same issue, not returning to battery
bought a shield 9 a few months back. Initially I was very disappointed, mags were like iron, extremely hard to load, never went to battery, always had the small push to get into position.
Read all the posts and thought, well, it will do what others have said, loosen up, etc. About 1K rounds later, same issue with battery. Easy gun to carry, shoots well, mags work now that I use the Uplula loader, but as a very long term shooter of semi's, I have never seen a gun that resists racking the slide like the shield does.
My glocks are flawless in this regard, and I have rented a 40 compact that I intend to buy, and when I use the slide lock to release the slide, it works perfectly.
My shield slide lock is still tight and not able to operate it consistently with the thumb.
As much as I love S&W, this baby is going on the sales or trade block. Do not trust it and the usage has not changed what I thought were design issues months ago when I bought it. Cleaned, lubed, well shot, issues still there.
Come on S&W, give us stuff that works out of the box!