Shield FTE

[Shawn56]

Newbie shooter here. I purchased my first handgun, the Shield 9mm. I cleaned the gun prior going to the range and purchased white box Winchester 115 grain rounds for target practice. I shot 100 rounds and experienced two issues. On two occasions I pulled the trigger and nothing happened. Inspecting the gun it appeared the slide was not fully forward. The RO said that I may not be completely letting go of the slide when racking. I have a feeling he was correct because after bringing it to my attention the issue did not occur again. However, several minutes later when shooting off several rounds I had a casing that failed to extract. It was half way out but stuck. Is this something I should be concerned about? Is it a gun issue, ammo issue, or user issue? Something to be expected when breaking in a new firearm (assuming there is a break-in period)?

Amy insight would be appreciated.

 

[B0308]

Shawn,

It's prudent to keep a shooting log, in your's I'd note the malfunction and if possible, tape or mark the magazine in use when it occurred.

Next time out load the magazine in question (assuming you can identify it) to about the same capacity it was when you had your FTE, keep a steady grip and hold, and see if it recurs with the same ammo.

If after multiple series you have a repeat, you know you have an issue, if not it could have been a weak wrist, poor grip or poor ammo the first time. Trying the same magazine with different ammo, maybe a duty type might also help exclude the ammo as the cause.

Good luck

 

[tjhodges310]

Shawn, read the manual that came with the gun to ensure you are lubing it in the proper locations. This should help with the out of battery issue you mentioned. Also, I agree with letting the slide fly home. btw, did you clean it and lube prior to shooting the first 100 rounds? As it relates to the FTE's, it could be user error. Give her a firm grip when firing and make sure your hands are not making contact with the slide. If it persists try different ammo. Good luck and stay safe.

 

[DeathF.above]

Did it look like this?...

Or..like this?...

..and did it happen on the last round?

 

[Shawn56]

thhodges310, yes I did clean and lube it prior to taking it to the range.

 

[Shawn56]

@DeathF.above, it looked more like the first picture in your post.

 

[CaptRon956]

Hi Shawn56,

Welcome to the S&W forums & congrats on your first pistol purchase! The shield 9mm is a great choice!

Everyone is welcome to their opinion's of course but I'm gonna keep it simple for you...

The pistol is going to need a break in period. What you are describing is very common & my suggestion is to keep on shooting it, clean both the pistol & magazines after each time at the range. It will get better in time, I promise. It will probably take around 400-600 rounds before you notice the trigger feeling smoother, the recoil spring getting easier to pull the slide back & of couse less "failures". The machining tolerances are pretty tight on the Shield's and it will take time before it starts to loosen up...

My shield did the exact same thing with the first couple hundred rounds when it was new. I now have over 2500 rounds fired thru it and not a single problem.

 

[mltndw3]

Ditto CaptRon956 comments. Many of us have had the same problems and they do go away after a break in period.

 

[JAMMAN]

I personally would ditch the winchester white box ammo, try something different. Welcome

 

[Pete1971]

I owned a shield with the same issue FTE after probably the first 20 it would happen, Winchester white box is what I started with, then Remington, then federal, after about 700 rounds I decided I couldn't trust the gun should something arise, kept having the same problems so I traded it
LOVE my m&p's I have 4 and smith makes a heck of a firearm just couldn't justify keeping this particular one due to issues

oh and WELCOME, GREAT GROUP HERE and a TON of info

 

[wepiii]

This is probably going to be opposite of most of the opinions on here... But I would go ahead and send it in to S&W to have it checked. Too many shields out there that have never had a single issue to accept less than perfect. I don't agree with the belief that a carry gun should need a break in period. You bought the gun to protect yourself... What if you are only 400 rounds into the 600 round break in when you need it.

 

[Hamster65]

I've put about 1000 rounds through my Shield 9 so far and haven't had a single hiccup but then again, I've never used WWB in it either.
I mostly use Federal Champion and Fiocchi.

 

[Pointblank2U]

We have two 9mm Shields. They started out dependable and slowly degraded into a hit or miss thing. Why is it like pulling teeth to order new RSAs from S&W? You can buy them for Glock and other brands simply online.

 

[Well Armed]

We have two 9mm Shields. They started out dependable and slowly degraded into a hit or miss thing. Why is it like pulling teeth to order new RSAs from S&W? You can buy them for Glock and other brands simply online.

Hmm... Just when I was contemplating purchasing a 9mm Shield... Anyway, it seems like pulling teeth to get S&W to ship just about ANY component w/o having to ship your gun to them.

 

[Texas40]

My 40 shield has been pretty much flawless with the exception of when using WWB ammo the only time Ive had any FTE or FTF issues was WWB ammo. I no longer use it and the gun performs flawlessly. Has over 2k rounds through it. Also polish the feed ramp as it will help with loading rounds. I have even shot unjacketed flat nose lead reloads my father in law loaded with no issue.

 

[Huntrocketman]

I agree with this.
My shield would fail to extract every 7 to 12 rounds or so.
I did a light polishing of the chamber.
Didn't want to get too carried away as I had no way to tell when I would be going too far.
Still would fail to extract occasionally with the resulting jam from the round coming up underneath.
I didn't dare to trust this gun for carry.
Emailed CS and the emailed me a pre insured, pre paid label and a number to call for a FEDX pickup at my house.
A little over a week later, the gun was back and working as expected and hasn't had a problem since.
Didn't cost me a dime.

This is probably going to be opposite of most of the opinions on here... But I would go ahead and send it in to S&W to have it checked. Too many shields out there that have never had a single issue to accept less than perfect. I don't agree with the belief that a carry gun should need a break in period. You bought the gun to protect yourself... What if you are only 400 rounds into the 600 round break in when you need it.

 

[PirateJim]

Hi, Shawn56. I too have a relatively new Shield in .40 S&W. I now have about 600 rounds of various types of ammo through it including a couple hundred with Winchester white box. During the first two hundred rounds I had three failures to eject, two that failed to extract properly and one stovepipe. I have had no issues since, and I know the last 100 was Winchester white.

With all respect for wepiii, guns are machines and most machines need a break-in period for the parts that come into contact with one another to wear just slightly so they run smoothly together. Sometimes that break-in period is stated, for example automobiles generally have a break-in process described in the owners manual. Sometimes it isn't discussed, i.e. refrigerators. But guns are well known to require a break-in before they run as smoothly as can be expected. Revolvers tend to always go bang and revolve, but the action and trigger still smooths out after a bit of use. The trigger actions of semi-autos also improves after some use, as discussed in numerous threads on this forum. Unfortunately, where the revolver pretty much always revolves, the semi-auto sometimes fails to fully cycle.

Sometimes this resolves itself after break-in, sometimes not. I've let a number of guns go because I couldn't get them to function consistently, notably short "Officer's" model 1911s with sub 4" barrels. I did a lot of studying before I bought my Shield and though I've seen some comments like those that have been posted above, there are a LOT of people that are having success with the Shield.

As has been said, clean and lube the gun between visits to the range, try some other types of ammo, but get five or six hundred rounds through it before you get too worried. If it's still giving you trouble at that point I'd suggest going ahead and sending it back to S&W. The Shield is really a dandy little gun and worth the effort, IMHO.

Good luck! Jim

 

[Huntrocketman]

With all due respect for PJ.

I agree that machines work more smoothly after being used for some time.
But this "break in" period idea is pretty old school thinking when you're talking about modern SD semi auto pistols.

Factories that make these guns are set up to make guns to certain specifications and are tested so they work perfectly fine out of the box and I have bought many models of pistols that have done exactly that.

Now I can live with a sticky chamber on the first mag or two.
But if you've got 50-100 rounds through it of various ammo and experience jams, why are you trying to polish the breech face and chamber or whatever by running another 500 rounds through it?
Well I guess if you've got the time and money and don't have to depend on the gun, it's your choice.
And results may vary. Some will never run properly without professional help.

To me, if you are getting jams after the first 2 or 3 range sessions, on a self defense gun, that is unacceptable, period.
Let the guys that made the guns look at it and if something needs to be done, if so, they will do it and it will be done right.

 

[CaptRon956]

With all due respect for PJ.

I agree that machines work more smoothly after being used for some time.
But this "break in" period idea is pretty old school thinking when you're talking about modern SD semi auto pistols.

Factories that make these guns are set up to make guns to certain specifications and are tested so they work perfectly fine out of the box and I have bought many models of pistols that have done exactly that.

Now I can live with a sticky chamber on the first mag or two.
But if you've got 50-100 rounds through it of various ammo and experience jams, why are you trying to polish the breech face and chamber or whatever by running another 500 rounds through it?
Well I guess if you've got the time and money and don't have to depend on the gun, it's your choice.
And results may vary. Some will never run properly without professional help.

To me, if you are getting jams after the first 2 or 3 range sessions, on a self defense gun, that is unacceptable, period.
Let the guys that made the guns look at it and if something needs to be done, if so, they will do it and it will be done right.

In all due respects to huntrocketman I humbly disagree, ALL semi auto pistols will require some sort of break in period. I can't believe that some of you new guys litteraly expect a semi auto loader to function out of the box perfectly. It is a semi auto pistol, they can & on occasion will jam, it is the nature of the pistols design, it happens. But a well designed gun that is properly broken in & maintained will malfunction much less than one that isnt.

 

[RalphMP9FS]

I think S&W should offer a $100 rebate if 500 rounds are required for breaking in. I have six new non-S&W semis that fired reliably out of the box. Just my opinion.