Shield back to S&W for the THIRD time

[Der Biermeister]

Catalyst

Sending you a private msg.

 

[coilette]

Mine went back a couple of weeks ago, hoping to hear something soon. I'm pretty sure they'll be replacing the slide due to another (unrelated) issue, so we'll see what all is done when it comes back.

 

[edl]

Wow, mine has only been back once without fixing the problem.

Here is a photo of one of the malfunctions that occurred after I got the gun back for this exact type of malfunction:

The return invoice said that they replaced the extractor and replaced the recoil guide. It also said that the gun was range tested and met specs.

I am lucky in that my Shield only seems to do it with Winchester ammo or ammo using Winchester cases--like some factory Black Hills.

After getting the gun back I fired around 350 rounds through the gun, including about 120 rounds of Federal 147 grain HST JHP, 50-100 rounds of American Eagle 147 grain ball ammo, and 150-170 rounds of Winchester.

I had two of the same type of failures to extract with the Winchester that I had previously experienced.

But the gun functions perfectly with Federal, American Eagle, even the Barnual brass cased ammo.

 

[DeeBee]

Wow, mine has only been back once without fixing the problem.

Here is a photo of one of the malfunctions that occurred after I got the gun back for this exact type of malfunction:

The return invoice said that they replaced the extractor and replaced the recoil guide. It also said that the gun was range tested and met specs.

I am lucky in that my Shield only seems to do it with Winchester ammo or ammo using Winchester cases--like some factory Black Hills.

After getting the gun back I fired around 350 rounds through the gun, including about 120 rounds of Federal 147 grain HST JHP, 50-100 rounds of American Eagle 147 grain ball ammo, and 150-170 rounds of Winchester.

I had two of the same type of failures to extract with the Winchester that I had previously experienced.

But the gun functions perfectly with Federal, American Eagle, even the Barnual brass cased ammo.

It should run on ANY factory ammo including Winchester! I am telling you it is because the breach face is cut for a .40 cartridge which causes the 9 mm cartridge to slide sideways as it is being extracted.
Redesign the extractor or the breach face and the problem will go away!

 

[DeeBee]

Here is a Blazer round.

 

[DeeBee]

It is funny my .40 Shields run like butter. That should be telling you something. ...

 

[edl]

It should run on ANY factory ammo including Winchester!

I agree.

I am telling you it is because the breach face is cut for a .40 cartridge which causes the 9 mm cartridge to slide sideways as it is being extracted.
Redesign the extractor or the breach face and the problem will go away!

It seems that all of the full sized M&Ps run the same extractor rather than having a different extractor optimized to run best for each caliber.

 

[DeeBee]

Well at least we both have the same serial number prefix maybe that'll give Smith & Wesson some ideas??

 

[will9c1]

I have the exact same issue with my Shield, my serial number starts with HPVxxxx, test casing envelope was dated in mid to late August 2013. Waiting for my return shipping label....should be in my inbox in 72 businesshours according to the rep...starting to wonder if I made a bad purchase...

 

[Donn]

I'm really sorry to hear this is happening to you. As much as I would also be frustrated with this, I think I'd be asking for a refund at this point. Three times going back for the same problem isn't right.

I agree. Either a refund or a new weapon.

 

[Texas40]

Several thousand rounds thru my .40 shield and not once has it had an fte or ftf malfunction. Factory and hand loads thru it jacketed and unjacketed lead round and square nose everything i put in it shoots and ejects with out an issue.
Sure makes me glad I went with the 40 and not the 9.

 

[OpsMgr]

My 9mm Shield, test fired on 4/10/2012, Ser# DXM2xxx has been perfect since day one. Well over 1k rounds of various bullet weights and types without a single malfunction.

Sure hope the folks with troublesome pistolas get theirs running as well as mine...

 

[catalyst686]

Well I finally got a phone call from a rep this morning. They said they would replace my shield with a new one. They will send it to my ffl and pay for the transfer after I fax them a copy of the receipt. I purchased and paid for trijicon night sights to be installed on the gun, I was told that they can't instal them on the new gun because it's not "their" department, even though they removed them from the old gun. I'll have to pay for them to be "re-installed". I also had a set of talon grips on the gun which obviously can't be salvaged. They are sending the night sights and the original mags to my house. I am really hoping that this new shield works, I love the ergos and slim frame. If I hadn't purchased a raven concealment holster, night sights, and extra mags, I would probably just sell the new gun and cut my losses. I'm still upset about how much ammo I wasted in an effort to get the gun functioning, oh well. 4th times a charm, er..... I asked when I would get my new shield and the rep said he didn't know, he couldn't give me and eta and that my ffl would call me when it was in. I asked if it would be a week, a month? The rep said he didn't know and to have a good day.

 

[STRAUK]

It should run on ANY factory ammo including Winchester! I am telling you it is because the breach face is cut for a .40 cartridge which causes the 9 mm cartridge to slide sideways as it is being extracted.
Redesign the extractor or the breach face and the problem will go away!

Question for anyone who is experiencing these FTE's with their Shield 9MM; Could you provide the measured ACTUAL - OAL of the AMMO you are using when the issue occurs?

I have not experienced the issue thus far but can honestly say I don't have many rounds downrange yet (<500). Mostly reloads, and some factory 115G (Blazer & Fiocchi) and a few Hornady CD FTX.

Use both 7 & 8 RND Mags. All good, but will let you know if any issue happens.

Serial HBD....

 

[klbdiver]

Well at least we both have the same serial number prefix maybe that'll give Smith & Wesson some ideas??

Mine is HPM 79xx test fired 7/20/2013
I too have had all the same FTE's with different factory ammo. I have a return label, but trying to exhaust all possibilities of ammo, magazines, etc... but nothing seems to fix.

 

[edslow]

Wow that's a shame. I agree with most you should get a new one. Wish you all the luck I am one of the lucky ones close to 1000 rounds no problems.

 

[S&W-Admirer]

Don't feel bad about all the ammo you fired with your unreliable Shield. You got some practice and spent time shooting at a range. Even a bad day at the range is better than a good day at work or doing chores at home!

 

[mafbloggerdanny]

I'm kind of an inexperienced shooter but I have a shield 9mm and I would like to know in your guys opinion how many FTEs is considered negligible or acceptable?

Out of 6 or 7 visits to the range since first buying this gun I have had one awful night where i got 5 FTEs that all looked a lot like the pictures in this thread. It was really strange they all happened right after another but then the next time i went to the range after that, i put 300 rounds through it with not a single FTE.

I suspect it might have been something i was doing wrong since I'm still getting used to operating this firearm. But what do you guys think? Does it sound like something is seriously wrong or is 5 or 6 FTE's out of about 500 rounds considered normal ?

 

[hpfenning]

I have the same problem..After 1500 rounds down the pipe I can't get mine to fail either.

(Except for the box of Blazer aluminum cases)

Mine is also HBHxxxx Test fired 4/2013

NO issues except the aluminum cases.

 

[ultra45]

Mine is flawless. That said, I believe these so called "Lemons" are due to ever so slight machining or tolerance errors to the frames or slides of the guns in question, this during the manufacturing process. When the company changes all the parts and the still gun fails to run, what else is left?