M&P SHIELD 0.40 CALIBER MAGAZINE DROP PROBLEM POLL

[Prometriclives]

.40 cal with 600 rounds no problems till. Last week. The gun now drops mag on every round. The issue is to me is the mags, they are undersized and rotate inside the mag well. What I did is measure with calipers the top and bottom opening 1.206 inches. I machined a piece of steel to fit inside the mag. Then took another 20 thousands off the top. I inserted the piece of steel and hammered out the mag to fatten up the sides to take out the twisting action. This worked but still. A few drops, and still a little twist. I then took scotch tape to theback side of the mag. I first put 1 piece the entire length then a shorter piece and so on. I used a total of 6 pieces of tape to create a wedge from the bottom up. I insert the map and guess what... No twist in the mag. I went to the range and ran 50 rds of PPU 180gr and 50 rds of mag tech 165 gr and absolutely no issues. If you think about it the mag is sloppy to begin with. Now when you wrap your finger around the bottom of the extended mag you tend to rotate the mag to the left. When you do this you are rotating the mag off of the catch release. I truly believe the problem is the sloppy magazine.

 

[RobsTV]

put a peice of electrical tape on the back side so that the mag cant move back and out of contact...

I have seen you suggest this a few times, so while waiting for my return shipping label, I will give your fix a try tonight and post back with results. It does feel a tad tighter, but not holding out much hope.

 

[TMAXXII]

are you saying that you can't buy a gun and give it to a friend as a gift?

When you purchase a gun in Louisiana the first question on the form is: Are you purchasing this gun for yourself. If you answer no, the sale will never go through. However, when I bought my first Glock, I had a friend that was a cop and he purchased it for me with his discount. We then transferrred ownership to me legally using the form off the State Police website. I was worried that he would get trouble and he said that all he has to say is that he did not like the gun and in Louisiana there no gun returns.

 

[TMAXXII]

.40 cal with 600 rounds no problems till. Last week. The gun now drops mag on every round. The issue is to me is the mags, they are undersized and rotate inside the mag well. What I did is measure with calipers the top and bottom opening 1.206 inches. I machined a piece of steel to fit inside the mag. Then took another 20 thousands off the top. I inserted the piece of steel and hammered out the mag to fatten up the sides to take out the twisting action. This worked but still. A few drops, and still a little twist. I then took scotch tape to theback side of the mag. I first put 1 piece the entire length then a shorter piece and so on. I used a total of 6 pieces of tape to create a wedge from the bottom up. I insert the map and guess what... No twist in the mag. I went to the range and ran 50 rds of PPU 180gr and 50 rds of mag tech 165 gr and absolutely no issues. If you think about it the mag is sloppy to begin with. Now when you wrap your finger around the bottom of the extended mag you tend to rotate the mag to the left. When you do this you are rotating the mag off of the catch release. I truly believe the problem is the sloppy magazine.

I put my own bump on my long mag and 600 rounds later no drops. But, I still thought the mag was too loose compared say my Glocks, so I took the magazine apart soaked it in oil, I then cleaned the outside of mag with alcohol, then wire brushed it with my dremel to rough up the mag finish. I then sprayed the outside with liquid plastic. It added about .020" to the mag. I cleaned the inside of the mag, reassembled it and took it to the range. the mag fit great and 300 rounds later the coating held up okay, still no drops. I then removed the plastic coating and repeated everything I did the first time except, this time I dipped it in liquid Polystyrene Copolymer, back to the range and 400 rounds later, perfection. If I did not mention it before I am the V.P. of a plastic custom parts shop. Anyways it worked. I emailed Glock and seeing I know their repair department fairly well I asked what the coating was on their mags. No answer yet. I am toying with putting on a baked finish, I am just waiting on another extended mag I got off Ebay. I also coated the short mag as well. When I have perfected the finish I going to post it on Youtube and send one to Smith & Wesson and see if they are interested in getting their mags coated or at least steal my idea. I also fixed the feed problem and the HST ammo feeds great now. Don't you just love having to build your own gun after spending $ 400.00?

 

[805moparkid]

I put my own bump on my long mag and 600 rounds later no drops. But, I still thought the mag was too loose compared say my Glocks, so I took the magazine apart soaked it in oil, I then cleaned the outside of mag with alcohol, then wire brushed it with my dremel to rough up the mag finish. I then sprayed the outside with liquid plastic. It added about .020" to the mag. I cleaned the inside of the mag, reassembled it and took it to the range. the mag fit great and 300 rounds later the coating held up okay, still no drops. I then removed the plastic coating and repeated everything I did the first time except, this time I dipped it in liquid Polystyrene Copolymer, back to the range and 400 rounds later, perfection. If I did not mention it before I am the V.P. of a plastic custom parts shop. Anyways it worked. I emailed Glock and seeing I know their repair department fairly well I asked what the coating was on their mags. No answer yet. I am toying with putting on a baked finish, I am just waiting on another extended mag I got off Ebay. I also coated the short mag as well. When I have perfected the finish I going to post it on Youtube and send one to Smith & Wesson and see if they are interested in getting their mags coated or at least steal my idea. I also fixed the feed problem and the HST ammo feeds great now. Don't you just love having to build your own gun after spending $ 400.00?

do tell on the feed issue!

 

[COD49]

SHIELD 40

I received notification that my .40 Shield has been shipped from S&W repair. I anticipate that it will function reliably. With all of the discussion on the magazines and magazine release being the problem, is that the only reason for the problem. Could it be that certain lots of the Shield 40 had a magazine well in the frame that is out of spec. This would cause the loose fitting magazines and the failure of the magazine release to properly engage the magazine?

 

[Julianpruitt]

You can't accurately say 2/3 of the general public are having the issue based on this forum (I know you stated "in this forum"). Statistics show that people that are having a problem with a product are more likely to "review" or "rate" it... or in this case, come on a forum and complain. If you are not experiencing a problem, you are a less likey to come on here and post that everything is fine.

I am sure of lot of people having the issue come on these forums for the first time in search of a solution.

That being sad, there is clearly a problem, and it is not uncommon. S&W has really dropped the ball on this and needs to put forth a full on effort to resolve the issue as soon as possible. There are a lot of unhappy customers out there because of this...

The best way to get a more accurate count would be to poll Shield owners at the LSR.

I see what you mean about first having the problem then finding the forum. However, quite a few posts I've read suggest some potential Shield buyers have come to this forum and are not getting a Shield because of the problem reports.

 

[Julianpruitt]

Same problem

I noticed the problem with my Shield 40 from day 1. I thought it was my thumb hitting the mag release while firing. So I made an effort to keep my thumb out of the way. It still happened. I called S&W and they sent me a shipping label to send it back for repair.
I think this is a quality issue. Maybe the demand for the pistol could not be met quickly enough and some corners were cut. Scary thought, but other problems I noticed with my Shield suggest this to me. The front sight was noticeably too far to the left. And also, the right white dot on the front sight actually fell out after about 200 - 250 rounds.
I sent it to S&W 2days ago, I'll post the results when I get it back.

 

[805moparkid]

another range day!

so far no mag drops and this is 100 rounds...

so here is what we had... #,#,# means out of each mag

Both 180grain ball

on the 7 round Mag FTF FTE
Magtech Ammo 0 0
Winchester Ammo 1,0 0

on the 6 round Mag FTF FTE
MagTech 1,0,0,0 0
Winchester 0

so notes...

the slide release is really loosening up, FTF went from 1 or 2 on every mag to 2 for 50 rounds, which is a Very big improvement... i think before i mess with the mags more i will just have to throw more rounds down range, just needs to be broke in... Also i thought the Magtech ammo was more accurate, but the Winchester had more kick so it might have more punch behind it...

 

[espresso junky]

I was hoping my Shield 40 was not a dropper but it wasn't so . Took it out to the range today for the 1st time and it ran flawless with the shorter mag. Didn't have any problems with the longer mag until after about 50 rounds. Then the extended mag would drop every shot with occasional FTE and FTF. Swap back to shorter magazine with out any problem. It is obvious that the problem is with the magazine since there is SO much wiggle/movement when inserted. I figured let Smith and Wesson deal with it instead of trying to bump out magazine myself. Seems logical if more people sent in their gun instead of trying to fix it themselves, Smith and Wesson might realize this is a wide spread problem. Mine is a DXX--- series with test shot in 6/12 so it might just be a quality control problem with later production. So disappointed that I want to get the Shield 9mm but only if I could find one!!

 

[Prometriclives]

It is the mags

I put my own bump on my long mag and 600 rounds later no drops. But, I still thought the mag was too loose compared say my Glocks, so I took the magazine apart soaked it in oil, I then cleaned the outside of mag with alcohol, then wire brushed it with my dremel to rough up the mag finish. I then sprayed the outside with liquid plastic. It added about .020" to the mag. I cleaned the inside of the mag, reassembled it and took it to the range. the mag fit great and 300 rounds later the coating held up okay, still no drops. I then removed the plastic coating and repeated everything I did the first time except, this time I dipped it in liquid Polystyrene Copolymer, back to the range and 400 rounds later, perfection. If
I did not mention it before I am the V.P. of a plastic custom parts shop. Anyways it worked. I emailed Glock and seeing I know their repair department fairly well I asked what the coating was on their mags. No answer yet. I am toying with putting on a baked finish, I am just waiting on another extended mag I got off Ebay. I also coated the short mag as well. When I have perfected the finish I going to post it on Youtube and send one to Smith & Wesson and see if they are interested in getting their mags coated or at least steal my idea. I also fixed the feed problem and the HST ammo feeds great now. Don't you just love having to build your own gun after spending $ 400.00?

I wish that S&W would just own up to the problem. I called a week ago about the issue and they said I would see an email about return. I have received nothing. The problem is the mags, and putting a dimple or bump is useless. The mags are undersized. I like the plastic coating idea. I am going to epoxy a shim down the backside. As for the small mag I think the problem is the same, but when you shoot with the small mag your finger sits under mag.

 

[Pakwaan]

I got a call from S&W this morning. Mark told me they were "fitting some new magazines to my gun", and that he would be sending me a shipping label to send back the 2 original ones which I didn't ship back with my gun, and they would do a swap. He said the original ones would just drop out again if I kept them. I didn't send them in because all the previous callers were told not to; I filled out their warranty return request on the web site, so never actually spoke with a person.

It makes me wonder when we'll be able to purchase extra mags, since obviously all the ones currently floating around are undersized or at least need the "bump". The remark about "fitting them to my gun" certainly wasn't encouraging -made it sound like they aren't all the same.

 

[805moparkid]

I got a call from S&W this morning. Mark told me they were "fitting some new magazines to my gun", and that he would be sending me a shipping label to send back the 2 original ones which I didn't ship back with my gun, and they would do a swap. He said the original ones would just drop out again if I kept them. I didn't send them in because all the previous callers were told not to; I filled out their warranty return request on the web site, so never actually spoke with a person.

It makes me wonder when we'll be able to purchase extra mags, since obviously all the ones currently floating around are undersized or at least need the "bump". The remark about "fitting them to my gun" certainly wasn't encouraging -made it sound like they aren't all the same.

for now i wouldn't buy any mags.. but they will have to redesign them...

 

[dfhawkins]

I put my own bump on my long mag and 600 rounds later no drops. But, I still thought the mag was too loose compared say my Glocks, so I took the magazine apart soaked it in oil, I then cleaned the outside of mag with alcohol, then wire brushed it with my dremel to rough up the mag finish. I then sprayed the outside with liquid plastic. It added about .020" to the mag. I cleaned the inside of the mag, reassembled it and took it to the range. the mag fit great and 300 rounds later the coating held up okay, still no drops. I then removed the plastic coating and repeated everything I did the first time except, this time I dipped it in liquid Polystyrene Copolymer, back to the range and 400 rounds later, perfection. If I did not mention it before I am the V.P. of a plastic custom parts shop. Anyways it worked. I emailed Glock and seeing I know their repair department fairly well I asked what the coating was on their mags. No answer yet. I am toying with putting on a baked finish, I am just waiting on another extended mag I got off Ebay. I also coated the short mag as well. When I have perfected the finish I going to post it on Youtube and send one to Smith & Wesson and see if they are interested in getting their mags coated or at least steal my idea. I also fixed the feed problem and the HST ammo feeds great now. Don't you just love having to build your own gun after spending $ 400.00?

Do we assume these mags still have the "bump" and that the coating is simply to tighten the mags in the magwell? Is it possible that coating the mags to decrease lateral movement is a better "fix" than the "bump" given the posts advocating shims and tape strips.

I wonder if the 40 Shield mags were engineered to be coated and... you remember Momma saying, "Don't hurry or you'll make mistakes"?

 

[COD49]

I received my Shield 40 today which has been at S&W for the repair of the magazine dropping problem. The repair including shipping time was three weeks. The repair invoice said the magazine release was replaced and the new magazines with the dimples were enclosed. I went to the gun store which has a range where I purchased the pistol. The first 50 rounds fed properly using both magazines. However, I noticed that the front roll pin had worked it's way half way out of the frame. The store had their gunsmith push the pin back into the frame with a punch. I fired another 50 rounds which fed, but the pin worked it's way out again. I am finished with this gun. The store stepped up and gave me credit for this pistol. Purchased a new Sig.

 

[WrongWay]

Got my shield back from S&W for the mag drop fix. Put 300 rounds thru it today, no drops, FTF or FTE or any problems with functioning.

The front roll pin did drift out the right side about 3/16 th's of an inch. I think I fixed it, will know next range trip.

 

[trueblue40]

M&P Shield 40

Recieved my Shield 40 back today from S&W. The results were they changed the frame. Fired 50 rounds no problem so far. Will be firing more soon.

 

[The_Unknown_Surfer]

Recieved my Shield 40 back today from S&W. The results were they changed the frame. Fired 50 rounds no problem so far. Will be firing more soon.

Changed the frame ?
That's a new twist to the problem.

 

[dfhawkins]

FedEx delivered the Shield 40 from the S&W Repair Department late this afternoon (10 business days plus shipping time). The Magazine Release was replaced (now #4) and new magazines with bumps at the catch slot were included. After disassembly, inspection, cleaning (When they said "Range Tested" they meant it because it was dirty.) and reassembly I ran 100 plus rounds of 165gr Speer and 180gr PMC FMJ through both magazines. No FTF, FTE... and no roll pin movement (as some are finding) at all after 400+ rounds total through this gun.

I share TMAXXII's concern that the magazines are very loose in the magazine well and perhaps his company will do an aftermarket coating to tighten things up... another mod to excite the Shield aficionados.

I too would like to know what trueblue40's frame change was all about.

 

[pyro]

I would like to tighten up my mags. Could someone post a picture of the dimple placement on the magazines or tell me if and where it is posted?