Shield EZ 9 Rear Sight Adjustment

[MTee]

Has anyone had to adjust your Shield EZ rear sight as far right or left as the sight screw will allow? See attached photos.

I've never had to adjust hand gun sight as far as it will go to hit center bulls at 7 yds. I had a target to save but trashed it and others at the end of my range session.

If I re-center the rear sight and drift adjust the front sight will it have more effect than moving the rear sight?

I'm pretty sure this isn't normal for Smith's and thinking about sending it back to the mother ship if they will correct it. I would like my sights to be center or near center of the slide and hit bulls at 7 yds.

Your suggestions or opinions please.

 

[mckenney99]

I can't address your EZ sight issues, but I can tell you that 4 of the last 5 M&P pistols I purchased came with the front sight very obviously not centered on the slide and had to be centered up to get the sights regulated properly. Just more examples of poor quality control and lack of final inspections on guns being shipped out the door for customers to fix.

 

[jurek]

Sending it back to S&W will be wasting of time.
They will just center the sight and tighten the screw.
You can do this by yourself.

My recommendation - buy cheap calliper and make proper adjustment to center the sight on the slide. Use blue threadlocker for the screw and tighten it.
You are good for next 10,000 rounds.

 

[gc70]

How many rounds did you shoot before you adjusted the sight?

I will often shoot shoot low and left with new guns that are thinner and lighter than I normally shoot. Depending on the grip's dimensions, it can take longer to "learn" the proper hold and trigger pull for such guns. The low/left syndrome is nearly always self-correcting for me.

 

[Rolex28]

Center your sites and practice practice practice....

 

[rockster`]

Has anyone had to adjust your Shield EZ rear sight as far right or left as the sight screw will allow? See attached photos.



I've never had to adjust hand gun sight as far as it will go to hit center bulls at 7 yds. I had a target to save but trashed it and others at the end of my range session.



If I re-center the rear sight and drift adjust the front sight will it have more effect than moving the rear sight?



I'm pretty sure this isn't normal for Smith's and thinking about sending it back to the mother ship if they will correct it. I would like my sights to be center or near center of the slide and hit bulls at 7 yds.



Your suggestions or opinions please.

Suggestion:

1. Have someone else shoot it that you trust has good aim

Opinion:

1. Sights that are adjustable are meant to be adjusted. If you feel that the sight adjustment makes it so that you can hit what you're aiming at, then I would adjust it and call it a day.

Question:

1. Are you opposite-eye dominant? Like, do you shoot lefty but are right-eye dominant? The only time I've seen a rear sight like yours was someone that had that issue

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Ktyhawk]

Has anyone had to adjust your Shield EZ rear sight as far right or left as the sight screw will allow? See attached photos.

I've never had to adjust hand gun sight as far as it will go to hit center bulls at 7 yds. I had a target to save but trashed it and others at the end of my range session.

If I re-center the rear sight and drift adjust the front sight will it have more effect than moving the rear sight?

I'm pretty sure this isn't normal for Smith's and thinking about sending it back to the mother ship if they will correct it. I would like my sights to be center or near center of the slide and hit bulls at 7 yds.

Your suggestions or opinions please.

I have the EXACT same issue with my 9EZ. I just adjusted the sights and called it done. Should a modern firearm have to have sights adjusted so crazily, nope. It had nothing to do with the grip/frame width. I didn't have to adjust any of the previous Shield pistols or the Glock 43X I own. Just the dang 9EZ. Just crappy QA from S&W. Once I got the adjustment right it shoots fine.

 

[MTee]

I can't address your EZ sight issues, but I can tell you that 4 of the last 5 M&P pistols I purchased came with the front sight very obviously not centered on the slide and had to be centered up to get the sights regulated properly. Just more examples of poor quality control and lack of final inspections on guns being shipped out the door for customers to fix.

I'll check the front sight with my calipers. Thanks for your suggestion!

Sending it back to S&W will be wasting of time.
They will just center the sight and tighten the screw.
You can do this by yourself.

My recommendation - buy cheap calliper and make proper adjustment to center the sight on the slide. Use blue threadlocker for the screw and tighten it.
You are good for next 10,000 rounds.

That was my thinking as well. The rear sight was centered when I purchased it. I have calipers and blue loctite. I'll check and redo my adjustments. Thanks for your suggestion!

How many rounds did you shoot before you adjusted the sight?

I will often shoot shoot low and left with new guns that are thinner and lighter than I normally shoot. Depending on the grip's dimensions, it can take longer to "learn" the proper hold and trigger pull for such guns. The low/left syndrome is nearly always self-correcting for me.

I shot a 2 boxes at first trying to bet a feel for the sights. I'm used to 6'oclock hold on the front sight was the reason for me shooting low. The sight was the reason for shooting left. Once I found out that the sight is a dead center hold my shots came up but sill left.

My next range trip I brought my pistol rest and it still shot left from the rest. I slowly moved the rear sight to the right shooting 3 or 4 shots then make another adjustment. Eventually I ran out of room to move right any further. Thanks for your suggestions!

Suggestion:

1. Have someone else shoot it that you trust has good aim

Opinion:

1. Sights that are adjustable are meant to be adjusted. If you feel that the sight adjustment makes it so that you can hit what you're aiming at, then I would adjust it and call it a day.

Question:

1. Are you opposite-eye dominant? Like, do you shoot lefty but are right-eye dominant? The only time I've seen a rear sight like yours was someone that had that issue

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Number 1. I had a retired LEO friend shoot it and he also shot left.

Opinion: 1. I have and can hit center fairly well at 7 yds but it bugs the dickens out of me with my sight shoved all the way over like it is.

Question 1. Very observant of you! No I'm right eye dominant however I can shoot long guns either right or left handed but not with a pistol. Whatever I shoot I do so with both eyes open always have. Thanks for your suggestions and opinions!

I have the EXACT same issue with my 9EZ. I just adjusted the sights and called it done. Should a modern firearm have to have sights adjusted so crazily, nope. It had nothing to do with the grip/frame width. I didn't have to adjust any of the previous Shield pistols or the Glock 43X I own. Just the dang 9EZ. Just crappy QA from S&W. Once I got the adjustment right it shoots fine.

Did you have to move your sight all the way over? You're the second one I heard about having to adjust the sights on a new shield ez9. The other was YouTube reviewer hickok45. Thanks for your response!

All...
Still I wonder if I re-center the rear sight and drift the front sight left, would I end up with the front sight all the way left?

Thanks again every one!

 

[Execpro]

Whenever you shoot a new gun, it should be off a bench rest with a sand bag or other pistol rest to reduce the chance of human error (gun movement).
That gives you an accurate picture of where your sights are. Then you can adjust them as needed to hit POA/POI.
Over 50 years of shooting handguns, I have had to adjust sights on a few guns and always use this method.
I also check sights in at 5 yards. It gives you a better idea of what the gun
is capable of for group size and for most people the part of the target you
are shooting at is much easier to see (i sight in on the single digit numbers on the target). JMO

 

[jurek]

Still I wonder if I re-center the rear sight and drift the front sight left, would I end up with the front sight all the way left?

Do not mess up with front sight.
Use the rear one, which is adjustable to find POI=POA.
There is no way that you will need to adjust it so far to the edge.
Center it, use bench rest method as Execpro suggested or shoot your other hand.
[my local range doesn't allow "bench rest" shooting so I shoot my other hand to verify sights. Try it, you will be amazed how accurate you can be with the first 2 -3 shots ]

 

[webfarmer]

I had a similar situation with my 9 EZ. Moved the sight and shot the opposite side of the bull. Moved it to center position and shot POA. Then left again so it was me best I can figure. Mine now sports a Sig Romeo Zero RDS and my problem is no longer. Old eyes......

 

[MTee]

Whenever you shoot a new gun, it should be off a bench rest with a sand bag or other pistol rest to reduce the chance of human error (gun movement).
That gives you an accurate picture of where your sights are. Then you can adjust them as needed to hit POA/POI.
Over 50 years of shooting handguns, I have had to adjust sights on a few guns and always use this method.
I also check sights in at 5 yards. It gives you a better idea of what the gun
is capable of for group size and for most people the part of the target you
are shooting at is much easier to see (i sight in on the single digit numbers on the target). JMO

Ok. I will re-center the sight and use my pistol rest (again) to see if shooting left is reproduced. I'll put up 2 targets side by side and shoot the right target from the pistol rest right handed. Shoot the left target left handed to see if the pattern duplicates my right hand and rule out as much movement as possible. Thanks for your suggestions!

Do not mess up with front sight.
Use the rear one, which is adjustable to find POI=POA.
There is no way that you will need to adjust it so far to the edge.
Center it, use bench rest method as Execpro suggested or shoot your other hand.
[my local range doesn't allow "bench rest" shooting so I shoot my other hand to verify sights. Try it, you will be amazed how accurate you can be with the first 2 -3 shots ]

I agree the sight shouldn't need to be moved this far to the right which bugged me so I came here to ask you folks for help. The front sight is off 0.01259843" (0.32mm) to the left. Not enough to bother with. Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[jurek]

The front sight is off 0.01259843" (0.32mm) to the left. Not enough to bother with.

This is almost nothing. Either it moved or was mounted this way. I never expected pure perfection from S&W.
Even with such offset, your rear sight shouldn't be shifted so far to the side.

Check the accuracy with centered rear sight using both hands. You can also ask RSO at the range to take few shots.

Shooting left as a right hand shooter is a common issue with trigger control.... but this has been said many times already...

 

[MTee]

This is almost nothing. Either it moved or was mounted this way. I never expected pure perfection from S&W.
Even with such offset, your rear sight shouldn't be shifted so far to the side.

Check the accuracy with centered rear sight using both hands. You can also ask RSO at the range to take few shots.

Shooting left as a right hand shooter is a common issue with trigger control.... but this has been said many times already...

Well you folks were correct in your suggestions and opinions!

I had already re-centered my rear sight.

I went to the range and setup my stuff. The first pic is the concrete shooting bench I used. I setup my pistol rest and target stand seen in the second pic.

The third pic is my first shots from the rest at the suggested 5 yds above using Win 115 FMJ. This first set of targets proved that it was me and not the gun! Also I was happy to see my shots go near bulls after re-centering the rear sight!

I also shot a pair of targets from the rest right handed and left handed. Both targets looked similar and there wasn't no surprises there. I shot several more pairs of targets off hand and can begin to tell that it is my trigger control or trigger finger squeeze I need to work on.

The last pic is one of the targets shooting free hand. I practiced shooting some more targets. I didn't feel the need to upload all the targets I shot. I'm happy about my progress!

You folks were a big help and I really appreciate it!

@jruek,
The range is a state run range but they don't have a RO or RSO. Instead the state game wardens keep an eye on things pretty well.

 

[jurek]

MTee,
I'm so happy we were able to help you with that issue !
The most important - you were willing to find the problem within your technique without blaming the handun... and that is a challenge for some people

Trigger control mistakes are easy to make with lightweight pistols and single stack grip. Just practice and be patient !
Good luck

 

[MTee]

Thank you jurek!

 

[Execpro]

MTee:
One additional thought. Another reason I shoot at 5 yards is that the groups must be dead center (POA/POI). If you are sure the gun is not
moving when you press the trigger and the group is shooting left, you need to adjust your sights.
I then bench rest gun and shoot at 10 yards. The group will probably
open up a little but the center of the group should still be centered.
A group that is off 1/2” at 10 yards will be off 1” at 20.
Glad everything is working out for you. I love my 9mmEZ.

 

[MTee]

MTee:
One additional thought. Another reason I shoot at 5 yards is that the groups must be dead center (POA/POI). If you are sure the gun is not
moving when you press the trigger and the group is shooting left, you need to adjust your sights.
I then bench rest gun and shoot at 10 yards. The group will probably
open up a little but the center of the group should still be centered.
A group that is off 1/2” at 10 yards will be off 1” at 20.
Glad everything is working out for you. I love my 9mmEZ.

I did that too but didn't post the targets with the others above. I didn't know how many I could post.

Anyway these shots were made at 10 yds using Win 115gr FMJ from the pistol rest. I did two sets of targets from the rest at 10 before bravely progressing to shooting free hand.

Great suggestions which produced desirable results if I did my part Execpro! Thanks!