M&P Shield 40 -- New Gun, New Problem...

[jblitz]

Picked up a M&P Shield in .40 caliber late yesterday and took it to the range today. Love the feel of the gun in my hand and was able to shoot it fairly well at 25 feet. Recoil was less than I had expected from such a small frame and was very managable. I did find the grip to be just a bit slicker than I like so will probably add a Talon grip if one is available.

The Shield is almost exactly the same size as the gun I bought it to replace (Taurus 709 Slim). While the Taurus has given me no problems after approx. 1700 rounds, I got to liking the full size M&P 40 so much that I thought I would like the little brother as well. I am looking to use the Shield as a carry gun where the Taurus never really was. My current carry is a G19 which can be a bit large at times.

Now the problem... With the extended (7 round) magazine which shipped with the gun, every shot fired caused the magazine to release which then caused a spent casing to stove pipe. As a lefty, I thought maybe I was inadvertantly hitting the mag release somehow but the problem persisted when firing with my right hand as well. I even had two others at the range try the gun with the same results. No problem with the 6 round magazine. Anybody else seen this with the Shield?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Ram Rod]

Sorry I can't help with the problem you're having. I have noticed however....that a few weeks after everyone went ballistic over getting one of these M&P Shields here......they started showing up for sale on Armslist and Guntrader. Maybe they are not that big of a hit they were portrayed to be? Me? I steer clear of the newest and latest stuff until I've gathered plenty of intel. I'm not laughing or rubbing it in anyone's face......just that I kinda figured this would start happening. I truly sympathize with the restless, and I dislike to see others throw away good money for nothing simply because they are never truly satisfied with what they have. 'New guns shouldn't have new problems'. I'm not even going to offer the 'I told you so' at this point. The M&P is S&W and I figure most of you here already know where I stand with S&W. They've never made a gun I'd want to have. Be that as it may....or it is what it is. If you're new and riding on the hype..........hope you can sell your Shield for what you've got in it and use the money more wisely in the future.

Forum shut down suppressing my earlier response.....odd how thing happen isn't it. But I copied it all before the crash. I'm getting older and wiser.

[redbeardsong]

I didn't have that problem with the shield I shot. The owner of that gun, who is an avid enthusiast and IDPA competitor and has been through Glocks, HKs, Sigs, 1911s and now M&Ps, hasn't had any problems either. I figured he'd get bored, flip it, and move on to something new, but He tells me he's not ever getting rid of his Shield, and sold his LC9 and M&P9c since.

I work a Gun store and have sold six or seven of them to happy customers. I sold one to a local Sheriff who bought a Shield and loves it as a pocket gun. He got rid of his PM9 after he got the Shield. However, one customer traded his Shield in in an XD-s last week. In other words, the majority of Shield owners that I know, love it.

OP, you're the first I've heard of this mag release problem.

[slosolo2]

I'd try to borrow a big mag from some one to determine if it's the mag catch our the mag itself. My 9mm has been operationally flawless and the largest majority of reports on this gun have been positive as well. My guess is the guns popping up on gunbroker etc were listed well above MSRP and possibly bought to be resold for profit.

[BugDude]

1700 flawless rounds through the 709 and it was never a carry gun? I'd be for sticking that in a IWB holster and calling it good.

[PIMking]

dang southpaws....

[DocGlock]

If you go to the S&W M&P forum (Smith & Wesson M&P Pistols) you will see that this is a fairly common problem on many of the .40 shields, but virtually nonexistant on the 9 shields.

[svgheartland]

I've got the 40, no issue. Sorry partner.

[DocGlock]

I've got the 40, no issue. Sorry partner.

What? You're sorry that yours has no issue? Be thankful. Nowhere was it said that they all had the mag issues, but many of the 40s are appearing to.

[oldrwizr]

Can't help you, all I can do it say that's why we real Americans buy Austrian!

[Burns]

Send it back to S&W, they have amazing CS. I don't know why everybody talks like it's the "end of the line" if you have a problem with your firearm that has a lifetime warranty...

[jblitz]

1700 flawless rounds through the 709 and it was never a carry gun? I'd be for sticking that in a IWB holster and calling it good.

I do have a IWB holster (Crossbreed Supertuck) for the 709. Only problem is my wife has taken a shine to that gun and now I have to buy something else for myself... What a bummer

Actually I did carry the 709 for a good while but started carrying a G19 last December. Missed the slim profile of the 709 hence my interest in the Shield.

[jblitz]

If you go to the S&W M&P forum (Smith & Wesson M&P Pistols) you will see that this is a fairly common problem on many of the .40 shields, but virtually nonexistant on the 9 shields.

Thanks for the heads-up! Have emailed S&W with the issue hoping to be able to resolve the problem without sending the firearm in for warranty work. Hopefully they will just send me another mag release button and/or spring.

[bonjorno2]

hope it gets sorted out for you... I always try and have another shooter duplicate the issue before I think too much of it!

[CLASS3NH]

I have a 40 cal shield and havn't found any problems with it yet.
I'm using 175gr Hornady Critical Duty as my carry load. The gun shoots everything I put in the mags. Sorry to hear you're having troubles with yours. Smith will make it right if you send it back, although I feel NO gun should ever go back to the factory for issues like this. The Mfr should work out all the bugs before they offer the product for sale. Just me though.