Shield Problem I hadn't thought of.

[DeadWhiteGoose]

Well, I've had my share of issues with my Shield 9mm as much as I want to love it. It's been to the range 4 times and has yet had a perfect run. (FTF's and FTE's on all 4 trips). Of course, S&W with their excellent customer service has already offered to service the pistol at no cost to me. Now, here's the kicker. I bought the gun for CCW but also, for my lady. She has small hands and the shield is a perfect fit for her. It was suppose to be her go to gun in my safe since nothing else I own really fits her well. Unfortunately, she is literally not strong enough to manipulate the slide! She can't even load a round in the chamber unless the slide is previously locked back! I've noticed how high the tension is on the recoil spring and have trouble even myself, especially with the slide lock. I hadn't even thought of that as being an issue but apparently, it's damn near impossible for my lady to use. Which is sad because I love all my S&W's but I just don't think this one is fulfilling it's purpose. Has anyone else experienced this? Or is my recoil spring from the darkest depths of hell? Might just be back to good ole J-Frames for me

 

[caddy2507]

The Shields tend to be a little stiff out of the box. I know mine was.
Try putting a few hundred rounds through it and it should improve for you. It's a great little gun with good ergonomics -- don't give up on it yet.

 

[thezoltar]

Sounds like she had no input into the kind of gun she was to carry. This is why you let the girls choose for themselves. This would have been an obvious consideration if you would have rented one for her to try before you bought it. Not being able to manipulate the slide is the most common reason for people with minimal grip strength to avoid semi auto pistols.

 

[Horsehaulin]

I love my S&W's. But for a woman with small hands and a limited grip strength, I always recommend a Sig P938. They are easily manipulated by almost every woman I have handed one to.

In defense of your Shield, mine is easy to rack and has yet to give me a single problem with 1500 rounds of Freedom munitions reloads. The more you shoot it, the easier the the slide gets to rack. I did strip mine to just the chassis and lubed every part with Froglube.

 

[DeadWhiteGoose]

Sounds like she had no input into the kind of gun she was to carry. This is why you let the girls choose for themselves. This would have been an obvious consideration if you would have rented one for her to try before you bought it. Not being able to manipulate the slide is the most common reason for people with minimal grip strength to avoid semi auto pistols.

Well to be honest she isn't much of a gun person and just wanted me to get her something decent. Her agreeing to that was a miracle in itself. And she isn't going to carry. It's just for at home in her case. I understand where you're coming from but it's a particular situation. And my roommates Glock 19 is plenty easy to manipulate for her so I didn't think the shield would be 40x harder to do. She likes the narrow single stack design for her hands better than the Glock though. Haha man it's a conundrum.

 

[Stratajema]

Your Shield's recoil spring is probably out of spec, which is a common problem because they have crappy quality. It is probably contributing to your gun's problem of FTFeed and FTExtract if the slide is not fully cycling.

You might want to have the lady try a 38 special S&W airweight revolver or Ruger LCR at the range. Try the models that have a hammer.

 

[RobzGuns]

I hate to say it, but it Sounds like it's time to let S&W CS do their thing, then sell it.
With the problems you've had so far, you'll probably not truly trust it for CC yourself and your lady definitely isn't going to use it.

 

[rwsmith]

A coupla things....

There is a technique where you hold the gun close to your body, reach over with your left hand and grab the slide (not the ejection port) and push the frame away from you. When the slide is all the way back (or the frame all the way forward) just let go. Don't 'ride the slide' by keeping your hand on it. This makes it a LOT easier even for me to pull slides, especially when new.

Rather than shoot a couple of hundred rounds, assume the position above (WITH AN EMPTY GUN) and rapidly rack the slide back and forth (you can ride the slide for this exercise and even cover the ejection port. This will help loosen things up quickly.

Second to last option - IF she still can't rack it, get a lighter spring and shoot less powerful ammo.

Last option - Send it to me.

 

[RobzGuns]

Second to last option - IF she still can't rack it, get a lighter spring and shoot less powerful ammo.

I wasn't aware that there were any lighter springs on the market for the Shield.

 

[OldLawman]

What kind of ammo are you using ?
I am on my third Shield, all in 9mm. The reason the first two are gone is simply because the third is a no-safety model. The new owners are quite happy. Never any issues at all.
Several women in my training group, who purchased Shields after trying mine, have the same experience: no issues what so ever. I would not hesitate even a second to recommend the gun.

Do not go to a weaker spring. Either send it to Smith to sort out your issues, or choose another gun. Given that this is not carry gun for you, maybe try an M&P compact. Still has a pretty small grip profile.

 

[highaltitude]

Well to be honest she isn't much of a gun person and just wanted me to get her something decent...

Really. Are you sure a semi-automatic is the right choice for her ? Given what you just stated, she might be better off with a revolver. Have her try the Ruger LCR. My wife loves hers. Excellent trigger, easy to operate, utterly reliable and overall safer, IMO.

 

[hokiefyd]

I wasn't aware that there were any lighter springs on the market for the Shield.

There are, but not in a stock-like dual recoil spring setup, at least that I'm aware of. You can buy the replacement guide rod assembly from Stainless Steel Guide Rods which comes with a 22 pound spring. The stock spring, at least as quoted by them, is in the 24+ pound range.

To the OP, I feel you pain, pardon the pun. I actually bought the Shield ~because~ it was one that my wife could rack on her own. I had bought a CZ P-07...great gun...great companion to my P-09. But the slide was so tight on the P-07 that my wife simply couldn't rack it. We shopped different smaller frame guns, including the Shield, the Walther, and the Springfield. We bought the Shield (but honestly, I thought the Walther had a really smooth slide).

OP, our Shield has worked in quite a bit in the last few range trips. Our has never had a failure, and the slide continues to get easier to rack...probably 300 total rounds down the pipe now. It's actually turned pretty pleasant lately. I agree: give it back to Smith and have them check it out. It does sound like something may be out-of-spec with your recoil spring assembly.

 

[lrmnut]

Walter's 380 has the easer slide to rack Glock 42 380 isn't bad most women can't rack the slide on semi-auto my shield is easer then my Khar's
and Ruger LCR has a nice trigger for revolver.

 

[Ofc.JL]

Switch her to a J frame revolver loaded w/ regular velocity .38's and have her shoot it enough to get used to it. Bigger pair of grips, too, for recoil. Unless you train her a bunch, and often, she will get into a problem if she ever has to charge a pistol in a panic. Most women(not all, mind you!) will not have the mindset to train and most do not consider CQB to be road they want to go down. So then the scenario is an untrained person attempting to use a complicated device in a panic. It just doesn't work, and she may pay for that mistake w/ her life. Put her into a good medium size revolver.
Now, the other side to that is if she does take it serious, then by all means, drive on. Find a good basic combat school for her and get her the gear and ammo she needs and have at it. Women make very fierce Warriors. They just won't stop when they are in it to win it.
Of course, just my $.02
Best of luck.

 

[Ofc.JL]

Sorry, mean't to add this: Real situation happened to a Lady I know just a short time back. Being the mother of 3 beautiful daughters and 1 son, and w/ hubby working at night quite often, she decided to arm herself. Good for her! Guess what she bought, after the Salesman at the gunstore got thru w/ her: A new Beretta 92. Now we know a 92 is a dang good combat pistol. Not the best, but surely not junk. We think she is good to go. Nope. She stands maybe 5'6" and might weigh 120lbs. Being of slight build, she can't even control the 92 w/ one hand, much less 2. And, after hearing about her arming herself against a possible prowler one night, she could not charge the pistol after numerous attempts. After finally getting it charged, and no threat was imminent(Cat in trash), she could not decock the pistol to safe it and had to wait till Hubby got home to do so. And then he had to read the manual to do so. This is a recipe for utter disaster, IMHO. When I have, on several occasions, offered my services to train her, and discuss a change of equipment, she says she just won't have time until after Christmas, if at all. And she came to me about this problem, too.
Lack of true mindset. Arming herself was the start, but she has failed to complete the whole learning process as too complex, and "nasty', as in she doesn't want to shoot anybody. Unbelievable! And this is a real common problem, as I have seen the same scenario multiple times over the years.
Revolver is the key to safety in this situation.
Consider it.

 

[Ruger_Up]

The slide on my Shield was very stiff at first as well. I put around 500 rounds thru it, but also would lock the slide back over night for a week or so. It seemed to have worked because the slide is very easy to rack now for both my wife and I. Fortunately, I've had no other issues with mine.



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[musicmanwolf]

I had the same issue. Easily fixed. I left the slide racked back for 1 week. It was fine and was way easier. Then after putting about 200 rounds through it it got even easier. I've shared this with a few other shield owners and it worked for them as well.

 

[thezoltar]

Well to be honest she isn't much of a gun person and just wanted me to get her something decent. Her agreeing to that was a miracle in itself. And she isn't going to carry. It's just for at home in her case. I understand where you're coming from but it's a particular situation. And my roommates Glock 19 is plenty easy to manipulate for her so I didn't think the shield would be 40x harder to do. She likes the narrow single stack design for her hands better than the Glock though. Haha man it's a conundrum.

Well, you did buy her a very decent gun! From my experience the Shield remains very stiff compared to other pistols even after a prolonged break in. If she's not really 'a gun person' and a lot of gun owners aren't, simplicity is your best idea. Buy her a revolver and enjoy your new Shield as a part of your personal collection.

 

[old&slow]

When I use to work in the LGS ,, and a guy & gal would come in looking for a firearm for the lady.. When the guy would say we don't want a revolver , we want a real gun, we want an auto.

First thing I would do, is show them the auto they wanted to see and see if the lady could pull the slide back.. A lot of the time, age, strength, physical problems,, etc. people have problems working the slide. Plus the smaller the firearm the stiffer the spring.. Some of those cute little autos ,, Hulk Hogan would have problems working the slide on..

I never tried to sell someone something they didn't want.. But, I sold a lot of revolver, to ladies ,, newbie,, older folks that found out ,,maybe they didn't really want a auto...

 

[ezveedub]

Most women like/want small guns, which they don't know is harder to operate and recoils more. IMO its better for them to get a compact or full size with correct grip for their hands. Friend of mine felt a Shield .40 and wanted it, then when she bought it, couldn't rack the slide and complained of recoil. If she has can't use the Shield properly, go for something bigger, since it's not being carried.