Just got my Shield 9mm tonight

[tennisguy]

After 2 months of waiting, paid $395 plus tax($418 out the door) for my M&P Shield 9mm tonight. A fair price in my area I think, as other places are asking $449 and $499 plus tax and they had waiting lists too at those prices. The place selling them for $499 already sold at least 15 at that price and still has a waiting list.

It's my first handgun. Do you recommend I clean it before taking it out to the range to shoot? What is some good cleaner and cleaning tools for the M&P Shield?

Have any of you had any problems with your Shield? From what I read, it seems very rare for anyone to have a problem with it out of the box.

 

[kodiakpb]

I always run a patch down the barrel and lube per factory specs on any new weapon...that's about it.

 

[MP22]

It is recommended to clean before you shoot. Not only the barrel...field strip it and get out all the packing grease from the factory and oil to specification.

 

[BE Mike]

I always clean a brand new gun. I clean the barrel and condition it with bore cleaner. I disassemble, clean and re-lube the rest.

 

[scatterguy]

It is recommended to clean before you shoot. Not only the barrel...field strip it and get out all the packing grease from the factory and oil to specification.

^^^Very important. Give your brand new gun its best chance for success by getting out the heavy grease and replacing with a proper lube(CLP, Enos, Tetra, etc.)

 

[tennisguy]

Help with cleaning supplies

Am new to the gun world. I thought about getting the Hoppe's or Outer cleaning rod, etc. Are these ok? They are not expensive at all and I would like to try to buy something not too expensive.

I have a .30-06 bolt action, 12 ga shotgun, Ruger 10/22, and now the Shield 9mm. I inherited all but the Shield.

 

[BE Mike]

I don't like aluminum cleaning rods. They pick up grit and it gets imbedded in the rod, acting like a file, if it contacts the barrel. They also tend to bend and break.

 

[SavageSmoker]

I recommend field stripping, degreasing, lube and oil prior to the first use. Therenaremseveral good products available and I am sure the opinions will vary as to what is the best. Mat the very least, I recommend a Hoppes Bore Snake in the appropriate caliber for quick range cleaning after a session. Search YouTube for good videos on how to field strip and clean semi-auto's.

 

[Maddmax]

[QUOTE
It's my first handgun. Do you recommend I clean it before taking it out to the range to shoot? What is some good cleaner and cleaning tools for the M&P Shield?
[/QUOTE]

READ the manual and do as it says. When all else fails,read the directions.

 

[slvjp]

Congradulations on getting your shield ! Everyone is right about cleaning your pistol before shooting it. Mine was soaked with oil. I have about 500 rounds through it with. No problems at all. Very accurate and fun to shoot. Enjoy !

 

[ccpacker]

Great first gun, very forgiving. Eats everything I feed it. Shooting is more than the gun. It is stance, sight picture, breathing, and practice. Have fun.

 

[2timm]

Just got mine too, waited for a few months as well. Paid 439 plus tax which i' m ok with compared to sites like gunbroker which they are getting near 600 for them. I have bought lots of new guns, from smiths, glocks, h&k's, rugers among others and i have never cleaned any of them before shooting and have never had any issues, NONE EVER!

 

[tennisguy]

Shield 9mm

I've read the manual and it does recommend cleaning and oiling specific parts. So that's what I will do. Just wanted some other thoughts on it.

 

[Houdini1953]

With all guns I own whether they are brand new or used the first thing I do is field strip and clean the weapon and inspect the innards carefully. I pay particular attention to the feed ramp and make sure it is brite and shiny using Hoppe's solvent and a brass brush and then buff with a rag.

When you field strip your weapon and pull the barrel out you might notice some coating on your feed ramp that got missed by the factory when manufacturing the weapon make sure your feed ramp is brite and shiny to be sure that feeding your chamber will be a friction-less as possible.

Place one drop of lubrication on each side of the slide and the rails on the frame. This should be all you need to do. A cheap pistol cleaning kit from Wally World by Hoppe's would be a good start as well as a bore snake which is fast and simple to use!

 

[tennisguy]

I've seen the boresnakes and I think those look really easy to use. I have a .30-06, 12ga, and .22LR rifle and the SHield 9mm. Can a boresnake for one of these calibers do double duty of another? Would be nice if one could be used for another to save from having to buy 2 different boresnakes.

I have field stripped my Shield. I did notice some grease/oil on the feed ramp but I left it there. When I go to the store for cleaning supplies, I will strip it again and clean it up before shooting.

 

[gnystrom]

I think yoy will need a 38 cal. boresnake. I had a friend bring my Shield to me while I was at the range working. I opened the box, the gun was full of light oil that I quickly wiped off the surface with a rag, put a light down the bore to check for obstructions and excess oil, and promptly fired 100 rounds of various ammo through it without incident.
Then I took it home and sprayed the internals and cleaned and re-lubed where needed. Now with near 1000 rounds through it I have yet had one failure of any kind.

 

[jackjr]

I've shot my guns before cleaning them but never before striping them and giving them a good looking over. If I found them lightly oiled with a clear bore I had no problem shooting them.

 

[Shielded]

Congrats on the Shield A clean gun is a happy one and so is the owner, most of the time. If going to Wally World I've seen a few products that are ok. Gunslick was one and it's seems to be decent. What I've found to be really good is Weapon Shield CLP, you can find it on the web. It's my go to lube for about everything.

 

[BE Mike]

I was in Bass Pro yesterday and they had pistol cleaning kits with one-piece brass rods for $9.95. I am not a fan of bore snakes being used on a regular basis to clean a gun. They are not a short cut for a good cleaning with proper equipment. They accumulate a lot of dirt pretty quickly and I don't want to keep pulling all that through my bore. They are fine when you are at the range and need to pull through to clean the chamber on occasion, but they are no replacement for cleaning with clean patches and clean brass bore brushes.

 

[SavageSmoker]

I have a specific bore snake for each caliber I own (.40, 9mm, .22). I use them for quick cleaning after a range session, spraying solvent down the barrel and using clanking patches at the end, snake until they come out clean. This is not a substitute for a good stripping and cleaning/lube/oil. I take my guns down every few hundred rounds for a more complete cleaning. Just don't want to tear them apart after every range session.