M&P Shield 9mm Issues

[chandlerpressley]

Hello. I purchased My Shield on 8-6-2014, it was recently after the release of the no thumb safety model that I purchased it. Ever since I bought the Shield I have had a variety of issues with the gun. Some of them have slipped my mind, but there were several instances I remember. I had a box of Critical Duty that I purchased for testing purposes. With the Critical Duty I had 2 failures to go into battery. I'm not talking the slide wouldn't close all the way, I'm talking about a full blown nose dive into the feeding ramp. Then more issues popped up. Notably I've had quite a few failures to extract. I was using Magtech 115 Gr FMJ's I recently shot 100 rounds of the Magtech and I had 2 FTE's and 1 stovepipe. These malfunctions occured in the 7 round magazine, and it wasn't a particular round in the mag that caused it. Now I'm sure you're going to say it's the ammunition, and to change brands, but I'm more disappointed that for a gun that has such a stellar reputation to not be able to feed the Magtech. I did email S&W with my issue and am waiting to hear back from them now. Just for the notes. The gun has been properly lubricated, cleaned, and no I wasn't limp wristing, the gun is stock and is way past any sort of break in period. Has anyone else been having the issues i'm describing? I saw a forum that was concerning the Shield and Magtech FMJS and basically they all said the same thing that Magtech just doesn't jive with the shield. Any opinions on the matter? Suggestions? I want this gun to run, I have (stupidly carried it) with Corbon PowR-Ball for several years and the PowR-Ball has run through it fine. I love everything about this gun but going on 3 years and i'm still having the same issue with even the practice ammo concerns me. Thanks!

 

[Tomac]

All I can say is that I owned a couple of SIG P320 Compact 9mm's that ate everything I fed them... until I tried Blazer Brass.

Started getting numerous FTE's and a little research revealed the P320 Compact 9mm (not the fullsize, subcompact or any other caliber) can have problems w/Blazer Brass of all bullet weights w/no official explanation or even acknowledgement from SIG.

When quality ammo from a quality mfgr won't function in a quality gun from a quality company, you have to scratch your head and go "WTH???"

Call it tolerance stacking or whatever name you wish, but there's got to be a reason why your particular ammo/gun combo isn't working. All I can suggest is contact S&W to see if they'll help, and if not sell the Shield and buy something else you can develop confidence in (whether or not it's another Shield, my four new Shields have been 100% after appx 100rds each).

Keep us posted!

Tomac

 

[bigwheelzip]

Welcome to the forum.

There are a few things that pop up on the occasional Shield, that might lead to what you describe. Let S&W take a crack at fixing it.
Of course the obvious is to see if different brands of ammo have these problems.

The strange thing is that you've had these problems, "Some of them have slipped my mind", "Ever since I bought the Shield" in August 2014, and chosen to carry it, without fixing it.

If S&W and a change of ammo can't make it dependable, get another carry.

 

[BigDog48]

Try other ammo first if you haven't in the 2 1/2 years you've owned the pistol.

 

[CharlieP]

Ammo issues

I have the same problem with a Beretta 92A1 and Remington green box ammo. The Beretta handles every other kind of ammo fine - but will jam about 1 time in 10 rounds with the Remington. Other 92A1 owners have reported the same problem. The explanation I have read is that the 92A1 is designed to shoot NATO ammo - which is a bit hotter than standard 9mm and that the Remington ammo is light and somewhat inconsistent. After all - it is range ammo. I feel confident with the Beretta loaded with good defensive ammo - it has never failed with any of that ammo.

 

[swsig]

A mass-produced pistol like the Shield 9 can have idiosyncrasies among individual examples. My Shield 9, with nearly 5000 rounds through it, is also a picky feeder. It will not reliably fire Winchester NATO or Federal HST 124+P rounds, rounds that other Shield 9 owners swear by. On the other hand, one of the few rounds that my Shield has always fired perfectly (147 times), is Hornady Critical Duty. Go figure.

 

[chandlerpressley]

Thanks for the feedback folks, maybe its time to give up the old Shield. Like I said i'm waiting to hear back from S&W at this time. If they end up taking it for "repair" and it comes back and still does the same thing I might have to just cut my losses and and pick up a G43, haven't really heard of any issues besides a minor magazine issue which I believe they have since revised and fixed. As Tomac stated I just want to have confidence that the gun will work and I can depend on it, even it isn't the normal carry ammo that works 100%. There's just a part of me that wants that gun to be the shield haha. Once again thanks for the feedback gentlemen and I will keep updates coming as frequently as possible.

 

[John Robert]

FYI. Have had my shield for about two years. 8,000 rounds later, no hiccups. Many different types ammo (no MagTech or steel case). Seven different mags.

 

[chandlerpressley]

Update

So I received an email from S&W. Generic response. "While it could be the fault of the firearm it could also be the fault of the ammunition, shoot another 100 rounds of a different brand, if the issues still persist we will take it in for inspection" any reccomended brands to test? Blazer, Winchester, Federal?

 

[catman2]

Buy a box of each. Winchester, Federal, Blazer, Remmington, etc... You really need to explore all the options before you condem the pistol. I have over 2000 rounds through mine and the only ammo it didnt like was the Perfecta. Simple solution, I just don't run Perfecta through it. Problem solved.

 

[swsig]

Speer Lawman 124g has always worked well in my picky Shield. It is my primary range ammunition for this gun. I've shot a couple of thousand rounds of it without a problem. If your Shield won't reliably fire Lawman, it will need to go back.
Whatever brand you shoot, stick with 124 grain ammo. Word on the Forum is that Shield 9s work best with it. That has been my experience as well.

 

[wormraper]

bluntly, if it works with other ammo, just don't use the magtech with your gun. semi autos of ANY caliber can be ammo sensitive. Most range ammo today is made so inconsistently across brands that some brands just wll NOT work with a given gun. Also critical duty/defense is known for those problems in a LOT of guns as the rubber/plastic tip insert tends to cause friction and can jam up on the feed ramp

also you said most problems were with the 7 round mag? have you thought about grabbing another magazine to make sure you don't have a mag feeding problem?

 

[Mal Cap]

I haven't had any ammo problems with the 9 Shield but only shoot standard 9 mm at the range and load-up with +P for carry. S&W in the manual advised that +P will require more servicing for the gun. Suggest shooting ball with ammo that works and then test your carry rounds and stay with that version only for carry.

 

[Dad_Roman]

1000's through mamma's and the only thing it didnt like was MaxxBrass in the cool little plastic cups. Overexpanded and jammed in the cylinder and jammed the slide shut also....in 3 different guns.

And sorry catman, most if it was Perfecta.

Seems if one is born "picky" then its that way. If its "not" then they seem to just eat anything.

All 115 through mine. A smidge of 124, and it was fine along with various HP's

 

[chandlerpressley]

Wormraper it's funny that you mention the magazine issue. I um accidentally threw my first 7 round magazine away (don't get me started on that) and that magazine also had the same extraction issues. I received a new one from one of the Officers in my department since then.
I did have a thought though. So everyone knows about the ungodly magazine tension in the Shield especially the 7 rounder.
Here's my thought. If the next live round in the magazine is being pressed up against the fired round that is next to be extracted from the chamber isn't it possible that the oncoming round is putting to much pressure on the fired round that it would possibly interrupt the extraction of said cartridge? I've done some research on failures to extract but this theory has never come up in discussion. Any thoughts on this?

 

[gboling]

My 9 and 40 shields reliably cycle anything including mismatched range brass reloads with unusual bullet olives of lead or jacketed.

Not to start a boxing match but it is my confirmed belief that a carry gun should reliably fire any ammo manufactured to SAMMI specifications. I would seek professional help.

 

[sheepdawg]

My 9mm. Shield loves everything as long as it's either 115 or 124 grain. 147 grain has yielded one or two problems.

 

[jim46ok]

Hope you get this sorted out. I did find, however, the Magtech 9mm I had measured 8.90 or so instead of 9.0mm. I sent it back. I can't see how that small of difference could contribute to the symptoms you are experiencing. I do know they aren't accurate at all because of the smaller bullet......good luck!!

 

[kmanick]

my shield jams on Magtech 115gr a well. It shoots the 124 gr ok , buts chokes on the 115gr.
Blazer, Lawman, Aguila and Gecko 124 are my usuals with zero problems.
for 115 I only shoot either Blazer,Fiocchi, American Eagle, Sellier and Bellot or Lawman.
Magtech and Aguila 115gr always choke in my shield.
Lawman 147 also shoots well with my shield.
ditch the magtech and you should be fine.

 

[carbuff]

chandlerpressley, it is not my intent to demean you or to belittle what you have said. However, you and I appear to have a different mind-set regarding gun handling.

My suggestion is to enlist the aid of another shooter to test fire your pistol with the ammunition with which you have trouble. If that shooter experiences no difficulties it would seem that the problem is not the ammunition but the gun or the way you handle it. In either instance, I would have S&W or a gunsmith inspect your pistol.

Under no circumstances would I ever carry a weapon that experienced the failures you describe. I carry only a weapon that operates flawlessly with the ammunition I choose to load.

It has been my experience that two pistols of the same model and caliber sometimes differ in operation. Each has unique characteristics that require I adapt to master its idiosyncrasies.

With regard to ammunition, I have had a pair of the same make and model of pistols handle a specific brand, bullet type and weight differently. One operated without a single difficulty while the other pistol had intermittent failures to operate. It failed to feed, load into battery, fire or eject successfully each and every time with a specific brand of ammunition.

Inspections of components of these pistols side by side showed no visible differences. Nevertheless, the guns performed differently.

Because all other characteristics were excellent, and every other brand, type and weight of ammunition was handled without failures, I kept both pistols and simply adapted and chose not to use the ammunition that was often rejected by the one pistol.

I sincerely hope you resolve your problem. The two Shield 9 pistols I have are superb personal protectors. I trust that your too will turn out to be the same.