Shield 9 small range report!

[DuckBeav]

So, I only managed to grab an hour at the range but, put 108 rounds down range. 1'st shot and slide locked back so hard, myself and the range officer could not get it to go forward. With magazine out, I hit it so hard with the bottom of my hand (I managed to draw blood), and it finally went forward. 107 rounds later, not a single hiccup. I really loved the trigger pull on this little baby too!



I shot at 15, 25 and 30 feet keeping all rounds inside the silhouette except 4. Those were at the 30ft mark and I think I pulled them.

Over all impression is that this is fine gun and very accurate. I will need to shoot many more rounds before committing to carry it but, right now, that won't be long down the road.

 

[bigwheelzip]

There have been a rash of these hard slide jams on the Shield during the last few months. I've yet to see a post where someone figured out the cause. Good luck with yours.

 

[DuckBeav]

Thanks, I've seen that in my searches. I stripped my Shield down this evening and cleaned the heck out of it. I did not find anything significant, nor was it dirty with debris or anything. I'll give it one heck of a shooting next time out and if issue doesn't repeat itself, I won't worry to much about it. If it does, then I'll contact S&W.

 

[Com 45acp]

It's the rsa. The spring hangs up on the guide rod and causes the spring to not reset. Waiting on a new rsa from S&W been a month now for same issue. Whoever makes their rsa' shave terrible QC.

 

[bigwheelzip]

It's the rsa. The spring hangs up on the guide rod and causes the spring to not reset. Waiting on a new rsa from S&W been a month now for same issue. Whoever makes their rsa' shave terrible QC.

It's odd that the failure mode of the RSA's this time, is different than the symptoms of the last batch of RSA failures a couple of years ago. It's a shame this part is still an issue on a product with good enough sales numbers to justify the extra effort for a revision.

 

[xdmshooter59]

It's the rsa. The spring hangs up on the guide rod and causes the spring to not reset. Waiting on a new rsa from S&W been a month now for same issue. Whoever makes their rsa' shave terrible QC.

Instead of waiting take a look at this thread. Seems there is an aftermarket guide rod assembly that some are saying is improvement over the factory part.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/406272-stainless-steel-guide-rod-shield.html

 

[DuckBeav]

I was just looking at that and book marked it for future reference. Just in case I run into the issue I had this morning again. Thanks for the link!

 

[rwsmith]

Very comfortable.....

The Shield is a very comfortable gun to shoot. I've had a few hang ups trying to get it reassembled and the slide won't go backwards or forwards. Ii just don't know, it may have been me.

 

[DuckBeav]

After some deliberations with myself, I decided to go ahead and order that Stainless Steel guide rod for the Shield. I figure, I'll probably get most of my money back later if it turns out I don't need it. But, from what I've been reading, those who have had this issue, run into it again. This way if I do, I'll have a replacement on hand.

 

[jtaylor996]

Sorry you had issues! Personally I would get a replacement RSA from S&W. I don't want any more weight in my gun than it has already (weight being the whole point I don't want to just keep carrying my 5" 1911).

I took mine out the first time today with no issues at all. I ran all sorts of ammo through it to get an idea of what bullet weight was going to be POI = POA for me. Turns out that's 147gr.

My current carry ammo (HST 124 +P) was literally the worst in the shield out of everything I tried (it's the best in my 1911).

115gr is awful, and very snappy. I was running some old WWB, and some UMC white box stuff.

124gr and 147gr factory loads were about the same feel, maybe a slight nod to the 147, but the 147 was right on center of the target. This was the UMC Leadfree stuff (which is full of lead... I don't get that name at all).

My 124gr bunny fart reloads (124gr montana gold JHP over 3.9gr titegroup @ 1.095") were of course the most accurate, but about 5" low left from POA, but they had no issue keeping a 16 round group in 3" at 12yd distance... which is frankly pretty incredible for a gun this size.

This gun has crazy potential. I'll go find some 147 HST and see if it shoots well, then stock up on that for carry.

Edit: I did have one light primer strike where the round didn't go off. That was the only issue. The primer was pretty dented, so it could have been the ammo.

 

[DuckBeav]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad yours is working out great. I was shooting 115gr also but, feel I might go up to the 124 or 147gr on my next outing. I am by no means disappointed with my Shield as the issue only happened on that first shot. Didn't occur again so, who knows! Really looking forward to taking it out again soon so as to keep getting familiar with its performance.