Yes I stand corrected. I disassembled the mag release and there is a small steel insert at the top. My first inspection from the top looked liked it was plastic.
M&P SHIELD 0.40 CALIBER MAGAZINE DROP PROBLEM POLL
- Thread starter CJWig
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Yes I stand corrected. I disassembled the mag release and there is a small steel insert at the top. My first inspection from the top looked liked it was plastic.
Spinkick, yes, verification of the solution is pending, but I have many S&W products, and have used them for many, many years, I have confidence that they will correct the problem. Those that have sent theirs in , must be patient as they have been shut down for 2 weeks for maintenance. I have temporarily reverted back to my old ccw, and have many other guns for recreation, I can wait.
good for you!
if you are not sure what to do, take the mag apart (remove baseplate, spring and followert) and slide the mag body into the pistol until it seats. now you can look down inside the mag with a torch and see exactly where the mag-catch contacts the mag.
just push the top edge of the slot in the mag (that contacts the mag catch) out a millimeter or so. a few good whacks with a punch and hammer from the opposite side should do it.
my pistol does not drop mags, i did this for piece of mind. now that it's done, the mag release button must be pushed in much farther to get the mag to release, and i know that the mag is being held in the pistol much more securely than before.
good luck and let us know if this helps
My week has been busier than I anticipated so was unable to make it to the range yet. I still will be reporting if this works as soon as i'm able to do so.
I hope that this is correct. I sent mine in on July 23 and was just informed that it is in line to be repaired as soon as the factory maintenance turnaround is finished. They return to full staffing on Monday. I love the pistol and really want it to use it as my primary CCW.
For those who want to suggest that the mag drop problem is operator error, it isn't and if it were it would still be a design defect. I shoot the Shield with the same grip that I was trained to use and that I have used on numerous pistols of all makes and models. I have never had a properly seated mag drop from a pistol before I shot the Shield and in thousands of reloads have failed to properly seat a mag no more than once or twice.
If the shield is dropping mags because of inadvertent mag release engagement in recoil, then it is poorly designed and useless for self-defense. No one can be expected to reliably use a modified grip in a stressful self-defense situation. If the Shield requires a modified grip, then it is an expensive toy, but it is not a reliable weapon. I hope they fix the problem.
High_ground
Member
Immediate Fix for 40 Shield design defect
After screwing with S&W's incompetent service personnel for 2 months and 2 "REPAIRS", I finally discovered the FIX. I traded the *** for a Springfield XDs and haven't looked back. The XD is twice the gun as the Shield and comes in a hard case with hi-viz sights and best of all gives me the confidence that I require for an off duty carry. You guys that have shot the Shield for three hundred rounds with no problems are giving yourself a false sense of security. Carry it all day concealed and then pull it on a purp that is drawing down on your wife and kids. Do you actually want to take the risk that this might be the round that drops your mag? This design is defective and the fact that S&W refuses to admit it has convinced me to never consider them for my future firearm purchases.
After screwing with S&W's incompetent service personnel for 2 months and 2 "REPAIRS", I finally discovered the FIX. I traded the *** for a Springfield XDs and haven't looked back. The XD is twice the gun as the Shield and comes in a hard case with hi-viz sights and best of all gives me the confidence that I require for an off duty carry. You guys that have shot the Shield for three hundred rounds with no problems are giving yourself a false sense of security. Carry it all day concealed and then pull it on a purp that is drawing down on your wife and kids. Do you actually want to take the risk that this might be the round that drops your mag? This design is defective and the fact that S&W refuses to admit it has convinced me to never consider them for my future firearm purchases.
40 cal Shield drops mag with extended mag in gun
First trip to the range about a week ago and after 50 rounds or so the extended mag started dropping with at least the first 3 shots of a full mag. The 6 round mag never dropped. I'm calling S&W tomorrow to get it straightened out. I looked high and low and waited for this gun. Very disappointing!
First trip to the range about a week ago and after 50 rounds or so the extended mag started dropping with at least the first 3 shots of a full mag. The 6 round mag never dropped. I'm calling S&W tomorrow to get it straightened out. I looked high and low and waited for this gun. Very disappointing!
mr2r6
Member
Dang as a big Shield fan I must say that I would be pissed if I had this problem with my Shield (9mm). Luckily for me I dont but knowing that these guns are for carry purposes I think S&W has dropped the ball on this issue big time. They should issue a recall on their main web site and try to contact owners that have a Shield 40 via mail. They should also fix the guns with a one week turn around on their dime.
This is just wishfull thinking I know but just imagine the law suits that could come from this should the wrong person get killed because they were in a bad situation where they had to draw to protect themselves or family and their magazine falls out. Kudos for all you owners that have stuck around while this issue is getting resolved. I would have gone to the XDS a long time ago.
This is just wishfull thinking I know but just imagine the law suits that could come from this should the wrong person get killed because they were in a bad situation where they had to draw to protect themselves or family and their magazine falls out. Kudos for all you owners that have stuck around while this issue is getting resolved. I would have gone to the XDS a long time ago.
I've been a Shield 40 owner for just over a month now and I have unfortunately experienced the mag drop issue with my extended magazine.
Been just over 300 rounds through the gun, but the drop issue started sometime shortly after 50 rounds.
So far, I have had no issues with the shorter 6 round magazine, but have only experienced drop with the extended magazine. It may also be worth noting that I seem to have the most issues with magazine drop during the first 3-4 rounds fired.
When gripping the Shield with the extended mag, my palm exerts a decent amount of force against the back of the extended mag (At least, with how my hands grip the gun) - I think that this may be providing the mag just enough leverage away from the magazine catch to drop it from the gun (In addition to the force provided from recoil and the slide racking).
Been just over 300 rounds through the gun, but the drop issue started sometime shortly after 50 rounds.
So far, I have had no issues with the shorter 6 round magazine, but have only experienced drop with the extended magazine. It may also be worth noting that I seem to have the most issues with magazine drop during the first 3-4 rounds fired.
When gripping the Shield with the extended mag, my palm exerts a decent amount of force against the back of the extended mag (At least, with how my hands grip the gun) - I think that this may be providing the mag just enough leverage away from the magazine catch to drop it from the gun (In addition to the force provided from recoil and the slide racking).
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Bikemobile
Member
I took my wife and her 9mm shield to the range yesterday. I also brought my .40 shield. I put one extended mag of speer lawman through my .40. 3 drops in 7 rounds. Went back to my range bag, grabbed a small flathead screwdriver and bent the upper edge of the mag catch slot out a few mm. Put 43 more rounds through it without a mag drop. This seems to fix it for now but i still expect to get an official fix from s&w.
The_Unknown_Surfer
Member
Add mine to the list. VERY DISAPPOINTING !
My serial number is DXX12## and I just purchased it July 14, 2012, and after 100 rounds, the extended magazine is doing the exact same thing as everybody else's here.
Dropping out after the first round is fired.
I called S&W Customer Service, and after 20 minutes on hold, I spoke to a rep who acted like it was the very first time he had heard of this issue, offered absolutely no suggestions or ideas as to what the issue(s) is, and that I needed to send the weapon in to them for service. Period.
When I pressed a little bit, he did finally acknowledge that he had actually heard of the problem, but absolutely nothing else.
This is really disappointing,
I was looking forward to getting this weapon, and now I have to send it back and be without it for at least 3 weeks (10 business days quoted for repair + shipping both ways).
When a company is manufacturing weapons designed for personal defense, a lot more quality control should be involved.
In my opinion, Smith & Wesson really dropped the ball on this one.
My serial number is DXX12## and I just purchased it July 14, 2012, and after 100 rounds, the extended magazine is doing the exact same thing as everybody else's here.
Dropping out after the first round is fired.
I called S&W Customer Service, and after 20 minutes on hold, I spoke to a rep who acted like it was the very first time he had heard of this issue, offered absolutely no suggestions or ideas as to what the issue(s) is, and that I needed to send the weapon in to them for service. Period.
When I pressed a little bit, he did finally acknowledge that he had actually heard of the problem, but absolutely nothing else.
This is really disappointing,
I was looking forward to getting this weapon, and now I have to send it back and be without it for at least 3 weeks (10 business days quoted for repair + shipping both ways).When a company is manufacturing weapons designed for personal defense, a lot more quality control should be involved.
In my opinion, Smith & Wesson really dropped the ball on this one.
FWIW I have a shield 40 serial DXT18xx with zero mag drop problems after 300 rounds. Neither one of the mags are loose fitting and has a definite snap when fully seating them. After reading most of this thread I decided to examine the mag catch to see if there are any obvious places for concern. The mag catch in my shield does not have a steel insert embedded in plastic, instead it is one solid cast steel part. I have a 9mm FS and compared the two catches as you can see in the picture. The 9mm FS is the longer plastic one with steel insert embedded.
I love my shield 40 with zero issues and am confident it will stay that way, however I feel this issue, IMO most definitely should be a recall from S&W and I think they will get to the bottom of it.
P.S. anyone have any shields for sale, cheap? LOL
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Bikemobile
Member
Does anybody else want to try modifying their magazine to see if it fixes the mag drop?
i just removed and looked at my mag catch and it is all metalic, one piece, either cast or MIM.......attracts a magnet.
zero mag drop probs for me, Serial# DXT 05xx
so, where in the serial number range did S&W go to the plastic/steel insert mag catch?
Just to be clear, I referred to 2/3 of the people in this forum were having problems at that point in time. This is not a random poll, I agree, but I think this poll truly highlights the magnitude of the problem. If the actual defects were 50% or 25% or even 10%, this would be too many. The point is that this is large problem that must be properly addressed by S&W. I wonder if S&W will ever give us some data - I doubt it. If you can get a random poll this large at your local range, I would appreciate your data.
doriandk
Member
Mine was sent in around mid July. Called today and Cust. Serv. said it was on it's way back with a new mag catch. I asked if it was new as in a completely different mag catch and he said yes. I will post how it worked in the next few days.
The_Unknown_Surfer
Member
Finally, someone is getting one back.
MacDanny
Member
From participating and reading this thread, it seems that the DXV, DXW and DXX serial numbers are affected. Obviously not official, but that is what I've picked up on. The "earlier" serial numbers like DXT and DXP are operating fine. You bring up a great observation on the one-piece mag catch tho. I'll be looking when I get mine back.
Mine too! Called Monday and it was to ship then, get to me tomorrow. Said there was a fix, and it would be explained in a letter with the firearm. I won't be able to hit the range until the weekend, tho, and don't know how to show you the mag catch. If I did, I would. Certainly will post after I read the letter.
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