S&W 9mm shield

[Springfield Bob]

I just bought a 9mm shield & am having a heck of a time opening to slide stop. I find it very difficult to get the slide to lock. I have other M&P's that
give me no trouble. I find if I remove the magazine I can't lock the slide back. None of my other M&P's has such a tough spring. Any one else have this problem and did you fix it?

Thank you.

Bob

 

[Ohsheepdog]

Mine had the same problem when new & went away after firing.

 

[00Buck2]

Mine had the same problem when new & went away after firing.

As oh sheepdog said. I did notice that the slide stop engages a little further back than a normal M&P.

If you hold it in your right hand with thumb on slide stop applying slight pressure upwards and slowly pull the slide rearward. I noticed that the slide actually has to travel well past the visible notch on the slide before it locks. It is just shy of being at full travel before it locks.

 

[Thiokol]

Rack the slide back with an empty magazine inserted. That will lock the slide back then you can remove the mag and disassemble the pistol..

 

[tactical404]

The first time I did it, the slide dislodged from the lock and clamped the meat of my index finger. Had two people watching me otherwise I probably would've cried like a school girl.

 

[OldCat]

The spring is pretty strong for a small gun but you will get used to it. The gun gets smoother after a few hundred rounds. Mine is still tight but it sure does shoot like one twice its size.

 

[harmavoidance0]

Mine had the same problem when new & went away after firing.

Same here. Could not get it to lock brand new- after my first range day (today), no issues with slide tension.

 

[66snub]

Mine still does it a little bit too, but I've got about 200 rounds down the pipe since new and it's getting better. What an incredible little gun.

 

[OldCat]

Mine still does it a little bit too, but I've got about 200 rounds down the pipe since new and it's getting better. What an incredible little gun.

Agreed. I find that it is just as comfortable to shoot with the 7 round mag as with the 8 rounder. No grip extentions on the 7.

 

[rfreyta]

I've had mine 3 weeks and this is the only thing I hate. I only have 100 rounds but it is so hard to rack it after cleaning. It actually gets stuck and eventually after many many tries I get it to work. Empty mag makes no difference. I've read the posts about the spring and make sure that's in place. If it wasn't such a sweet shooting perfect carry weapon I would get rid of it because of this. Hopefully it improves with time.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Norm66]

You'll get used to it. I did. Or maybe it loosens up with use, not sure really. I've got about 500 rounds through mine and it's not an issue for me anymore.

 

[ChiefBoatsret]

500 rounds and leaving racked open for three or four days took care of it for me.

 

[C/O]

I just got my Shield 2 days ago. That's the first thing I noticed, but after cycling it a lot and leaving it locked back at night it seems to be getting easier.

 

[Wassup8687]

It'll free up with normal use in a short amount of time.

 

[OldCat]

If you think the Shield is hard to rack then my 38 year old 1911 will make you cry. (It has a very tight barrel bushing for accuracy.) And that's been in use a lot with thousands of rounds and combat competitions.

At least the Shield is easier to rack and much more concealable.

 

[D-West]

"Stiff" Shield

Same experience with my 9 Shield I bought back in February. As others have said, the spring will "ease up" with use. It was in such stark contrast to how easy it was locking back the slide on my full size M&P 9mm that I initially thought it was defective. The slide would stop just short of being able to lock it back...it felt like it "caught" on something. I kept working it and it finally caught...and after 200 or so rounds it's much easier.

Sweeeeet pistol -- wasn't sure I was going to like it as much as my full size 9. Gotta say...it's a horse race...and I'll enjoy putting them head to head often.

 

[Springfield Bob]

Thank you all for getting back to me on the issue with my 9 mm Shield not locking open.I bought this pistol for my wife & started to think she'll never be able to work it. Thanks to you I see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
Sincerely,
Springfield Bob

 

[SpookyEng]

So it's not just me

Timely post! I just received my wife's anniversary present 9mm Shield and noticed the same thing, I was like *** why can't I lock the slide back. Well the upcoming range trip will include some serious shooting to loosen that puppy up.

 

[ivanwi11iams]

I'm now happy to know I wasn't the only one experiencing this. I didn't think to leave it locked back at night.

*walks away to lock it back now*

 

[OldCat]

I'm now happy to know I wasn't the only one experiencing this. I didn't think to leave it locked back at night.

*walks away to lock it back now*

Leaving it locked back at night won't help all that much. It is cycling the spring that helps the most just like in magazines, the more it is compressed and release the softer the spring gets.