Not to impressed with the Shield 9

Serapis

Navy Veteran
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
4,993
Likes
593
Feedback: 12 / 0 / 0
So I decided to get a new shield 9mm finally. Dropped it right of to my local gunsmith for some fiber optics and trigger job.

Got around to going to the range and shot 50 Wolf steel case and 50 wwb. With the Wolf I had failure to eject and a failure to feed. With the wwb I had a light strike and had the slide not fully set in battery when loading a round.

I am hoping this is just a new gun issue, but I have read several people that have had zero problems. Shot great when it worked, though.

Anyone else have any issues? Might be time for the xds.
 
The Shield should be reliable, I like them a lot. The zero issue I see is that the heavy Mass trigger forces a lot of shooters to come on the trigger a bit too much on the right side of the trigger blade, this pushes shots left. Or they "jerk" the trigger driving shots low left(right handed shooter). I advocate putting the trigger winger farther into the blade, just on the finger joint, this gets the finger moving straight back, more in line with the axis of the barrel. I also advocate dry fire training before shooting which gets your head and finger moving in the right direction before live fire.
 
Lots shields for sale in the classifieds... After their hype died down it seems many aren't very impressed.
 
i really like my 9 compact. i was a horrible shot before so i can't blame the sheild now.[grin]
 
XDs 45 has served me really well. M&Ps don't really do it for me. Even with trigger jobs, they're just average IMHO. I wish I liked them more because they're so plentiful here in this shithole state.
 
I bought one during the hype. Mag fit is real sloppy, can't hit the broad side of a barn. Other than that its been pretty reliable, or was reliable, it sits in the safe now, I carry a Sig P238. I can skin the hair off a gnats ass from 30 feet with the Sig, not sure what's up with my Shield.
 
I have a shield 9 with trigger done by Greg Derr and its a sweet shooter. IIRC I Had a FTE during break in withh tula steel but It had been reliable since. But my last range trip second to last round I had another FTE with tula brassmax. So I guess it doesn't like tula. I gotta get back with some fed and make sure its running right
 
Not that it's a shield but my M&P sits in the safe. After going back to S&W for repairs a few times I don't trust it enough for anything more than fun at the range. The day the Sig 227 goes on sale in MA the thing is going up in the classifieds.

Not impressed with the reliability of the entire M&P line. Read lots of stories... I suppose it's true of any manufacturer but I have personal experience in this case and perception is reality. Too bad though. The ergonomics are nice compared to my block 21. But the block has always gone bang every time. Not so much for my M&P.
 
very comfortable gun to carry and hold. never had an issues with m&p pistols as far as ammo everything from crap blazer aluminium to jhp.
 
Well to clarify, it shot great when it was working properly. This is my third in the mp series and the only one that's had problems. My hmmm factor makes me think a mag issue. Why else would it not fully go into battery after loading a mag and sending the slide forward?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well to clarify, it shot great when it was working properly. This is my third in the mp series and the only one that's had problems. My hmmm factor makes me think a mag issue. Why else would it not fully go into battery after loading a mag and sending the slide forward?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Have you checked the ammo? Wolf sucks and WWB is only slightly better
 
Have you checked the ammo? Wolf sucks and WWB is only slightly better

This^^ It sound like its ammo sensitive, which it should not be for a carry gun. If the chamber is tight it can cause issues with some ammo species.
 
I've never had a problem with mine, not one failure regardless of the type of ammo I put through it.
 
This^^ It sound like its ammo sensitive, which it should not be for a carry gun. If the chamber is tight it can cause issues with some ammo species.

Greg, I was actually referring to the potential of out of spec ammo... wolf steel case is not the great judge of a firearm, especially a new one. I've seen many many perfectly reliable guns get hung up with extraction issues with steel cases.

With WWB, there was a thread recently about some very out of spec ammo straight from the factory that would not reliably chamber in a pistol. Not saying this is the case here, but it would be something I'd check
 
I have the 40 a little more snappy than the 9 but a great feel for carry. you hear pro's and cons on m&p I like mine and own several. also ruger and walther good and bad in all depends on what you are comfortable with.
 
Well to clarify, it shot great when it was working properly. This is my third in the mp series and the only one that's had problems. My hmmm factor makes me think a mag issue. Why else would it not fully go into battery after loading a mag and sending the slide forward?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That was one of the problems I had too. They re-reamed the chamber to fix it. Wasn't the mag.
 
I have fired a friends and it shoots and runs pretty good. Does not run smooth with Tula but US and reloads were fine. The trigger is crap though. So after watching videos and searching the web I decided to just do the trigger job myself. The rear sight was the worst part. I followed Burwell's guide. http://www.burwellguns.com/misc/M&Ptriggerjob.pdf Basically reshaping and polishing the striker block, reshaping the sear and polishing the rest. I don't have a trigger scale but I compared it to one with the Apex trigger already in it. The trigger pull was indistinguishable but the Apex had a crisper break. Mine had a little longer take up too. But for zero $$$ and no new parts it's not bad. I will have to research and fine tune. The most complicated was reshaping the sear so if your on a budget just drop the Apex sear in and reshape the striker block then polish everything.
 
So I decided to get a new shield 9mm finally. Dropped it right of to my local gunsmith for some fiber optics and trigger job.

Got around to going to the range and shot 50 Wolf steel case and 50 wwb. With the Wolf I had failure to eject and a failure to feed. With the wwb I had a light strike and had the slide not fully set in battery when loading a round.

I am hoping this is just a new gun issue, but I have read several people that have had zero problems. Shot great when it worked, though.

Anyone else have any issues? Might be time for the xds.

Th shield was my fist new gun purchase. I had the same issue with the slide not going into full battery three times in my first five mags. Always on the first round. After several hundred rounds I have not seen that again. I figured things were running a bit tight straight from the factory And needed some break in. Also if I put only three rounds in the mag no problem. Only happened on full mags. Good luck. Other than that no issues. Carrys great and has been very reliable.
 
I shot one with the Apex and it was ok... I bought one with stock trigger and I had to sell it.
 
Love mine. It has an apex trigger and I'm very accurate with it. The only issue I ever had was it not locking back on an empty mag when I got it. Quickly figured out I was riding the slide lock with my thumb. Corrected my grip and it hasn't happened again. I've run a bunch of different brands of ammo and haven't had any hiccups. At all.

I get a kick out of the same people shitting up every m&p or shield thread.
 
Shield has been my carry gun for almost a year. Have over 1000 rounds through it never had a one problem. Various manufactures, self defense and a few boxes of crappy steel ammo and reloads. Same as my other M&Ps. Gun has been super accurate for what it is. The funny thing is I shoot it better than my Full Size M&P
 
My Shield 9mm fell apart after only 400 rounds, FTF FTE, the magazine wouldn't lock with all seven rounds in it, even the white dots on the sights fell out. After two trips back to S&W, I sold it. It was working at that time but I would not bet my life on that. Went back to my G-26. Say what you want about Glocks but they always go bang when you pull the trigger.
 
4lb diff between the Mass and NH shields. That's a lot IMOP. I had the Mass version and sold it, Free state one is my Carry a few days a week and has been reliable after a Break in such as every firearm should be. But I don't by Tula 9mm or Blazer Aluminum.
 
The Shield should be reliable, I like them a lot. The zero issue I see is that the heavy Mass trigger forces a lot of shooters to come on the trigger a bit too much on the right side of the trigger blade, this pushes shots left. Or they "jerk" the trigger driving shots low left(right handed shooter). I advocate putting the trigger winger farther into the blade, just on the finger joint, this gets the finger moving straight back, more in line with the axis of the barrel. I also advocate dry fire training before shooting which gets your head and finger moving in the right direction before live fire.

^^this
i LOVE my shield 9....such a great gun. Mine had no break in period but my woman's took a little while. She had light strikes and stovepipes at first but after 100ish rds no more.

the shield and sig 938 are two small guns that IMO shoot like a full size gun....love 'em....and the PPS too.

FYI my mass trigger on the shield feels great after ~1500 rds....definitely lightens up.
 
Lots shields for sale in the classifieds... After their hype died down it seems many aren't very impressed.

there are also many glocks and kahrs for sale in classifieds.....IMO its not a measure of gun quality.
 
Back
Top Bottom