UPSET ABOUT THIS ISSUE WITH MY SHIELD

[turbo38gn]

can you list the "real" meaningful problems with the 9mm Shield? I'm picking one up saturday... I have read a few things here and there, but most of the issues I read about were minimal and really didn't effect the operation... or were easily repaired.

It is in demand... But that demand is falling off now that the shine has worn off. I really wanted one until I read all the problems they have been having. I'm willing to wait to see if the next gen is better.

Heck, the sight dots are still falling off! What kind of quality is S&W putting out if they can't do something as simple as keep the sight dots on?

Let me check my 3913.... Yep sights are still perfect.

 

[ccpacker]

I knew Lake didn't own one. Ahawk!

 

[ET.]

Come on people what do you expect?

The Shield has only been out a few months. I have a rock solid rule...

NEVER BUY ANYTHING THE FIRST YEAR IT IS INTRODUCED.

There are bound to be problems that don't show themselves until mass production starts and thousands of units are put to the test in the field. If you somehow never thought of this idea, then now is a good time to start. I did go against this rule and I purchased a 40 Shield for MSRP a month ago, which also broke another rock solid rule...

NEVER PAY MSRP FOR ANYTHING...EVER.

There is always a discount available if you take the time to look for it. So now I'm thinking that anything that can go wrong with my 40 Shield will go wrong. Plus I will stumble across one for $250 some where next month.

BUT so far I've shot 200 rounds through it and it hasn't dropped a single mag (1st problem I saw reported), nor has the trigger safety failed (2nd problem I've now seen). I did have to drift my front sight 1/32" to the left to get it to shoot straight. I'm now waiting for everything to fall off...including the front sight white dot (3rd problem I've seen reported). Are there any more problems I need to be aware of? ... I need to know so that I can worry myself to death just because I bought something the first month it became available.

 

[kris7047th]

Shield hawks. That's what I call them. They set on a pole and wait for a Shield owner to encounter an issue so they can jump in and expand it, generalize it, and use it to put forth a negative agenda.

Neither the Shield or any other gun is perfect. They are built by imperfect humans. The shield doesn't need to be defended nor maligned. It will stand or fall in the hands of the shooter. The hawks, most of which don't even own a Shield, really have nothing of value to add.

I have found most of the Shield negativity comes from those who have never shot .. and most particularly even OWNED a Shield. Just opinions not even based upon facts and/or actual experience. Really ????

 

[kris7047th]

can you list the "real" meaningful problems with the 9mm Shield? I'm picking one up saturday... I have read a few things here and there, but most of the issues I read about were minimal and really didn't effect the operation... or were easily repaired.

Enjoy your Shield. If you decide that you would like to get trigger work done .. ATEIguns.com does amazing work for a very reasonable fee. Might want to check his facebook and *like* him there to keep updated and take a peek to see who his customers are

 

[kris7047th]

Come on people what do you expect?

The Shield has only been out a few months. I have a rock solid rule...

NEVER BUY ANYTHING THE FIRST YEAR IT IS INTRODUCED.

There are bound to be problems that don't show themselves until mass production starts and thousands of units are put to the test in the field. If you somehow never thought of this idea, then now is a good time to start. I did go against this rule and I purchased a 40 Shield for MSRP a month ago, which also broke another rock solid rule...

NEVER PAY MSRP FOR ANYTHING...EVER.

There is always a discount available if you take the time to look for it. So now I'm thinking that anything that can go wrong with my 40 Shield will go wrong. Plus I will stumble across one for $250 some where next month.

BUT so far I've shot 200 rounds through it and it hasn't dropped a single mag (1st problem I saw reported), nor has the trigger safety failed (2nd problem I've now seen). I did have to drift my front sight 1/32" to the left to get it to shoot straight. I'm now waiting for everything to fall off...including the front sight white dot (3rd problem I've seen reported). Are there any more problems I need to be aware of? ... I need to know so that I can worry myself to death just because I bought something the first month it became available.

Here we go again ... have you looked at the internal works of the Shield?? Guess not then you wouldn't have posted what you did.

FLASH !!! THE SHIELD IS NOT *NEW* AS IT IS JUST A SLIMMED DOWN VERSION OF THE M&P .. SAME STANDARD SEAR AND INTERNAL FUNCTIONING PARTS AS THE LARGER M&PS. The Shield is just a single stack as opposed to a double stack with a few trigger upgrades and nothing more !!!

 

[Lost Lake]

No, I don't have a Shield, like I said I'll wait until the LE version is available. Bud's had them for $335, but backordered again.

I'm sure I'll like the Shield! I won't defend it if it fails though. What I'm having fun with now is watching the Shielders freak out if someone mentions they have a problem.

Mag falls out? Must be the operator pushing the button.

Slide out of battery? Must be the operator not pushing it forward when they pull it from a pocket or holster.

Not firing? Must be bad primers.

White dot falls off the sight? Must be a fluke.

Trigger safety not working? Must be the operator.

Slide binding and rubbing on the frame? Must be the operator doesn't know what binding is.

Bent recoil spring guide? Must be the operator.

It's just so funny how some people refuse to believe it's just a gun, not the Messiah reincarnated in 9mm form.

 

[turbo38gn]

I haven't seen anyone freak out... except you. 99% of the posts I have read have been overwhelmingly good ones. You seem to be over-exaggerating a few of the complaints and the seriousness of them. That's ok, we all have opinions and choices on how we interpret what we read. The only real problem I have read about seems to be the mag release on the 40, but I haven't really followed it too much at this point, the 9mm looks to be just a great gun with only remote situations of any problems..

 

[RIDavid]

I have a Shield 9 that I got a week after they came out. I shot it a few different times along with my nephew and father in law. It shot low left for all 3 of us with 3 different ammos. I sent it back July 17th...now that I am reading they closed I'm thinking it will be a long while before I get it back.!

 

[ET.]

I was being sarcastic about worrying about the gun falling to pieces. My gun has been quite good so far. But many of the M&P parts obviously had to be redesigned to work in the thinner slide/frame combination. Redesigning the M&P to be thinner than the current model isn't a fool proof, problem free venture. If they are lucky enough it might be close. But manufacturing a thinner M&P can cause unforseen problems that won't become evident until a few thousand are sold and put to the test. It might simply be a problem with a white dot falling off, or a mag release not working correctly, or even a trigger safety having problems. BUT there is enough difference in the design that it might cause some unforseen problems that need to be worked out. This might be what we are experiencing with the Shield right now. But to pass off the Shield as just another M&Pc type project is disingenuous. It is definitely more of a design change than that.

 

[shield]

I have a Shield 9 that I got a week after they came out. I shot it a few different times along with my nephew and father in law. It shot low left for all 3 of us with 3 different ammos. I sent it back July 17th...now that I am reading they closed I'm thinking it will be a long while before I get it back.!

Mine shot low left too. I would have like to have blamed the gun, but turns out it was the operator . A bit of practice and trigger control and it usually shoots where I point it now.

 

[RIDavid]

Mine shot low left too. I would have like to have blamed the gun, but turns out it was the operator . A bit of practice and trigger control and it usually shoots where I point it now.

I see so many people complaining about low left on them I decided to send it back before I got to practice enough. I hope the fix any other problem people are reporting while they have it there. I just figured if other experienced shooters are shooting like me then it has to be the gun.

 

[Storm40]

No, I don't have a Shield, like I said I'll wait until the LE version is available. Bud's had them for $335, but backordered again.

I'm sure I'll like the Shield! I won't defend it if it fails though. What I'm having fun with now is watching the Shielders freak out if someone mentions they have a problem.

Mag falls out? Must be the operator pushing the button.

Slide out of battery? Must be the operator not pushing it forward when they pull it from a pocket or holster.

Not firing? Must be bad primers.

White dot falls off the sight? Must be a fluke.

Trigger safety not working? Must be the operator.

Slide binding and rubbing on the frame? Must be the operator doesn't know what binding is.

Bent recoil spring guide? Must be the operator.

It's just so funny how some people refuse to believe it's just a gun, not the Messiah reincarnated in 9mm form.

It is not so much the Kool aid or refusing to believe that guns malfunction. I think it is just prudent to make sure there is no operator error before sending a firearm back to the factory. Once we take out what we can control out of the equation, then it should go to the factory to get it checked.

 

[shield]

I see so many people complaining about low left on them I decided to send it back before I got to practice enough. I hope the fix any other problem people are reporting while they have it there. I just figured if other experienced shooters are shooting like me then it has to be the gun.

Don't be surprised if they send it back saying it's in spec.

BTW, I've had mine (9mm) since mid-May and have had no problems with about 2000 rounds through it.

 

[ccpacker]

No, I don't have a Shield, like I said I'll wait until the LE version is available. Bud's had them for $335, but backordered again.

I'm sure I'll like the Shield! I won't defend it if it fails though. What I'm having fun with now is watching the Shielders freak out if someone mentions they have a problem.

Mag falls out? Must be the operator pushing the button.

Slide out of battery? Must be the operator not pushing it forward when they pull it from a pocket or holster.

Not firing? Must be bad primers.

White dot falls off the sight? Must be a fluke.

Trigger safety not working? Must be the operator.

Slide binding and rubbing on the frame? Must be the operator doesn't know what binding is.

Bent recoil spring guide? Must be the operator.

It's just so funny how some people refuse to believe it's just a gun, not the Messiah reincarnated in 9mm form.

Well, that is your perception. And you have posted your complaint often enough. We all have read your prejudiced view of posters who own Shields and want to rule out "pilot error" from the issue and help owners deal with whatever the issue. But as a hawk you wouldn't understand that sentiment.

 

[cornchucker]

I see so many people complaining about low left on them I decided to send it back before I got to practice enough. I hope the fix any other problem people are reporting while they have it there. I just figured if other experienced shooters are shooting like me then it has to be the gun.

Low Left problem is very typical for right hand shooters with smaller semi-automatic pistols. Practice and trigger control generally solves the problem.

 

[Fercho64]

I didn't know there was a spring in there....

However, there's a little bitty pin in the trigger assembly that can be removed to look. Lord knows where you'd find another spring, though. I'd guess that it was omitted, or the lower part of the trigger is just rubbing on the upper part enough to hold it in place.

On a warranty basis, a return probably is the best approach. They might find something else, too. Otherwise, if you can find the spring....

(Just me, but the whole thing is pretty silly. The rare situations where only the upper part of the trigger might be pulled back while the lower part wasn't seem to be right up there with the Government saving cases. I'm just paranoid enough not to remove the thing.)

(Not to mention that little pin liking to wander around....)

Regards,

As handy as I am I do not want to remove the pin that holds the end of the trigger. Like I said earlier its only $12-$13 for the part. I may remove it and fix it, on the other hand that small pin may be fused in. The last thing I want to do is take something apart that can not be reassembled. I have not been able to find reference to anyone with this issue online.

 

[oldIrish]

In the grand scope of things, I have been waiting 8 weeks for my Shield 40 to come into my LGS. I use a FS M&P 40 and have
put 2,500-3,000 through it without a hiccup. Love the gun and have been very anxious for the Shield. I hope by the time S&W
gets around to shipping mine out, they've gotten a handle on these issues. I would almost rather be one of the ones that have
the gun and need adjustments than waiting for mine to show up.
Thanks to all that take a practical approach to the issues. I know there are too many enthusiasts for this problem to last long.

 

[kris7047th]

No, I don't have a Shield, like I said I'll wait until the LE version is available. Bud's had them for $335, but backordered again.

I'm sure I'll like the Shield! I won't defend it if it fails though. What I'm having fun with now is watching the Shielders freak out if someone mentions they have a problem.

Mag falls out? Must be the operator pushing the button.

Slide out of battery? Must be the operator not pushing it forward when they pull it from a pocket or holster.

Not firing? Must be bad primers.

White dot falls off the sight? Must be a fluke.

Trigger safety not working? Must be the operator.

Slide binding and rubbing on the frame? Must be the operator doesn't know what binding is.

Bent recoil spring guide? Must be the operator.

It's just so funny how some people refuse to believe it's just a gun, not the Messiah reincarnated in 9mm form.

Huh .. Who is freaking out ? I have had my Shield probably longer than any body getting it on the launch day 4/13/12 and I have YET to experience a dropped mag, or the rear sight dot falling off (but then I have opted for better Trijicon HD night sights and don't see why anyone would stick with stock sights anyways) I have never experienced the slide binding .. as that is a new one on me. But then I keep my guns lubed and never run them dry.
C'mon .. with all of the Shields being sold ... there is going to be SOME ISSUES as there are with any of the M&Ps. It happens! But why pick solely on the Shield and hate it when all you draw your conclusions and opinions from the internet and NO ACTUAL HANDS ON EXPERIENCE ? A friend of mine who happens to a died in the wool Kimber guy was convinced with little effort on my part after he put a mag through my Shield down range. He liked how it recoiled straight back with little muzzle tipping. It may be a small gun, but it shoots like it's bigger brothers. BTW .. I have 4lb trigger pull and the action & travel has been improved. The reset is nice, better than my 9c which has also been worked over by Doug at ATEiguns.

 

[Lost Lake]

Huh .. Who is freaking out ?
C'mon .. with all of the Shields being sold ... there is going to be SOME ISSUES as there are with any of the M&Ps. It happens! But why pick solely on the Shield and hate it when all you draw your conclusions and opinions from the internet and NO ACTUAL HANDS ON EXPERIENCE ?

I don't hate the Shield at all! I will buy one as soon as they are available. I am just pointing out that they aren't the Messiah reincarnated in gun form. They have flaws. Reading some posts it's very obvious people are OFFENDED that someone dare have a problem with their Shield, and that's what I find crazy.

Just because you own a gun and like it doesn't mean every copy of that gun is perfect and the person with the problem is screwing something up.

When someone posted their Shield slide was out of battery there were at least 20 posts telling the poor guy he didn't know how to operate his handgun. Did any one of those posts consider for one moment that maybe his Shield had a problem? Go revisit the thread and see.

That's the Kool Aid effect. I didn't come up with the saying, I wasn't the first one to notice the addiction. I'm just enthralled with the effect and astounded by the comments.