Help with new M and P shield issue

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sixtrings

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I just got a new M and P shield 9mm a few days ago. I am relatively new to handguns except for a Ruger Mark 3 target pistol I have owned for many years. I bought the M and P for concealed carry after completing the course and getting my permit. I was able to rent one at a local range and it fit my hand well and I was able to hit center mass consistently with it.

Finally got time for a short trip to the range today just to test it out. I am having trouble with the slide getting stuck in the rearward position very consistently. I am not having jams or failures to feed, the slide just gets caught rearward. The slide release button is not engaged and depressing it does nothing, the slide is just stuck. A firm tap to the back of the slide is required to get it to move back forward. When it does move back forward it feeds the next round in with no problem. It did this with 2 types of ammo and happened at least once on every magazine worth of ammo I shot. I did not have time to shoot a bunch of rounds today just checking the gun for function really so probably about 25 rounds total and at least 7-8 times this problem occurred, including after the very first round.

I don't think I am "limpwristing" but as a novice admit this is a possibility, though I did not have any problems with the this problem with the gun I rented. I also purchased a Ruger LCP II and shot it today ~25 rounds with no problems. Any help or advice much appreciated.
 
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There are many threads on here about this problem. Mine doesn't do this, but it seems that a number of folks have pistols that do.

It's getting caught on the barrel lug during recoil.

Supposedly you can file some of this off and fix it yourself...

Me, I wouldn't take a file anywhere near my new pistol. I'd call S&W, have them send a return mailing label and send it in for repair.
 
^^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^

Welcome to the forum.

Hate to see so many 1st posts like this. Good luck.
 
Definitely this..

yep380 said:
There are many threads on here about this problem. Mine doesn't do this, but it seems that a number of folks have pistols that do.

It's getting caught on the barrel lug during recoil.

Supposedly you can file some of this off and fix it yourself...

Me, I wouldn't take a file anywhere near my new pistol. I'd call S&W, have them send a return mailing label and send it in for repair.
Click to expand...

Definitely send it back. Even if you ARE limp wristing there is no way that a slide should be caught in the rearward position.
 
One thing you can try before you send the gun back is to lube the heck out of it using gun grease, not oil. I know S&W says to use only seven itty-bitty drops of oil to lube the Shield, but when it's new and tolerances may be too tight, feel free to use more -- a lot more. Place a thin layer of grease all over the barrel and on the top and sides of the barrel hood. Do the same on the inside of the slide where the hood makes contact, and on the inside of the port at the front of the slide where the barrel emerges. Then apply the seven drops in the appropriate locations. Finally, rack your Shield a couple of dozen times to insure that the lube is all distributed.

As to the brand of grease to use, I've had good experiences with both Slip 2000 Extreme Weapons Grease, and with Mil-Comm TW25B Synthetic Grease. The Slip 2000 seems to be a bit "slippier", so you might start with it. My Shield .45 locked back a couple of times while being broken in, but it hasn't happened since I started using Slip 2000. A syringe of Slip 2000 will last a for years, as a little goes a long way.

If it still acts up at the range after a heavy lube job, then it will need to go back to S&W.

Good luck!
 
Welcome to the Forum. Excellent source for information.
 
swsig has a good suggestion. I always put a layer of oil around the barrel, never had any issues with my shield 9 or my new shield 45. Did you clean and oiled the gun before taking it to the range?
 
Thanks. I did disassemble the gun and clean it before taking it to the range. I ran a small amount of Hoppe's on a patch down the barrel followed by a lightly oiled patch followed by a dry patch. The rest of the gun I just wiped down what I could reach with a dry rag, no solvent. I then sprayed Rem oil on a cotton swab and applied it to all of the points of contact listed in the manual. Maybe I need to lube it better and rack the slide a bunch of times.

Like I mentioned I am fairly new to handguns but have been around guns and hunting all of my life. The bore cleaning procedure is what I have done with rifles all of my life except that I would normally start with a solvent soaked brush. Didn't feel that was necessary on a never shot barrel. The rest I wasn't sure about so I did some reading and most consistent thing I read was not to over-oil things. Maybe I went too skimpy on it, especially for a brand new gun. As hard as this slide is sticking I suspect the problem is more significant than that. Took quite a bit of force to get it forward again.
 
If you lived the gun as you described, the problem sounds like the gun and not you. I had similar problems with a 9c several years back. The Shield is a nice little SD pistol, but occasionally manufacturing spits one out that is defective. You start the warranty return process by emailing customer service and describe your problem as you did in your first post. You can get the CS email address off their website.


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swsig said:
One thing you can try before you send the gun back is to lube the heck out of it using gun grease, not oil. I know S&W says to use only seven itty-bitty drops of oil to lube the Shield, but when it's new and tolerances may be too tight, feel free to use more -- a lot more. Place a thin layer of grease all over the barrel and on the top and sides of the barrel hood. Do the same on the inside of the slide where the hood makes contact, and on the inside of the port at the front of the slide where the barrel emerges. Then apply the seven drops in the appropriate locations. Finally, rack your Shield a couple of dozen times to insure that the lube is all distributed.

As to the brand of grease to use, I've had good experiences with both Slip 2000 Extreme Weapons Grease, and with Mil-Comm TW25B Synthetic Grease. The Slip 2000 seems to be a bit "slippier", so you might start with it. My Shield .45 locked back a couple of times while being broken in, but it hasn't happened since I started using Slip 2000. A syringe of Slip 2000 will last a for years, as a little goes a long way.

If it still acts up at the range after a heavy lube job, then it will need to go back to S&W.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

What he said.

Im sold on ExtremeWeaponsGrease also and my 4 Shields run like sewing machines;)

Light oil on the internals and pivots and EWG on all the rail retainers/barrel and slam points.(IE:the seat end of the RSA and barrel lock pocket)
 
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I had a similar problem with my 9mm performance center shield except my slide was locked. I sent it back waited 7 WEEKS for it to be returned. They said "slide deburred". It not works perfectly. I am happy for the repair but not happy because it came from S&W defective and 7 weeks to fix.
Send it back and wait, I fortunately had other guns to carry.
 
7 weeks, ouch. I called S and W today. They said they'd be glad to take it back for a look or suggested that I put another 50-100 rounds through it to see if it loosens up. I was able to break away at lunch and shoot a box of 50. I continued to have a problem up through the last magazine(but my shooting was better, maybe because I wasn't so distracted by the gun messing up and concentrated on my shooting more) so I called them back and it is going back for repair. I have found some other threads here about this same problem. I did take note that when this occurs the barrel has no play in it and a gentle tap on the muzzle will free the slide whereas it takes a pretty good wack on the slide to do the same thing, so I am certain I am having the problem described by the first guy to respond in this thread. I also loaded the chamber and took the magazine out and shot it and had the same problem so not a magazine issue.

This really sucks. 10 weeks to get my carry permit now this. Hope it doesn't take 7 weeks to get it back, and it works properly when it comes in. It's going to take a lot of rounds without a hitch before I really trust it though.
 
sixtrings said:
7 weeks, ouch. I called S and W today. They said they'd be glad to take it back for a look or suggested that I put another 50-100 rounds through it to see if it loosens up. I was able to break away at lunch and shoot a box of 50. I continued to have a problem up through the last magazine(but my shooting was better, maybe because I wasn't so distracted by the gun messing up and concentrated on my shooting more) so I called them back and it is going back for repair. I have found some other threads here about this same problem. I did take note that when this occurs the barrel has no play in it and a gentle tap on the muzzle will free the slide whereas it takes a pretty good wack on the slide to do the same thing, so I am certain I am having the problem described by the first guy to respond in this thread. I also loaded the chamber and took the magazine out and shot it and had the same problem so not a magazine issue.

This really sucks. 10 weeks to get my carry permit now this. Hope it doesn't take 7 weeks to get it back, and it works properly when it comes in. It's going to take a lot of rounds without a hitch before I really trust it though.
Click to expand...


I would stress to CS that this is your carry pistol and you need it ASAP.



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Brand new M&P 9mm Shield PC I bought yesterday and shot it today.
Same problem as lots of others are dealing with the slide locking all the way back. Some target ammo ran great without any problems, another had constant problems every couple rounds.
Cleaned it and oiled it good before firing it. When I rack the slide by hand I can feel the parts that are hanging up. Question is, do I just send it back to S&W now or run a couple hundred good rounds thru it to break it in more first??
Thanks!!
783315ea481688860d6f49a0831c5ca4.jpg



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If you look at the top of the area where the barrel tilts up into the slide do you see any silver areas? If so, it's binding. Just take a bit of sand paper and smooth it out. heavier loads drive the spring back further and it binds up the works. Next time try depressing the barrel and see if it releases. Polishing your barrel might also work and gives it that custom look.
 
No silver areas yet, not even 50 rounds thru it today. Pressing the barrel does release the slide. I'll run some more ammo thru it tomorrow and prepare to do some sanding work on it. My 4th M&P and not a single problem with the other ones.
Thanks for the info!


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