M&P Shield 9 garbage wish I hadn't bought

[mrmrules]

Just wanted to post my experiance with the new M&P shield 9. I bought my girlfriend for Xmas. It took months for me to locate one of these ever since we saw it online she wanted it. I bought just in time for Xmas and put it under the tree.

All was good until she started loading the snap caps into battery. It was then we found an issue with the slide failing to return fully forward and go into battery with a snap cap. It stopped about 1/4 of an inch from returning to fully forward. I tried it with different bullets and it did the same. I took it apart and cleaned it and oiled it up. Same issue. If you fully pulled the slid back as far as it would go and let it slam forward it would return fully. If you did it any other way or let it go not fully back it would bind up. We took it out and shot it and it shot ok but half the time cocking it the thing bound up.

Dissapointed I went online and saw similar people had the same issues. I called Smith and Wesson and talked to the lady in the warranty dept. She was snippy and rude from the get go. She basically told me that unless it was binding up when shooting it was for us to deal with. None of my other guns have this issue and I wish I had not bought this gun we are so dissapointed we will NEVER buy another smith and wesson. In good faith I cant even sell it to someone knowing that it does not perform correctly. I am going to return it to the store and take whatever they give me for it. They made it seem like with the lifetime warranty we were all set when they sold us the gun covered for any issues. We have shot 50 rounds through this gun and it is useless. Smith and Wesson service is a scam in my opinion.

Any one have any other ideas? Thanks

 

[jibbr71]

So the main complaint is that when you ride the slide, the firearm doesn't go into battery? That's what I get from your post....pull the slide back all the way to the stop and let go. Asking the gun to function any other way is not the design intent. If you still can't get it to work right, let me know what you are offered from the selling store, and I will buy it....sight unseen for that much + shipping

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[xswilly]

shoot a couple of hundred rounds thru it
it will wear in

 

[MP1SG]

Hi
I have both the Shield 9 and the 40. Both weapons have functioned flawlessly and have been very accurate. IMO snap caps are a poor way to judge if the weapon will function. You said youself that when you "Pull the slide back as far as it would go then it would work" Actually thats what your supposed to do, anytime you ride the slide forward or baby it, you are begging for a problem. Also IMO 50 rounds is not nearly enough ammo to make a determination if a weapon is a Piece of garbage" and if you fired only one typr of ammo thats another issue. I just bought my 7th M&P and have not had a single issue, The Shield are great great guns and will continue to be sought after for a while to come. S&W Customer service is second to none as far as i am concerened never ever had an issue with them. They have always been very friendly.
I think you should give that Shield another chance Its a great gun
Thanks
out here
1SG

 

[mrmrules]

Thank you for the replies. Yes if you pull it all the way back and hold it there and let it slam from there it will go forward. If you release it from any point short of full back it wont go into battery. The gfs hands arnt as strong as mine so she has more of an issue with it then I do. We were thinking of trading it in for the walther pk380 because that slide was way easier to operate then the one on the shield.

 

[Indynj13]

So the gun is garbage if you don't operate it correctly....ok

 

[rraisley]

Thank you for the replies. Yes if you pull it all the way back and hold it there and let it slam from there it will go forward. If you release it from any point short of full back it wont go into battery.

So, it's working exactly as it is supposed to. If you shoot it more (especially, if /she/ shoots it more), it will loosen up a bit, and she will become more adept at pulling and releasing the slide. It's as much habit as it is strength. Few women will not actually be strong enough to properly rack the slide of a Shield.

 

[mrmrules]

Hi guns going for sale in section Im going to get her something else. Local sale perferred. Its not for us I will spend more and get her something that works out of the box not something we have to hope breaks in after time. Thank you for the replies. If anyone in NH is interested in the gun as is make an offer and come get it otherwise Im giving it to the dealer Friday when I go get something else. Thank you.

 

[PH-2]

Perhaps a Taurus revolver might suit your capabilities?

Mike

 

[pacocop]

With all due respect, its a girlfriend's hand strength issue, not a weapon issue if she's having trouble drawing the slide to full tension. Expecting normal function with snappers is unrealistic, and normal function is for a weapon to lock when
the slide is released from full tension, not partially-carried into battery.
If the rep was rude I would call and speak to a supervisor or write a letter, I know I absolutely can't stand when someone complains about how they were treated by one of my employees to someone else, or the paper, or city management without ever letting us know so we can try to correct the problem. It is not really fair to hold the action of one person against a company if they were never given a chance to address the issue, just my opinion.

Hope you get the issue addressed. Smile, you have a GF that is happy getting a gun for Christmas!!!

 

[mrmrules]

Yes the rep was def rude thats what put me over the edge with this gun. No sense wasting my time writing a letter they prob dont care anyways. Were just dissapointed in the product and even more dissapointed in the customer service. I have 5 handguns and none bind up like this one. Maybe its just how the gun is, maybe it has an issue with my gun but either way I dont want to waste any more effort dealing with smith and wesson after dealing with that woman... Thank you all for the replies and helpful advice.

 

[RussC]

Pm me what the store is willing to pay you for the garbage Shield.

I have a friend with a FFL. If the price is reasonable for a flawed gun I will take the gamble plus 10% over what store is willing to offer for trade.

Russ

 

[Harrison]

Actually the poster is right. Women are carrying these days, and there is no reason for a manfacturer to produce pistols that the average petite woman, who is not a weight lifter cannot operate. It's great that strong guys can rack a shield, but to make it so that many women cannot operate it shows a lack of marketing research and engineering. The gun is a 9mm, we are not talking about a cartridge powerhouse here. There is not reason the shield could not be engineered with a lighter and easier to operate recoil spring. Acatually she might be better served with a J frame revolver.

 

[mrmrules]

Thank you Harrison. She is 5-7 and 150 lbs so shes no tiny person. She can operate my Springfield XDM and XDS with NO issue whatsoever. We thought this would be awesome because its a little smaller and fits her hand better. Were going to get her a springfield or the 380 walther PK.

 

[insomniac]

flawed, garbage shields are going for $150 down here in FL

 

[ocracokenc]

I just dont think he gets it. I love reading a post like this and looking what the replies are. I think if I was working at SW and I recieved this call I would hang up. If he does this to a $1500 custom gun he will find the same thing. They are made to function a certain way. It is like buying a new car and getting on the interstate with the car in low gear and saying it is junk because it will only go 20 mph. Things are made to work a certain way. He should give it a chance. I know I have had roll pin issues and my front sight dot fell off but SW has been awesome with customer service. When I pull the trigger it goes boom and were I want it to hit everytime

 

[compshootfl]

Another hater...don't waste your time with them.

 

[M29since14]

Actually the poster is right. Women are carrying these days, and there is no reason for a manfacturer to produce pistols that the average petite woman, who is not a weight lifter cannot operate.

They make plenty of models an average lady can operate. Apparently the Shield these folks bought is not one of them, in her case. If you want a light recoil spring on a 9mm you are going to have to offset it with a little slide weight. S&W obviously wanted to keep the design light and handy.

I agree with the poster who said the logical thing is to look for a revolver. I'm sorry the OP had bad luck with the Shield but the selection was obviously not a good one. Hopefully they will have better luck with the next purchase.

 

[pyro]

All of my semi autos have to have the slide pulled all the way back to strip the bullet from the magazine. Actually with the Kahrs, you have to use the slide release to chamber a round. I get that this may be difficult for your girl friend, but I don't get how this makes your shield junk.

 

[2tango2]

mrmrules you have a PM

 

[jibbr71]

I imagine he has several by now What part of the state are you in 2tango2?

 

[2tango2]

Im down south in Nashua area..you?

 

[Cook74]

So the real problem is the GF is not strong enough to pull the slide back? This is a common issue among some females and fewer males. The way to get around this is instead of pulling the slide back, have her hold the slide with her non-strong hand and PUSH the gun forward with the strong arm/hand... This way the non strong hand just holds the slide in place and the strong hand does all the work.

It works very well...

Give it a try... even with your snap caps... and let me know if it works for you...

BTW, I too would offer best price and shipping from you through my FFL....

 

[jibbr71]

I'm over in the "northern seacoast" area....(rochester-ish). I hope the OP is closer to me and I'm able to take this troublemaker off of his hands before you can

 

[speedyquad]

i like how he is done with smith and wesson, but is considering the walther pk380

 

[GKC]

My wife is disabled, and she can't manipulate the slide on most semis. The only two pistols she has been able to handle the slide on are the LC9 and the Shield.

The overwhelming majority of Shield owners are very happy with their guns. The overwhelming majority of people who contact S&W rate their CS very highly. That is not to say that there isn't a problem Shield out there, or that there isn't a S&W rep who was discourteous. (I have had one contact with a S&W rep that wasn't what I would call great, but overall, my experiences with S&W have been very, very good.)

To mrmrules: I think the reason most people aren't responding positively is that because they have exactly the opposite experience and opinion, and when you write a post that is hostile in tone and describing a highly regarded pistol as junk, it doesn't elicit empathy. It comes across as if you have extreme buyer's remorse, and are trying to justify getting rid of the gun, instead of learning to operate it correctly. Likewise, if the S&W rep was rude, that needs to be addressed...but it isn't typical of S&W's customer service.

If you want another gun, that's fine...you should have one that you and your girlfriend like and can handle. As others have mentioned, maybe a revolver is the better choice. In any case, you will have no problem whatsoever selling your Shield, so I wouldn't just take what the dealer offers you (unless he gives you full credit) without trying to sell it here, or online, first.

 

[mrmrules]

She has tried cocking it different ways with 50% success. Sometimes it binds sometimes it dosent. As far as people not responding in a positive manner thats ok. I didnt put the post up to make people happy I put it up to let them know my experiance has been a negative one. They can tell me all day long that the guns great and defend it till the cows come home but the truth is that we have found this gun to be unreliable and very fickle. I have a few other guns and none have the same symptoms as this one. I am plenty strong enough to pull the slide back and it still binds with me doing it, although moreso with her then I. The truth is that if someone breaks into the house and she cant properly easily without a doubt cock this thing and defend herself with this gun its worthless. I dont think were the issue here as we have other guns and can cock the slides easily without malfunction. The gun is tempermental at best and I am not comfortable in it saving her life in a bad situation. Argue all you want I am just telling you my opinion. I have responded to all emails. Thank you

 

[mrmrules]

Its got nothing to do with buyers remorse we love the look and feel of the gun and the good reviews we read. It was $450 its not like I bought a 400K house and am getting cold feet it wasn't a big investment at all we are just dissapointed in how it works and the customer service. Not saying everyone has this experiance we are just sharing ours. If we had a good experiance we would have shared that also. We are going to take it to the dealer tomorrow for a second opinion. I have invited everyone who emailed me locally to come and try the gun out at my house if they like. Thanks

 

[BobFr]

I'm in the same boat. My very small autos (Kahr PM9 and Shield) have strong recoil springs that require a little strength to operate. My 4' 10 1/2" wife cannot pull the slide back so she's not interested in them. Right now she shoots (when I can get her to the range) a S&W Model 13-3 revolver. She shoots .38's in this revolver that is stout enough to shoot .357's, but the mass of the pistol reduces the perceived recoil, which she likes. I have talked about a Lady Smith with her, but I doubt the extra recoil compared to the 13-3 would appeal to her.

 

[RussC]

She has tried cocking it different ways with 50% success. Sometimes it binds sometimes it dosent. As far as people not responding in a positive manner thats ok. I didnt put the post up to make people happy I put it up to let them know my experiance has been a negative one. They can tell me all day long that the guns great and defend it till the cows come home but the truth is that we have found this gun to be unreliable and very fickle. I have a few other guns and none have the same symptoms as this one. I am plenty strong enough to pull the slide back and it still binds with me doing it, although moreso with her then I. The truth is that if someone breaks into the house and she cant properly easily without a doubt cock this thing and defend herself with this gun its worthless. I dont think were the issue here as we have other guns and can cock the slides easily without malfunction. The gun is tempermental at best and I am not comfortable in it saving her life in a bad situation. Argue all you want I am just telling you my opinion. I have responded to all emails. Thank you

Mrmrules

Is your recoil spring aligned properly?

I read months back a person having issues and come to find out the recoil spring was not aligned properly and it would bind making the slide not go into battery.

Wish I could remember the post. I only vaguely remember bits and pieces of the discussion.

Russ