.45 Shield

gerrycaruso

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My .45 Shield broke today. I cleaned it after shooting today and it wouldn't go back together. I found the problem. There is a small piece of the slide right below the ejection port breaking off and the same thing is about to happen in the same spot on the other side. I carry this gun everyday and shoot it a lot. I've probably put 15,000 rounds through it in the 3 years that I've owned it. I think small guns in .45 just can't stand up to the abuse. I guess my options are get a smaller caliber, get a bigger gun or get a new slide every few years. Anyone have any other options?
 
I don't know how to post pictures but I can describe the problem. Take the slide off and turn it over. Look at the slide right below the ejection port. On mine, a piece of the slide is breaking off right at the groove where the slide rides on the frame. I can see the same thing about to happen on the other side. This pistol is insanely accurate and has been completely reliable. I'll probably have this one fixed and buy a second one. One to practice with and one to carry. I shoot a lot and maybe no small .45 can stand up to the abuse indefinitely. I've tried small .45s from Para Ordnance, Kahr and Glock and this has been the best so far. S&W opens in a few minutes and I'll call and see what they say.
 
Do you only shoot factory ammo? If so, I am sure S&W will take care of it though. If you reload they may give you a hard time.
 
Three years is a good run for a Smith. My Bodyguard broke after three months.
Glad you’re customer service experience was good. Mine soured me on Smith so bad it convinced me to never get another one that was made after 1980.
 
That 15,000 rounds was spread out shooting at least twice a week for 3 years. The .45 is pretty comfortable to shoot and the looks when I pull it out at the 100 yard range are priceless. That tiny gun is amazingly accurate and easily hits the steel at that range. I think I'll keep it and get a second one.
 
Your gun is going to get repaired on warranty. And while the slide should not be cracking after 15,000 rounds, I do think 15,000 rounds is a reasonable time for a gun to get a full going over at the factory. After all, for many people 15,000 rounds is three lifetimes worth.

If you are going to continue to shoot 5,000 rounds per year, then two guns is definitely the way to go. My plan would be to put most of the rounds through one gun, while shooting the other every so often just to be sure of its reliability. And of course, the low mileage gun should be used for duty purposes.

At 5K rounds per year, it is pretty much expected that there will be a major repair or two in any ten year period. In fact, I would buy a second gun now, and plan to buy another one in 5 years or so. If you shoot 50K centerfire rounds per decade, then an extra gun or two is not a significant increase in your costs.
 
@gerrycaruso

I also own a shield 45 and have been very pleased with it. if the pistol had a hammer on it (instead of striker), i might carry it! 45acp being a low pressure cartridge should not be an issue even with a smaller pistol. the primary limitations are having a slide, feed path and ejection port physically large enough to accomodate the large diameter cartridges. in the case of the shield 45, there is very little steel holding the front and rear halves of slide together in the area of your described problem. particularly along the ejection port the slide support there is minimal. i would hypothesize that over higher round counts the slide tends to take stress in these areas and possibly develop fractures. i've never had much faith in S&W steel especially their barrels, so i'm not too surprised to hear your issue. that being said is a little unusual to notice the problem during dissaseembly rather than live fire but it is what it is.

how does the breech look?

definitely send your gun back in to S&W and let them examine it. it's not unusual at these high round counts to encounter such issues. in terms of picking up another pistol, I would be interested in the 4" model but not ported for so many reasons especially for low pressure 45acp it's pointless.

as noted above, definitely take some pics even if you can't post them. pistol forum and the S&W forums may be a good place to seek input as well.
 
I always thought the shield was little weak for 40& 45 . Even a 9MM +p would make my hand hurt, I'm sure it wasn't good for the gun either?
Congrats on reaching such a high round count. It will take me 30 years of shooting to catch you!
 
Your gun is going to get repaired on warranty. And while the slide should not be cracking after 15,000 rounds, I do think 15,000 rounds is a reasonable time for a gun to get a full going over at the factory. After all, for many people 15,000 rounds is three lifetimes worth.

If you are going to continue to shoot 5,000 rounds per year, then two guns is definitely the way to go. My plan would be to put most of the rounds through one gun, while shooting the other every so often just to be sure of its reliability. And of course, the low mileage gun should be used for duty purposes.

At 5K rounds per year, it is pretty much expected that there will be a major repair or two in any ten year period. In fact, I would buy a second gun now, and plan to buy another one in 5 years or so. If you shoot 50K centerfire rounds per decade, then an extra gun or two is not a significant increase in your costs.
I don’t think 15k is that much. Maybe with a sub compact gun it is. My all steel guns (CZ, DW 1911s) have high round counts and haven’t broke yet.
 
I'm picking up my new 4" Performance Center .45 Shield tonight and I'll try it out tomorrow. S&W has my broken one and logged it in on the 24th. They haven't said yet what they're going to do. Even if they don't repair it under warranty, I'll get it fixed and do most of my shooting with that one. I think I'll also change the recoil spring every 6 months instead of every 12 months.
 
I'm picking up my new 4" Performance Center .45 Shield tonight and I'll try it out tomorrow. S&W has my broken one and logged it in on the 24th. They haven't said yet what they're going to do. Even if they don't repair it under warranty, I'll get it fixed and do most of my shooting with that one. I think I'll also change the recoil spring every 6 months instead of every 12 months.

S&W will absolutely repair or replace your pistol
there is not much basis to conclude slide cracking is related to recoil spring
it's more likely just a function of poor metallurgy, which is unfortunately a longstanding issue for S&W
one could just as easily argue that slide damage occurred during the slide going into battery during which time the barrel slams up into the ejection port
similar phenomenon with a rifle - for whatever reason folks always consider the rearward recoil impulse but this tends to be stretched over a longer period of time

let us know how you like the 4" model
even as a TDA guy, my shield 45 is a gem although i do wish it had a little more sight radius something like a 3.8" barrel would be perfect
 
The 4" Shield shot fine today. It was extremely windy so I only shot out to 50 yards at a gallon milk jug hanging on a string. If the wind calms down I'll try the silhouette at 100 yards tomorrow. The 6 round magazine from my other Shield worked fine but the 7 round wouldn't seat. When I got home I realized they were assembled incorrectly. I fixed them and now they work fine. The high viz sights are great for old eyes.
 
The 4" Shield shot fine today. It was extremely windy so I only shot out to 50 yards at a gallon milk jug hanging on a string. If the wind calms down I'll try the silhouette at 100 yards tomorrow. The 6 round magazine from my other Shield worked fine but the 7 round wouldn't seat. When I got home I realized they were assembled incorrectly. I fixed them and now they work fine. The high viz sights are great for old eyes.
Just curious.....why are you shooting 100 yards with a shield 45? Even 50 yards is stretching the intended purpose of a carry 45 acp isn't it? I'm not knocking you......just trying to see what your intent is on trying a shield 45 at 100 yards is.
 
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Just curious.....why are you shooting 100 yards with a shield 45? Even 50 yards is stretching the intended purpose of a carry 45 acp isn't it? I'm not knocking you......just trying to see what your intent is on trying a shield 45 at 100 yards is.

Because its fun to lob slow bullets at a metal target far away and hear the delayed impact.... [laugh]
 
I shoot the Shield at 100 yards because as drgrant said it's fun and because that's as far as I'm allowed to shoot a handgun at Harvard. I shoot at 200 yards at Shirley but I don't usually use a .45 because I have to hold 6 feet high with plus P and 8 feet high with standard pressure ammo. I usually use a flatter shooting caliber like 10mm or 7.62x25
 
i frequently shoot pistols at 100 yards
subsonic cartridges are much easier to hear the impact
230gr 45acp projectiles might be some of the most fun to shoot at 100 yards because it's subsonic and (generally speaking) very accurate
i have not tried shooting the shield 45acp but that's pretty sick if you're on the steel at 100 yards
with my colt competition 45acp one can reliably keep an entire magazine on a torso plate at 100 yards, same with the P226 or P229
my beloved beretta 92's simply aren't as accurate due to inferior barrel lockup, but inside 50 yards it's not nearly as noticeable
when it comes to defensive or carry pistol I don't much care about such minute differences in accuracy or making a hit at 100 yards since I cannot fathom a circumstance it would be needed. i choose the mind-numbing reliability of the 92 over everything else.
 
I shoot the Shield at 100 yards because as drgrant said it's fun and because that's as far as I'm allowed to shoot a handgun at Harvard. I shoot at 200 yards at Shirley but I don't usually use a .45 because I have to hold 6 feet high with plus P and 8 feet high with standard pressure ammo. I usually use a flatter shooting caliber like 10mm or 7.62x25
Ok so for fun
 
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