HST failure to feed in Shield 9

Raisin

Raisin

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2014
Messages
327
Reaction score
161
Location
Central Washington state
I just fired 50 rounds of 124 gr HST today from my Shield 9 with disappointing results. When loading a magazine with the slide closed the first round would not feed. When loading a magazine with the slide open it worked fine. It looks like the nose of the round would tip down when hit by the slide and catch on the magazine front. I tried extracting rounds from the magazine by hand and could not get the first one out without using a screw driver to hold the nose up. The nose of the round would hit the front of the magazine every time. Now I am worried. Is it the HST, the magazine, or the Shield? I have over 1000 rounds through the Shield but none of the HST's. I have tested the HST rounds with my M&P Compact 9 and it works great so I just assumed the Shield would work just as well, but boy was I wrong.
 
Register to hide this ad
First I would do is try a different magazine. The top rounds are hard to remove from a loaded magazine. I would take the mag apart and check for bent spring. Make sure mag is clean on the inside as well. Check your follower. Do not ride the slide forward when loading your first round...pull back your slide and sling shot it.

When you had the slide open then inserted a loaded magazine and sling shot the slide did that work and every round fire?
What about sling shot the first round then take out the mag and add one more round to the magazine and reinsert. This way you are carrying one in the chamber with a full mag...did that work? All rounds were fired without incident?
 
Just something to consider. By your statement the first round will feed fine provided the slide is locked open. You also did not mention any other feed problems beyond that requirement to have the slide locked open for the first round.

So, suppose you are going to carry your shield loaded with these HST's. What is so wrong with simply locking the slide open, charging the chamber, and holstering your pistol. Done that way by what you have stated it will be 100% reliable and it how I normally charge the chamber on any semi I carry. Because with the slide closed it takes a pretty hard whack on the baseplate to get the magazine to lock in and I'm just not too comfortable with slamming my hand into a magazine on a pistol with a charged chamber. Actually with the slide closed I squeeze the magazine home and I know, that isn't "tactical". Don't care, I just don't like slamming my hand into the grip of a semi with a charged chamber, one slip and you have the potential for an Accidental Discharge.

BTW, I know, what I have described is NOT a "Plus 1" load but there are times when I question if a "Plus 1" load is that essential. Fact is that most of us won't actually ever use our pistols for Defense and by all accounts most civilian Defense shootings only expend 3 rounds.

If you do feel that loading "Plus 1" is essential I would suggest that you test the function of your pistol by charging the chamber by inserting the magazine with the slide locked open, then top the magazine up and squeeze it into place to lock it in. After that then test fire you pistol and see if it functions reliably. If this does produce reliable function then you'll have a work around you can use until your magazines are broken in a bit and the springs relax.

PS: I recently purchases a Ruger SR1911 in 9mm and am currently struggling with 6 brand now Wilson Combat 10 round magazines for it so I fully understand the effort needed to get that last round into a brand new magazine. To be blunt, It Aint Easy. The good news is that in 5 to 10 range sessions they do get easier to load.
 
Last edited:
Simplest solution is to try a different mag and different ammo. Order a mag and while you wait for it to come buy a box of Gold Dots and see how they perform. Then try the new mag with HST.

In the end it could be that the combination of HST and your particular gun just don't work. It's not unheard of. I know someone who has this issue with Gold Dot and his Walther PPQ. The gun works with every 9mm ever made. I'm sure it will even chamber a rock. However, Speer Gold Dot are a constant problem. Solution....use a different brand of ammo

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 
You may have that one Shield in a thousand that doesn't like a particular round. Or, your mag springs are getting a little tired. I can't say what the life of a Shield spring should be, but as the other posters have recommended, try new magazines. My experience with another pistol in the M&P family was that when the RSA and mag springs started getting tired, it started to have feeding problems with one particular bullet configuration/weight. While 1000 rounds may not seem like a lot, the Shield is still a small gun shooting a potent round relative to its size and weight. That could have an effect on the springs.
 
Did you sling shot the slide if not it's not the ammo it's op error.
 
It worked fine when I slingshot the slide after inserting the mag with an open slide, just not when loading the mag with the slide closed. I tried both 7 and 8 round factory magazines and the same thing happened with both. I considered carrying with one round short in the magazine but don't like to be a round short.

I think I have solved the problem by filing down the front of the magazine to give more clearance for the bullet to clear the mag. At least it works here at home.
 
I have noticed that (sometimes) when I put a new magazine in and go to rack the slide, the nose of the round get hung up as you describe, on the feed ramp. I can't pull the slide back any further, and pushing the magazine release button fails to release the magazine because the round is pinched up in there.

It was intermittent, and never happened when firing the gun, only when racking the slide with a fresh magazine. I found a solution though.

If the rounds of some ammo are pushed all the way back against the rear of the magazine, they can get hung up. What I did to solve that was give the loaded magazine a good tap on it's back, or at least make sure that the first round was pushed to the back of the magazine. When I do that, it never hangs up.

Alternately, the RSO showed me that, if it hangs up, I can give the back of the slide a good rap with my palm, and it feeds right in.
 
CHECK FEED RAMP

I may have 25 rounds shot when the bullet started catching on the feed ramp. I read MANY forums, watched videos, and looked at each suggestion from others who had the same issue. When the gun was disassembled I noticed scratches on the feed ramp. After test fitting the bullets onto the ramp, there was a catch. I guess the paint was keeping the bullet from catching in the beginning but once the paint wore off it started to snag. After speaking with my dad who has the same gun he explained he had the same issues with a gun in the past and had to file the feed ramp smooth. I had him file my feed ramp on the shield and I shot 20+ rounds with no issues. I believe it's fixed so check the feed ramp into the barrel if your gun is new and having this issue.
 
Thanks for the information,, I was planning on getting and try some HST's. Probably still will, but it's good to know.

I had a Springfield Officer model one time that didn't like Speer Gold Dots. So I found a different brand of ammo it liked.
They worked fine in my other 45's.
 
Never had this issue with a Shield, but this procedure has worked with other guns, and I use it with all semi-autos. Load your mag, then before you insert it in to the gun slap the back of the mag against the palm of your off-hand to be sure all rounds are seated completely against the back of the mag. Insert the mag, then give the bottom of it an extra thump to be sure it is completely in. Pull the slide vigorously and make sure you have pulled it all the way back as far as it can go, then release it completely without any impediment to its forward travel.
 
I had the same problem with my thoroughly broken-in Shield 9 using HST 124g +P rounds. While the first round always loaded, I had a 10% failure-to-feed rate with subsequent rounds. This occurred with all of my magazines. In contrast, I have since fired 100 consecutive HST 147g rounds without a single problem. I have no idea why the 147gs work, and the 124gs don't. If you have a Shield 9 and want to try HSTs, my advice is to start with the 147g version.

While the HST 147g looks promising for my Shield, my carry ammo is Hornady Critical Duty 135g +P. All 200 rounds of Critical Duty I have fired have cycled perfectly, so it is the round in which I have the most confidence. I believe the filled-in hollow points of the Critical Duty bullets prevents them from catching on the feed ramp. I'll consider switching to the HST 147g round if it can go 200 consecutive times without a failure.
 
I have no problem with the 124gr HST rounds in my Shield 9mm.

Like Pisgah I have noticed when loading a magazine and not paying close attention the bullet may not be placed all the way in the magazine. This leaves the bullet with the nose down and will sometimes not feed reliably.

You can bang the back and bottom of the magazine but when loading SD ammo (HP) your best bet is to make sure the bullets are seated all the way back in the mag.
 
When it comes to feeding 9mm semi-autos....Assume Nothing.
They can be quite ammo sensitive or feed everything.
Like a box of chocolates ....
I have one of each...a WWII Walther P-38 that will feed cast 38 special SWC , TC , FP , HP just everything...and a newer compact (Hi-Point C9) that much prefers round nose to anything else.
I do like Big Bruce and feed them what they like.
Gary
 
Last edited:
I have two Shields in 9mm, one for me and one for the wife.. We both use the 124gr HST's and neither one of us have had the first problem with them. You might just have a Shield that doe not like HST's. Try another ammo....
 
Sorry Raisin about your problem.

I have had a pistol or two that simply could not handle a particular brand, type or weight of ammo even though my other pistols easily handled that ammo.

The idiosyncratic characteristics of guns of the same made DO differ. You just might have a Shield that cannot handle HST ammo.

Fortunately, the three 9mm Shield pistols that I alternate carry have handled everything I have fed them. Today, each has loaded, shot and ejected 150 rounds of HST ammo without a single failure.
 
Just to add one person's experience to this (somewhat) necro thread -- my Shield has never had an issue with HST 124 grain.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Random failure to feed with M&P 2.0 Compact
Replies
8
Views
389
BBMW
B
D
First impressions of my new optics ready 3.1" Shield Plus 13+1 2.0
Replies
1
Views
250
M1A4ME
M1A4ME
D
Finally first range trip with my 4" Shield Plus P/C
Replies
3
Views
257
Beju
B
K
Shield 9 Plus witness holes don't show brass at any level
Replies
8
Views
538
TigerDude
T
F
41 magazine service.
Replies
7
Views
301
Jerry in SC
Jerry in SC

Latest posts

Back
Top