Shield FTE

[shawn mccarver]

I have gotten so tired of having weak ammo failures with new guns that I have begun using the hottest ammo I can find to use when first shooting a new gun. That way, you eleimate the "it was WWB" or whatever underpowered ammo used as an excuse for a defective weapon. It only takes a couple of malfunctions for me to lose faith in the weapon.

 

[PHolster]

One FTE in the first 100 rounds? I would simply clean and lube the gun as you usually do after a trip to the range, then go shoot again. If it was only one in the first 100 rounds, I wouldn't be too worried. I had a few the first time out with the gun, which I chalked up to the fact it was new, and the fact I had never fired it, and the fact I just came off of many years of usually shooting revolvers.

My second trip and subsequent trips to the range were trouble free, now over 5000 trouble free rounds.

Go shoot it again, then if it is giving you troubles, talk to S&W.

 

[Huntrocketman]

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.

With all due respect for CR.
I am hardly a "new guy".
And again in case you missed it in my previous post.
I can see a sticky chamber or failure to chamber for a couple of boxes.
But having to run 600 rounds through a gun that is persistently jamming one or two rounds every magazine or two is simply ludicrous.
Why don't you just tell them to smear the cartridges with lapping compound to speed up the process?
You're giving him a "back yard mechanic" solution to a problem that needs addressing by a gun smith or someone with enough experience to do the job correctly.

A gun that is jamming repeatedly is out of spec, period.
Modern manufacturing methods are the culprit and they cannot
thoroughly check every gun as it comes off the finishing line so a fair number come through that need further work.
It is not a gun safety issue so is easily ignored because there are no legal ramifications.

 

[Prasko]

Send the S&W, doesn't cost a dime.

 

[PirateJim]

With all due respect for CR.
....
But having to run 600 rounds through a gun that is persistently jamming one or two rounds every magazine or two is simply ludicrous.
.....

Just for clarity on something I posted earlier that, hopefully, was not misunderstood to this degree. If the gun was jamming one or two rounds every magazine or two and showing no significant signs of improvement as I shot more, I doubt I'd put more than 200 through the thing before packing it up for a return trip to the factory.

If, however, I have a few 'hiccups' in the first couple hundred rounds I don't start to freak out so long as they subside. For me to be comfortable with the gun, though, I don't call the gun 'broken in' until 500-600 rounds, the last 300 being failure free. Maybe a bit more if I have to try some different ammo. It may be old thinking, but that's just me showing my age and past experiences whispering in my ear.

 

[NCW Ray]

Of the 4 FS 40's, 1 40c, 1 Shield 40 and 1 9c in my family, NONE of them have needed a break-in period, all functioned properly right out of the box after their initial cleaning & lubing. And back in the Mid 90's my old PD bought about 10 Sig P229 40's and NONE of them needed a break-in period either. I guess I've become accustom to expecting this.

 

[Huntrocketman]

Just for clarity on something I posted earlier that, hopefully, was not misunderstood to this degree. If the gun was jamming one or two rounds every magazine or two and showing no significant signs of improvement as I shot more, I doubt I'd put more than 200 through the thing before packing it up for a return trip to the factory.

Exactly, I thought that was what I was saying
but you know how that goes.

If, however, I have a few 'hiccups' in the first couple hundred rounds I don't start to freak out so long as they subside. For me to be comfortable with the gun, though, I don't call the gun 'broken in' until 500-600 rounds, the last 300 being failure free. Maybe a bit more if I have to try some different ammo. It may be old thinking, but that's just me showing my age and past experiences whispering in my ear.

Agreed! And I didn't mean to say that a polymer framed gun doesn't have a break in period.
BUT...There are a lot of old timers like us that remember the old days of All Metal Guns,
those did take a lot of lube and time to get working properly/smoothly(1911's in particular).

Bottom line, on a polymer framed pistol,
if you are experiencing jams from FTExtract on a regular basis,
whether is be every 5 rounds or 25 rounds,
or if the slide is not engaging into battery without help,
after a couple of boxes of factory ammunition,
you need to have the gun looked at.

Sorry for any confusion I may have caused with my comments.

 

[havfun]

just sent my shield 9 mm back.
same failure to extract issue.

about 3-5 percent.

not happy at all and do not trust it.
Hope S&W has a fix for this.
it seems to be a common problem

 

[whittsailor]

Hope they get it fixed for you soon HAVFUN. I don't believe it's a common problem with the Shield though. Too many out there on the market,and are every bit as reliable as the one I've got. I sincerely understand your pain and I'm betting you'll get it back soon working like it should. Welcome to the forum from Texas.

 

[Huntrocketman]

Sounds like the same problem I had.
I'd clean and lube the Shield and head to the range.
I might get through one magazine,
maybe two, then a jam, then maybe another trouble free magazine before it happened again.
And they were the drop the mag, rack the slide,
insert the mag, rack the slide to fire type of jams. Bad, bad.
After 3 trips to the range and 150-200 rounds,
I felt the same way thinking, "how can I ever trust this gun?"

I sent S&W CS pictures of the extractor because I was convinced that was the culprit.
They emailed back and said the extractor looked normal but I should send the gun in for a look see.

What S&W did was give the gun a very aggressive polishing of the breech face and chamber.
Meaning it needed more than a casual chamber polish.
I didn't dare go that far, even though I am trained machinist/toolmaker, I'm still capable of screwing things up
and voiding warranties.

S&W has the tools and know how to check tolerances
and do what they have to do to get it up & running.
Even if it involves replacing bad out of spec parts.

Haven't had a hiccup since and have shot many boxes of ammo, including the dreaded Winchester White Box and other cheapie brands (perfecta, fed aluminum case etc.).
Talk about renewed confidence.

Good Luck! And let us know how it comes out when you get it back.

just sent my shield 9 mm back.
same failure to extract issue.

about 3-5 percent.

not happy at all and do not trust it.
Hope S&W has a fix for this.
it seems to be a common problem

 

[Kmr54]

I just sent mine back. 20 failures in 1000 rounds of various ammo.

 

[hoc9sw]

I just sent mine back. 20 failures in 1000 rounds of various ammo.

That's Patience with a capital P.

Mine went like this -
Day 1, 8 fails of 223 rounds
Day 2, 5 fails of 204 rounds.

RO let me shoot his carry Shield 9. I put 100 rounds through it without issue. Mine locked up on him first round.

It left for the mothership the next morning -

 

[Kmr54]

That's Patience with a capital P.

Mine went like this -
Day 1, 8 fails of 223 rounds
Day 2, 5 fails of 204 rounds.

RO let me shoot his carry Shield 9. I put 100 rounds through it without issue. Mine locked up on him first round.

It left for the mothership the next morning -

Just checked. CS says they replaced the extractor. Should have it back next week. Will advise on outcome.