very first JHP and no issues since. Got back with the holster maker and now feel good enough about them that we carry them in the summer and the Springfields in the winter.
If you haven't already given up on your Shield give it another round or 2 at the range and see if it comes around. BTW, I am not a bigot for S&W products, probably won't buy another after all the issues we had with our Shields. In it defense it is very accurate, light and easy to conceal. Just wish I had the same great experience so many others had. Hang in there, hopefully it will get better.
