Shield out of battery - time to revisit this issue

[Lost Lake]

Update: I received an email today that the gun has left S&W and is in transit back to me. I suspect the phone message may have been to confirm a date for receiving the package.

Tuesday I will get the gun back and immediately see if they changed anything.

If it doesn't stay OOB I will keep it, if it does it will be for sale on GB.

 

[Dikinalaska]

Update: I received an email today that the gun has left S&W and is in transit back to me. I suspect the phone message may have been to confirm a date for receiving the package.

Tuesday I will get the gun back and immediately see if they changed anything.

If it doesn't stay OOB I will keep it, if it does it will be for sale on GB.

Well that 's good that it's on it's way back. Hope it's fixed for ya! On a side note, I know it is your gun and don't blame you for wanting to sell it if it still stays OOB, but if you do sell it why not sell it to one of the fine folks here that have been desperately searching for one? I'd try and call first dibs, but I have a 9&.40 so I won't be greedy

 

[Lost Lake]

I got a call back from Mark @ S&W just now. He told me things I didn't want to hear....

They looked at the gun and worked on it a bit. Mark said it was 'normal' to stay out of battery. I said none of my M&Ps do that and he said the Shield was a bit different.

The Shield, Mark said, was cut a bit closer in tolerance between the slide and the barrel. There were friction points that the rest of the M&P line doesn't have. I asked if I should sand, buff or file any of these friction points and he said no, just fire it a lot.

Mark said his tech made it better, and it was shipped out.

I guess I'll see tomorrow!

 

[jcole54935]

Dislike lost lake sorry bubba maybe it's a lil better might be one of the reasons it's so accurate for a tiny pistol closer tolerances I waited so long for this gun I can't give up on it yet ima shoot the **** out of it and c or just carry w the 8 round mag mine don't do it w that one

 

[jcole54935]

Lost lake I c ur from the dairy land where abouts I was raised in ole fond du lac joined the navy in 06 and still active duty in VA will be out and back in the north woods soon Thoe lol

 

[Lost Lake]

RESOLUTION

The Final Resolution:

I just got my Shield back a few hours early. I will be leaving for a couple days so I'm glad I have time to post!

There is a sheet in the return box that explains they did nothing to the gun, and it met all factory specs. This sheet was held in place by a new 7 round mag, so that's not bad.

However when I broke the gun down, I found a new recoil spring and some polishing was done.

The polishing I can see was in the throat of the chamber at the top of the barrel right under the top lug. And it almost looks like the chamber has a slight chamfered edge at the opening now. I'm not sure if that was there previously though. Maybe they spun a tool in there to see if everything was at spec?

Also as I suspected the trigger bar tip where it strikes the sear disconnect bump on the slide is polished. The little groove is still noticeable but not nearly as bad. The bad part is there is now a slight nick in the trigger bar (not where it touches anything, perhaps a vice mark?) and a slight grittiness in the trigger on take up.

I want to do a good cleaning and see if the grit goes away. The gun looks like it was shot a few times as it was clean when it went in, and now has residue all over the place.

Okay I was cleaning while typing and the grittiness came from the trigger bar lifting the sear. I tried cleaning and it was still there but a good flushing of CLP got out whatever was under the sear and now it's smooth again.

And a check with the old 7 round mag filled with one in the chamber causes the gun to still stay OOB. It doesn't if I leave a round out.

So now I have to schedule some time to get out to my range. I will see if the gun still shoots good, I can't see why it wouldn't.

I'm torn between dumping it because I don't like how the slide is working, and keeping it as a knock-around gun with one less round in the mag. My 11 year old likes shooting it, but he likes the 9c also.

I may also list it in the classifieds looking for trades for a TSW. These Shields are hot right now and I'm not real hot on it, so now would be the time to sell....

Anyway, that's the saga. S&W worked on it a bit, made it better, but with a full mag and one in the pipe it will hang OOB. I guess that's the way Shields are.

 

[S&WForty]

I hope you reach a conclusion on what to do soon. Thanks for posting the details of your issue.

 

[feelinlucky]

Too much drama. And all over an issue considered to be normal, by a multitude. Sell the Shield and buy something the meets your requirements. (If that can be found.)

 

[highaltitude]

The Final Resolution:

I just got my Shield back a few hours early. I will be leaving for a couple days so I'm glad I have time to post!

There is a sheet in the return box that explains they did nothing to the gun, and it met all factory specs. This sheet was held in place by a new 7 round mag, so that's not bad.

However when I broke the gun down, I found a new recoil spring and some polishing was done.

The polishing I can see was in the throat of the chamber at the top of the barrel right under the top lug. And it almost looks like the chamber has a slight chamfered edge at the opening now. I'm not sure if that was there previously though. Maybe they spun a tool in there to see if everything was at spec?

Also as I suspected the trigger bar tip where it strikes the sear disconnect bump on the slide is polished. The little groove is still noticeable but not nearly as bad. The bad part is there is now a slight nick in the trigger bar (not where it touches anything, perhaps a vice mark?) and a slight grittiness in the trigger on take up.

I want to do a good cleaning and see if the grit goes away. The gun looks like it was shot a few times as it was clean when it went in, and now has residue all over the place.

Okay I was cleaning while typing and the grittiness came from the trigger bar lifting the sear. I tried cleaning and it was still there but a good flushing of CLP got out whatever was under the sear and now it's smooth again.

And a check with the old 7 round mag filled with one in the chamber causes the gun to still stay OOB. It doesn't if I leave a round out.

So now I have to schedule some time to get out to my range. I will see if the gun still shoots good, I can't see why it wouldn't.

I'm torn between dumping it because I don't like how the slide is working, and keeping it as a knock-around gun with one less round in the mag. My 11 year old likes shooting it, but he likes the 9c also.

I may also list it in the classifieds looking for trades for a TSW. These Shields are hot right now and I'm not real hot on it, so now would be the time to sell....

Anyway, that's the saga. S&W worked on it a bit, made it better, but with a full mag and one in the pipe it will hang OOB. I guess that's the way Shields are.

Thanks for the update Lost Lake. Good luck in whatever you choose to do...

 

[Ed45]

Could not agree more

Yes, this whole thread has gotten really boring !!!

I have been shooting for nearly 60 years and find this concern a head scratcher. First, I can tell by the sound and feel of a semi-automatic pistol if the first round off a magazine has chambered or not. Second, in most cases, I then drop the magazine and reload the empty spot left by the chambered round; if the magazine takes one, the other has only one place it can be. Third, with the Shield, I can check the LOADED CHAMBER INDICATOR. This overkill, in trying to denegrate a fine little pistol is ridiculous. As for the "bumping" or struggle argument, once a confrontation comes to that all kinds of bad things can happen. You have to parry any attempt to touch you and shoot the bast*rd if you have the weapon drawn. You guys are taking the gun out of battery and then blaming the gun. Too much really great information on this site to bog it down with this stuff.

 

[Lost Lake]

I don't mean to offend anyone that expects their gun to stay OOB if it is bumped. That wasn't the point of this thread.

I wanted to see if the staying OOB issue could be fixed. S&W said it cannot except maybe by shooting the snot out of the Shield and loosing the interacting parts.

This is a big issue in some people's minds (mine included) and one of the reasons some people will only carry a revolver. Pushing a Shield forward in a jacket pocket may retract the slide enough to cause a failure to fire, and then when withdrawn the Shield may still fail to fire. That's just a deal breaker in my mind. At least as far as a dependable concealed carry piece is concerned.

The argument 'if an attacker is close enough to grab my gun or be on top of me means I have bigger problems to worry about, so my gun malfunctioning is a non-issue' is just preposterous. I know I'm in trouble, and a malfunctioning gun makes that trouble worse!

I have no plans for the Shield right now. It can sit in the safe for a while. It will return to battery with one less in the mag now, so I could carry it like that, but we need some range time together first anyway....

 

[Lost Lake]

Too much drama. And all over an issue considered to be normal, by a multitude. Sell the Shield and buy something the meets your requirements. (If that can be found.)

I'm not fussy, my 3913 is a single stack 9mm that works perfectly. Almost identical in size and weight.

I was just hoping to carry the cheaper Shield as a bang around gun working and what not.

 

[Dikinalaska]

I was just reading an article by Massad Ayoob (you know, one of the most well-known and respected writers ever) on revolvers vs. autoloaders and came across this. I'm NOT going into the revolver vs autoloader discussion here, it just has pertinent info on the topic at hand. It has been stated previously here in the thread but was dismissed by some. Read the last sentence. That alone has me interested enough to continue to find a fix to this issue.

 

[JNewell]

I was just reading an article by Massad Ayoob (you know, one of the most well-known and respected writers ever) on revolvers vs. autoloaders and came across this. I'm NOT going into the revolver vs autoloader discussion here, it just has pertinent info on the topic at hand. It has been stated previously here in the thread but was dismissed by some. Read the last sentence. That alone has me interested enough to continue to find a fix to this issue. View attachment 106266

If you press a semiauto handgun against a semi-solid surface, just about all of them will unlock (come out of battery). That's inherent in the design. I'm not sure how you're going to fix this...

 

[Dikinalaska]

Right, it happens with all, but when you pull it away how many stay that way? That was the point

 

[Dikinalaska]

And he said the service-size XD and the Beretta Nano are exceptions to this rule. Why? I have no idea but it gives me a new respect for my XD as it's service size and one of my HD guns

 

[Lost Lake]

Right, it happens with all, but when you pull it away how many stay that way? That was the point

Exactly.

This whole thread was started to find a resolution to the Shield staying out of battery, that's all. S&W did not help fix my Shield, but they did let us know that the parts are so tight that the gun may stay OOB.

I think we have learned a lot so far. I'm still hopeful we can find where to polish to allow the Shield to go back into battery. Out of nine guns I carry, only the Shield stays OOB.

 

[Der Biermeister]

Some people on this Forum have nothing better than to criticize others. Some are the most negative people on this forum. They disagree and argue about everything. Things that are shown in a video and proven correct, and they still have something negative to say! Am I wrong or do others on this forum also find those negative comments are excessive and over the top?

MY VIDEO WAS NOT ABOUT GUN SAFETY! The video was showing an answer to the original OP of the gun sticking out of battery. The video showed that if the gun owner did not know the gun was slightly out of battery, and the gun was needed in an emergency SD situation, the gun would still function. IT WAS NOT SHOWING HOW TO SAFELY PUT A GUN BACK INTO BATTERY. The video did also show the slide could be easily pushed back into battery and or a simple shake of the gun would also put it back into battery. I take the time to make a video and show what is occurring, and I get bashed for it. The video was for one purpose, to show the gun would still function if it got bumped out of battery. I don't normally tirade much, but some posters should think before posting their negative comments.

Since the vast majority of our Forum members follow proper gun safety, and the video was made specifically for those members, those members know the proper way to get the gun back into battery. I did not feel I needed to put a warning disclaimer in the video. Just certain persons would come to that conclusion.

Bob

Well I certainly appreciated your video ... AND since I am not a stupid chit, I also followed safety protocol when duplicating what you demonstrated. First of all - I had the SAFETY ON. That allows you to pull the trigger to move the slide to full battery while NOT being able to fire the weapon.

The complainer was out of line. I dare say that none of us on this forum are idiots.

 

[blujax01]

The Final Resolution:


Anyway, that's the saga. S&W worked on it a bit, made it better, but with a full mag and one in the pipe it will hang OOB. I guess that's the way Shields are.

The end.

 

[Smitty357]

If you press a semiauto handgun against a semi-solid surface, just about all of them will unlock (come out of battery). That's inherent in the design. I'm not sure how you're going to fix this...

Easy fix, carry a revolver.