Are Shields Prone to Limp Wristing?

Talking Monkey

Talking Monkey

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My wife just picked up her new carry gun last Friday - a 9mm Shield. We got it home and I immediately noticed that the action was not particularly smooth. In fact, before I cleaned and lubed it, there was a point right before the barrel would lock up where the slide would kinda stick and need a slight bump to get it into battery.

After I cleaned, lubed, and cycled it a bit, it seemed to smooth out a little - still nowhere near as smooth as say a SIG or even a Glock.

Well, we took it to the range yesterday and shot 150 rounds between the two of us. No failures when I was shooting it, but she had a stovepipe, a failure to eject, and a FTF. She's pretty accurate with it, but it sure does jump around in her hands.

Are we just looking at classic limp-wristing/breaking-in issues or should I be worried that there's something more to it given that the gun was kinda rough right out of the box?
 
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it cycled fine for you. not for her. we had the same issue with my wife and her shield 9. she is a good shooter, has not had any trouble with any of my other handguns(all 40 S&W). she WAS limp wristing and actually gripping too low as she was worried about the slide. once we corrected that. we have had no other issues with the gun itself. we however have found out that it will not cycle the tulammo steel case very well. every thing else that we have tried has ran perfect in it.

now back to my first sentence. it cycled fine for you and not for her...if there was an issue with the gun itself, it would have had it for both of you.
 
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speedyquad said:
it cycled fine for you and not for her...if there was an issue with the gun itself, it would have had it for both of you.
Click to expand...

That's what we were thinking too. Just wanted to get some feedback from the group. She may have also been holding it a bit low, I'll watch for that next time. Thanks!
 
Many (if not most) 3" barreled subcompact pistols can be prone to limp wrist, particularly when new, if the grip is too low, or the support hand is not really supporting properly. Larger heavier pistols can mask 'basic grip' errors that small, lightweight pistols will expose.

Of all the subcompacts out there, the Shield's perceived recoil (or Ft-Lbs) is one of the least and not nearly as many LW reports as are posted about other brands.

Next time out, pay attention to her grip and in particular, her support hand. As mentioned, if it were the pistol, you both would have had the problems.
 
My lady-friend had the same issue with her 9mm Shield. Lots of light hits on the primer, and failures to return fully to battery. It ran perfectly for me through hundreds of rounds, so I'm assuming it wasn't the gun. Took a trip back to the factory, was told that it was "to spec," and had the same problem.

She fixed it...with a Glock 19. For the record, she's never had the same problem with the Glock, or my 3913, which she's shot quite a bit.
 
i ran into this issue when i first tried my 9c; being a guy newer to shooting I found the shorter frame & grip and higher recoil compared to how i handled my .22's required some definite tweaking in my grip/stance to get over the "expectation" i was having as I pulled the trigger.
So yeah i'd agree to look at the grip, etc first; then once resolved plenty of range time should really make the difference.
 
Like speedyquad said it will not shoot cheap or low powered ammo. The slide is pretty stiff and that may make it easier to limp wrist and jam ammo. I loaded some 9mm on starting loads and it would not eject them at all.
 
The Shield can malfunction if it's limp-wristed. I had a very similar experience as you as my wife shot the Shield (bought it for her originally) and she thought it jumped around more than she wanted and would FTE on her. We fixed it with a Ruger LCR, which she loves. I've learned that first impressions are hard to overcome... especially when it comes to your spouse.
 
I'm not familiar with the term "limp wristing".

What does it mean?
 
According to Wikipedia: Limp wristing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Limp wristing is a phenomenon commonly encountered by semiautomatic pistol shooters, where the shooter's grip is not firm enough and the wrist is not held firm/straight enough to keep the frame of the firearm from traveling rearward while the bolt or slide of the pistol cycles. This condition often results in a failure to complete the operating cycle, properly termed a malfunction, but commonly (and incorrectly) termed a jam. Rifles and shotguns, if fired without the stock in the shoulder, may also be prone to limp wristing. Of the important variables involved in this type of jam, bullet and gas momentum, slide and barrel mass, recoil spring pre-load and spring rate, and shooting hand and arm mass are much more important than the compliance (limpness) of the wrist.
Click to expand...
As mentioned in my earlier post, it seems to be more common with small, lightweight subcompacts... at least, there are far more threads in the various gun forums about LW among people who transition from FS Service pistols to single-stack 3" barreled subcompacts (Nano, LC9, PF-9, P938, XD-S3.3, etc). Many initially blame the pistol, saying they never had a problem with their full-sized [fill in any brand name] only to later find that they needed to reassess their basics.

Here's a video demonstrating the two malfunctions that can occur.
(Sorry... It's a Glock in the demo (and a bit exaggerated)... But it shows how it happens)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka556--WF2o
 
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Both of our new Shields had a few hiccups in the first 50 or so rounds. Almost 2K rounds later...not a single issue. I attributed it to cheap ammo, so I started pumping 124 grain through both of them to loosen them up. The heavier bullet worked for me...now they eat cheap 115grain without a hiccup.
 
Golphin said:
Like speedyquad said it will not shoot cheap or low powered ammo. The slide is pretty stiff and that may make it easier to limp wrist and jam ammo. I loaded some 9mm on starting loads and it would not eject them at all.
Click to expand...

This is so true. The malfunctions only occurred when she was shooting practice ammo - I think with both 115gr and 124gr. When we went to Federal HST it seemed to run fine for her.
 
highaltitude said:
The Shield can malfunction if it's limp-wristed. I had a very similar experience as you as my wife shot the Shield (bought it for her originally) and she thought it jumped around more than she wanted and would FTE on her. We fixed it with a Ruger LCR, which she loves. I've learned that first impressions are hard to overcome... especially when it comes to your spouse.
Click to expand...

Well, we went out with my cousin and her husband to do some demoing because both my cousin and my wife wanted new carry guns. The Shield is the one they both picked (over the Nano, XD-S 3.3", XD-S 4", P938, PPS, and CM9). Women seem to really like the way the Shield fits their hands. The rental gun ran fine - maybe it was just more broken in?

Incidentally, she has tried the LCR and didn't do to well with it.
 
Talking Monkey said:
Well, we went out with my cousin and her husband to do some demoing because both my cousin and my wife wanted new carry guns. The Shield is the one they both picked (over the Nano, XD-S 3.3", XD-S 4", P938, PPS, and CM9). Women seem to really like the way the Shield fits their hands. The rental gun ran fine - maybe it was just more broken in?

Incidentally, she has tried the LCR and didn't do to well with it.
Click to expand...

Yep, it was broken in.....they are TIGHT when they are new.
 
My Shield .40 was impossible to limp wrist and had a few FTF, FTE when it was new. By the time I was proficient with it, the failure rate had dropped to zero.
 
Talking Monkey said:
Well, we went out with my cousin and her husband to do some demoing because both my cousin and my wife wanted new carry guns. The Shield is the one they both picked (over the Nano, XD-S 3.3", XD-S 4", P938, PPS, and CM9). Women seem to really like the way the Shield fits their hands. The rental gun ran fine - maybe it was just more broken in?

Incidentally, she has tried the LCR and didn't do to well with it.
Click to expand...

Could be. Just keep shooting it if it jams again, note the ammo and the magazine just for reference.
 
After a suitable period of break-in, if the problem continued, I'd not use the gun to depend my or my wife's life on. Not only do I believe in Murphy's Law, I think Murph will rear his ugly head at the most opportune moment. I've never regretted going with a Kahr CM9.
 
Golphin said:
Like speedyquad said it will not shoot cheap or low powered ammo. The slide is pretty stiff and that may make it easier to limp wrist and jam ammo. I loaded some 9mm on starting loads and it would not eject them at all.
Click to expand...

Mine shoots cheap ammo just fine. Initially it had a few FTE with Tulamo but no longer, it eats everything I give it.
 
If you have issues with limp wristing, pick up a 5 lb dumbell, and just roll your wrist whilst holding it out in front of you.

Or pick up a dynaflex or NSD powerball for like 20$.

They help loads with strengthening the forearms.

http://powerballs.com/
 
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