Shield 45 question

[jasonfoster48]

I noticed this when cleaning gun. I also noticed it after taking out of box and before shooting. I'm loading 6, chamber one,

load one more in mag for 7 with the flush fit, not 7+1 in extended mag. Is this normal for the 45?

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[steamloco76]

The streak of bronze on the slide, yes mine does it. Fired 200 rounds on my first range trip before a dirty chamber and feed ramp finally caused a failure to go into battery on the first round from a new mag. I would not worry about it in the least.

 

[LAA]

And you'll feel those machine marks, when racking a full mag. That's normal too.

 

[jasonfoster48]

Good to know. I've put 100 rounds through it no problem. I love this pistol.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[Gunz50]

can anyone explain the actual need for these "scallop " cuts ?

 

[kthom]

I can only make a S.W.A.G. about the scallops, but it appears to me that these have the effect of slightly slowing the movement of the slide when there is one or more rounds of ammo in a loaded mag in the gun. These short barreled semi autos have a pretty narrow window of tolerances to allow them to operate with proper slide speed and force for reliable operation. The complete recoil and reloading back to battery operation can also result in battering of the various parts of the mechanism that stop both the forward and rearward motion during the cycling of the slide after firing.

My copy has been entirely reliable from the beginning, but I expect to probably change the recoil spring assembly a bit earlier than I will with my full sized M&P's. I suspect a weakened (by use) recoil spring will negatively effect function in these short barreled guns.

As noted, this is just speculation on my part, but I feel certain that those scallops in that location did not get there either by accident or a simple decision to save the bit of time required to smooth them up in production. Since my 9MM Shield does not have the scallops, I believe they are present by design, and my reasoning is the only thing I can think of to make this necessary. My two cents FWIW!

 

[Steved13]

can anyone explain the actual need for these "scallop " cuts ?

My experience is S&W customer service, answers all questions. You should send them a note and let us know what they say.

 

[jasonfoster48]

Called Smith and Wesson. The scallop cuts are normal and all is well. I figured that much. Now I also asked about the 7+1in full size mag. Customer service says that the springs in the Magazine's will loosen up over time and it will get easier to load around and also to get a seven plus one in that magazine.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[kthom]

Jason,

Forgot to mention that if you will load all your mags fully and let them sit at rest that way for at least a couple days (and more), it will noticeably improve the ability to load them. I also recommend locking the slide back on your empty Shield and letting it sit that way for the same time.

Doing this will allow the associated springs to begin to take their initial set (which also occurs during shooting and use) without the expenditure of ammo to get this done. Another suggestion is to get yourself a Maglula magazine loader if you don't already have one. These things are worth way more than the purchase price. They make loading any mag much quicker and easier for me, but especially these new mags that are very tough at first. Thanks for the info from S&W

 

[jasonfoster48]

Thanks. I'm going to do that. The springs are getting easier. I've only shot 100 rounds through the gun since I got it. I hope to be at the range tomorrow, but with work and all...And bullets are expensive, at least for me. I love this gun. I wanna go to the range now...But work. Off I go to earn money for guns and bullets. Lol.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

 

[Lordvice]

My shield has the same bronze markings, but not as much. I just finished putting 1,000 rounds through it (950 reloads of LSWC and 50 factory ball ammo) in two range visits. The gun works flawlessly. The magazines were a real pain to load right out of the box. I fully loaded them and kept them like that for a couple of weeks. bough the Magula mag loader also. After 500 rounds The magazines are no longer hard to load and did not have the need to use the Magula loader.This gun shoots extremely well and thus far is very reliable. It eats reloaded ammo just as good as my Colt Gold cup. Just order the Pearce magazine extension for the 6 round mag.

 

[jdebarto]

Mine has the same marks. Pretty sure it's normal.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk