Are the Shield RSA's fixed now?

[Ken77539]

I agree you shouldn't have to buy one, but here you go.

Smith and Wesson Shield Stainless Steel Guide Rod Assembly - Stainless Steel Guide Rods

Got mine through Amazon.com - $40. Single stage RSA which is no big deal to me (S&W said the 2-stage RSA's were so you could shoot +P ammo) cuz I never shoot +P stuff anyway. It was a drop-in fit that took just a couple of minutes. Lightened things up somewhat, but still not to my (or my wife's) liking. Hoping to get some time off pretty soon where I can take a few hundred rounds down to the range and give it a "proper" break-in. I'm hoping that will start loosening things up a little, cuz 2 months of storing it with the slide locked open like S&W suggested hasn't seemed to help any. For now - it's just holding down papers.

 

[gqllc007]

I put in the Stainless Steel guide rod inc. model as well in my PC Shield and it has been perfect. My carry round is Federal HST 124gr standard pressure so the +P is a non issue for me. It is a captured single spring. Not much to go wrong

 

[Tsump000]

I bought a shield Feb 2017 the guide rod is so hard to rack you have to hold the fire arm into your body to rack the slide!! This is dangerous and an accident waiting to happen!! I had a new guide rod sent to me, pulled it back twice and the spring flew of the end of the guide rod. Smith and Wesson needs to correct this problem or else people will not buy this handgun, and this would be a same for a company that makes a handgun that people would really want other wise. No one wants to hear shoot a couple hundred rounds from a handgun that people cannot rack or clear safely!!!

 

[Com 45acp]

They out source their rsa's. So whenever they realize the company they use has terrible quality control, things will get better. You have to admit there is a problem before you can fix it.

 

[bigwheelzip]

I had a new guide rod sent to me, pulled it back twice and the spring flew of the end of the guide rod.

Sorry to hear of your problems, and hope it gets quickly and permanently resolved.

Just for reference purposes, could you post a close-up picture of the broken spring?

 

[Tsump000]

Shield guide rod

These are the pictures

 

[bigwheelzip]

These are the pictures.

Thanks for posting, that's what happened to mine a couple of years ago. The spring went over the spring seat in the middle of a range session, and jammed the slide so bad I had to give to the range gunsmith to get it apart.

He put the spring back on and crushed it to make the diameter smaller as a stopgap measure until a new one arrived months later.

 

[Flintlock1]

Just bought a Shield 9 in Feb because of all the glowing YouTubers. It is my first venture into plastic guns since I had a yellow squirt gun as a seven year old.

All these posts have me worried, especially as my wife cannot rack the slide nor load the 8 round mag without tremendous effort and very iffy handling. I bought it for me, but she wanted to learn how to shoot suddenly, so I took her to the range. Not surprisingly, she out shot me all day long but hates the gun because she can't operate it. We rented a Glock 43 and that's what she now wants.

I personally have no brand fetish and will shoot and appreciate many different guns, as I have done my whole life. So, this Shield, with its tough spring tension and multitude of negative comments has me somewhat put off now. I am a strong guy at 61 but I have to admit that all of my previous semi-autos have been very supple and easy to load and rack. When I was looking at the display gun, I did notice the stiff RSA and mentioned it to the clerk. Why, I don't know. What did I expect him to say? "Sir, you probably shouldn't buy this gun. it has a record of issues and the springs are indeed very stiff" I bought it anyway.

Now, it shoots okay, and it has been reliable so far at about 300 rounds, but that's no test. That barely soils the bore.

My criteria is a very high bar: My 1927 Colt Hammerless .380 was always a reliable, simple, easy to carry compact pistol that never failed to run for 30 years of carry and many thousands of rounds put through it in sometimes very intense periods of practice and training. However, the mag lips have worn to the extent that I can no longer keep bending them back to functionality. The replacement mags are so expensive that I just can't justify it. It will remain in the safe til I change my mind on that. Other guns I've had such as the Browning Hi-Power, early Belgian and newer Portageez have been nearly as flawless. Several Colt 1911 Gov't and a couple Combat Commanders have rounded out my collection upon which I built my Criteria of Standards. I have never had any guns tuned or touched by a smith, nor have I ever updated anything. They were all right out of the box.

So, why is the Shield getting pounded here like this. These mag and slide springs are virtually un-usable for a large portion of the population, most being smaller females. Our wives, our daughters. That's important. At least I can rest assured that no kid can accidentally rack one up and do something stupid.

Please. Lets not pretend that storing with the slide open will improve things. It will not. The temper on these springs is set in the heat treatment and will either break outright or will always stay so close to original specs that you will all be dead before they relax to any noticeable degree. This is a dodge, straight up.

Oil the rails? There are no rails to speak of. If friction were the problem, then alot of other guns would be almost imoveable, including the fine handguns I mentioned above - all of which have full slide rails.

I would like a technical answer to why they put such heavy springs in the Shield. Period.

Is there an issue of limited cartridge power that needs to overcome the moment of inertia to get the heavy slide moving? If so, that would explain the equally tough mag spring. The springs have to compliment each other or the speed of the slide will out pace the speed of the round that is being ejected and replaced as it rises up the stack. The result will be a FTF or a stack jam.

Please. Can someone speak to this theory? Right now I'm seriously thinking of dumping the gun and just going for a new Browning Hi-Power Classic, like I used to have. Gawd, I loved that gun. I can't even remember the reason I ever sold it, nor the same gun made in 1971 years prior...

 

[Com 45acp]

Your talking in circles. First the gun is for you and your wife has issues with it. Then you shot 300 rounds without any issues. Then compare it to your other guns that have been reliable as if the shield has been non reliable. Then you want to dump it for a Browning Hi Power.
Sell the shield and buy the browning, if that's what you want to do. Your money so no reason to ask for approval. But I don't see bashing a gun that's been 100% reliable just because you have regrets on your purchase.

But I think you should call S&W to answer your original question of why they put those type springs in.

 

[Flintlock1]

Your talking in circles. First the gun is for you and your wife has issues with it. Then you shot 300 rounds without any issues. Then compare it to your other guns that have been reliable as if the shield has been non reliable. Then you want to dump it for a Browning Hi Power.
Sell the shield and buy the browning, if that's what you want to do. Your money so no reason to ask for approval. But I don't see bashing a gun that's been 100% reliable just because you have regrets on your purchase.

But I think you should call S&W to answer your original question of why they put those type springs in.

Two things:
1) I don't talk in circles. I'm responding to the many seemingly valid complaints about a pistol model that I just purchased. The initial 300 rounds were described by me as not being a valid reliability test. I think most would agree. So far, I have no issues with that part. Whether or not my wife likes it or not is irrelevant. She has just shot a gun for the first time in her life and will decide what she wants going forward. Comparing it to a lifetime of owning other guns with few complaints such as broken RSA's, difficulty operating the slide, loading the mags, etc., is valid. Or, do you believe that guns, cars, aircraft, and other mechanical devices exist and function as stand alone, un-proven technology? Guns are extensions of other guns that were designed before, and as such, they are either better or not. That is my standard of comparison. The logic is not circuitous, but linear.

And, 2) Clearly, you don't have anything to add to my query, so your second point is simply a snipe, and not helpful.

 

[S&W Fan]

Between myself and my sons we have 4 9mm Shields. Purchased between two years ago up to this past October. No issues of any kind with any of them. All purchased through different dealers as well. All have been 100% reliable and failure free.

The newest has exactly 200 rounds through it, the others all over a few thousand.

 

[Com 45acp]

You clearly have your mind made up that the shield isn't up to parr for you and I said then get the Browning. And for the best possible answer ask S&W why they put that poundage springs in the shield. How that is a snipe at you I have no idea. But good luck with whatever direction you take.

 

[LAA]

Two things:
1) I don't talk in circles. I'm responding to the many seemingly valid complaints about a pistol model that I just purchased.

snipped

This evening, thanks to a link from another thread, I read that Smith & Wesson produced 1.26 million pistols for the year 2015. We often read about the complaints, but I really have to wonder how the complaint ratio compares to the units sold. I'm willing to bet it's an extremely low percentage. Using the word many, can give an impression of a high percentage. Yet, if we were to add up all of the complaint responses, it would be very few, when comparing numbers.

Shield 9 & 45 owner. No problems.

 

[Flintlock1]

snipped

This evening, thanks to a link from another thread, I read that Smith & Wesson produced 1.26 million pistols for the year 2015. We often read about the complaints, but I really have to wonder how the complaint ratio compares to the units sold. I'm willing to bet it's an extremely low percentage. Using the word many, can give an impression of a high percentage. Yet, if we were to add up all of the complaint responses, it would be very few, when comparing numbers.

Shield 9 & 45 owner. No problems.

A fair point, and one that I alluded to in my original post: 300 rounds is no test of reliability and I have no issues with that so far. I wouldn't judge the reliability of a car with only 300 miles on it either. I bought the gun on the testimony of a lot of others who give it high marks for running well. Good enough for me.

Like others, I have been on the phone with S&W and got essentially no where. A couple transfers and no real answer as to why the springs are so stiff they can't be used by smaller, weaker hands, such as my wife has. This is a technical question and the folks out there were not prepared to answer it. They offered to have it inspected if I return it to them, but I don't think there is a fault. It's just designed that way. I get that. An engineer would have been better at explaining it. We have no problem with getting my wife a different pistol since the Shield 9 is for me, but it was an eye opener that she couldn't comfortably operate the gun. Even I have some difficulty re-loading the mags but I roll with it.

I still postulate that the springs need to be tough to compensate for the energy needed to move the slide and get the next round chambered efficiently on time. A guess only.

I'll likely keep the gun because it has other features I find appealing in addition to a good reputation for working well: good size, clean lines. If parts fail, that's another story. In such a case, it'll be a trip back to Old School and another steel Colt or Browning.

 

[LAA]

A fair point, and one that I alluded to in my original post: 300 rounds is no test of reliability and I have no issues with that so far. I wouldn't judge the reliability of a car with only 300 miles on it either. I bought the gun on the testimony of a lot of others who give it high marks for running well. Good enough for me.

Like others, I have been on the phone with S&W and got essentially no where. A couple transfers and no real answer as to why the springs are so stiff they can't be used by smaller, weaker hands, such as my wife has. This is a technical question and the folks out there were not prepared to answer it. They offered to have it inspected if I return it to them, but I don't think there is a fault. It's just designed that way. I get that. An engineer would have been better at explaining it. We have no problem with getting my wife a different pistol since the Shield 9 is for me, but it was an eye opener that she couldn't comfortably operate the gun. Even I have some difficulty re-loading the mags but I roll with it.

I still postulate that the springs need to be tough to compensate for the energy needed to move the slide and get the next round chambered efficiently on time. A guess only.

I'll likely keep the gun because it has other features I find appealing in addition to a good reputation for working well: good size, clean lines. If parts fail, that's another story. In such a case, it'll be a trip back to Old School and another steel Colt or Browning.

As to the the springs, it's the same with my wife. The Glock 43 is easier for her to operate the slide. That's why she has the Glock & I went with the 9mm Shield. And I now prefer the 45 ACP. Your reasoning that the springs need to be what they are, seems reasonable to me. But then, I have no problem with them. We have many semi-autos that my wife has a problem with racking. That's why she sticks with the Glock 43, Ruger LCP, and her longtime, model 60 S&W 357, in which she uses 38 specials.

 

[gonerydin]

My GF is 63 years old and not particularly strong. She initially had extreme difficulty racking a brand new Shield 9. It took a few months but she stuck with it and it's now her daily carry piece that she handles quite well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bigwheelzip]

... the springs are so stiff they can't be used by smaller, weaker hands, such as my wife has.

Even I have some difficulty re-loading the mags but I roll with it.

If parts fail, that's another story. In such a case, it'll be a trip back to Old School and another steel Colt or Browning.

The 9mm Shield was the first semi-auto my husband ever put in my hands, and I couldn't rack it at first. And then I got used to semi-auto's and tried the Shield again, and then I was able to rack it. I guess I developed some technique and strength.

For reloading the mags, pick up a Maglula Uplula.

I started this thread 6 months ago, because it had been a long time since any reported RSA problems. Maybe I jinxed them, but then another batch of reports surfaced recently. But the vast majority still work fine, and I've kept my Shield with it's replaced RSA as a backup to my current EDC, a CZ PCR.

 

[Flintlock1]

The 9mm Shield was the first semi-auto my husband ever put in my hands, and I couldn't rack it at first. And then I got used to semi-auto's and tried the Shield again, and then I was able to rack it. I guess I developed some technique and strength.

For reloading the mags, pick up a Maglula Uplula.

I started this thread 6 months ago, because it had been a long time since any reported RSA problems. Maybe I jinxed them, but then another batch of reports surfaced recently. But the vast majority still work fine, and I've kept my Shield with it's replaced RSA as a backup to my current EDC, a CZ PCR.

Thanks for the encouragement re my wife, but she was the one who got picked last in high school gym class. A volley ball comes her way and it goes right through her. It's just not the right gun for her, but for me, it should fit the bill well enough as long as it feeds and ejects as well as it is reputed to do. Speed and eae of mag reloading is not an issues in the case of home defense or personal protection. One simply does not re-load a mag, but rather, dumps the empty and shoves a fresh one in - if it goes that far.

Reloading mags at the range is the real inconvenience and your advice on the Maglula is well received. I'll probably get one pretty quick, since I'm shooting this saturday and I'm bringing 500 rounds and leaving with none. A sore thumb is all but guaranteed.

In other news, I talked to my gunsmith - a locally well known guy who services a lot of the county Sheriff guns - and he agrees with me that the reason the springs are so stiff is because of the limited power of the 9mm to operate the heavy slide which runs on top of a lightweight polymer frame. The whole gun has relatively little weight and the frame can act as a sort of 'limp wrist' factor unless the slide action is very robust.

The heavy mag spring is matched to be able to achieve the timing needed to reliably provide the next round in proper position as the slide returns to battery. I'll buy that.

Smith and Wesson might have simply explained that to me when I called.