New M&P Shield owner - extraction issue/weird wear after only 100 rounds? (pics)

[uksas]

I am a proud new M&P shield 9mm owner, and I also had the APEX trigger kit installed by LGS. Took it to the range and put 100 rounds through it. No FTEs etc and pretty accurate, but i noticed some wear that looked weird on the barrel - like two almost symmetrical'nicks' that were white, through the surface and I could feel with my fingernail, as indicated by the arrows in the pictures. I also noticed that a number of ejected casings hit me in the face.

I really like this pistol - it is my first polymer, striker fired pistol (Beretta 92 owner), so I am unsure of what I am seeing. I have no problem whatsoever with wear, and if this type of wear is normal, then great - please tell me to shut up and get back to shooting! But if it is abnormal wear due to a potential problem and could get worse, or could result in rust and needs to be treated with something, I'd like to recognize it and get it dealt with ASAP. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[hoc9sw]

The marks on the barrel don't surprise me (look at how the slide and barrel mate). The brass in the face is not right.

It has a lot more flip than the 92. You may be letting it climb too much.

(I've put a lot of rounds through both models)

 

[Horn]

Not Bad/Maybe Lube?

I am a proud new M&P shield 9mm owner, and I also had the APEX trigger kit installed by LGS. Took it to the range and put 100 rounds through it. No FTEs etc and pretty accurate, but i noticed some wear that looked weird on the barrel - like two almost symmetrical'nicks' that were white, through the surface and I could feel with my fingernail, as indicated by the arrows in the pictures. I also noticed that a number of ejected casings hit me in the face.

I really like this pistol - it is my first polymer, striker fired pistol (Beretta 92 owner), so I am unsure of what I am seeing. I have no problem whatsoever with wear, and if this type of wear is normal, then great - please tell me to shut up and get back to shooting! But if it is abnormal wear due to a potential problem and could get worse, or could result in rust and needs to be treated with something, I'd like to recognize it and get it dealt with ASAP. Thanks for your thoughts!

That Doesn't look real bad. The "white nicks" may be questionable but likely not.
I use TW 25b grease on mine and pretty well in all lube points and the TW 2500 oil (same but thinner) on that hump in the frame that is shown in the manual. Both put on sparingly (very) and then wipe it off. The metal will appear dry but it's there.
If after another two or three hundred rounds it seems to get worse, then I'd call S&W.
The shells in the face may well be from your hold. I've had a couple hit me on my upper brow and land at six O'clock (behind me) I've read where these extraction issues will go away after five hundred rounds. (?) Maybe.
Keep that wrist straight, eh?
Good luck and good shooting.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
-- George Orwell

 

[APS]

I found the barrel finish on the safety-less Shield I bought last month to be much more prone to wear than the Shield I bought in Feb.

 

[Stratajema]

Perhaps those 2 wear points on the barrel are caused by contact with machining marks under the slide in that area. Do you see machining marks? I've seen more than a few Shield slides where the inside of the slide has raised machining marks from dull tooling.

 

[ca survivor]

looks normal wear, to me.

 

[serpentine]

Like others have mentioned the marks are likely wear marks. Give it time to break in. After 500 rounds if the marks are turning into craters, or brass is still peening your forehead, then maybe reach out to Smith. I had brass in the face with a couple of new pistols. It seems to go away with break in.

 

[kannonvaggon]

You might wanna check the inside of the slide for a slight deformation or machine marks that need a light smoothing .... I get the marks on top of the barrel where it contacts the inside of the slide, but nothing like that on the corners like yours. Mine works a bit easier these days after about 1100 rounds of various types. I can see there is still a slight "rub" mark on the top of the barrel but the finish is not worn through or anything like that.
The barrel moves around a LOT in there.... BUT the bore axis is SWEET!

 

[1hatchet]

Clip vs. Magazine
You know that boxy rectangular thingy that holds cartridges and slides into the bottom of your semi-auto pistol? It's not a clip — no matter how often the term is misused. It's a magazine.

A magazine holds shells under spring pressure in preparation for feeding into the firearm's chamber. Examples include box, tubular, drum and rotary magazines. Some are fixed to the firearm while others are removable.

A cartridge "clip" has no spring and does not feed shells directly into the chamber. Rather, clips hold cartridges in the correct sequence for "charging" a specific firearm's magazine. Stripper clips allow rounds to be "stripped" into the magazine. Other types are fed along with the shells into the magazine — the M1 Garand famously operates in this fashion. Once all rounds have been fired, the clip is ejected or otherwise released from the firearm.

In essence, clips feed magazines. Magazines feed firearms

 

[JAREDSHS]

follow KANNONVAGGON and STRATAJEMA 's suggestions and look closely inside the slide
where the barrel hood makes contact. Those two bright corners are not normal wear.

 

[robkarrob]

Normal wear, friction points are going to wear the finish off. If you shoot the gun, it is going to contact in certain areas, and no matter how much you lubricate it, you will get metal to metal contact (wear). If it is a show piece, then I would be concerned, but I also would not be shooting a show piece. Since it is a SD gun, and if you are going to use it for SD, then I hope you shoot it a lot, so that you can hit you aim point, and can control the gun for fast follow up shots. You will see more wear points as you shoot it more, and will see holster wear points. Don't worry about it, as it is for SD, not show. No one sees my SD gun, except when I am practicing with it at a range, and then only from a distance.

If you remove the recoil spring, you can put the barrel back in the slide and you will see where those marks are coming from, the top underside of the slide, which is a normal contact spot on the Shield.

Make sure you are locking your wrist very firm, to avoid muzzle flip up. That may ease the issue with shell casing hitting you. With the Shield 9, you can control the muzzle so it moves only about 1 inch of upward recoil movement, with solid shoulders, arms, and wrists.

Bob

 

[webfarmer]

Looking at mine right now. A faint line will form connecting the marks paralleling the high point as you fire it more (mine is at 865 round count). However, I cannot feel the edges on mine with my finger nail. Maybe they'll smooth out a bit with more firing. The Shield is a great EDC pistol. Quite a different trigger feel than your 92 eh?

 

[haveme1]

Looking at mine right now. A faint line will form connecting the marks paralleling the high point as you fire it more (mine is at 865 round count). However, I cannot feel the edges on mine with my finger nail. Maybe they'll smooth out a bit with more firing. The Shield is a great EDC pistol. Quite a different trigger feel than your 92 eh?

Mine is the same. A faint line across.
As hard as you have to jack it back to lock the slide I bet it is at maximum for the barrel and inside the slide. That would kinda ding it.

 

[Rpg]

Forget the wear marks: machines retain evidence of their function.

If you don't want wear, don't use it.

The much more serious issue is exjecting into your head. That is not OK.

These pistols are notorious for this fault: I've shot 6 or 7 of them and only one avoided the fault.

This is certain to teach you a great flinch: no good!!

I wouldn't have one unless a gunsmith I trusted had fixed this fault.

The factory (and some on this forum) will blame it on ammo or 'limp wristing': not so.

This is a design and QC problem

If you insist on buying one, budget $150.00 extra to have it fixed before you start shooting it.

Or, budget $500.00 extra for a top notch training program to help you get rid of the flinch.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[hoc9sw]

So, Rpg, tell me what to ask them to fix. Mine is coming back from trip #4 to the homeland. The latest issue was that it started pounding me with casings mid way through a range session. Did it for ~90 rounds sequentially, then cleared up a while, then started again.

Asked them to replace it, but it has been shipped (no request for FFL information), so I presume I'm getting the same one back yet again.

 

[uksas]

Thanks

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions - as a first-timer to the forum, i appreciate it

I did take a close look at the inside of the slide and I couldn't see anything obvious that could have caused the 'nicks' where the finish is completely worn through, but that said the machining is a little rough in a couple places and under the force of firing, I guess it is possible thats where they came from. I'm going to put a few hundred more rounds through it and if they don't become 'craters' then I'm not bothered. Hopefully working on adapting my grip technique will resolve the brass flying into my head also - it certainly is a different instrument to my 92!! Will report back, although am having my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow, so may be in a week or two!

 

[judgecrater]

My 9mm Shield has been fired about 500 times and the barrel nicks are exactly the same. Looks like it is common wear on the Shield. No brass to face with lots of different reloads, both mid-range and light.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

My M&P380 must be broke
I shot it about 150 times-I hit the target 150 times. The fired case ejected to my right 150 times. The gun shows permanent signs of wear as a result of being fired. It smells like burnt powder and has some black sooty stuff inside. Damn!

 

[Bozz10mm]

Didn't notice it until I read the OP, but when I checked my Shield 9, it does have a nick on one corner. Just on the right side. I have a little over 1k rounds thru it, and probably as many dry fires, so I'm not really concerned about it. Don't have the problem of casings hitting me in the face tho.

 

[Decipher]

Clip vs. Magazine
You know that boxy rectangular thingy that holds cartridges and slides into the bottom of your semi-auto pistol? It's not a clip — no matter how often the term is misused. It's a magazine.

A magazine holds shells under spring pressure in preparation for feeding into the firearm's chamber. Examples include box, tubular, drum and rotary magazines. Some are fixed to the firearm while others are removable.

A cartridge "clip" has no spring and does not feed shells directly into the chamber. Rather, clips hold cartridges in the correct sequence for "charging" a specific firearm's magazine. Stripper clips allow rounds to be "stripped" into the magazine. Other types are fed along with the shells into the magazine — the M1 Garand famously operates in this fashion. Once all rounds have been fired, the clip is ejected or otherwise released from the firearm.

In essence, clips feed magazines. Magazines feed firearms

EXACTLY! This drives me crazy, especially when I hear people who should know better say it. I know it's accepted terminology, but it doesn't make it right.

Anyways, OP, my shield has seen almost 1,500 rounds of problem-free operation with all types of ammo. I do NOT have the wear marks you have. After that many rounds, I see minor wear in the corners but it is a fraction of what you're experiencing. I'd watch that closely. IT SEEMS TO BE EXCESSIVE based on what I'm encountering. For what it's worth, I have had my shield for about a year and it has a safety ( I laughingly don't use).

Lastly, the brass in the face is likely due to your grip. I've found that to be accurate with these sub-compacts, and it goes for any of them, you have to death grip them. They are very much prone to limp-wristing and accuracy will suffer. Additionally, the brass will drastically change direction as your grip changes ever so slightly. I added grip tape to mine and wow did it make a difference.

I know you disagree, RPG, but I'd love to hear what they have to correct. I notice that, as I get further into my range sessions and fatigued, the ejected casings work their way behind me and eventually towards the top of my head.