New Shield .40 Dissappointed

[windviking]

Was so excited to find a .40 shield in Clarksville! Shot it this week and it dropped the mag on the first shot!

Ok, so maybe I didn't secure the mag. Made sure it was " home" but had the same issue. So I have large hand, I must be hitting the release as the gun is on the small side and it is , after all,a .40. Repositioned thumb to be SURE I didn't hit the release and yes, it dropped again. Same issue with both mags. Not just every now and then, but they would drop more often than they stayed in! Of course had FTF and stove pipes due to the mag issue. Thought it could be worse with the mags fully loaded so put three rounds in each Mag and STILL the same problem! After all the " experiments" put it away and got out my trusty G23. It made me appreciate it more than ever.

Came home and called S&W. They said " yes, they've heard of this" and will send me a shipping label.

Of course I'm dissappointed. When it did fire, recoil was very acceptable and it appears to be accurate, The size is perfect for CCW and the "feel" is bigger than it is, and I appreciate that. Shoots bigger than it is.

Based on some other threads, this problem appears to be pretty common since July 1. From what I read, several owners have sent theirs back as much as 3 times. Hope they get mine right the first time!

[mikegideon]

I wouldn't worry much. S&W will fix it. Their customer service is great.

[windviking]

I wouldn't worry much. S&W will fix it. Their customer service is great.

Thanks, I hope so

[Caster]

Nothing sucks like new gun woes. Sorry bud. Smiff an Wessun is good about fixin their messes though. They'll make it right. No worries.

[Fourtyfive]

+1 on the fix.

[johnboy]

A friend of mine has the 9mm and its a nice shooter.No issues at all.

[Sean]

No issues with my 9 either.

sent from my toilet phone

[daddyo]

It's just a good thing it didn't happen when you really needed it. That's why I got rid of my Kel Tec.

[East_TN_Patriot]

That's why I own a Walther PPS.

[Smith]

That's why I own a Walther PPS.

Which is also a S&W product.

[mikegideon]

Which is also a S&W product.

Sorta. They'll fix it. If the PPS breaks, they'll fix that too.

[Guest twpayne75]

I haven't had any problems with my 9mm Shield. But one thing I have noticed is that if the slide is dropped, it is EXTREMELY hard to get a fully loaded magazine to seat. You have to slam it.

Normally, no matter what I'm loading, I will chamber a round from the magazine. Drop the magazine. Add a round to the magazine. Insert the magazine back into the gun.

It's next to impossible to do that with my Shield. I usually just don't top off the magazine after chambering a round.

[Guest Big-A]

The shield 9mm i have no issue's and very accurate,recoil's not bad either

[E4 No More]

I got rid of my M&P 9C because the mag kept popping out in the holster. S&W was great by sending me a new mag release assembly without question, (and a second mag extender w/o charge I might add), but the problem still existed.

[frankmako]

yes, they will fix it. but it might take a few weeks before you get it back.

[East_TN_Patriot]

Which is also a S&W product.

No, it's a Walther product imported by Smith & Wesson. It says "Made in Germany" right on the side and has all the German proof marks. I used to be a big fan of Smith & Wesson, but in the past decade, their quality has gone in the tank. They even managed to screw up the tried and true PPK when they started making it in their factory. I still have a couple of older S&W revolvers, but I don't foresee owning another new Smith & Wesson. They do have excellent customer service overall, but the only reason I know this is because I, and lots of others, have had to use it in the past few years.

Edited July 21, 2012 by East_TN_Patriot

[Smith]

No, it's a Walther product imported by Smith & Wesson. It says "Made in Germany" right on the side and has all the German proof marks. I used to be a big fan of Smith & Wesson, but in the past decade, their quality has gone in the tank. They even managed to screw up the tried and true PPK when they started making it in their factory. I still have a couple of older S&W revolvers, but I don't foresee owning another new Smith & Wesson. They do have excellent customer service overall, but the only reason I know this is because I, and lots of others, have had to use it in the past few years.

Didn't mean to offend you. It's a Smith product in the sense that once it leaves the German factory it is marketed, serviced, sold, distributed, and imported by Smith. More people use Smith service because of the shear number of Smith's out there. Outside of Ruger, nobody makes more guns. In fact the next maker down in the list only makes about half as many guns as Smith and ruger.

That being said they have come a long way with the M&P line and are back where they need to be. Kinda like what happened to a lot of the makers ala SIG.

[QuietDan]

It's all well and good that S&W will fix the problem when you bring it to their attention: in my industry we used to call that "Customer Beta Testing."

It's a whole lot better if they check the firearms for the problem BEFORE they ship them. Keep the Beta Testing in the factory.

[Guest No Ammo]

Was so excited to find a .40 shield in Clarksville! Shot it this week and it dropped the mag on the first shot!

Ok, so maybe I didn't secure the mag. Made sure it was " home" but had the same issue. So I have large hand, I must be hitting the release as the gun is on the small side and it is , after all,a .40. Repositioned thumb to be SURE I didn't hit the release and yes, it dropped again. Same issue with both mags. Not just every now and then, but they would drop more often than they stayed in! Of course had FTF and stove pipes due to the mag issue. Thought it could be worse with the mags fully loaded so put three rounds in each Mag and STILL the same problem! After all the " experiments" put it away and got out my trusty G23. It made me appreciate it more than ever.

Came home and called S&W. They said " yes, they've heard of this" and will send me a shipping label.

Of course I'm dissappointed. When it did fire, recoil was very acceptable and it appears to be accurate, The size is perfect for CCW and the "feel" is bigger than it is, and I appreciate that. Shoots bigger than it is.

Based on some other threads, this problem appears to be pretty common since July 1. From what I read, several owners have sent theirs back as much as 3 times. Hope they get mine right the first time!

Are you using the flush fitting mag or the extended?

I have put a 100 rounds down range with no issues with my Sheild 40 with flush mag

[Guest joshmanning]

pawn shop in chattanooga has one in a 9mm and it felt very nice! and they had a m&p .22

sucks your having this issue though

[windviking]

Both Mags Drop

[smithra89]

S&W does seem to be having some Q&A problems of late. My dad had a sigma .40 and just bought a brand new E version 1911. Both had to be sent back for quality related issues.

[RoDan]

at least we know the mags are drop-free...

[Guest motonut]

It's all well and good that S&W will fix the problem when you bring it to their attention: in my industry we used to call that "Customer Beta Testing."

It's a whole lot better if they check the firearms for the problem BEFORE they ship them. Keep the Beta Testing in the factory.

While I don't disagree it would be extremly difficult for a mfgr., any mfgr. to do all the testing 10,000 customers will do to a product. Very few products would ever make it out the door. However, my objections are with mfgrs. that practice the "fix it in the field" mentality, that is they ship known faulty products to customers knowing they'll have to either send them back or require down time/service calls to fix what was known problem before it left the factory.

This is where service after the sale is so critical and goes a long way in determining whether I buy that cos. products in the future.

For the record I've got a few Smiths/Walthers and the only one that needed to go back was the M&P 15 and they repaired that very quickly with very little hassle for me. (gas block/tube problem per service record).

[Dave Nowlin]

So far I am thrilled with mine. It has performed flawlessly. The only bad thing has been that the white dot in the front sight jumped ship in the first 5 rounds fired in the pistol. That has been replaced with a Trijicon front sight with a red ring around it made by Ameriglo.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Dave Nowlin