Shield 9 Magazine Spring Issue

[TankerSpec]

About a month ago, my 7 round mag spring failed. It bent where the coils reduce in size and collapsed in the mag. I only noticed because I couldn't load the 7th round in the mag. At the time I had read that it was a somewhat common problem, so I contacted S&W Customer Service. They said they would send me a new spring, no questions asked, for free. I received the new spring in the mail yesterday, and it does not look like the old spring. For one thing, the termination of the coils on both ends have been bent in at 90 degrees, so neither end will sit properly on the follower. Another difference is the replacement spring is the same width from end to end. It also appears to be a different material than the original ones. Did S&W change the spring design recently, maybe to address the bending issue? Or did I receive the wrong spring for my Shield 9? The packaging it came in says "Mag Spring Shield Rev B". Thanks in advance.

 

[MassiveOverkill]

Interesting, chrome silicone maybe?, 'Rev B'. Going to contact S&W and see if I can swap all mine out.

 

[TankerSpec]

If this is indeed an upgraded spring, the issue lies in the 90 degree bends in the spring ends. There needs to be a modified follower to match, similar to the full size M&P magazine followers. As is, this spring will not work with the shield magazine follower since there is not a hole for the bent spring end to fit in. Instead, the bent end rests completely on the ridge on the bottom of the plastic follower, digging into the plastic.

 

[TankerSpec]

So back to my original question, has anyone seen this type of mag spring before? Has anyone else ordered a new spring from S&W for their Shield?

 

[Magload]

None of my Shield Mags need different springs.

 

[kstud]

Wrong spring, doesn't look like it'll fit in the current Shield mag.

I had the same issue with 3 Shield mags with collapse springs. It's a known issue that has since been addressed by SW with new rev. springs.
They sent me 3 new springs that has smaller diameter and larger diameter.

Contact SW again and ask for the correct spring.

 

[MassiveOverkill]

About a month ago, my 7 round mag spring failed. It bent where the coils reduce in size and collapsed in the mag. I only noticed because I couldn't load the 7th round in the mag. At the time I had read that it was a somewhat common problem, so I contacted S&W Customer Service. They said they would send me a new spring, no questions asked, for free. I received the new spring in the mail yesterday, and it does not look like the old spring. For one thing, the termination of the coils on both ends have been bent in at 90 degrees, so neither end will sit properly on the follower. Another difference is the replacement spring is the same width from end to end. It also appears to be a different material than the original ones. Did S&W change the spring design recently, maybe to address the bending issue? Or did I receive the wrong spring for my Shield 9? The packaging it came in says "Mag Spring Shield Rev B". Thanks in advance.

Snap a pic of the bottom of your follower. Does it have a place for the hook part the spring to engage into?

 

[TankerSpec]

I checked once I saw pictures of the duty m&p magazine spring followers since they do have a hole for the bent end. Even still, they only have it on one end and the spring gets larger in diameter to accommodate the double stack. The spring I received is the same diameter end to end and both ends have the 90 degree bend...

 

[MassiveOverkill]

Call S&W and ask them if you need a Rev B follower because the spring they sent you doesn't fit properly and see what they say. I just bought a bunch of spare factory mags and maybe they're all being liquidated for newer model designs. You could just cut the hook off one side so it will fit.

 

[Rastoff]

That's very interesting. I had a similar issue. Here is what my failed spring looked like:

S&W also sent me new springs, but my new ones look exactly like the old ones. I wonder if my new ones will eventually fail like the one in the picture?

 

[TankerSpec]

Rastoff, that's what mine looked like when I pulled it out of the magazine. I plan on contacting S&W when I get a chance. I am out of town and busy during their service hours. I will let you guys know what they tell me. Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[thomast]

I called to get a new spring last week. Didn't get it yet. Wolff sells a spring but it is identical in shape to the shield spring and has the two coil sizes but is a different color material.
Some members have reported getting springs recently from s&w and have received the same spring as the original.
When I called last week the guy on the phone said this issue is rare and that they have sold 3 million shield pistols in the last 3 years.
We will see.....he didn't say anything about new design springs and followers.

 

[thomast]

Too me it looks like the wrong spring got picked and sent to you.....

 

[jjwesley]

I have 3 (two 8's and a 7) magazines. All 3 of them are nearly impossible to hand load with the last round. It doesn't sound like S&W has an answer to the problem. Does anyone know of an after market magazine spring that allows for loading the last round?

 

[thomast]

I have 3 (two 8's and a 7) magazines. All 3 of them are nearly impossible to hand load with the last round. It doesn't sound like S&W has an answer to the problem. Does anyone know of an after market magazine spring that allows for loading the last round?

Magguts makes what you desire.....but they are expensive .

 

[Rastoff]

I have 3 (two 8's and a 7) magazines. All 3 of them are nearly impossible to hand load with the last round. It doesn't sound like S&W has an answer to the problem. Does anyone know of an after market magazine spring that allows for loading the last round?

Sounds like your spring might be messed up too. When the spring is not bent, I can load all rounds by hand.

 

[thomast]

Sounds like your spring might be messed up too. When the spring is not bent, I can load all rounds by hand.

His could be messed up. A lot of people are saying their mags are hard too load....maybe they are all effed?

s&W sent me two springs and they re same as the originals.

Just in case I picked up some Wolff ones as well.

 

[TankerSpec]

Just an update to this thread, I got a second replacement spring from S&W and it was the right one this time. Took it out this weekend and it worked fine. I guess we will see how long until the new fails...

-JB

 

[Targets Guy]

Thanks for the update. My mag loader took all the concern out of loading the mags for the Shield.

 

[Rastoff]

His could be messed up. A lot of people are saying their mags are hard too load....maybe they are all effed?

s&W sent me two springs and they re same as the originals.

The two they sent me were identical to the originals as well.

My being able to load my mags by hand might be a product of repetition. I generally shoot somewhere around 6K rounds per year through various guns. Therefore, I load a lot of mags.