Problems with new S&W M&P Shield 9mm

[mltndw3]

I have now run numerous brands of ammo through the Shield (500+ rounds) and have had zero FTE problems since my first range trip (where I had an FTE in each of the first three mags). From what I've learned from the forums, my initial problem was probably cause by either:
--improper cleaning before my first trip to the range (I followed the directions but may not have been as thorough as I needed to be)
--stiff recoil spring that needed a "break in period" (The action was very stiff out of the box and now is much easier to operate)

It's been a great gun and with practice, I hope to be as accurate with it as I am my G19. I have total confidence in it and have no reservations about carrying it.

 

[hoc9sw]

I'm a bit new at the internet mess,so yes, I'm here because the problems I've had with my Shield 9 warranted creating a login. I am a 1911 guy (let's just say Army trained), since 1969 with a 1943 manufactured service pistol that never jammed, thousands of rounds.

Thought a 9 was a good idea for a lighter carry weapon. Have a Kimber Ultra TLE II, but I'm seeing suspenders in my future as my shape changes.

Bought the shield 9mm

Opened the box, field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.

First 200 rounds, literally every other one jammed, with new round about 1/4 inch into the chamber (preventing dropping the mag), and the almost ejected round bullet end down, bent into the chamber and partially loaded next round.

Always with 115 gr ammo, WWB 115 (100), Federal Champion 115 (50), and BrassMax 115 (50).

Federal 124 (next 50 rounds) did not fail.
Lawman 124 (next 50 rounds) did not fail.
Followed by WWB, complete chaos. Jams at every round.

Sent it back to S&W.
"modified barrel, replace extractor"
Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.

100 rounds WWB 115gr, only 1 hard jam as above. Hope was present.
Boxes of other random 9 115gr, no issues.

Day 2.
Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.
100 rounds Federal Champion 115gr, 20 hard jams as above.

Back to S&W.
"Replaced barrel".

Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.
300+ rounds tonight.
100 WWB 115gr. -
1 light strike
1 trigger did not reset, had to eject a good round to reset
1 hard jam as described above
2 fail to go to battery

50 BrassMax 115gr. - all ok (and that is some nasty ammo)
20 Federal Hydra Shock JHP 124gr - all ok (what a difference - perfect group)
50 BrassMax 115gr - all ok

100 WWB 115gr -all ok

Field stripped, cleaned and oiled this evening.

total rounds? 1102
Cost to get there? $465 in ammo, more than the firearm cost.

Will be calling S&W in the morning. Yes, there will be a half-hour on hold. That's a given.

 

[VINTAGE1944]

I have a question. does anyone know that if you drop a shield 9mm on tile floor will it damage the firearm? I dropped mine today on my tile floor and the outsides fine I was worried about internal damage somehow? any one else been in my shoes? I took it apart everything looks good I just haven't fired it yet it. loads and unloads fine, cycles every round through so I was just worried bout it.

 

[Rastoff]

...if you drop a shield 9mm on tile floor will it damage the firearm?

You'll get better answers if you start a new thread.

Still, I'll answer this way: Any gun that couldn't withstand being dropped from at least shoulder height onto any hard surface, wouldn't be a gun I'd carry.

 

[justinoff]

After reading these threads I just wanted to share my .2 . First , I don't believe in "bad ammo " . A gun should eat everything you feed it! I usually run my guns wet (lots of oil) for the first 1000 rounds to help facilitate even wear . 2nd and this one is important , the 8rnd mag has the extended grip on the bottom which tends to come loose and slip around . I've heard of a few cases of people taking it off . DONT DO THAT ! Just glue that little **** down and call it a day . What has happens in previous cases is without the grip extension on the 8rnd mag , people are slapping that single stack in and it's causing problems with the ejector and the slide . Not a problem with double stack magazines because of the triangle shape of the feed lips but a single stack will just push up into the chamber.

I will be picking my just bought used shield ($300 ) in two days so you better believe I've researched the shot out of potential problems .

I always polish the feed ramps , clean the gun and then motor oil any moving parts . I've never had a problem in my 20 years of shooting except the orange springs that came in my M&P 15-22. Sent it back In S&W replaced with the blue springs and hasn't skipped a beat since .

 

[mafbloggerdanny]

Not a problem with double stack magazines because of the triangle shape of the feed lips but a single stack will just push up into the chamber.

if you look at the mags on a Shield it's not really a true single stack, its kind of a 1.5 stack. It has a bit of a bottleneck at the top the same way a doublestack mag does, it's just kind of mild.

 

[RobzGuns]

Originally Posted by justinoff Not a problem with double stack magazines because of the triangle shape of the feed lips but a single stack will just push up into the chamber.

Um... It can happen with Double-Stack mags too. I can't speak for other M&Ps, but with the Shield, Glock, XD, or Beretta, The mag wells are straight, NOT sloped to match the mag shoulders. One CAN snap the ejector and ding the slide if one slams the mag in without using the 'sleeve'.

 

[kannonvaggon]

I know on MY Shield if I " top off " a either mag and then re-insert that mag it is VERY stiff to get locked all the way into the well. There is a lot of pressure on that top round and it hits "SOMETHING" like the ejector arm or whatever when it is going in. If that sleeve was not on the 8 round mag I'm thinking one could do some damage.... YMMV

 

[Kevin58]

Bought my M&P Shield at the end of July... about a month ago. I don't have a lot of factory ammo except for Critical Duty defense but so far it has taken every reload I've put into it both those that I've bought from licensed reloaders and those I've made myself. Love the gun.

 

[checkmyswag]

Bought my M&P Shield at the end of July... about a month ago. I don't have a lot of factory ammo except for Critical Duty defense but so far it has taken every reload I've put into it both those that I've bought from licensed reloaders and those I've made myself. Love the gun.

What is a "licensed reloader"? Ive never heard of this.

 

[checkmyswag]

I know on MY Shield if I " top off " a either mag and then re-insert that mag it is VERY stiff to get locked all the way into the well. There is a lot of pressure on that top round and it hits "SOMETHING" like the ejector arm or whatever when it is going in. If that sleeve was not on the 8 round mag I'm thinking one could do some damage.... YMMV

You should insert your mag into the gun when the slide is off so you can see what's going on.

 

[M&PGUY1]

which holster are you going to use for ccw?

 

[M&PGUY1]

I was using Remington 124gr. Range ammo. No not new shooter, no limp wresting. Yes I did clean it before taking it to the range. I like it very much, hope they get it fixed. I want it for ccw.
wlg

which holster are you going with?

 

[Rastoff]

I know on MY Shield if I " top off " a either mag and then re-insert that mag it is VERY stiff to get locked all the way into the well. There is a lot of pressure on that top round and it hits "SOMETHING" like the ejector arm or whatever when it is going in. If that sleeve was not on the 8 round mag I'm thinking one could do some damage.... YMMV

With the slide closed it will be stiff with a full mag. The top round is contacting the bottom of the slide. Because of this, nothing in the gun can be damaged.

However, with the slide open, and no base plate, the mag can actually be inserted further than it should be. In that condition, the mag can contact the Ejector and break it. Thus I don't recommend removing the base pad.

Neither do I recommend gluing it in place. If you do that the mag cannot be disassembled for cleaning. A little bit of movement in the base plate is not an issue.

 

[1hatchet]

What is a "licensed reloader"? Ive never heard of this.

Perhapes the poster is referring to a Type 07 Title 1 FFL license.

"Title 1 manufacturer of firearms and ammunition, who may also act as dealer; may not manufacture or deal in destructive devices, ammunition for destructive devices, or armor piercing ammunition. Can also manufacture & deal in Title II NFA firearms with class 2 tax stamp."

Federal Firearms License - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Horn]

My New Shield 9 Also

After a long time on the list, I got my S&W M&P Shield 9mm, took it to the range put about 50 rounds through it had a FTE after that tried to put another 100 rounds through it had 3 more FTE and 1 stuck in the pipe. Had to have gunsmith get it out. Took it back to where I bought it they called S&W and was told to send it to them. Has anyone else had these problems? I hope S&W makes it right and it comes back and works ok?

Bought mine last May. Sent it back August 11 (2014) with number of rounds and brand (250 in all) and a photo of the same extraction problems of another poster. It also ejected all over the place. I expect it back around September 3. I have 300 rounds ready for testing. I'm really hoping it's cured! I plan on buying a back up 9mm. I hope it'll be a new Shield without the manual safety. If problems aren't fixed__Good bye with 60 years S&W with 24 of them LE. Hello Glock 26 4th Gen? My carry has to be
reliable.
Good luck when yours comes back.

 

[tedburns3]

I'm a bit new at the internet mess,so yes, I'm here because the problems I've had with my Shield 9 warranted creating a login. I am a 1911 guy (let's just say Army trained), since 1969 with a 1943 manufactured service pistol that never jammed, thousands of rounds.

Thought a 9 was a good idea for a lighter carry weapon. Have a Kimber Ultra TLE II, but I'm seeing suspenders in my future as my shape changes.

Bought the shield 9mm

Opened the box, field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.

First 200 rounds, literally every other one jammed, with new round about 1/4 inch into the chamber (preventing dropping the mag), and the almost ejected round bullet end down, bent into the chamber and partially loaded next round.

Always with 115 gr ammo, WWB 115 (100), Federal Champion 115 (50), and BrassMax 115 (50).

Federal 124 (next 50 rounds) did not fail.
Lawman 124 (next 50 rounds) did not fail.
Followed by WWB, complete chaos. Jams at every round.

Sent it back to S&W.
"modified barrel, replace extractor"
Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.

100 rounds WWB 115gr, only 1 hard jam as above. Hope was present.
Boxes of other random 9 115gr, no issues.

Day 2.
Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.
100 rounds Federal Champion 115gr, 20 hard jams as above.

Back to S&W.
"Replaced barrel".

Field stripped, cleaned, and lubed.
300+ rounds tonight.
100 WWB 115gr. -
1 light strike
1 trigger did not reset, had to eject a good round to reset
1 hard jam as described above
2 fail to go to battery

50 BrassMax 115gr. - all ok (and that is some nasty ammo)
20 Federal Hydra Shock JHP 124gr - all ok (what a difference - perfect group)
50 BrassMax 115gr - all ok

100 WWB 115gr -all ok

Field stripped, cleaned and oiled this evening.

total rounds? 1102
Cost to get there? $465 in ammo, more than the firearm cost.

Will be calling S&W in the morning. Yes, there will be a half-hour on hold. That's a given.

Part of the problem may be that one can 'overclean' and/or 'over-lubricate' a given pistol. I am of the opinion that 'less is more' when it comes to lube, and especially with polymer pistols.

Also, in the manual on page 19, it specifically states that gun will not fire if one pulls trigger and does not permit it to go fully forward after each shot. However, I like to release trigger to reset point and then pull it back for next shot. Doing so, if I experience a failure- at least I've been warned about it and the 'surprise' factor will not exist.

 

[gunfighter48]

My Shield 9mm had three FTE in the first 100rds. It has not failed since then. I now have over 500rds thru it and it works great. I don't get worried about a few FTE or failure to chamber until I get over the 300rd point in shooting. And it's usually a simple fix to get the gun running correctly after that, all my other pistols are 45ACP 1911s.

I"m not a fan of Remington ammo. Over the last 50 years I've had problems with their ammo a number of times, other people have had no problems with their ammo, go figure.

 

[tedburns3]

My Shield 9mm had three FTE in the first 100rds. It has not failed since then. I now have over 500rds thru it and it works great. I don't get worried about a few FTE or failure to chamber until I get over the 300rd point in shooting. And it's usually a simple fix to get the gun running correctly after that, all my other pistols are 45ACP 1911s.

I"m not a fan of Remington ammo. Over the last 50 years I've had problems with their ammo a number of times, other people have had no problems with their ammo, go figure.

Good to hear about reliability of the Shield, gunfighter48!

I'm not a particular fan of Remington 9mm range ammo either and prefer Federal or WWB or just about any other brand.

 

[Horn]

I was using Remington 124gr. Range ammo. No not new shooter, no limp wresting. Yes I did clean it before taking it to the range. I like it very much, hope they get it fixed. I want it for ccw.
wlg

I too had a few failure to extract on my first time out on the desert. Sent it to S&W and got it back in two weeks. You'll likely have to call after it comes back to see what was done___no note in the box.
Someone polished the chamber and someplace else__forget what the guy said on the phone. I had been using Winchester WB. I took it out after it came back and put 50 rounds of Speer Lawman 115 gr through. No problems. I'll next try a hundred fifty rounds of mixed stuff. I'm hoping all will be well. Hope yours will be also.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
-- George Orwell