new shield

[dlay]

Just bought a new sheild 9mm, really like it, shoots, looks, handles good. I put a pierce mag extension on the seven round mag and that makes it feel great. I have one question, why do the make the springs so heavy in the pistol and magazines, my wife wanted one but she cant operate it. The mags are a pain to load.

 

[OKFC05]

Get a Uplula loader, which works for all the M&Ps, to make loading the magazines much easier.
To help them along, disassemble, clean, dry, and reassemble the mags. I use CRC silicone.
Then load the magazines full and leave them full.
Lock the slide back (using an empty mag to make it easier) and leave it stored that way.
Go to cornered cat web site and learn the woman's way to work a slide.
In a few weeks it will all settle in.

 

[Saudade]

They will loosen up with use. After a good range visit, I can load the mags by hand except for the last round. I do have an uplula.

This was pretty common with my other semis.

 

[hokiefyd]

I think the slide is pretty easy to rack on the Shield, and it's one of the guns that my wife actually can operate. She has small/weak hands, and my former CZ P-07 was far too stiff for her to be able to operate the slide. The Shield's slide is like butter on our gun. She can pull it back and let it slap forward. It's still not easy for her to do it. But it's doable.

I plan to replace our recoil guide rod with the new single spring guide rod from Stainless Steel Guide Rods; I suspect that'll make the gun even easier to operate.

 

[ScrapmasterFlex]

Hey brother congrats, I got my brand new Shield 9mm on Monday afternoon!

The reason the spring is "so heavy" as you put it is simple- it's for function and reliability! When you have a small pistol, with minimal size and weight, shooting moderate to higher power rounds (I.e. not a little PPK shooting a little round etc.) the spring needs to be very tight in order to allow the slide to function, completing the firing process, stripping the round from the mag, returning to battery and locking up tightly. A bigger, heavier gun with a bigger slide and therefore more mass, ie. more momentum, doesn't need as much spring "help" to return it and complete the firing process. Mine is also tight, as many mentioned it will "break in" a bit and smooth itself out but a good portion will always remain as the necessary "operating system" if you will.

 

[mustangman]

Congrats on the new Shield. As stated above, after working, and shooting the gun for a while, things should loosen up a bit. If you like the Pearce on the 7 rd mag, they work well on the 8 also.

 

[andrewcdub]

Leave the slide locked back when not in use overnight for a few days maybe a week. I did this with mine when I got it and the spring loosened up nicely.

 

[SeanPwnery]

As other's have said, get the Uplula magazine reloader - it makes life so much easier on reloads - especially if you're going to send 100-200 downrange in a session (saves your thumbs!).

Other than that, the recoil spring break-in generally takes about 2-300 rounds and becomes a lot more user-friendly even for smaller hands. I kind-of like the slide-lock idea, but I originally tried this on my PPK with no effect. Rounds-down always tend to work over a weekend or two.

 

[dlay]

I bought the uplula, makes it much easier, overall, I love the gun. I have a fobus holster coming for it.

 

[Jaysq]

Welcome from North Carolina

 

[Jaysq]

Get a Uplula loader, which works for all the M&Ps, to make loading the magazines much easier.
To help them along, disassemble, clean, dry, and reassemble the mags. I use CRC silicone.
Then load the magazines full and leave them full.
Lock the slide back (using an empty mag to make it easier) and leave it stored that way.
Go to cornered cat web site and learn the woman's way to work a slide.
In a few weeks it will all settle in.

Which model Uplula works with the Shield. The last time I was on their site, they said it did not work with the Shield??

 

[dlay]

I bought the universal model, says it works from 9mm thru 45s, havent tried it on 380s yet.

 

[dlay]

Works on ruger lcp also, course you dont need it on them, wont break your thumbs.

 

[shakyshoot]

Putting the last round in my Shield magazines is a piece of cake compared to putting the 13th round in my Springfield P9C mag, and that's 20 years old. Both the mags and the slide have softened up noticeably on my Shield. (Now at about 1500 rds, but you'll know the difference after 400-500.)
That Pearce mag extension took my 7 rd mag from almost unusable to being the preferred mag. Thinking of getting another 7 rounder and swapping my other Pearce over from the 8 rounder.

 

[Saudade]

That Pearce mag extension took my 7 rd mag from almost unusable to being the preferred mag. Thinking of getting another 7 rounder and swapping my other Pearce over from the 8 rounder.

Interesting. I put the pinky extension plate on my flat 9C mag so all of them have the extension.

I looked at the Pearce extension for my Shield. I have 2 7 rounder. Guess I better order some.

 

[DoubleEagle]

Which model Uplula works with the Shield. The last time I was on their site, they said it did not work with the Shield??

Model UP60B. maglula | Tools for loading and unloading magazines

 

[EdP1946]

The U(niversal)pLULA makes it easy on the thumbs AND fast. Even though my thumbs are now strong enough to completely fill both 7 & 8 round mags, the UpLULA is still faster. A friend, who has been shooting for decades, was amazed at how much faster it was for him with the UpLULA. Just pay attention to the instructions; especially the one about loading the first round in each mag by hand before using the UpLULA to avoid damaging the plastic follower.

The suggestion about using silicone lubrication in magazines is contrary to S&W recommendations, presumably because it can collect dust and debris that will cause the plastic follower to hang up. Probably it is OK so long as you disassemble and clean your mags frequently and don't drop your empty mags on bare ground.

 

[steelerfan]

I bought the universal model, says it works from 9mm thru 45s, havent tried it on 380s yet.

^^^THIS^^^ We use it on my wife's 9mm Shield, my M&P 9c, & my M&P 40 full size, also works with my KelTec .32 so it should also work with .380.
It makes loading the magazine a piece of cake once you get the hang of it, huge difference especially in cold weather so your fingers won't start to hurt trying to load

 

[RobzGuns]

The U(niversal)pLULA makes it easy on the thumbs AND fast.

Actually, IIRC... the 'p' stands for Pistol, so It stands for U(niversal)p(istol)Lula.
It works with Double and Single Stack mags, from 9mm to .45 (and even some .380s.

But yeah... It's especially great for new mags. I've used it with my Shield's mags.

 

[SeanPwnery]

I bought the universal model, says it works from 9mm thru 45s, havent tried it on 380s yet.

I've got that model Uplula too - works just fine on my "Smith and Walther" PPK