Got my three mags back from S&W today. They had the bump outdent, which was measured at a 0.010 to 0.015" outdent. I shot 200 rounds today and the small mags did well. The large mag started dropping after about 4 or 5 mag loads. BTW, I have already replaced mag release. Trying to decide whether to bump out further myself or just send this mag to them out of principle.
M&P SHIELD 0.40 CALIBER MAGAZINE DROP PROBLEM POLL
- Thread starter CJWig
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RobsTV
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Received my DXY3xxx today and did thorough cleaning and inspection. Mags fit tight with a noticeable hard snap in place. Great! To the range.
Shot 150 rounds. Poorly aligned sights and groups. I usually take 5 handguns when I shoot, and 3" to 4"" groups at 25 yards is normal, even from $150 Hi-Point 9's and 40. Had to go to ten yard range and then did get 3" groups, but all were about 4" high and 4" left.
Recoil was nothing, but this replaces a Radom P64 9x18 mak9 with a snappy recoil, and I also regularly shoot a S&W 500, so probably not a good judge of lower recoil.
After about 60 rounds, the magazines no longer snapped in tight and barely seemed to lock in place, which of course led to the mag drop. Both mags dropping almost every shot. I might have done the dimple thing, but with sights also needing work, back it will go.
In today's Internet world, I was well aware of a possible mag drop problem with the 40, so it does not bother me that it needs to go back. I expected as much. The accuracy thing does surprise me though. With mass production there will always be a few bad ones that get through. I'm sure they will correct that as well.
Shot 150 rounds. Poorly aligned sights and groups. I usually take 5 handguns when I shoot, and 3" to 4"" groups at 25 yards is normal, even from $150 Hi-Point 9's and 40. Had to go to ten yard range and then did get 3" groups, but all were about 4" high and 4" left.
Recoil was nothing, but this replaces a Radom P64 9x18 mak9 with a snappy recoil, and I also regularly shoot a S&W 500, so probably not a good judge of lower recoil.
After about 60 rounds, the magazines no longer snapped in tight and barely seemed to lock in place, which of course led to the mag drop. Both mags dropping almost every shot. I might have done the dimple thing, but with sights also needing work, back it will go.
In today's Internet world, I was well aware of a possible mag drop problem with the 40, so it does not bother me that it needs to go back. I expected as much. The accuracy thing does surprise me though. With mass production there will always be a few bad ones that get through. I'm sure they will correct that as well.
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Hey Rob - good review of mag catch measurements. I couldn't help but notice the number "2" embossed on your mag catch. When I first called S&W, they sent me a new mag catch. The old one was embossed "1" and the new was "2". Both mag catches measured identically and as predicted mag catch "2" also failed and I got dropped mags. I couldn't figure out was different about series "2" catches. My problem is now partially solved with the outdented mags modified by S&W. I shot 200 rounds and the short mags worked fine but the longer mag started dropping on mag load 4 or 5. I measured the outdent vs base and it seems to be outdented about 0.015". I agree with your assessment and am going to rework these mags another 0.015" to get a total outdent of about 0.030". You'd think someone that designs guns could get the easy part right.
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More problems with Mag drop!!! PRE-DETONATION DANGEROUS BEAWARE
The shield .40 cal is in my opinion a nice semi-auto pistol. I swear by the MP line. However since my initial issues with the magazine falling out during cycling another customer began having the same issues. I sent both firearms back to S&W they stated they had no knowledge of this issue? At any rate last Sunday a customer called me an told me he had a big problem. He advised me that his shield exploded in his hand while firing. He explained that near the 2nd or 3rd last rounds the mag began to slip/fall. He pushed it back up and went to fire. He stated he pulled the trigger and the slide came back to eject spent case. At that time the magazine came out a short distance causing the next live round to center up with the bullet ram. Causing pre mature ignition of the bullet between the upper frame and lower resulting in a massive explosion. The man that was shooting the firearm is scared to death to shoot again,.He is 68 years old and has owned many firearms over the years and has had not a single accident up until this point.
The shield .40 cal is in my opinion a nice semi-auto pistol. I swear by the MP line. However since my initial issues with the magazine falling out during cycling another customer began having the same issues. I sent both firearms back to S&W they stated they had no knowledge of this issue? At any rate last Sunday a customer called me an told me he had a big problem. He advised me that his shield exploded in his hand while firing. He explained that near the 2nd or 3rd last rounds the mag began to slip/fall. He pushed it back up and went to fire. He stated he pulled the trigger and the slide came back to eject spent case. At that time the magazine came out a short distance causing the next live round to center up with the bullet ram. Causing pre mature ignition of the bullet between the upper frame and lower resulting in a massive explosion. The man that was shooting the firearm is scared to death to shoot again,.He is 68 years old and has owned many firearms over the years and has had not a single accident up until this point.
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Bierliebhaber
Member
I kind of figured, since no gun stores in my area were receiving .40 Shields, that they had probably halted production of that specific gun. At least until the issue is resolved, and new tooling acquired for further production. NTM everyone working on getting caught up repairing/altering all the erroneous .40's sold. -Conjecture, but possible.
team sidewinder
Member
Glad I own the shield 9 but S&W better get their heads out of their ___ on this one before they have some real legal problems.
805moparkid
Member
put a peice of electrical tape on the back side so that the mag cant move back and out of contact...
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Mag dropper back from S&W
I sent my Shield 40 in a few weeks ago (Serial # DXX), as it dropped mags. I just recived it back from smith and wesson today. The packing slip stated:
Customer complaint: Magazine catch
Repaired: Replace Mag
Repaired: Range tested/Meets Spec
I marked my mags and they are the same ones i sent in, but my mags do have the new dimple in each of the mags. I will be going to the range to test fire in the near future to test the gun out.
Why they didn't say "fixed magazines" rather than "replaced magazines" is what gets me. They werent replaced.
I sent my Shield 40 in a few weeks ago (Serial # DXX), as it dropped mags. I just recived it back from smith and wesson today. The packing slip stated:
Customer complaint: Magazine catch
Repaired: Replace Mag
Repaired: Range tested/Meets Spec
I marked my mags and they are the same ones i sent in, but my mags do have the new dimple in each of the mags. I will be going to the range to test fire in the near future to test the gun out.
Why they didn't say "fixed magazines" rather than "replaced magazines" is what gets me. They werent replaced.
805moparkid
Member
ive been thinking about a good answer for this all day and this is what i came up with...
Everyone will agree that the shield is an AWESOME gun when i full working order...
issues that seem to happen are FTF, Mag Drops, and Explosions...
so with that its ALL CENTERED AROUND THE MAGS... this is a new gun that were working the bugs out on... not a big deal... but instead of everyone crying about it try to fix it. ive spent a couple hours at least playing will tape on the mags for the best fit, waiting for the mag springs to come into stock so i can play with length and tension (which i think is the issue besides the bump)...
As i said before this not some big mystery... lets all put down the tissues and figure this out...
(not directed at Quoted poster)
New wrinkle from Dave at S&W customer service. I called about my new long dimpled mag that is dropping and my two shorties are fine. I explained that the mag release was changed about a month ago. He wants the gun back because he says there is a new mag release that requires the hole to be bored out. My original mag release was embossed "1" and the new one is "2".
Does anyone know anything about a larger mag release that is being added? My original and second one are the same size. Is there really a third mag release or am I getting some BS. I really am tempted to outdent the long mag another .015, which will probably solve the problem.
Does anyone know anything about a larger mag release that is being added? My original and second one are the same size. Is there really a third mag release or am I getting some BS. I really am tempted to outdent the long mag another .015, which will probably solve the problem.
805moparkid
Member
something that got lost in the breeze was the new mag catch. i took a look and was unable to find if the #1 cast catches were different than #2 or #4.
another thing that was mentioned was a sharp feed ramp. has anybody played with that yet? does it need shaping or just a polish?
another thing that was mentioned was a sharp feed ramp. has anybody played with that yet? does it need shaping or just a polish?
TARNISHED REPUTATION
Well here we go again! My shield is at the factory for the magazine scourge. The Chinese fire drill continues. Instead of doing the right thing and issue a recall, the defective 40 Cal. pistol is still being sold buy the dealers knowing full well of the magazine problem. While the dealers are silent just like S&W, I am sure they will be quick to tell you why they are offering a low ball price when you attempt to trade it . I mean if you wanted to sell it today, would it come with a hammer,punch,and a roll of electrical tape? I mean S&W, this is not a NASA project. They at least from they most recent posts are still working on the solution. Standard magazine, dimpled magazine, new magazine, new magazine release, now a larger magazine release that requires drilling. I have been purchasing S&W pistols for over 40 years and this will be my last.
Well here we go again! My shield is at the factory for the magazine scourge. The Chinese fire drill continues. Instead of doing the right thing and issue a recall, the defective 40 Cal. pistol is still being sold buy the dealers knowing full well of the magazine problem. While the dealers are silent just like S&W, I am sure they will be quick to tell you why they are offering a low ball price when you attempt to trade it . I mean if you wanted to sell it today, would it come with a hammer,punch,and a roll of electrical tape? I mean S&W, this is not a NASA project. They at least from they most recent posts are still working on the solution. Standard magazine, dimpled magazine, new magazine, new magazine release, now a larger magazine release that requires drilling. I have been purchasing S&W pistols for over 40 years and this will be my last.
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805moparkid
Member
picked up a white box 180 grain ball and Magtech 180 Grain ball, see if it likes those... will report wensday...
would be tomorrow but waiting for my new mags for my officers 45 to come in...
would be tomorrow but waiting for my new mags for my officers 45 to come in...
My .40 Shield lot number DXV, was test fired on 6/19/12. I did not have it appraised, but I would think $200-$250 would be in the ball park on a dealer trade. The problem being with this .40 cal. Model, would you even want to get involved with this pistol and have it disappoint one of your customers if you took it in on a trade? With over 15,000 hits on this site, knowledge of the problem is quite apparent now and I anticipate it will affect private sales also.
Didn't mark my original magazines and the new one's have the dimple.
50 round through it and NO DROPS.
Now another question to muddy the waters further. What if I were to switch clips with someone who's had the mag catch replaced and their gun uses the smooth clips? Would those clips drop out of mine. I used to be a police officer and our weapons were required to be identical in case we needed to exchange ammo/clips. This could be a horrible issue somewhere down the road.
robkarrob
Member
Just and update to my post around three weeks ago. I has posted that I got a reply from the S&W executive and his reply was that he would investigate the issue and get back with me.
Since I had not heard back from him, I sent a reply back to him a few day ago. I asked what he had found out regarding the mag drop issue? Will keep you posted.
Bob
Since I had not heard back from him, I sent a reply back to him a few day ago. I asked what he had found out regarding the mag drop issue? Will keep you posted.
Bob
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