My M&P Shield nightmare.

[hlb14]

Glad to hear you're getting the results you expect out of this one.

[bubbadavis]

Put 50 rounds of 115 gr UMC through my Shield on Friday. No problems whatsoever.

[mcordell]

Good to hear! The shields do have tight recoil springs .. Mine has smoothed out after a few hundred rounds

[NRA]

The recoil spring is so tight I had problems getting it together after the first field strip

[Luke E.]

 I still have not had any failures with my wife's Shield but she put 100 rounds through it yesterday and had a few. It did fine until her hands got cold and started limp wristing it. We've got a ways to go with her form but her accuracy was great. All 100 rounds were in an 8" circle from about 12-15yds. I've been very surprised with the accuracy from the little gun. 

 OP I hope this one continues to work well for you.

[musicman]

Put probably 75-80 rds through wifey's new-to-us shield 9 Sunday. Flawless function, and an amazingly comfy little pistol! Now I want one for me. :/

[Duck]

I have been reading for weeks now and what few issues I read of from the Shield seem to be all 9mm versions except for the very early 40magazine drops. Has anyone experienced any issues with the 40's other than the early reports of magazines falling out? Edited December 4, 2013 by Duck

[Waters5117]

This sounds crazy, I got my wife a 9mm shield and she loves it. I hope it was just a lemon

[Junkstack]

Well...To continue the Shield saga... 

 

I got rid of the other Shield I had, and think that may have been a mistake.  While my girlfriend likes the G19, I think she likes the Shield a little better.  I got really lucky that a new one popped up on the classifieds, and I bought it.  I will take it to the range tomorrow and see how it goes.  If everything goes well, I will take my girlfriend to the range with both the G19 and Shield.  I will let her make the determination as to which one she likes best.  :)

Did you tell the person you sold it to that it was having problems?

[dralarms]

He sold the new one not the one he was having issues with.

[Guest Skyline034]

I got my Shield 9 when they first came out and it has been absolutely flawless. I convinced my buddy in Atlanta to buy one and what he received is scary. Btw, S&W promptly took care of this issue with a new slide and extra mags and this is not a photoshop like some forums have suggested in telling me that what my eyes where seeing couldn't be real haha. I love the Shield and so does he, fantastic little pistols.

[peejman]

Interesting.  My wife's is wrapped up under the tree at the moment. I don't recall seeing anything like that, but I wasn't exactly looking for it either.  I'd already planned to strip it down with her and inspect it.  It's obvious they're making these things as fast as they possibly can.  Some stuff is gonna slip through.

 

I've though a little about mav's problems... I wonder if it simply got a .40 recoil spring instead of a 9mm spring. 

[Patton]

Supposedly the same recoil spring 40 to 9. Other than the barrel and magazine all the parts are supposed to be the exact same. Even the slide has almost the exact same measurements and specs.

[peejman]

Supposedly the same recoil spring 40 to 9. Other than the barrel and magazine all the parts are supposed to be the exact same. Even the slide has almost the exact same measurements and specs.

 

 

Interesting as well.  I assume they were thoughtful and designed it such that the only parts that change are the barrel and magazine.  But I would think the difference in energy and recoil pulse would also require a different spring.  But I'm not a handgun designer so maybe not...

[mav]

S&W is totally dropping the ball on this one.  It has now been two weeks since I made my complaint.  The gun is still sitting in its box at home.  :mad:   I just wrote S&W another email.  It reads as follows:

 

 

Guys, what the heck is going on?  I replied to this email over a week ago, and I have neither heard nor received anything back from you.  Just to note, this entire event is being documented on one of the largest gun owner websites on the web, of which, I have been a member for years, and I am in very good standing.  Right now, S&W isn't looking too good.

This all started with a firearm that was defective considering the 25% failure rate on the first 80 rounds. I was a little ticked off about that, but it happens.  I shot an additional 200 rounds of various ammo through the gun after cleaning it.  It was better, but it still had 18 failures.  Out of the first 280 rounds, the gun is averaging a 13.57% failure rate.  This is totally unacceptable, and it is 280 rounds that have been wasted. 

Where is S&W?  I haven't got a clue.  I originally responded to this email the same day I received it, 11-26-13.  We have now closed the 6th day of business (not counting 11-28 and 11-29), and I have heard nothing.  Your own email states "within three to five business days."  If I knew I wasn't go to hear anything from you, I would have shipped it to you at my expense.  A UPS charge isn't terribly expensive.

I was a little heated in my very first email to S&W on 11-23.  When writing my second email, which was my first response to this one, I thought I might have been too harsh in the first, so I became a little apologetic about my tone.   Due to the absence of communication on your part, I now realize that it was a mistake to be apologetic.  It has now been two weeks since I made the initial complaint.  Will you or will you not warranty your product?

I hope you can fix this situation, and make it right by me.  I sincerely hope the lack of communication is due to the holidays.  If we treated our customers the way I have been treated, we would be going out of business.

 

In my line of work, when a customer complains about one of our products, we do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer.  There is just too much competition to not take that approach.

[musicman]

Yikes. Very disappointing. I have had excellent service every time I called on S&W. In fact, I sent off two guns about a month ago. It took two days from first email to get my shipping label. Once I got that, it took me two days to drop it off to FedEx. Two weeks and one day after that I had them back in perfect working order. I hope you get the same treatment ASAP.

I am a huge S&W fan, and I'm embarassed for them in this predicament, and frustrated that they are not taking care of this in the best fashion.

Have you gotten the automated ping-back when you emailed customer service?

[mav]

Have you gotten the automated ping-back when you emailed customer service?

 

Yes. Twice.

[DaveTN]

I emailed them with a description of what happened and my serial number. Mine was responded to with a link to Fed-Ex Shipping label about two days after I contacted them. From the day I dropped it off at Fed-Ex to the day I picked it up was 26 days.

Are you using the “qa@smith-wesson.com” email? I never needed to talk to anyone but if you do the Phone number is 1-800-331-0852 (USA) Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time.

[mav]

I never needed to talk to anyone but if you do the Phone number is 1-800-331-0852 (USA) Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time.

 

Thanks Dave.  Hopefully I won't need it, but I will use it if I do not get any kind of service by mid-week.

[Kopis]

I've purchased and sold several gen4 glocks this year and none were made in the USA. What models and when are they US made?

[mav]

I emailed them with a description of what happened and my serial number. Mine was responded to with a link to Fed-Ex Shipping label about two days after I contacted them. From the day I dropped it off at Fed-Ex to the day I picked it up was 26 days.

Are you using the “qa@smith-wesson.com” email? I never needed to talk to anyone but if you do the Phone number is 1-800-331-0852 (USA) Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time.

 

I called customer service, and finally got a response.  I was completely getting the run around via email.  I am a little nervous about what the customer service rep told me.  I was told that all that would be done once they receive my gun is they would fire it with their ammo.  If they did not have any problems, then it would be shipped right back to me without doing anything.  That doesn't really instill me with any confidence.

 

I will ship it out tomorrow, and keep you guys apprised of any further developments.

[mikegideon]

I called customer service, and finally got a response.  I was completely getting the run around via email.  I am a little nervous about what the customer service rep told me.  I was told that all that would be done once they receive my gun is they would fire it with their ammo.  If they did not have any problems, then it would be shipped right back to me without doing anything.  That doesn't really instill me with any confidence.

 

I will ship it out tomorrow, and keep you guys apprised of any further developments.

 

Unless it's changed very recently, S&W customer service is a known quantity. You're not blazing a new trail here. Me thinks you worry too much. If it's broke, they'll fix it. If it works with their ammo, it's probably time to stop blaming the gun. My guess... they'll find something wrong.

[mav]

Me thinks you worry too much.

 

You are probably correct.  Out of the 20 or so guns I have bought over the last several years, this is my first experience with something faulty.  Everything I have ever bought went bang when I pulled the trigger.

[mikegideon]

You are probably correct.  Out of the 20 or so guns I have bought over the last several years, this is my first experience with something faulty.  Everything I have ever bought went bang when I pulled the trigger.

 

You're in good hands. You gotta figure that they don't know you from the guy that hoses his gun down with WD40. The Shield is a cheap gun made by good folks. 

[mav]

I got the Shield back earlier this week from S&W.  Based on the paperwork they sent with the gun, they either replaced the slide or did nothing to the gun.  I haven't bothered calling them, but it is difficult to decipher what they did or didn't do.  I took it to the range today to see how it would shoot.  I shot 100 rounds of different ammo with no misfires.  :)  I did have two failures to lock back on empty, but I am not terribly concerned with that, and that could also be mag-related,

 

I am pleased that the gun is at least working properly. I will change the sights and keep it because it is easily concealed, and it is a fantastic little shooter that is surprisingly accurate.  I will more than likely trade off the other Shield I bought from a fellow TGO member since my girlfriend went  with the G19.  Based on the experience I had with this gun and primarily S&W's weak customer service, I seriously doubt I will buy anymore S&W products in the future.