ss guide rod

Marty, seeing as you have difficulty racking the slide, looks like the SS guide rod is right up your alley. My wife (95 lbs wet) had difficulty racking the slide (even using proper technique) and she can confidently rack it now with the SS guide rod installed (I hadn't even lubed it yet, simply swapped my stock, broken-in RSA for the SS guide rod). I'll report back on recoil\muzzle flip difference once I get back from the range.

My wife also struggled with the slide. Tried the SSGuide Rod with spring, didnt work for the wife.

While this (the single spring design) helps the racking, locking type issues that the weaker handed may experience, we determined that my wifes wrists were not strong enough to back the recoil properly and she went from -0- failures to a 50% failure rate on FTL's or FTF's sooooo back in went the OEM spring that provides more pressure to return the slide to battery.

I WOULD state however that it worked perfectly for me with no problems at all.

All done with 115's and never got far enough to determine muzzle flip etc.

The above statement was made in another forum a few months back. Today we have a couple thou rounds through it and it is much better on racking and the wife no longer has trouble with it. (albeit training has a part to play here) Also taught her to utilize the "shoulder shrug" method instead of her arms and it is much easier for her.
 
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Tried the SSGuide Rod with spring, didnt work for the wife.

While this (the single spring design) helps the racking, locking type issues that the weaker handed may experience, we determined that my wifes wrists were not strong enough to back the recoil properly and she went from -0- failures to a 50% failure rate on FTL's or FTF's sooooo back in went the OEM spring that provides more pressure to return the slide to battery.

I WOULD state however that it worked perfectly for me with no problems at all.

All done with 115's and never got far enough to determine muzzle flip etc.

Interesting, I'm trying to understand........is she pulling the slide all the way back and letting go or does she pull the slide all the way back and and then ride it forward with her weak hand? My wife was doing the latter initially until I told her: "just let it slam forward, it's not going to hurt anything".

I quoted ya before you edited. I think if I'm right, she learned the proper technique and now pulls the slide back and releases vs slowing it down with her weak hand thinking letting it slam could hurt the pistol.
 
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Im sorry. The reply was C/P from another site where they were up to speed on context......so I was adding context.:)

To be honest, yes, she did do that in the beginning (soft touch the slide closed) and created some FTF's that we finally figured out (being the first round in the mag all the time). Fixxed that problem.

We are 55, she has slight arthritis, so my description was of actually firing a round. Im going to say the weaker spring creates a harder recoil of the slide which applied more "flip" pressure to her wrists and allowed/forced her to let the gun move more.
IE.... limp wristing..... simply from not having the strength to retain the weapon properly. I ran through a mag at speed with -0- issue immediately after she had 50% plus failures.

None of this is "scientific" or "measurable".....actually not even noticeable, aside from searching for the answer to a sudden 50% failure rate.

That being said, the only difference was the new SS rod/spring. Replacement of the OEM unit and the gun was back to normal (relatively perfect performance).
 
Im sorry. The reply was C/P from another site where they were up to speed on context......so I was adding context.:)

To be honest, yes, she did do that in the beginning (soft touch the slide closed) and created some FTF's that we finally figured out (being the first round in the mag all the time). Fixxed that problem.

We are 55, she has slight arthritis, so my description was of actually firing a round. Im going to say the weaker spring creates a harder recoil of the slide which applied more "flip" pressure to her wrists and allowed/forced her to let the gun move more.
IE.... limp wristing..... simply from not having the strength to retain the weapon properly. I ran through a mag at speed with -0- issue immediately after she had 50% plus failures.

None of this is "scientific" or "measurable".....actually not even noticeable, aside from searching for the answer to a sudden 50% failure rate.

That being said, the only difference was the new SS rod/spring. Replacement of the OEM unit and the gun was back to normal (relatively perfect performance).

Thanks for going into further detail. I have the stock RSA still so I'll go back and forth with her/myself to see which we like better (it's ultimately my gun so I'll keep what I like better until we get her her own).

Do you like the SS rod/spring better or the stock for yourself?
 
WIFEY ALERT:D

My wife decided to start shooting this xmas. Needless to say I was thrilled. M&P22c

Then she quickly decided to get her CHL....enter the Shield 9:D

Daily range practice made short order of the CHL requirements.

Her mannerisms, shooting, knowledge of the sport and of the weapons available rivals or exceeds mine (in 6 mo. time!)

All that to say she struggles with a slide a bit but is a million times better at dealing with them than she was.

We watch Hicock vids at night on the big screen.

Shooting has taken over our lives......and we love it!!!

This vid on racking has helped her immensely. YMMV:D

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g2amo3bNh8[/ame]
 
Thanks for going into further detail. I have the stock RSA still so I'll go back and forth with her/myself to see which we like better (it's ultimately my gun so I'll keep what I like better until we get her her own).

Do you like the SS rod/spring better or the stock for yourself?

Thats a great question. Ill answer it from MY viewpoint only.

I couldnt care less.

I shoot a SD with all the APEX stuff in it and I have a (dont hate me) Diamondback that I love. My goto gun is a XDM45.

The Shield was for her but we like it so much that we both used it for our CHL. I have to say though that I LOVE that little gun and am just waiting for the 299 price point before I get me one. With the PC out and the 45 coming I feel that time will be soon. Palmetto had them for 329 the other day so we are close.

I think the evidence was overwhelming (with the wife) that the single spring allows a stiffer recoil in the slide. I feel like the gun kicks enough and is loud enough already so some extra kick isnt for me. I also like the stiffness of the OEM spring being a dual design and assuredly slams it back into battery so personally....I vote OEM.

Little bias there because it IS the wifes :D

I let it go a week later for 30 bucks. (the rod/spring)

Also OT FYI.....we LOVE the Pro-Mag 10 rounders and with a clean/oil we have had perfect performance out of them.
 
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I was wondering the same thing about the S/S Guide Rod. I saw several threads/pics of the damage it had done to the slide! No ammo type was mentioned. I e mailed Ruger and got a basic form letter back stating they do not recommend after market parts in their gun :O . I also read a lot of people who love the S/S RSA! I think they all say that. So in my case I will stay with the plastic RSA and I have a spare for back up. YMMV
 
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.....and I should clarify. We didnt experience any destructive issues although we only had to run about 30-40 rounds through before we figured out it wasnt for us.
 
Wow a lots of opinions I thought I would just your opinions over here about a ss guide rod. I read on another forum people automatically swapping them out as for me I'm staying with the one that came on my shield.
 
Yea I know lots of guys are swapping automatically because of the word plastic. ...but they dont seem to mind the word "polymer":D

But seriously, I know I blathered on and on but at least it wasnt my opinion....it was experience;)

My .02....YMMV
 
Yes To SS Guide Rod

Is there any advantage for getting one for my shield? Thanks.
I always research and determine things for myself. Reference a stainless steel RSA (not just the rod) my opinion based on my recent experience with STAINLESS STEEL GUIDE RODS, INC. they do as advertised.
There's no question M&P Shields have a reputation for being hard to rack, especially locking the slide back via the slide lock. There
have been a number of posts about this.
First, other than being hard to rack, I've never had a problem with the RSA that came with my two Shields.
However, based on a poster's experience here/ found the replacement stainless steel spring easier to rack/ I ordered one form STAINLESS STEEL GUIDE RODS,inc and it slipped in easy and racked easier. A hundred rounds > flawless.
I've just a few minutes ago ordered a second one from them for my other Shield.
Poli Viejo
 
IMO easier to rack only means the slide will move back faster and bank it's stops harder. The Shield is hard to rack because the RSA need to absorb the energy. I maybe wrong but have tested RSA springs when looking for the right weight when I added a comp to my 9L. I even created a tester to measure the springs to check on weights.
 
IMO easier to rack only means the slide will move back faster and bank it's stops harder. The Shield is hard to rack because the RSA need to absorb the energy. I maybe wrong but have tested RSA springs when looking for the right weight when I added a comp to my 9L. I even created a tester to measure the springs to check on weights.

This is why I stopped using my SS RSA. I shoot the Shield quite a bit and the additional wear factor of the lighter RSA concerned me. I don't shoot +P loads but I generally run 3-400 rounds through it monthly.

While I'm no stranger to modifying my guns to taste and performance I've decided to stay with the engineer's designed RSA which I'd wager affords greater pistol longevity.
 
I don't see anything wrong with the guide rod being made out of SS it is the spring that concerns me.
 
I don't see anything wrong with the guide rod being made out of SS it is the spring that concerns me.

Nor do I. Stainless is just dandy for the rod. But the designers felt this pistol was best served by a dual spring RSA of a particular spring rate. I'm reluctant to deviate from their knowledgeable opinions.
 
I ordered the SS guiderod assembly and tried it out in my Shield. It's well made and definite makes it easier to rack the slide. I also have the Mag Guts +1 kits in all my mags nod it won't lock back after firing the last round. I think it speeds up the action wit the lighter spring and it just throws off the timing and that thin little follower in the Mag Guts kit. Anyways, if anyone wants the spring (it's basically brand new) I'll send it to you to try in your gun. If you like it and it works for you you can send me $25 and keep it. That's 1/2 price basically and if it doesn't work out just send it back. My dad put it in his Shield 9 (no Mag Guts) and it worked 100%. It also worked fine in my gun with my dad's non Mag Guts mags. Message me if interested.
 

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