Shield 9mm - not even a mag shot before failure w/ reloads

webfarmer

webfarmer

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This is my luck, try for 4 months to get a Shield, finally do at an extremely bloated price, gun gets lost for a week because of my FFL's blunder, finally get it to home, clean it and shoot the first magazine today. Last round stuck in gun (no idea if it was fired or is empty). Can't move the slide but a smidgeon - just stuck. It's a cluster you know what. The same rounds my Beretta happily digests all day - any day.

Anyone have a guess what caused it? How to ship it with a questionable case in it? It was the last (7th round). I am disillusioned right now and very unhappy. Thanks in advance.
 
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Don't ship it in that condition. You can probably press the front edge of the slide against a hard surface like the edge of a heavy bench or table and free it up. Keep your finger off the trigger and take all reasonable precautions - eye and ear protection. If you have to, take it to a gunsmith. Sorry to hear about the trouble. Trust this was not a handload?
 
For such a popular gun, I'm sure reading about a LOT off issues with them. I just got mine a few days ago, but have yet to fire it. I have my fingers crossed.
 
Factory ammo or reloads? You can probe the chamber with a piece of stiff wire like a coat hanger. Being careful, gently push the wire down the barrel with a pair of pliers. This allows you to keep your hand out of the way of the muzzle. When the wire bottoms, "bite" the pliers on the wire at the end of the barrel then hold the wire alongside the outside of the barrel. This should tell you whether there is a bullet still in the case or whether it has "left". This will at least inform you of how careful you need to be in handling the gun but doesn't solve the stuck slide problem.
 
Nevadadvx said:
For such a popular gun, I'm sure reading about a LOT off issues with them. I just got mine a few days ago, but have yet to fire it. I have my fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

Bad news travels the fastest and the farthest, but I'd be lying if I said all the bad feedback hasn't made my (ongoing) wait for my Shield 40 more anxious than necessary. My buddy's 9 has been flawless though. :)
 
Well these things are making a name for themselves, hang in there, I'm sure S&W will make it right. I'm sure that in time they will get the bugs worked out, but it has been frustrating for lots of folks, keep us all informed, take a mirror and keeping the gun pointed away from you, if you shine a maglight etc up the muzzle from an angle or use a borescope, you will prolly see a fired case. In any case-pun intended- call S&W and tell them forum members have assured you that they will take care of you?? Billy Magg

Keep that muzzle pointed away from anything important in the meantime, like my Daddy said, don't point a gun---LOADED OR UNLOADED----"all guns are loaded all the time" at anything you don't intend to shoot.....
 
The thing is that there are way more flawless Shields out there than there are ones with problems. The problems get posted obviously because they have a problem and they would like a fix. The ones that are flawless are never posted, because noone wants to fix something that isnt broken, lol.

In this case, everyone sees the problems but they never see the ones without problems. So they "think" the gun is just full of problems. They dont realize it has minimum problems compared to all the ones out there that havent had a single problem.
 
No matter what you buy today,a new car, motorcyle, or a gun sometimes you get one that needs a little TLC. I would make sure the safety is on( cause you can operate slide with it on) Magazine out, then like another poster said, lean the gun against a bench edge,preferably wood and push the slide back! Absolutely eye and ear protection. If your not comfortable doing it take it to a gunsmith. Some ammo will casue a jamb sometimes its a limp wrist malfunction, I could name others but I think you get the point. Most of all be patient, and calm and work through the problem, once you get the slide ope, call S&W and ask them if you could send it in to check its function. Its not what anyone would want, but sometimes it what you have to do. I can remember in back in I think 2002 hen Ford brought out the 6.o liter Powerstroke Diesel, they had 500 of them that were purchased new that did not make it from the dealers lot to the new owners home, due to injectors and turbo failures so Ford bought back all 500 Trucks. They have now gone ove 1 Billion dollars in warrnaty repairs! just sayin SH!
 
Do the wire probe test before doing anything else. if you find the wire will thread in all the way to the breech you have a fired round in the chamber. If it stops about where the face of the bullet would be with a loaded round in the chamber it's a near certainty you have an unfired round in the chamber.

BTW, from your description of the failure I think that it's unlikely that you have an unfired round in the chamber. The reason for my opinion is that there would have to be failures in both the firing mechanism and the recoil mechanism in order to jam the slide with an unfired round in the chamber. However, nothing is ever certain so do the probe test and if it help hold an unfired cartridge on top of the barrel hood to picture where the front of the bullet would be with an unfired round in the chamber.

If you find the wire will only go a short distance into the the barrel you have fired into a squib. Firing into a squib will typically bulge the barrel enough that the slide cannot be drawn back. In that case you'll destroy the slide trying to force it back over that bulged barrel. It's also a case where you won't have any warranty coverage because the root cause for the failure is misloaded ammunition. In this case you need to talk to your ammunition manufacturer about compensation for the destruction of your pistol.

Final possibility is a broken recoil spring or something similar. In this case it's often possible to force the slide to the rear using brute force or even a rubber mallet. Just be aware that there is potential for damage when you have to force the slide back over a broken recoil spring. In this case I would suggest contacting S&W about having them service it under the warranty. However be sure to determine that you do NOT have an unfired round in the chamber or a squibbed barrel before sending it in.
 
Guys, thanks for the replies. It was definitely the ammo. I handload almost exclusively. The batch I was trying was a mix of Midway and WCC brass. I figured out to lightly pry the ejector on the RH side of the pistol with a small screwdriver. Voila! It was FTF.

Got it out of there and tried running a different mag. Same thing but 2nd or 3rd round. Same failure (FTF). Went and got my R-P brass reloads (one time load - new brass) and it ran flawless. Shot 50 out of it, some rapid fire and some slow fire. Perfect!

My Beretta 92 eats those other mixed brass loads no problem though. I'll try them again after the guns digested a hundred or so. I feel lots better - whew! So thanks for the fast responses guys - much appreciated!
 
I have a M&P 40 FS & a M&P Shield 9.I have had both for quite some time and launched hundreds of rounds through both. With the first mag in the 9 I had a round misfeed one time. That is the only trouble I have had with either of the pistols.
 
Please don't take this the wrong way.
Did you clean original grease/lube out of the gun before shooting it?
The factory grease has been known to cause some feed issues.
 
Franklin said:
You need to change the title of this thread to "RELOADED AMMO FAILS AGAIN". Nothing wrong with the gun.
Click to expand...



Franklin:

+1 on rewording post to read "Reload ammo Fails Again"

I have shot or owned a large number of the major brand sub compact 9mm (Kahr CM9, Beretta Nano, Diamondback, Glock 26, Ruger LC9, Kimber Solo, Sig 938) and the only other sub compact 9 mm I would consider packing from the list is the Sig 938.

I have shot from my Shield 1,000 rounds of factory ammo (Federal Champion, WWB, S&B) with zero failures.

I can't say the same with the $650 retail Kimber Solo, Kahr CM9 and Beretta Nano. All stunk with factory ammo.

The Sig 938 and Shield 9mm without a question are the two best sub compact if you are into guns going bang every time.

Glock 26 in my opinion is too big to be in the same classification. It looks like a burrito in my pocket but it is very reliable.

Russ
 
I don't think it is normal for a semi-auto to lock up because of a failure to fire. You should be able to retract the slide and eject the round.
That said, I once had a Kahr C45 that would routinely lock up on my reloads, even though my 1911s would run them perfectly. Turned out that the C45 had problems with rounds shorter than a certain overall length, even though the rounds were within SAAMi specs. It was difficult to remove the rounds from the gun. It would not fire them, and I could not eject them. I had to do quite a bit of fiddling and cursing to get them out.
 
I had a Shield 40 that after a couple of rounds fired down range the mag would self-eject. Believe me, I tried & tried but everytime the same gripe. No, I don't do reloads. I do admire those that do reloads. Anyway, glad I got rid of that thing. My Bersa BP9cc is thinner than a Shield, has a better trigger, and cost less... w/o a single malfxn.

However, my M&P 9c is definitely a keeper. Even better after Apex DCAEK installed. Also, added TruGlo TFOs. Ive got to tell ya'll, straight out of the box my Glock Gen 4's 19 & 30 have the best trigger.

Sorry if I'm ruffling some feathers. Wish those with no malfxn Shields live long & prosper at the range and EDC/HD.
 
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