Should I risk buying shield?

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Loxk

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I thought the shield was pretty reliable and SW service was good but now am reading about problems with the guide rod/spring and the company failing to send replacements.

I'm not wealthy....the idea of dropping ~350 on a gun which breaks down after 100 shots is not acceptable, I find the fact that SW is literally taking months to fix the problem on a new gun absurd(they need to immediately ship a new gun IMO).

So should I take the risk on a shield or should I look at other options? Frankly if I wanted to deal with this type of bull**** I may as well buy a Taurus.
 
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There's a lesson I remember from back when I started a job in customer service....

When someone has a good customer service experience, they might tell one or two people.

When they have a bad one, they'll tell ten.

The point...... Complainers are more vocal than those which no complaints.

I had a shield in .40 when they were first released and traded it for a new gun.

Oops. I still regret that trade. :(

Welcome to the forum.
 
shakyshoot said:
So...You signed up to the site for the purpose of complaining about a gun you don't own? Yes, I think you should buy a Taurus or perhaps a HI-Point. Thanks for stopping by.
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I signed up to ask if it's worth buying a shield or if my money is better spent on an XDs or Glock 43. 100 more for a functional gun is worth it.

So has SW dropped to Taurus quality or not?
 
The guide rod in my Shield 9 is still normal after 2000 rounds. I'm wondering if maybe it bends when folks try to rack the slide too hard when it isn't aligned right. At least on mine if I don't have it on there perfect, the slide won't go all the way back.
 
I think no matter what gun you buy if you go into the forum for that gun you will find someone with problems. I bought the Shield 9mm and I have 200 rounds through it and I haven't had one problem.
 
I bought a Shield (also own a Glock 43) and I, at this point, still carry the Shield. I read this Forum most days and enjoy the postings here and have read most of the ones that involve a complaint about the Shields. I still had/have no concerns about buying it or carrying it on a daily basis.

I would agree with the comments about how you never hear about the good and hear repeatedly about anything bad. That is human nature, sadly, but I am as guilty of it as anyone.

I would also suggest that if it was as horrible as you hear it is from time to time, Smith and Wesson would have made some sort of change to manufacturing to fix the problem. Not saying these problems don't occur. Not saying that many of them are not manufactured in someone's mind once they read 10 post about it.

Just saying that if I am selling how every many thousand Shields and was having to take all of them back the cost of shipping alone would negate my profit on a low price point product.

I feel certain that some buyers of the most expensive things in the world have to take one back for something. Now consider how many of them are out there versus how many Shields.

Bottom line is you buy what you are comfortable with because ultimately you are the one buying it and relying on it when the need arises.
 
After reading a lot of these posts, my bet is that the rsa is manufactured by a supplier that is having some quality control issues. I agree that people that have complaints join forums & post the issues, but that is little comfort to a guy like me that's considering purchasing 1. It appears as though there is some sort of problem whith the QA/QC with the part & because of all the recent posts, I'm seriously considering asking the LGS if I can switch my deposit to another brand, not sure which yet. Just sayin.
 
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My Shield has a fired case dated March of this year-I've done an advanced pistol class with it (150-200 rounds in the class), plus countless range sessions. I carry it virtually every day-no issues.

Go buy whatever you like. Just sayin.
 
I own 2 SD/VE's and 4 M&P's including my newly acquired Shield 40. I post regularly about them all-I've never had an issue, or anything remotely bad to say about any of them.

You think this Forum is the only one with negative posts/threads about their product? Not so, just log in to any firearm forum and you'll wonder why ANY of us would take a chance, on any gun made. My Ruger SR1911-check out the bad reports on that one. Mine-one of the most accurate and reliable 1911's I've had the pleasure to own; out of the box.

Good luck on your search and your choice. Let us know how it works out. BTW, stay away from the Taurus 40 cal. 92 model-they jam each and every round out of the mag. Buddy had one for a week and got rid of it-no joke; every round jammed at the feed ramp. He now owns a Beretta 92 FS in 9mm-loves it! Just sayin...
 
Simple answer to your question is "no" . . . .

And if your drive a Ford . . and you have a flat tire . . . I'd never buy a Ford agin either . . . .

I recently bought a 9mm Shield and love it - absolutely no problems or issues with it. If something does happen . . . I'll get it fixed. No big deal . . . but if it does have a problem, should I write off S & W entirely and get rid of my 4 S & W revolvers? So many decisions . . . . so little time . . . .
W revolvers?
 
NO, don't buy a shield! That way you won't have to find out that it will eat everything, shoot thousands of rounds reliably, shoot more accurately than a xDs, and have better ergonomics than the Glock. Enjoy the pleasure of not feeling compelled to write a great review here, or compete in local IDPA competitions. Don't do it!
 
My Shield 9 is at 3092 rounds / 18 months on one RSA (the original, and yes, I keep a detailed range log). I have a backup, but arranged early on when it was suspect, but later proven not.
 
I have somewhat over 1,100 rounds through my shield. Zero problems. They have made a buttload of the things. One or two will be bad. One or two or several hundreds will have been buggered up by incompetent operation. That's life in the big city. If it still worries you, by a revolver and have a nice day.
 
I'm a Glock guy all day long, but the Shield is the best subcompact I've ever shot. I love this little gun. Have about 300+ rounds through it without an issue. If Glock would have brought out the G43 sooner, I'm sure I would have looked to that first, but they were slow to the market. Tried a buddy's shield and loved it. It's actually the only S & W auto I own. I will not be buying a G43, the Shield won me over.
So bottom line, I'm as picky as you about a gun running flawlessly and the Shield does just that.
Good luck,
RRR
 
I have a shield 40 and have not had an issue with the recoil spring assembly. I looked at mine and it's fine. Sometimes in manufacturing like anything they get a bad lot.
 
The Shield is a relatively small gun that comes in full size calibers, but it seems to take the abuse well if you treat it right.

I've had my Shield 40 for a couple of years and about 1,000 rounds down range. I've read a number of posts about return spring assembly problems. A couple sounded like a part failure, but most sound like people getting the thing in crooked and bending it either racking the slide as suggested earlier, or firing the gun.

Is it a "defect" that you can put your gun together with the RSA crooked? I don't think so. But it is something that a Shield owner should keep in mind and double check on reassembly. It's not hard.
 
SpinyNorman said:
Interesting analogy for those of us who remember the Ford Explorer/ Firestone tire debacle of 15 years ago.
Click to expand...


I got 4 brand new Goodyear Wrangers out of the deal! (free):cool:


I have to date fired 3800 trouble free rounds thru my M&P Shield 9. Just put 50 rnds thru it this evening during our local club IDPA match. It's also one of my carry guns. I would trust my life to it.

Bought a M&P Shield 40 couple months ago, put 200 rounds thru it, no problems... Love it.

I'm not at the very least worried about the recoil spring assembly in either pistol. I'm not going to get paranoid about it...
 
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Jim1392 said:
I think no matter what gun you buy if you go into the forum for that gun you will find someone with problems. I bought the Shield 9mm and I have 200 rounds through it and I haven't had one problem.
Click to expand...

Occasionally things break, the question also factors in how the company deals with the problem and based upon the fact that apparently no one can get the RSA from SW, including people who literally just purchased the gun, it's not looking good.

In fact even Taurus(now) has better service than this. Ironically it appears it's easier to get a Brazilian, Austrian and Croat gun fixed than an American made one....
 
Loxk said:
In fact even Taurus(now) has better service than this. Ironically it appears it's easier to get a Brazilian, Austrian and Croat gun fixed than an American made one....
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why you're on this forum, seems like you've already made up your mind. But as a parting gift I thought I'd share this with you...

Taurus Recalls Nearly 1m Pistols (PT-111 Millennium; PT-132 Millennium; PT-138 Millennium; PT-140 Millennium; PT-145 Millennium; PT-745 Millennium; PT-609; PT-640; and PT-24/7) - The Truth About Guns
 
Where are you hearing this garbage? Clearly, you need to visit a gun shop and look at these things in person. Then decide for yourself which one looks better to you. Sounds like you're leaning toward Taurus; perhaps they have something that will better suit you. Good luck.
 
GerSan69 said:
Where are you hearing this garbage? Clearly, you need to visit a gun shop and look at these things in person. Then decide for yourself which one looks better to you. Sounds like you're leaning toward Taurus; perhaps they have something that will better suit you. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Just two threads down is a guy whos shield has been disabled for over a month because SW apparently is unable to provide an RSA assembly.

In another thread this happened to a new gun...

I'm leaning towards an XDs or G43 simply because of the fact I could get a gun with a f##ked up RSA and be unable to use it for months.
 
Loxk said:
Just two threads down is a guy whos shield has been disabled for over a month because SW apparently is unable to provide an RSA assembly.

In another thread this happened to a new gun...

I'm leaning towards an XDs or G43 simply because of the fact I could get a gun with a f##ked up RSA and be unable to use it for months.
Click to expand...

  1. Go through ALL the RSA Complaint threads and count the different handles actually having the problem.
  2. Compare how many individuals are posting about having this problem (not the same people posting over and over... how many different people) and compare that to how many Shields have sold over the last 3yrs.
My guess is, that the percentage of people having RSA problems are less than 0.01% (maybe even less than 0.001%)

If you're up in the air about it, put your money aside, sit back and watch for a while longer. Go to XD-Talk, or Glock Talk and check their complaint posts too.

If though, your gun purchase money is burning a hole in your pocket and you Just GOTTA have a New Gun NOW... Go get that XD-S, or G43 (and consider the G26). They're all good pistols. The XD-S has been pretty good since it MAJOR RECALL a couple years ago... And I think all the Gen4 Glock RSA problems have passed. Name a Brand... It's had (or has) problems. ;)

I have a G19 and G26 and love them both. I have an XDMc and love it as well. I didn't like the XD-S nearly as much as I enjoy shooting my Shield. If I had liked the XD-S better, I'd have bought IT 3yrs ago, instead of the Shield. ;)

Oh yeah... My Shield is over 3yrs old, with over 7K flawless rounds and is my EDC pistol.

and oh... Don't forget to look at the LC9S as well... It's pretty good since it's Recoil Spring problem a couple yrs ago.
 
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Loxk said:
Just two threads down is a guy whos shield has been disabled for over a month because SW apparently is unable to provide an RSA assembly.

In another thread this happened to a new gun...
Click to expand...
All mechanical devices fail. This is just life. Most will be fine, but a few will have problems.

Just out of curiosity, did you actually read those threads you're talking about? Out of all the posts, how many did you see that said they had many thousands of rounds through their guns without trouble? How many posts had RSA failures or customer service failures?

There's your answer.

p.s.
This is a S&W forum. Did you really expect to get a lot of posts telling you to buy something other than a S&W? Did you go to the Glock and XD forums and ask the same question?
 
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