No Trigger Safety? - Revised

[T2C]

I received my brand new Shield 9mm yesterday. I was checking it over today before heading out to the range and noticed there is no trigger safety on the hinged trigger. Range trip cancelled.

Were any of the Shields shipped without a trigger safety? Could this be a Performance Center trigger?

 

[sschrick]

Picture of your trigger would help. The Shield has a two-piece hinged trigger. The lower portion of the trigger needs to be depressed in order for the trigger safety to disengage. If you press only on the upper portion, the trigger should not release the striker.

 

[scott_0]

all M&P's have that type trigger, why would you cancel your range trip? did you not research the weapon at all before buying it?

Sent from my S7 Edge on Tapatalk

 

[T2C]

all M&P's have that type trigger, why would you cancel your range trip? did you not research the weapon at all before buying it?

Sent from my S7 Edge on Tapatalk

If parts are missing, I will have S&W repair the handgun before I fire it.

 

[Old and Grumpy]

Looks like both of mine? Do not see anything out of the ordinary.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

 

[Muss Muggins]

The Shield "trigger safety" neither looks like nor functions like the Glock version, if that is your concern . . .

 

[T2C]

Looks like both of mine? Do not see anything out of the ordinary.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

Neither of yours have a tab sticking out of the top back of the trigger? The back of the upper part of the trigger is hollow on mine. I can press the upper part of the trigger and the striker is released.

 

[Shield9mm]

OP is right don't see it either, that's weird. It should look like this.

 

[Fastcast]

Yep, looks like the tab that catches on the frame is missing...

 

[Old and Grumpy]

I will look when I get in from the barn

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[Mr.Shield]

I just checked mine and it has the tab sticking out. Looks like yours is missing.


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[MichiganScott]

Yep, parts missing. Contact customer service at the mother ship and they will sen you a call tag for return at no cost and little hassle to you.

If you wish, you could still shoot it first. Just treat it like a cocked and unlocked 1911.

 

[Old and Grumpy]

Both of mine have it


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[Rastoff]

Push the trigger forward. Does it show up then?

Also, it is not a "trigger" safety, it's a drop safety. It serves the function of preventing the trigger from moving all the way back if the pistol is dropped on the rear of the slide. The gun will function safely as long as you don't drop it on a hard surface and on the back of the slide.

You can read about it in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/329404-trigger-really-safety.html

 

[Miljet]

A couple of years ago there was a recall on the safety. All the parts were there but some of them had something keeping the tab at the rear of the trigger from extending as it should. I remember doing the recommended check on mine and it worked fine so I never worried about it.

 

[T2C]

Push the trigger forward. Does it show up then?

Also, it is not a "trigger" safety, it's a drop safety. It serves the function of preventing the trigger from moving all the way back if the pistol is dropped on the rear of the slide. The gun will function safely as long as you don't drop it on a hard surface and on the back of the slide.

You can read about it in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/329404-trigger-really-safety.html

No, it's missing. My brand new, never fired, S&W Shield 9mm will be heading back to S&W tomorrow.

 

[scooter123]

Push the trigger forward. Does it show up then?

Also, it is not a "trigger" safety, it's a drop safety. It serves the function of preventing the trigger from moving all the way back if the pistol is dropped on the rear of the slide. The gun will function safely as long as you don't drop it on a hard surface and on the back of the slide.

You can read about it in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/329404-trigger-really-safety.html

I cannot agree with this statement, in fact IMO it's just plain wrong.

First, if the pistol were dropped on the REAR of the slide the bottom part of the trigger would be carried towards the REAR of the pistol due to simple MOMENTUM.

Second, I have rather narrow fingers and if I take a "High" grip on a S&W M&P 9mm I can sometimes find the trigger is locked because my finger is too high on the trigger to swing the bottom half far enough to disengage the trigger safety. Because of this my carry choice has been either a Sig Sauer with no trigger safety at all or a Ruger with the classic split style Trigger Safety copied from Glock. BTW, I have never understood why Glock as allowed these copies and suspect this type of trigger safety may actually have been patented way before Glock ever existed.

Third, S&W advertising literature describes this as a TRIGGER SAFETY.

 

[fallhunter]

Its not missing. Put your finger behind the bottom of the trigger and push out on it. I bet it will pop out.

There was a recall on Shields some time back, around three years ago. I had one that had to be sent back. All is good now. It is supposed to have a trigger safety.

The gun would be safe to shoot still, and in a way, I wish I would never have sent that Shield in. I like the Sig P320 with no trigger safety, I wish all my guns were like that.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[zymurgeist]

I cannot agree with this statement, in fact IMO it's just plain wrong.

First, if the pistol were dropped on the REAR of the slide the bottom part of the trigger would be carried towards the REAR of the pistol due to simple MOMENTUM.

Second, I have rather narrow fingers and if I take a "High" grip on a S&W M&P 9mm I can sometimes find the trigger is locked because my finger is too high on the trigger to swing the bottom half far enough to disengage the trigger safety. Because of this my carry choice has been either a Sig Sauer with no trigger safety at all or a Ruger with the classic split style Trigger Safety copied from Glock. BTW, I have never understood why Glock as allowed these copies and suspect this type of trigger safety may actually have been patented way before Glock ever existed.

Third, S&W advertising literature describes this as a TRIGGER SAFETY.

It's not a patentable item by Glock because it's prior art as you surmised. The S&W M&P is very different from a Glock and not a copy at all. Glock did not invent the striker fired pistol so by that logic it's a copy of the H&K. It's called a trigger safety for marketing reasons but it should not be confused with a trigger block safety which would actually prevent the trigger from being pulled entirely.

 

[T2C]

Its not missing. Put your finger behind the bottom of the trigger and push out on it. I bet it will pop out.

There was a recall on Shields some time back, around three years ago. I had one that had to be sent back. All is good now. It is supposed to have a trigger safety.

The gun would be safe to shoot still, and in a way, I wish I would never have sent that Shield in. I like the Sig P320 with no trigger safety, I wish all my guns were like that.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

It's missing. Fed Ex will be picking up the Shield today.

 

[Rastoff]

I cannot agree with this statement, in fact IMO it's just plain wrong.

Whether you agree with it or not, it's a fact. Did you read the thread in the link I posted? We've done a lot of discussion and put a lot of thought into this very subject. I'm not going to hash it out here again.

The fact remains, it is a drop safety. Yes, it's a trigger safety in that it keeps the trigger from moving when dropped on the rear of the slide, but it's not there to prevent movement when a finger, or some other tool, is placed on the trigger.

It's missing. Fed Ex will be picking up the Shield today.

Wow! Thanks for the pic. Your trigger is indeed broken.

The tab is not an extra part, but is molded as part of the lower portion of the trigger. Good catch and excellent pic.

This is the first I've seen of this. I wonder how many other M&Ps are out there with the same defect and no one has seen it?

 

[sschrick]

i double checked on my shield9 last night. it is crazy your trigger does not have this feature.

I am not sure if the tab is an integral feature or a separate part. Looking at your "empty" trigger it does look to be a separate piece based on how clean the void appears. Either way, that is crazy bad QC. Not sure of the other M&P triggers, if they use this same piece. Could be an insert in the tooling that was not installed properly.

 

[Rastoff]

I am not sure if the tab is an integral feature or a separate part. Looking at your "empty" trigger it does look to be a separate piece based on how clean the void appears.

It is definitely a single piece and his is definitely broken. Just look at your own again and you'll see.

Also, I blew his excellent picture up just a little and you can clearly see the jagged edge where the tab has broken off:

 

[jstanfield103]

Funny thing is, I just received a letter in the mail on the Shield trigger issue n a recall. would call S&W and send them an email. They will want that one back to fix it.

 

[Rastoff]

He's already sent it in.

 

[T2C]

Fed Ex delivered it to the factory today. I'll provide an update when they return the Shield.

 

[Quanah]

These point-bang guns are simple; point, pull, bang. Any trigger safety on them is superfluous BS.

 

[Rastoff]

You're not paying attention.

 

[SoCalDep]

You're not paying attention.

+100

I'm surprised Rastoff still has the patience to answer questions in this forum. The more time I spend here the more ignorance I see being thrown around.

Rastoff... I have a lot of respect for your knowledge and patience.

To everyone who thinks the "trigger safety" isn't a drop safety or is "a joke" or "superfluous" ... You are ignorant and should immediately cease providing any information to anyone here because you are likely to get you or someone else killed. If you don't like this fact and want to argue then you are not only ignorant but stupid. Your opinion simply doesn't matter if it isn't backed up by experience and knowledge. I don't care how important you think you are or how many times you have read the manual on your snazzy new pistol through which you maybe fired a few hundred rounds.

The internet is full of fake experts and this forum has for some reason achieved an unusually high concentration of them. This particular sub-forum needs some significant moderation to get rid of some of this BS.

As far as I'm concerned, ban me or moderate the BS here better, because I have no problem going to better forums if misinformation and ignorance is the standard for this forum.

I say this having fired tens if not hundreds of thousands of rounds through M&P pistols and having trained thousands of law enforcement officers on it's use.

 

[T2C]

I picked up my Shield from Fed Ex this morning. The paperwork enclosed in the box indicated that S&W replaced the "Drop Safety" and "Function Tested" the firearm. I do not know if they fired it or not. There were two 7 round magazines enclosed in the box. Now I have three 7 round and one 8 round magazines. I am happy they gave me extra 7 round magazines, I prefer them over the 8 round magazines.

I visually inspected the Shield, cleaned and lubed it. I tested the trigger pull weight - 6-1/2#. I noticed the front sight was slightly to the right of center, which may cause the pistol to shoot to the left. I measured the offset with a dial caliper and determined the front sight was 0.014" right of center.

I gathered a variety of ammunition and headed off to the range. The first thing I did was fire defensive ammunition to see how it would group at 25 yards. I am not as steady as I was when I was 30, 40, 50, well you get the idea, so I rested the back of my support hand against the metal pole to steady myself. The Hornady 124g HST and Speed 147g GDHP both had good enough accuracy for defensive purposes. They both shot to the left of POA and by my calculations if I center the front sight in the dovetail, it should shoot POA.

I shot various drills with different kinds of ammunition and the Shield functioned with it all. I noticed the slide stop lever is a little stiff, but I charge the weapon by cycling the slide anyway. A full magazine is difficult to insert with the slide closed and someone with physical limitations may have some difficulty inserting a full magazine.

The last thing I did was run through a 25 round back up gun course 6 times, firing 150 rounds. The drills require head shots out to 5 yards and COM shots out to 15 yards, all under time. Each 25 round course of fire requires 4 head shots and 21 COM shots. To save space, I won't post the drills unless somebody wants them.

The cheap steel case Tula was not as accurate as I would like, but it was good enough for training purposes. Federal aluminum case 115g, Aguila 124g, Hornady 124g HST and Speer 147g GDHP all shot with acceptable accuracy.

Attached are a few pics. I am certainly no Photographer's Mate, but I managed to get a few shots in focus. The 25 yard Hornady HST group was 1-5/8" H x 2-5/16" W center to center. That is the load I intend to carry.