I always struggle to get the slide to lock back after putting the Shield back together. Last time I cleaned it, my hands and slide were all lubed up and the gun flew out of my hand because I was struggling to get the slide back enough to engage the slide lock. The gun ended up being fine, but my sights got a bit marked up and got shifted. I will have to look into putting the spring in with the end pointing outward. I can rack the slide fine when the gun is together, it's just when I'm putting it back together that I struggle to get it back that last 5% to where it will lock back.
Ultra tight recoil spring on Shield
- Thread starter 2tango2
- Start date
Good to see that I'm not the only guy that is not happy with the design of the recoil assy on the shield. I've been putting up with the same issues you guys talk about since I got the gun 2 months ago. I've put about 400 rounds through it and I can't tell any difference yet. I tried to contact S&W customer service a couple of times yesterday and was put on hold for longer than I was willing to wait. Finally sent them an email requesting they send me a new recoil assy or tell me where I can buy one. They can't be that expensive, but they aren't selling any shield parts to Midway or other vendors yet. Who knows, a new one may be just as bad as the one I have.
trouble racking slide
I am new to this forum, and have a brand new M&P Shield. I cannot for the life of me totally get the slide back far enough to push the slide lock up and lock the slide. Being a woman I have tried all the techniques people talk about for women, pushing dominent (right) hand forward and left hand back at the same time while gun is pointed down range. Some of the guys at the range had trouble and found that the slide must be pushed past the slot to push the slide lock up. Also, one of them broke it down and then could not get the thing back together until the he removed the spring and replaced it a couple of time, it looked like the spring was a little bowed to me. To shoot this gun I have a guy rack it back, I load the magazine, and push(Hard to do) the slide lock down which racks the bullet up into chamber. Once shooting it, it is GREAT very accurate etc. This is not my first gun S+W 380 Bodyguard which was perfect for me until I had to fire it, trigger way to long a pull. So will sell to relative. Bought the S+W M&P Shield to carry concealed etc but man that spring is tight and I am not a weakling but cannot get it to rack back after much trial and tribulations!!!
I am new to this forum, and have a brand new M&P Shield. I cannot for the life of me totally get the slide back far enough to push the slide lock up and lock the slide. Being a woman I have tried all the techniques people talk about for women, pushing dominent (right) hand forward and left hand back at the same time while gun is pointed down range. Some of the guys at the range had trouble and found that the slide must be pushed past the slot to push the slide lock up. Also, one of them broke it down and then could not get the thing back together until the he removed the spring and replaced it a couple of time, it looked like the spring was a little bowed to me. To shoot this gun I have a guy rack it back, I load the magazine, and push(Hard to do) the slide lock down which racks the bullet up into chamber. Once shooting it, it is GREAT very accurate etc. This is not my first gun S+W 380 Bodyguard which was perfect for me until I had to fire it, trigger way to long a pull. So will sell to relative. Bought the S+W M&P Shield to carry concealed etc but man that spring is tight and I am not a weakling but cannot get it to rack back after much trial and tribulations!!!
glocksocks
Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2013
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- 14
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- 7
This is normal for the Shield, I had the exact same problems you speak over. Break it down, rotate the spring until you find the spot it likes. After you put a few hundred rounds through it, it will start being less picky about positioning of the RSA. No worries
Carry my shield everyday and it's NEVER malfunctioned yet, even though I had the same issues you're having.Edit -- my spring looks strange too, normal..... hard to release the slide... Normal, just pull back and release to go into battery for a bit. It'll loosen up. Enjoy!
Shooter 9
Member
Just got my shield a few weeks back. Was searching for this problem and glad I found I was not the only one having an issue with racking the slide. Actually took it to my LGS today to have a look. What he found was exactly as posted here. The spring needs to be in that sweet spot or you're gonna need a gorilla to help rack the gun. To me, that is totally unacceptable. Sounds like some Kahr propaganda. You need to fire the weapon "X" number of times before it's reliable. S&W can kiss my arse...
BClayton357
Member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2012
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 4
I have a NIB Shield. It is ridiculous that the slide is this stiff. It takes all I have to pull the slide back that last 1/8 inch or so. I too have the XDS in 45 and yes you have to manhandle it a bit but it is no where near this difficult. Anyone that has shot a 1911 with a three inch barrel will tell you the recoil spring on a 3" 9mm doesn't need to be this stiff and non-linear. Break in is one thing, but if A shooter has to put $200 worth of ammo down range to get reasonable performance out of a gun something is terribly wrong. I am 90% certain that those of us with this problem have out of spec recoil springs. I shoot enough that I don't think anyone would be satisfied with a firearm like mine or 2tango2's. And I don't give a **** what the manual says , the SLID RELEASE and yes that is what it is, should release with the thumb of the strong had. The reason it doesn't is that ridiculous 50+ lbs of tension in the recoil spring. The fact is that Spring metal will weaken a bit with use and maybe at 30k+ rounds you might need to replace the spring. The break in might drop the tension by 5-10 % but that won't be near enough. I am going to call S&W next week. This is unacceptable at least to me. The trigger sucks too but that should get better and I didn't buy this piece to be a range gun. Sorry for the not so humble opinion on this matter, but I really don't believe those who have expressed the "you are weak, or you just gotta break it in" position have had the same problem the rest of us do. If I had been able to checkout this gun properly before buying it, I never in a million years would have bought a Shield.
When y'all were in the store, do you not give your potential new purchase a once over (work/lock the slide, do a quick take down to inspect it, etc) before putting your cash/card on the counter, or do you just take a quick look, say 'that's nice', pay and go? How does one NOT notice this before they get home?
If you had noticed this while still in the store, you could have tried another Shield, or simply said 'No thanks... I don't like it....That spring's too tight'.
Why accept (buy) something that's so........ Unacceptable?
If you had noticed this while still in the store, you could have tried another Shield, or simply said 'No thanks... I don't like it....That spring's too tight'.
Why accept (buy) something that's so........ Unacceptable?
Your FFL does not allow you to inspect the merchandise before accepting? I would not deal with that person anymore.
If they had sent you a MA Compliant Shield by mistake, do you feel that you would still have to accept it?
But then, I no longer do any blind purchases.
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Spring
I posted about this previously... their is an orientation for the spring to be in, and if you don't get it right the assembly can be very difficult. It is outlined in the manual, but they don't stress the importance of it. You can actually screw up the front of the spring if you don't do it right. The front will get twisted and bent if you don't line up the end of the coil just right.
I posted about this previously... their is an orientation for the spring to be in, and if you don't get it right the assembly can be very difficult. It is outlined in the manual, but they don't stress the importance of it. You can actually screw up the front of the spring if you don't do it right. The front will get twisted and bent if you don't line up the end of the coil just right.
Reading thru these posts I started to look for an after market spring.There's a outfit www.DPMsystems.com that will be making replacement spring and rods in about 30 days. I don't know anything about them, but they look like they pretty well built products and they responded right away. Might be worth a try. My spring has worked fine, but like others is a little stiff to pull back. I've put in an Apex kit, so I will probably try their spring kit when it comes out.
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ChiefStealth
US Veteran
Hmmm.. I just had a thought about springs. Some people like to experiment with different recoil springs. We can get all kinds of springs with different "weight" ratings. We can get springs for just about any kind of pistol. Even most all of the M&P series. But, not the Shield??? I haven't read a single comment about anybody trying out different spring weights. Can't find any Shield springs on Wolff web site.
I just bought a .40 Shield today, brand new from a Sporting goods store. The display model functioned perfectly, no hang-up when racking the slide, no binding, dragging, etc.
I told the salesman that I wanted to have a NIB pistol rather than the display model, so he got me a brand new one. Upon inspecting it, I found that the slide would not go back fully, and you could not lock it back. He said that they are stiff when new and it would break in after shooting it.
I asked him if the display model has been shot, and he said "no", but it has been handled a lot and that's why it was smooth. I then proceeded to field strip the pistol and inspect the RSA. I was not impressed at all with what I found. Basically the ends of the large spring (mostly the forward end) were too large and partially overlap the caps.
I asked him to try this RSA in the display model, and he did. Guess what, the display model now had the same problem. I put the display model's RSA in the new pistol and it functioned just fine. So in the end, he let me take the RSA from the display model and walk out the door with my new pistol.
I haven't shot the pistol yet, but I'm not the least bit impressed with the fitment of the large spring. When I gave the pistol it's initial cleaning this evening, I found the ends of the large spring to be too big, but obviously not as big as the other one, as it hasn't caused any binding and the slide functions just fine when racking it by hand.
I'll report back after I get a chance to put a box of rounds through it. I really hope this DPM outfit makes a better RSA for this pistol, as I really do like it. Even if the pistol shoots fine after a box of 50, it's one of those things that will always be in the back of my mind. I need to have full confidence in my carry gun, and I just know that this will bug me being that the problem seems to be fairly "common".
A bad spring on a brand new pistol....seriously? I will keep checking on this DPM company, maybe even try to contact them to see if they are going to produce a RSA for the Shield. I will buy it for sure if it's a higher quality, closer tolerance assembly.
Bob
Jayhawkokie
Member
I must be living a charmed life, I'm beginning to think I'm the only person on this forum who hasn't had an issue with the recoil spring, I just slap it back in after cleaning and it's worked every time and no issue racking the slide. I've thought about getting ahold of S&W and say mine broke so they will send me one so I will have a spare in case the other one goes to s***.
goinfshn
Member
If you are looking for a recoil spring, try this link: Recoil Springs
They also have some nice laser engraving for the shield.
They also have some nice laser engraving for the shield.
Those look like they are only for the M&P non-Shield pistols.
I'm not aware of any Recoil Spring Assemblies for the Shield. I don't expect to hear back from DPM until next week or after Christmas.
