Shield Plus Potential Issue?

[CouchPotato]

I've carried a M&P Shield 2.0 PC 3.1" for about 3 years and I recently upgraded to the M&P Shield Plus PC 3.1" for the purposes of increased capacity, slightly larger grip circumference, and an improved trigger. I've put 500 rounds through it without any problems.

The only issue I noticed was that during takedown, sometimes the trigger could not be pulled in order to release the slide, and the yellow sear deactivation lever had to be manually moved down. Not a big deal. I thought maybe it was a break-in related issue.

Last night I cleaned it and reassembly was a challenge because the trigger wouldn't engage the sear... there was just some crunching and a popping sound. Another disassembly and reassembly fixed the problem but during dry fire afterwards, the issue returned. At first it worked but after about a dozen trigger pulls the problem started again and the trigger would not engage and would not release the striker, there was only some crunching and a popping sound.

So then I disassembled the gun again and flooded all components in the grip with pressurized Rem Oil and set it upside down to drain. While cleaning up the Rem Oil with a Q-tip I noticed a tiny metal shaving laying in between the front of the sear housing and the back of the trigger bar. It was loose and the Q-tip picked it up. I wish I had taken a picture.

After cleaning up all the excess Rem Oil, and reassembling the Shield Plus, I can not recreate the issue during dry fire, it works every time. I've taken it down and put it back together a dozen times and it works 100% during dry fire.

I can however recreate the issue during take down if I don't use the sear deactivation lever and try to release the slide with a trigger pull. Unless I pull the slide back a little to align with the back of the frame, the trigger will not engage the sear and there's only a popping sound.

With my Shield 2.0 PC, during disassembly, when I drop the slide, it automatically returns to home and I can just pull the trigger to release the side. I don't have to line up the slide at all in order for the trigger to work.

To further test, I put my Shield Plus slide on my Shield 2.0 frame, and the Plus slide also went to home and allowed a disassembly with a quick trigger pull. I then put my 2.0 slide on my Plus frame and again during disassembly I had to fidget with the slide position in order to allow the trigger to engage.

If it wasn't for the ongoing takedown anomaly, I would have dismissed the shaving of metal laying near the sear as a break-in issue, because obviously that shaving of metal interfered with the sear and trigger bar in some way.

Because i can recreate the issue during takedown, and the inconsistency between the Plus and 2.0 frame during takedown, I'm concerned this may be the first or second sign of a larger issue developing in my Shield Plus.

What are your thoughts? Is it good to go? With this being a carry gun, this issue does undermine my confidence level.

I was planning on going shooting with the Plus tomorrow but now I'm not sure if i should. Customer service for S&W is closed for the weekend and with tomorrow being a holiday, I don't know if they'll be open then either.

On your Shield Plus, during takedown do you have to manually position the slide in order for the trigger to engage and release the slide?

I'm trying to determine if this is an issue or a non-issue.

I guess my next step will be a couple hundred dry fires on snap caps in order to see what happens.

Thanks for the help.

 

[LVSteve]

You said:

With my Shield 2.0 PC, during disassembly, when I drop the slide, it automatically returns to home and I can just pull the trigger to release the side. I don't have to line up the slide at all in order for the trigger to work.

Are you hitting the slide release and letting the slide whip forward like it would during a reload?

When disassembling a polymer gun that requires me to lock the slide back to work a lever, I release the slide under control so it moves forward slowly and squeeze the trigger as the slide gets to the "in battery" position.

 

[CouchPotato]

You said:



Are you hitting the slide release and letting the slide whip forward like it would during a reload?

When disassembling a polymer gun that requires me to lock the slide back to work a lever, I release the slide under control so it moves forward slowly and squeeze the trigger as the slide gets to the "in battery" position.

No. I also release the slide under control.

 

[CouchPotato]

I now have appx 100 more dry fires through it and have taken it down and put it back together a dozen more times and it's been 100% reliable when the trigger gets pulled.

The takedown anomaly still exists.

I'm thinking a component had a burr left over from the factory, something that's not totally unheard of with anything that's mass produced.

My current theory is that once the burr came loose, it sat somewhere that was out of the way. When I cleaned the gun, that metal shaving moved and got tangled up near the trigger bar or sear when I tried to dry fire afterward.

It was small, less than a 1/4 of an inch long, and as thin as a hair with a couple loose metal bits.

The flush with rem oil obviously got it out.

- - - - - - -

Upon further inspection, at least in comparison to my Shield 2.0 PC, the trigger bar on my Plus PC appears to be out of alignment causing it to only partially engage the sear, and hit it at a funny angle. The rough edge and wear pattern on the part of the trigger bar that hits the sear is the likely source of the metal shaving/burr. Because the sear is not fully being engaged, its visibly sitting higher in my Shield Plus, which in theory would make it harder to disengage. Furthermore, the wear lines on the top of the trigger bar that hit the striker saftey indicate that the bar has traveled around and past the plunger without depressing the plunger and deactivating the saftey.

I'm not a gunsmith but I feel that's possibly the explanation for the popping sound I was talking about, especially since the striker won't release while in that situation.

 

[MSD2343]

I would advise on a call to S&W after the holiday so they can issue you a return authorization and shipping label. You have to have absolute confidence in your carry gun and you're simply not going to have that until it's fully inspected and the kinks properly addressed.

 

[pmanton]

I wonder if not pushing the yellow lever down and pulling the trigger to field strip it causes a problem.
I've been pulling the trigger rather than pushing the yellow lever down.
Maybe I'd better stop.

 

[Daryl Licht]

There could very well be a sketchy part in the gun somewhere. It would probably be worthwhile to have S&W look it over to be sure.

The manufacturer's instruction for takedown of the M&P models say to use the internal lever to disengage the sear during disassembly. Pulling the trigger also achieves that, but it runs contrary to the designer's instructions. While I don't know the full reason the pistol was designed this way it's always better to strip the pistol in the recommended way. It's not a Glock.

 

[gunny4053]

You don't have a problem. Read the manual! You should never pull the trigger, it's not a Glock. Clear the weapon, lock the slide to the rear, lower the yellow sear deactivation lever, rotate the takedown lever, release the slide allowing it to move forward, and remove the slide from the frame. Just that simple. Will pulling the trigger release the slide, yes, but not by design. Reassemble in reverse order, install the slide, locking it to the rear, rotate the takedown lever to the up position, take a finger and push the sear deactivation lever to its upright position, or insert an empty magazine which will accomplish the same thing. Then there's the oil. Flooding the firearm with oil only creates a **** magnet. Every piece of dirt, dust, lint, or unspent powder will stick to it. It won't improve anything. Disassemble it properly, clean it properly, lube it properly, reassemble it properly, then go shoot it.

I've had at least 6 Shields in one configuration or another, and not one has required a trigger pull to remove the slide, and every one required you to "manually" lower the sear deactivation lever.

 

[CouchPotato]

You don't have a problem. Read the manual! You should never pull the trigger, it's not a Glock... Will pulling the trigger release the slide, yes, but not by design.

Then there's the oil. Flooding the firearm with oil only creates a **** magnet. Every piece of dirt, dust, lint, or unspent powder will stick to it. It won't improve anything. Disassemble it properly, clean it properly, lube it properly, reassemble it properly, then go shoot it.

I've had at least 6 Shields in one configuration or another, and not one has required a trigger pull to remove the slide, and every one required you to "manually" lower the sear deactivation lever.

Generally I do use the sear deactivation lever since proper saftey procedures involve sticking a finger in the chamber anyway, I might as well go the extra step and flip the switch.

Don't mistake that yellow lever as anything other than a lawyer switch, so as to allow disassembly without a mandatory trigger pull. If no tool is available, and the gun needs to be taken down, with proper saftey procedures, it's perfectly acceptable to use a trigger pull.

The whole reason we're even talking about it is because as part of a trouble shooting process, it's the only way to recreate what happened during normal fire, albeit dry fire. Instead of releasing the striker, first the trigger went crunch and then went pop. Sometimes a second trigger pull would release the striker. Then it stopped working completely. It felt as if there was an obstruction. Visual inspection yielded nothing, thus the flood of rem oil, which worked, and dislodged bits of loose metal.

 

[gunny4053]

Don't mistake that yellow lever as anything other than a lawyer switch, so as to allow disassembly without a mandatory trigger pull. If no tool is available, and the gun needs to be taken down, with proper saftey procedures, it's perfectly acceptable to use a trigger pull.

It's not perfectly acceptable to pull the trigger, otherwise S&W would have told you so in the manual. If you call S&W and tell them what you're doing, they will tell you, lawyer lever or not, that is the proper procedure and since you're not following it, you may have damaged your firearm and voided your warranty.


The whole reason we're even talking about it is because as part of a trouble shooting process, it's the only way to recreate what happened during normal fire, albeit dry fire. Instead of releasing the striker, first the trigger went crunch and then went pop. Sometimes a second trigger pull would release the striker. Then it stopped working completely. It felt as if there was an obstruction. Visual inspection yielded nothing, thus the flood of rem oil, which worked, and dislodged bits of loose metal.

And yet you continue to do it incorrectly just to recreate a result. I guess the ultimate question would be, does it do it when you follow the procedure in the manual? If not, then why do you keep doing it? As far as having a tool, unless you're shooting naked, there's always something available, pin on your belt buckle, pocketknife, keys, the tip of a stick. So far, the only reason to not do it right is because "you" don't want to.

I said my peace, so continue to do what you want, my gun works fine. I'm out.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Although not recommended by the factory, you should be able to disassemble the shield plus by pulling the trigger instead of by using the sear deactivation lever. If you use the pulling the trigger method, you must remove the magazine, make sure the chamber is empty and triple check to make sure there is no ammunition in the weapon. Failure to safety check the weapon before pulling the trigger could result in death or serious injury to you or someone else.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VKEBzslB0bw[/ame]

 

[CouchPotato]

I got ahold of a friend's Shield Plus PC 3.1", the same model as mine, and my suspicion about the trigger bar and sear engagement appears to be confirmed.

So as to not provoke certain forum members, the yellow sear disconnect lever was used during takedown

When I look down the back of each frame, while the trigger is depressed, the back of the sear sits higher in my Shield Plus, and his sits lower, like in my Shield 2.0 PC.

As shown in the photos below, in my friend's Shield Plus, the trigger bar is fully engaging the sear with almost the entire face of the bar, just like in my Shield 2.0. In my Shield Plus, only the edge of the trigger bar is hitting the sear, and that edge is worn down.

The trigger bar design incorporates a loop that bends back around in order to create the face that hits the sear. In my Shield Plus, that loop sits noticeably closer to the body of the trigger bar than it does in my Shield 2.0 and my friend's Shield Plus.

Despite my issue, this troubleshooting process has given me an appreciation for the internal design of the M&P Shield. Despite being misaligned and digesting a shaving of metal, it's still a functional gun. The open design and the simplicity of the trigger bar may be a stoke of genius. It appears to be the reason why the Shield runs so reliably, as expected with a M&P, despite dirt, fowling, rust, etc.

 

[CouchPotato]

Well, I called S&W and they want me to send it in, so that's what I'll do.

 

[DaSvenska]

Well, I called S&W and they want me to send it in, so that's what I'll do.

You will feel better once you get it back.

 

[oink]

I have a Shield v1. I don't think I've ever used that yellow sear disconnect lever. When our S.O. issued M&P 45s we were told we could use either method. I gave it back without firing it. I was grandfathered in and decided to stick with my wheel gun. The S.O. didn't stay with them very long but I don't remember why. I know they did have finish issues and rusted. They carry 9mm Glocks these days. Probably nobody with a wheel gun now.

 

[hardluk1]

I can see a difference between the connector cam as part of the connector when compared to your buddy's shield . The gap between them is different and I would try to ease a small screw driver between the connector and cam and widen the gap and that would align the can and sear .

 

[lunger]

Mine is as OP describes . Can not be disassembled by trigger pull. I have none of the other issues . I don't count rounds but 500 to 1000 without a hiccup.

I just use the disconnect lever as per manual .

 

[gunny4053]

Any updates?

 

[CouchPotato]

Any updates?

As of now, I've sent it to S&W and they've confirmed receipt of it. I'll update when I get it back.

 

[CouchPotato]

I got notification today that S&W created the return shipping label so I called customer service to find out what they ended up doing.

They told me that both the trigger bar and the sear were replaced.

 

[CouchPotato]

I got the Shield Plus PC back today and sadly the new trigger bar has the same problem. The trigger bar is formed differently, specifically I mean the space between where the trigger bar hits the sear and where it hits the plunger is smaller. It's as if those two parts of the trigger bar are pinched together. The gap size is visibly different.

This causes the trigger bar to not fully engage the sear.

With my new Shield Plus PC the sear visibly does not drop as low versus my old Shield 2.0 PC and my friend's new Shield Plus PC. Only the edge of the trigger bar is hitting the edge of the sear.

As it is now, the gun is 100% functional. However due to how awkwardly those two surfaces meet, and because of how they will wear down, I suspect it'll lead to the same problems as the last one and then eventually the trigger bar won't engage the sear which would prevent the gun from firing.

Now I have to send it back to S&W again. I missed work today in order to be home for FedEx. This is frustrating.

 

[gunny4053]

I know I was a bit critical, but here's a suggestion. Before you send that back to S&W, give this a try. Insert a small flat tip screwdriver between the trigger bar and the candy cane and pry it away from the trigger bar. This will move the candy cane further under the sear improving the contact area. I had to do something similar on my Shield 1.0, and just that little difference made a great improvement. Good luck.

 

[Tu_S]

Not sure if this is your problem, but when I installed an optics plate on my Shield Plus I messed up the alignment of the spring for the striker blocker in the slide and had some problems with the trigger resetting.

Removing the rear sight is kind of a PITA, but pulling the striker and working the blocker is something you might want to try.

Have to admit this doesn't fit perfectly for what you've described, but it sounds like S&W focused on the frame side of things and not the slide.

 

[CouchPotato]

Not sure if this is your problem, but when I installed an optics plate on my Shield Plus I messed up the alignment of the spring for the striker blocker in the slide and had some problems with the trigger resetting.

Removing the rear sight is kind of a PITA, but pulling the striker and working the blocker is something you might want to try.

Have to admit this doesn't fit perfectly for what you've described, but it sounds like S&W focused on the frame side of things and not the slide.

I have not installed an optic. There's no issues in my slide. The issue is in the frame. Specifically the trigger bar doesn't fully engage the sear.

It's currently at S&W for the second time. The first time they replaced my sear and trigger bar but it's more misaligned than when I sent it in the first time. Only the edge of the trigger bar contacts the edge of the sear.

Also on my frame there's visible damage from the service department, some type of machine marks on the back of the frame.

After getting it back, and calling them back, I encountered a customer service representative who was very rude, wouldn't let me speak, and hung up on me after raising his voice.

I called back, spoke with Scott, and was able to get a new RMA number and return shipping label.

Recently I called to check on the status and the woman I spoke with told me they replaced the striker and firing pin. When I told her that there was not any problems with the striker, firing pin, or anything in the slide, she became combative. She was unwilling to research it more or provide more information, she kept interrupting me, and then would raise her voice while accusing me of interrupting her. She then told me more information wouldn't be available until after it ships.

Of course I called back immediately due to her obvious incompetence and unwillingness to help.

Currently I'm working with Scott again who appears to be one of the few employees in Smith & Wesson's customer service department who provide customer service to customers. The rest apparently are preoccupied with getting customers off of the phone as fast as possible or are busy making a sport out of angering people.

My understanding is that Scott and his supervisor communicated with the head of the repair department, who has now pulled my gun himself and will be inspecting it himself. They've been unable to tell me what will be done about the machine marks on my frame from the first service attempt.

I'm expecting a call back today or tomorrow.

My biggest regret with all of this is the fact that I've recommended S&W to friends and family and some of them have made S&W purchases as a direct result.

 

[CouchPotato]

I'm expecting a call back today or tomorrow.

Well, they didn't call me back.

 

[LVSteve]

Well, they didn't call me back.

I wouldn't be holding my breath. I'd wager most of the "customer service" people in multiple industries don't really have that much knowledge about what their employer actually does.

It's not just an S&W problem. A .gov buddy was ranting quite recently about contact with a major defense contractor. His example was a classic: "I reckon that most of them there cannot spell RADAR forwards or backwards."

 

[CouchPotato]

I just got off the phone with S&W. They said that the new trigger bar they had previously replaced was bent, so they replaced it again.

They were not able to provide details about what was done to repair the machine marks they left on my frame from the first repair attempt.

As if today, they're shipping it back to me.

Along with the issues I've already mentioned, a couple of my Shield Plus mags are defective. They're also sending two of those.

This situation is under my skin a lot, especially after being yelled at and hung up on by two different customer service representatives.

On Facebook there's a variety of private groups dedicated to the M&P series as well as the Shield itself. While discussing this with some of those people, I'm learning that the QC issues that S&W is having with the Shield Plus are widespread. It appears as if there's others who have an issue with the trigger bar and sear engagement like I'm having, but there's also other issues too.

The QC issues combined with the poor customer service are a perfect recipe for destroying a brand name and I feel that's exactly what S&W is doing. At this point, the whole subject of the HQ move is an invalid reason, and there's no excuse for what's happening.

I've requested a call back from their customer service supervisor and my intent is to escalate the issue beyond that level.

I'm not going to just stand on the sidelines and watch S&W continue to destroy themselves. I believe the Smith & Wesson brand is easily one of the most important domestic firearms brands in the country.

 

[CouchPotato]

I got the Shield Plus back again yesterday evening. It's been through service three times now and after they did the wrong repair the last time, and put visible damage on it the first time, I was told the head of the service department got involved this time and personally examined it himself.

Customer service confirmed that the trigger bar they previously replaced was also bent or misshapen, so they replaced it again. They also confirmed that they inadvertently replaced the striker and firing pin despite nothing being wrong with those parts.

Upon receiving the Shield Plus, the first thing I noticed is that they didn't fix the external machine/tool mark on the back of my frame from the first service attempt.

The trigger bar and sear engagement issue is now fixed and looks great.

The trigger shoe was also replaced but this created a new problem because the spring in the inertial saftey seemed stiffer. This resulted in me being unable to pull the trigger unless my finger rode the bottom of the trigger guard and hit the bottom most point of the trigger. So I called customer service but Scott wasn't available. I spoke with Frank who insisted on knowing what was going on. Since he wanted to know, I explained everything, including the prior customer service problems, Frank grew impatient. Soon Frank was interrupting me and then acting like he was doing me an enormous favor by being willing to allow me to send it in for warranty service again. I tried to explain to Frank that because of my prior issues with the warranty department, and customer service, and the poor design of the trigger shoe, I didn't want to do that, and had a different idea. Frank wouldn't let me finish, he became combative, raised his voice, and became very condescending. He began asking me if I was a firearm engineer and began insinuating that I don't know how to operate a trigger and that I don't know what I'm talking about. Frank began yelling, I don't know what he was saying because I just began yelling over him. Every time Frank started yelling, I would just yell over him. We repeated that many times, over and over.

At any customer service department where a company cares about it's customers and also has oversight of it's employees, a supervisor would have yanked Frank out of his desk and stuffed him in an office while the supervisor took over the call, before terminating Frank's employment... but that never happened, so we kept yelling. I demanded a supervisor but Frank insisted that none were available today, he continued to yell and eventually Frank hung up on me.

I began calling customer service back over and over and over, every time I asked for a supervisor and every time I was either told that one wasn't available or I was just sent to a voice mail. I kept calling, over and over. Eventually, like magic, Paul the supervisor was available.

I made Paul listen to everything, from start to finish. I explained that what I wanted was an M&P Compact, at minimum at a significantly reduced price due to all of the issues, poor QC, and bad design of the trigger's inertial saftey in the Shield Plus. I explained the depth of my holster and magazine investment and the time missed from work because of shipping and then having to be home to sign for the FedEx package. Paul refused and offered no alternatives. Ultimately Paul did nothing except tell me to contact executive leadership through investor relations. I made Paul confirm the two replacement 15rd mags were shipped as a replacement to my two defective magazines and I had him order two 10rd mag plate pinky extensions which are something they give for free to anyone who asks.

After the disappointing call, which was the first time that I was actually able to get a supervisor on the phone, I fabricated a small tool of the appropriate size, glued a tiny strip of #400 sandpaper to it, and began modifying the tab of the inertial saftey that hits the frame behind the trigger. I successfully fixed it while maintaining the factory saftey values. The trigger now works and no longer has a magical sweet spot in order to make it work. It's a trigger, and a deliberate pull should make it fire without extra thought or instruction. Anything less is a design flaw. It's literally that simple.

Being happy with the success of my improvised trigger mod, I found myself becoming optimistic that I'd actually be able to take the Shield Plus to the range so then I re-installed my TLR6. My slide was still off the frame.

I grabbed the slide and that's when the saftey plunger caught my eye because under the right light, it looked half-way depressed. I pushed it in with my finger and it returned to the same position. I then pulled the striker forward with my finger and to my surprise, it moved and allowed the firing pin to move all the way forward. I then pushed the striker back with my finger and the plunger clicked up into place. I gently pushed the plunger back down with a punch and again it hung up and allowed the striker to freely move forward. I then reassembled the gun, racked the slide a bunch of times, dry fired a few times, then disassembled it, and again the striker was hanging up and not allowing the saftey plunger to lock back into place. I repeated this multiple times.

Over the natural course of troubleshooting the issue, including swapping slides back and forth with my Shield 2.0, I discovered that after disassembly and reassembly, sometimes the striker would return and allow the plunger to lock, and other times it wouldn't. My Shield 2.0 didn't have the issue at all.

With the Shield Plus, I was able to manually recreate the issue 100% of the time with the slide removed by depressing the plunger, moving the striker forward, releasing the plunger, and then releasing the striker. Every time the saftey plunger fails to lock the striker into place. When doing the same on my Shield 2.0, every time, the plunger locks the striker without hesitation.

Again to clarify, the Shield Plus is failing to lock the striker on it's own through the course of normal operation. This is potentially a fatal flaw which could possibly lead to an uncommanded discharge. There's a very good reason why striker fired guns have a plunger saftey that blocks the striker.

The only reason there's now an issue with the striker and plunger interface is because the service department screwed up and replaced those parts when they shouldn't have. The result is that they literally sent my gun back to me with a fatal flaw, and that's after the head of the repair department inspected it himself. I carry in the appendix position too.

Now S&W's incompetence has created a situation where I literally could have been killed.

I took video of the plunger/striker problem and sent it to S&W's customer service email. I then called them and asked for Scott or Paul, I was sent to voice mail over and over... so naturally after leaving a voice mail for Paul once, I kept calling, and kept calling over and over and over. Finally I got Scott on the phone, got a new RMA number, and got a new FedEx label.

Now the Shield Plus has to go back to the warranty department a fourth time and this saga continues.

It's pretty rare to find a company that's this far gone.

 

[stansdds]

Wow! Four trips back for warranty service. Yes, it's pretty rare to find a company that will go that far to fix one particular item. I think most would have fixed it on the first trip back to the factory, definitely by the second trip back and if they could not fix it, would have replaced it.

 

[CouchPotato]

Wow! Four trips back for warranty service. Yes, it's pretty rare to find a company that will go that far to fix one particular item. I think most would have fixed it on the first trip back to the factory, definitely by the second trip back and if they could not fix it, would have replaced it.

It's incomprehensible that it's gotten this far. At this point, the word incompetence is the only word that seems appropriate, and at Smith & Wesson there's multiple layers of incompetence stacked on top of each other.

With the first repair, which should have been simple and easy, I sent full page zoomed-in photos of the mis-formed trigger bar and bad sear engagement, also pictures of what it's supposed to look like. They replaced the trigger bar and sear, however the repair technician somehow managed to not realize (or care) that the second trigger bar had the same problem and he also managed to put a small machine/tool mark on my frame. Upon receiving the gun back and looking inside, it was immediately obvious that the trigger bar was still mis-shapen.

Upon calling them back, I encountered a customer service representative who didn't care, got mad that I called them back without firing the gun first, and he hung up after pointing out that I'm not a gun smith.

At this stage, most people would have sold the gun and abandoned S&W products permanently.

With the second repair attempt, again I sent full page photos with clear repair instructions as well as a photo of the tool mark on my frame. Instead of them paying attention to what they are doing, and what the problem was, they replaced the striker and firing pin, and didn't touch the trigger bar.

As soon as the FedEx shipping notification for label creation landed in my inbox, I called to see what they did. The woman on the phone told me that they replaced the striker and firing pin and I began to explain that they did the wrong repair and requested they put it back through service before shipping it back. That caused her to lose her temper and I forget which of us hung up on the other one.

Of course I called them back immediately. Finally they did pull it out of shipping and escalated it to the head of the repair department. So now this is repair attempt number three where they finally did replace the trigger bar with one that's not bent or deformed.

As stated in my previous post, they didn't fix the tool mark on my frame and I had to fix the inertial saftey in the trigger shoe myself. This would be resolved now if they didn't replace the striker and firing pin, which was completely unnecessary.

You'd think the gunsmith who replaced the striker would have checked for functionality and made sure the saftey plunger was still operating correctly, but that clearly didn't happen. Since the head of the repair department examined it himself, you'd think he would have noticed the issue with the striker, but he also didn't, and as a result they shipped a gun to a customer that literally has a fatal flaw.

For S&W's customer service and their repair department to be this bad, and this far gone, it really requires a work place environment where employees hate their job, are not empowered, and where executive leadership is aloof and disconnected from what's happening in their company.

Frankly it's sad. I've seen this before because I've worked for companies who were in this condition. Some of those companies no longer exist, and one of them was a publicity traded company who was larger than Smith & Wesson.

If left unaddressed, these plethora of issues are self-correcting in the marketplace simply because customers are fickle creatures and our brand loyalty quickly fades.

The market conditions appear to be ripe for M&P clones to be developed and sold by start-up companies who know they can do it better.