View Full Version : Consensus on the Shield
Is the Shield considered to be a reliable carry pistol now that the factory has tweaked it? Soon I will buy either a Shield or Glock 43 and would like to hear opinions from current or previous Shield owners about recent experiences with this pistol. What test fire date marks the advent of improved guns? Thank you.
I have an older shield and have had zero issues in the 800-900 rounds I have through it.
I have a newer Shield with about 400 rounds through it with no issues.
I have two one in 9 and 40 both with apex upgrades. I bought these back when they first came out and I haven't had any issues. I carry the 40 all the time
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Got mine new in early 2013. Put the DCAEK kit in it. Great shooter for it's size and have had zero issues. Goes with me pretty much everywhere.
lazerblazer
08-21-15, 10:41
The only time I have had issues with mine is using federal aluminum, fte. This was after about a thousand rounds. No issues otherwise prior or after using different ammo. Also just recently added DCAEK, makes it smooth and light. I don't see the apex kit as essential to making the shield a quality edc, but it certainly makes a great pistol perfect in my eyes.
Fairly new shield owner. Had several failure to extracts in the first few hundred rounds. Sent it back to S&W I think they opened up the chamber a bit and I haven't had any issues since.
titsonritz
08-21-15, 13:08
Is the Shield considered to be a reliable carry pistol now that the factory has tweaked it? Soon I will buy either a Shield or Glock 43 and would like to hear opinions from current or previous Shield owners about recent experiences with this pistol.
I bought my daughter a newer one last Christmas, it has been a good reliable pistol for her. The Shield will handle more like a full size gun while the Glock 43 is more pocketable.
My daughter has had a shield for about two years now, she has taken 3 HG classes and has only had one issue in about 1k rds, due to 'limp wristing'. Its been a great edc pistol for her. Gave her the option of a new glock 43, she declined. The shield has proven to be accurate and reliable.
I have two, a thumb safety model that is about a year old, and a two month old non safety model, both in 9mm. I put Apex sears in both, and the newer one also got an Apex striker block/spring.
Both are very accurate for the size/sight radius, and have been 100 percent reliable with about 1K rounds between them. I usually use the seven round mags with the Pearce finger extensions and they conceal very well while still allowing a full grip. I have Ameriglo sights on both and have been very happy with them as off duty carrys.
Great pistol and a much better value than the G43 IMHO.
C4
I recently bought a Shield from Grant and had him add the APEX kit and trigger, excellent so far. More accurate at 20 yards than some of my older M&P's were.
I had an older Shield .40. Only put about 600 rounds through it, carried it for a year. No problems, carried well, much better trigger than my other full sized M&Ps. Just got rid of it because there wasn't really a situation I could carry it and couldn't carry my G26.
I noticed that at smith-wessonforum.com there are several active threads with various folks reporting issues with the recoil spring assembly of the Shield. Some are reporting deformation of the rear end of the assembly; others are reporting the RSA disassembling itself. Many of those reporting problems also state that S&W is backordered on replacement RSAs. Anyone here noticing any issues with Shield RSAs?
I recently bought a Shield from Grant and had him add the APEX kit and trigger, excellent so far. More accurate at 20 yards than some of my older M&P's were.
By far on my wife's 9mm. Hers printed a 2" 12 shot group at 25 yards from a rest with Federal 124gr HST. We have about 250 rounds through hers with no issues.
It's always been a reliable carry pistol from day one.
Mine will be 2yo next month, I only have around 5000 trouble free rounds at this moment. At 15 yards on the plates it runs with my 75 and 220. Going back to 20&25 and it starts to give up a little but I'm sure it's just me. It shoots like a larger gun and for some reason it's easy to run fast and be accurate.
Cagemonkey
08-22-15, 19:38
Reliable and very soft shooting. My shield seems to recoil lighter than my G19, or at least it feels that way. Their are good upgrades available from Apex Tactical for trigger work and from others for sights.
cutter_spc
08-22-15, 22:30
I noticed that at smith-wessonforum.com there are several active threads with various folks reporting issues with the recoil spring assembly of the Shield. Some are reporting deformation of the rear end of the assembly; others are reporting the RSA disassembling itself. Many of those reporting problems also state that S&W is backordered on replacement RSAs. Anyone here noticing any issues with Shield RSAs?
My spring has deformed a bit and sometimes causes problems with reassembly, nothing bad, just makes it difficult. It hasn't caused any reliability issues.
New 9 mm shield. I've fired 200 rounds of various factory ammo, including Hor. & Fed. hp's. Absolutely no issues.
I have an old shield. I've run it with many types ammo, no issues. Shoots great feels great. I have full Apex trigger and trijicon HD's with orange front dot. Good luck
jerrysimons
08-23-15, 22:37
My Shield was a lemon. A few others have posted on here about theirs FTE in the same way, like the extractor skips off the case rim. Good to hear the Shield are working well for some.
I have one that I purchased from G&R with the full Apex kit, trigger, and upgraded sights. I haven't had any issues with it. One of my favorite pistols.
Nightstalker865
08-24-15, 09:07
Mine is two years old now and has roughly 1500 rounds through it. It has the Apex internals and Ameriglo Pro I-Dot sights installed. Gets carried way more than it gets shot, but has been utterly reliable every time I do shoot it.
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I recently bought a Shield from Grant and had him add the APEX kit and trigger, excellent so far. More accurate at 20 yards than some of my older M&P's were.
Embarassingly, this mirrors my experience - not because the pistols are more accurate, just that I manage to apply fundamentals better when I'm expecting poor performance.
buckshot1220
08-24-15, 19:54
Mine is mid-year 2012 Shield in 9mm and has run flawless though I only have about 500 rounds through it. To my knowledge these were pretty solid from the get go, which can't be said for the rest of the M&P lineup...
S&W hit a home run with the Shield.
I'm not sure what tweaking you are referring to, other than the NTS models. I do know all manufacturers generally make modifications over time. From my point of view, there have not been issues with the gun. I have owned two, traded my TS in for a NTS when they came out. We had a T&E of the first run, and put in excess of 8000 rounds through it with no issues. Bought and issued 30 TS models and have had no issues with them either. They have been in service since 2012. Additionally, I have seen about another twenty or so come through personal weapons quals with no issues either. The G43 is still new, so the jury could be out on it as well. I have shot three or four different ones, and have seen a dozen or so of them come through above mentioned personal quals. The G43 has a slight edge in size, but has a diminished capacity over the Shield. Subjectively, the recoil impulse of the G43 is greater than that of the Shield. Both are accurate enough for the task at hand. The question of "Which gun for me?" is the firearm equivalent of "Honey does this dress make me look fat?":D My take on these if you are a Glock fan, get the 43, a S&W fan, get the Shield. If you have no firm opinion/preference, shoot them and then decide. My subjective opinion is for the Shield. I have several M&P guns and Several Glocks. I'll have another Shield as a spare. I won't pass up a deal on a G19 or 17. I have no plans on buying a 43 unless I get a smoking good deal like a buddy of mine just got. And then, I would probably sell it.
I have the Shield in 9mm without a thumb safety. It is my EDC and BUG. One of the best pistols I have owned and I'm a "Glock" guy. I have shot most factory loads through it with zero issues. Mine is stock right from the box and I like it that way. Have had it about 6 months now and have approximately 1K rounds through it, (give or take 100). In a side by side I am hard pressed to go over to the G43. Too many improvements for me over the G43 but YMMV.
Fogofwar
Mine is stock and GTG for approx 500rnds to date. I'd say the general consensus is, "bang" for the $$$, damn near impossible to do any better.
Slvr Surfr
08-26-15, 15:35
Older shield 9 here. No issues. Apex Carry kit and Hackathorne sights. I also removed my thumb safety and had no issues. YMMV.
Newer shiled 300 rounds all good.
rebelsooner
08-26-15, 21:13
Same here, so far no issues and it runs great
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Bought one with the manual safety on the day they were released. Has around 1,400 trouble-free rounds through it. Did some polishing and minor tweaking to improve the trigger about 1,200 rounds ago.
Bought one without the manual safety on the day they were released. Has around 500 trouble-free rounds through it. Added the Apex DCAEK and trigger before I ever even shot it.
The Shield is probably the most shootable (accurate, reliable, low recoil, low flip) of all the single stack 9mm's. And that includes the G43.
No Thumb Safety, bought new in June, cleaned lubed and fired 70 rounds during the first outing with 3 FTFeeds from the 8 round mag. Replaced it with another 7 round mag and have had no further issues through another 84 rounds. Not a high round count compared to most shooters here, but it is a very forgiving pistol. Very accurate and very controllable. It is much easier to shoot for me than my PPQ. I highly recommend the Pearce Grips (no affiliation) finger groove baseplates for the 7 round mags.
I have one that I bought December 2014 to replace My Colt New Agent as my edc. It is a TS model that came with 2 bonus 8 round mags. I have over 1400 rounds through it with no isssues. My dad bought one way back in April 2012 the week they came out. It is his only handgun so it sees a lot of use and he has over 6,000 rounds through it without any issues.
I should also mention (posted earlier in thread about mine), I taught 3 new shooters on the shield, 2 of them women, and one had a limp wrist twice on first mag, no issues outside of that. I have used 3 different guns, 2 low round( couple hundred) count but no issues with any so far.
600 + trouble free rounds with mine. APEX trigger & Kit installed after 300. Added 10-8 sights and it became my go to EDC over my G19. Less than 2 years old with safety. It shoots like a larger pistol.
I have a older thumb safety shield. Stock except for talon grips. Love that lil gun. Getting ready to put 10-8 sights and apex flat trigger kit in her. Very easy to shoot and conceal. Had one bobble with 124grn xtp hornaday on break in with 8 round mag. But after that no failures at all. I run 135 grn +p critical duty in her. Have shot steel/aluminum/brass through her. My woman likes shooting it more then my fns also.
hotrodder636
09-11-15, 11:22
I have a thumb safety model that is just over a year old at this point. I have put 685 rounds through it with 1 FTE, no explanation for this one. The gun seems to have good accuracy within 25 yards for me. The biggest issue I have had was adjusting my grip and not shooting left. Due to how thin the grip was, I was favoring my shots left. After some practice I am shooting where I should be. I am not a Glock or S&W fanboy, I own both, but I think the Shield is likely the best bang for your buck.
Doc Safari
12-22-16, 15:35
Bumping this one to the top because I am heavily leaning toward a Shield. My girlfriend and I looked at a rack full of pistols this past weekend and I really liked the feel of the shield.
Would love to read some recent eperiences...(seeing how the last post here was Sept. 2015).
The one I bought my wife for CCW a couple weeks ago runs like a sewing machine with anything you feed it at least thus far. Have run 200 rounds of Wolf and 50 rounds of 147gr Gold Dots through it up to this point.
The Dumb Gun Collector
12-22-16, 15:53
Mine was good to go. Ran gold dots and around 1k of ball. I would trust one.
I like mine . So does my daughter but she has a hard time racking it .
I have the Apex trigger in my TS Shield. About 400 rounds through it so far and no problems.
BuzzinSATX
12-22-16, 17:06
I love my Shields. Both are 9MM's and bought in the last few months. I have run several hundred ball and at least a box of 50 147 grain JHP without any issues. I put Streamlight TLR6's on them and they continue to be completely reliable. Bought them on a military base where they only have safety models. I paint the frame below the safety with red fingernail polish to ID when on "fire".
42971
I have stock triggers at this point and they seem okay for now. I typically pocket carry or IWB with Alien Gear tuck.
I agree that they suck to reload a topped off magazine on a closed slide....especially with 7 round flush fit mags. Otherwise, great guns.
dwhitehorne
12-22-16, 17:31
Probably the most popular off duty gun at work. Maybe 50 or 60 approved. I've only seen one that was a 40 bobble. Never seen and issue with the 9mm version. David
No issues with performance, but I don't love it. It seems unbalanced (top heavy) and the grip is too thin for the slide.
I've fired over 1,000 rounds through my 9mm Shield since it returned from S&W. Loaded magazines are difficult to insert in the pistol with the slide closed and it may be an issue for someone with limited hand strength. The slide stop lever requires more pressure to release the slide than with most pistols we have in the house, which may also be an issue for someone with limited hand strength. Neither of those characteristics are a deal breaker for me or the wife. It is reasonably accurate and follow up shots are easier than with other compact pistols I have fired. It's good enough and I would consider making it part of my carry rotation.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?189569-S-amp-W-Shield-9mm-Durability
Almost embarrassingly, despite having better kit for my 1911's and full size M&P's, my pair of shields are what get carried everyday. Wouldn't describe myself as smitten with the things, but considering how little I liked every other small 9mm option, they were far and away the best choice for that type of stuff.
Backstory-I assist with handgun training with an agency that was one of the first in the US to ever go to the (very first) M&Ps. They have had so many problems (granted-maybe some that were corrected in later versions) that I would never have considered one, even when others brought them up. Even though many pro gun carriers started liking the M&Ps I could never get over these experiences (and this agency continues to use some of the first batch-we still see magazines dropped while shooting NOT related to grip positions, slides going forward sometimes when mags are inserted, some malfunctions, etc.). Also the triggers are so NOT to my liking-mushy and NO reset point. In their defense they do point well and are very soft shooting for their respective calibers.
Finally, I was well set up in Glocks anyway (G22 on duty then and G26 off duty, wife has her own G26-we have G26 mags throughout the house:D) and we have a local Glock staffer IF we ever have problems.
This being said, I was considering a small 9mm (G43 or Walther PPSM2) and was going back and forth between them. The retired cop and good friend of mine who works at the local gun shop first suggested a Shield telling me he bought one a year ago and LOVED it. I kind of ignored him. :cool: He got a Shield 9mm (no safety) out and locked the slide back and handed it to me. I first refused to even take it from him telling him he was wasting his time as I would never consider it (and I love their M&P RIFLES...look at my forum name!) He insisted though. Once I took it off off to the side and started dry firing it, the trigger was clearly better to me than EITHER the G43 or PPS M2). This Shield is CLEARLY a "different animal" than the full sized guns. The trigger is CRISP although a little heavy but WAY better than the stock M&P full-sized guns.
I took mine straight out to qualify on it, and fired a box of ball ammo for practice beforehand. I fired one group of 7 rounds at 10 yards and 5 of them could have been covered with a quarter. I was impressed. I then qual'ed on it (50 rounds day, 50 rounds night) so I'm at 150 rounds and no malfunctions. I REALLY like my Shield! :) Currently running it strong side OWB in a KT Mech kydex with matching double mag pouch on support side. I traded the eight rounders BACK tot eh gun shop and went with ALL 7 rounders and Pearce pinky extenders (makes a difference to me just as they go with the baby Glocks.)
STRONGLY RECOMMEND the Shield!
The one I bought my wife for CCW a couple weeks ago runs like a sewing machine with anything you feed it at least thus far. Have run 200 rounds of Wolf and 50 rounds of 147gr Gold Dots through it up to this point.
Mine ate just about everything I fed it. The only no-go was some old +P+ duty ammo I had laying around. I had no intention of carrying that load; I just wanted to get rid of it and test the Shield. Multiple failures to eject, but no surprise. Fed it a lot of our duty ammo (147gr Winchester RA9B) and it ran 100%.
With an Apex trigger kit and HD sights, it was a dream to shoot. Carried OWB, AIWB, pocket, off body (in a running pack), and as a BUG. Performed very well in each role. Only downside, as someone else mentioned, is that it can be hard to insert a full magazine when it's in battery.
Sold it to buy a spare G19, which for me at the time made more sense.
Solid gun; I miss mine.
davebee456
12-24-16, 13:34
I had the same experience as some others here. Failure to extract, every other magazine.
I sent it to smith wesson for repair and it was returned in 5 weeks. they stated they polished the ramp, chamber and replaced
the extractor.
Traded it in on another shield that has been trouble free for 400 rounds that is how much I like this design over the G43.
Slvr Surfr
12-25-16, 04:01
I just bought my second shield 9mm. This one has no TS. It has functioned perfectly with 124gr Speer Lawman and 124 Speer GD duty ammo. I would say roughly 200 rds total through the gun. I upgraded to the apex internals and flat faced trigger and Ameriglo Hackathorne sights.
My only issue thus far is the gun shoots high starting 10yrds and out. At 25 yards it prints roughly 1 foot higher than POA. I'm not sure why. I know that my first shield doesn't have the same issue even with identical sights. In all fairness, I haven't bench rested the gun, and only shot it off hand. I plan to shoot the gun again while supported to see if it still shoots as high.
CanineCombatives
12-25-16, 06:16
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP, amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Smith has sold over a million Shields. Both of mine, one bought several months ago, and the second bought several weeks ago, are just great. Very shootable, accurate, and extremely reliable. From the looks of this thread, ALMOST eveyone agrees!
Skip
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP,
amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Not a bad gun, just don't like having to beat out roll pins.
Kind of cave man.
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP, amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Outside of the accuracy issues with the full sized 9mm, what can you quantify as "wrong" or junky about the m&p?
Mine is a 2013 model. Hasn't missed a beat since day one.
BuzzinSATX
12-26-16, 08:43
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP, amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Curious what you mean by this post. I mean, it's half plastic and has sights and a trigger that really are NOT optimal, but that's true for pretty much any new Glock you pull out of a black plastic tupperware box.
Mine both worked and ran flawlessly out of the box. Hard to consider it junk when it does what it's supposed to do (go BOOM!)
I have rented the Shield, XDs, and Walther PPS. All shot fine, were accurate for what they are, and did not malfunction. I did like the PPS, and XDs better than the Shield, but they are both more expensive by at least $100 if that matters to you. I was going to replace my Polish P-83 in 9x18, or my Beretta 85FS .380 with a single stack plastic 9MM. So far, I haven't done it yet, as I prefer the more "traditional" handguns for carry, HD, and range.
People that I know that own a Shield seem to be pleased. YMMV.
Honest answer, same junk as every other MP, amazing that people still advocate for these things.
Honest, sure, wrong, yup. Way too many GTG people putting way too many rnds through M&Ps and Shields to consider them "junk" by any definition. Please supply objective support for your "honest" assessment.
CanineCombatives
12-26-16, 17:23
Couple things are the all over the place accuracy, hinged plastic trigger, inability to seat a mag on a closed slide without smacking in, then from doing that you end up with a bent ejector, materials, construction and execution are all shit. Getting one that works doesnt offset that for me but my opinion is worth what you paid for it. If you dig'em, you have my blessing.
Only really bad thing I've heard consistently is sights extremely hard to move/replace even
with the MGW pusher. Read about a few slides cracking rear sight interference fit was so tight.
.
3ACR_Scout
12-26-16, 20:05
These sorts of discussions are killing me. I want to pick up a 9mm subcompact and have rented both the Shield and Glock 43 and watched a dozen video reviews comparing the two, and I like both of them. I'm leaning toward the Glock 43 because I'm already familiar with their line, but I may just have to get both eventually...
I just can't get over the first time I handled a shield three years ago. I found it to be clunky and chunky, and it had the worst trigger I've ever had the displeasure of dry firing, and the damn trigger caught on the frame multiple times for crying out loud. Unimpressed. By consensus, it appears they have addressed some of its issues. I will stick with my PPS and G43, both of which felt svelte and tight whilst handling and have had zero issues, (the G43 trigger is not my favorite) over a work in progress.
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brushy bill
12-26-16, 23:46
I bought a no lock from G&R when they first came out. No Apex goodies or other extras. Less than 600 rounds through it, so admittedly low round count, but it was more accurate than I expected and hasn't malfunctioned yet even with some limp wristing shooters. I'm satisfied thus far for what it is. I generally prefer Glock to the MP series, but would not trade the Shield for a new 43.
Shield is GTG. I carried the 9mm for two years and now stepped up and now carrying the M&P Shield 45
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I enjoy my shield, a lot. Replaced sights, rear was a pain to get it but worth the work. Also installed the apex sear. These two things have made this a wonderful carry pistol! I shot it today in fact and it shoots flat out even at 25 yards. I wish I could shoot my glock 19 as well as I shoot this.
Couple things are the all over the place accuracy, hinged plastic trigger, inability to seat a mag on a closed slide without smacking in, then from doing that you end up with a bent ejector, materials, construction and execution are all shit. Getting one that works doesnt offset that for me but my opinion is worth what you paid for it. If you dig'em, you have my blessing.
The accuracy issues are only with the fs 9mm
Has the hinged trigger caused issues? I know people don't "like " them, but haven't read of any actual issues.
Sample of 2 fs, and 3 shields, mag insertion on a closed slide has never been an issue for me. I haven't read of it from anyone else either. Is this an issue? Can you point me to where I can read about it?
I recommend them based on my experiences, but like to stay informed
Doc Safari
12-28-16, 10:05
Submitted for your approval....
I was bored stiff last night and started surfing YouTube videos on the Shield. I watched quite a few and ran across this:
This is the one and only time I've heard of this, so I'm guessing right off the bat it must be a fluke or uncommon problem, but wanted to see what you guys think.
https://youtu.be/Sgkz0NbRVns
Never had any issues with the first one I had (early production) and haven't seen any with the wife's (brand new) yet....
Mr. Greene
12-28-16, 10:50
Ive had mine for about 2 years and it is flawless, had one malfunction but that was traced to bad ammo, Installed the apex kit in it and its just like an American Express card I never leave home without it
Had mine since they first came out, and have had no problems at all in about a thousand rounds.
lazerblazer
12-28-16, 13:31
Ive had mine for about 2 years and it is flawless, had one malfunction but that was traced to bad ammo, Installed the apex kit in it and its just like an American Express card I never leave home without it
I'm in the same boat, I as well give the Am Ex comment to my Dad and best friend about the shield.
sent from LazerPhone
I've seen the video before Doc Glockster.
On the Smith & Wesson Forum there were a few people who reported bad magazine springs. Apparently S&W received a bad lot from one of their vendors and replaced them when customers reported a failure.
There were also reports of some people who had failures of the RSA and S&W replaced them as needed.
Doc Safari
12-28-16, 14:51
I've seen the video before Doc Glockster.
On the Smith & Wesson Forum there were a few people who reported bad magazine springs. Apparently S&W received a bad lot from one of their vendors and replaced them when customers reported a failure.
There were also reports of some people who had failures of the RSA and S&W replaced them as needed.
So I'm guessing it was a fluke and current production is GTG on all fronts?
So I'm guessing it was a fluke and current production is GTG on all fronts?
I don't know for certain. I have a Shield 9mm I purchased a few months ago and it's difficult to load the last round in all four of the magazines. I can load the magazines to capacity and the pistol functions properly.
Doc Safari
12-28-16, 15:09
I don't know for certain. I have a Shield 9mm I purchased a few months ago and it's difficult to load the last round in all four of the magazines. I can load the magazines to capacity and the pistol functions properly.
Well, that might be true of a pistol magazine that is normal and not defective. The issue with the mags in the video seems to be that the spring coil diameter tapers as the spring fills the magazine tube, and the narrower coils were getting jammed into the wider coils during loading.
The main thing I could see, even with a normal spring, is that you would not want to make the mistake of reinstalling the spring in the mag upside down. The person in the video apparently had the spring oriented properly, with the narrower coils toward the top, yet the spring was still getting hung up.
Well, that might be true of a pistol magazine that is normal and not defective. The issue with the mags in the video seems to be that the spring coil diameter tapers as the spring fills the magazine tube, and the narrower coils were getting jammed into the wider coils during loading.
The main thing I could see, even with a normal spring, is that you would not want to make the mistake of reinstalling the spring in the mag upside down. The person in the video apparently had the spring oriented properly, with the narrower coils toward the top, yet the spring was still getting hung up.
I haven't tinkered with the Shield before and had not realized the magazine spring was narrower at the top. I just took a 7 round magazine apart and nothing appears out of the norm. All I care about is that it works.
Over the past 25+ years of teaching handgun courses and seeing problems in the field, most of the magazine spring failures I've seen were from people taking their magazines apart and reinstalling the magazine spring backwards or upside down. The people who abuse their equipment, rarely lubricate it and never clean it rarely have magazine issues.
I'm the op and bought a Shield soon after starting the thread. Mine has run without malfunction. I have 6 magazines. None is hard to load to capacity. I do have extra large hands. I suggest that the those who have trouble getting the last round in try this method. Left hand holds mag. When right thumb and fore finger have placed the round on top of last round in mag, use the left thumb to press down against top of right thumb. Then effort from both hands will force the next round in.
Like everyone else, I'm aware that small semi auto's may not be as reliable as a full size version. With the Shield, I run it this way. Load mag with 1 less, insert it, and then rack slide. Remove mag and add next round. Purpose? Not having to use extra force to insert a fully loaded mag. Also, having 1 round less in the mag reduces upward force of mag against slide. Hence the slide has less force to overcome. Is this method necessary. No. Will it lessen the chance of malfunction. Maybe. I should point out that I have zero data to support my choice.
Doc Safari
12-28-16, 16:02
I'm the op and bought a Shield soon after starting the thread. Mine has run without malfunction. I have 6 magazines. None is hard to load to capacity. I do have extra large hands. I suggest that the those who have trouble getting the last round in try this method. Left hand holds mag. When right thumb and fore finger have placed the round on top of last round in mag, use the left thumb to press down against top of right thumb. Then effort from both hands will force the next round in.
Like everyone else, I'm aware that small semi auto's may not be as reliable as a full size version. With the Shield, I run it this way. Load mag with 1 less, insert it, and then rack slide. Remove mag and add next round. Purpose? Not having to use extra force to insert a fully loaded mag. Also, having 1 round less in the mag reduces upward force of mag against slide. Hence the slide has less force to overcome. Is this method necessary. No. Will it lessen the chance of malfunction. Maybe. I should point out that I have zero data to support my choice.
I do the same thing.
More on the mag spring issue:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-m-p-pistols/478036-shield-9-bent-magazine-spring.html
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/311934-S-amp-W-Shield-Magazine-Spring-Problem
I had a similar issue with M&P 45acp mag springs. They were installed upside down. For such errors to occur in a major firearms industry, there must be a giant disconnect between what is and what should be. Sitting down with the fitting teams over donuts and coffee could solve some of it. But maybe the company outsourced the whole magazines which were then shipped in. Of course, the numbers involved are large. 500,000 pistols would require 1000,000 magazines. So this reality strikes out donuts and coffee.
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