[BekahM]

Soooooo, I took my beloved Shield .40 to the range Sat. and about 40 rounds in it started jamming (failure to feed). :frown: I have shot about 50 rounds through it previously at my dad's house (one mag. each time on different days) before Sat. and never had this problem. I was told that I am "limp-wristing". I have never had this problem before, but the Shield is also the first gun this size with this caliber that have shot. I know that the springs and everything on the gun is beginning to loosen up and break in, so could that be why it is happening now and not before? If the spring is loosening up, then it would be easier to cause it to jam if without proper grip/recoil management...... right? I have shot my dad's full size 9mm and my High Point .45 without any issues, but they are easier to hang on to because of the size. I'll get my ccw permit in about 3 weeks, but I'm thinking of picking up a .357 revolver (to use .38sp) to carry for now because I'm just not confident in my ability with the Shield yet..... Maybe even switch from a .40 to a 9mm and try that? I want to correct my shooting/grip problem so this does not happen in the future and I'm determined to be able to shoot my Shield .40. Carrying a full size gun is not an option for me as I am very small (5'5" 118lbs.) Any advice would be great.

Thanks,
BekahM

 

[OldVet]

It could be your wrist was tiring and you were, in fact, limp-wristing. It could be crud had built up in the action enough to cause feeding problems. It could be...yadda yadda. As short of a time as the Shield has been out, I seriously doubt you could have worn out any springs.

 

[IsaiahM33]

Could it be that after those 40 rounds, your wrist got tired? Without actually seeing you shoot, it's hard to tell if the problem is with you or with the Shield. .40 does have sharper recoil than 9mm. Have someone else with firearms experience shoot your .40 and see if they experience any problems. I once had a Kel Tec PF9 that was rock solid. No problems. I sold it and the guy I sold it to says he has all kinds of failure to feed and extract problems. I think it's a limp wrist problem with him since it was perfect with me. You never know.

 

[bombthrower77]

Are you using the same ammunition? Some guns are finicky about their diet. Otherwise, I'd clean it and let someone else shoot it to see if it's a limp wrist problem.

 

[paaiyan]

I know the M&P .40c (larger than the Shield) that I had up until I traded it recently had a very snappy recoil. My wife, about your size, did not like it at all. She never put more than 10 rounds through it at a time I think, but I'm betting she'd have had problems putting multiple magazines through it without tiring. I'm betting the recoil on the Shield is, at best, the same as the .40c.

Have someone else stronger put a few mags through it and see how it does.

 

[BekahM]

Are you using the same ammunition? Some guns are finicky about their diet. Otherwise, I'd clean it and let someone else shoot it to see if it's a limp wrist problem.

Normally use winchester hollow points 180gr. from Walmart (I know it's not "target" ammo, but it's cheaper than anything else around here) but at the range I added Remmington FMJ 180gr........ I had Failure To Feed with both.

It could be your wrist was tiring and you were, in fact, limp-wristing. It could be crud had built up in the action enough to cause feeding problems. It could be...yadda yadda. As short of a time as the Shield has been out, I seriously doubt you could have worn out any springs.

I didn't mean the spring was "worn out", I meant that it is loosening up as all new guns do. :smile:

Could it be that after those 40 rounds, your wrist got tired? Without actually seeing you shoot, it's hard to tell if the problem is with you or with the Shield. .40 does have sharper recoil than 9mm. Have someone else with firearms experience shoot your .40 and see if they experience any problems. I once had a Kel Tec PF9 that was rock solid. No problems. I sold it and the guy I sold it to says he has all kinds of failure to feed and extract problems. I think it's a limp wrist problem with him since it was perfect with me. You never know.

Yes, my wrist was definitely getting tired. I think I'll have my Dad go shoot with me and see how it works for him. He has shot it before with no issues. My brother was with me at the range, and had already put a bazillion (yes thats a number) rounds through his .45 when my shield jammed on him. But, he rarely ever shoots and he said when he first shot it that he didn't like the recoil. I'm pretty sure its gonna be my issue.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[RightyLefty]

The Military Arms Channel just did a recent video on limp-wristing. Good info here.

 

[archer51]

My guess is your getting tired and beginning to limp wrist. This was the first time you had shot a substantial numbers of rounds through the gun. The size of the gun and the snap of the .40 recoil contributed to it.

 

[Backwoodz]

The Military Arms Channel just did a recent video on limp-wristing. Good info here.

Thats a great video and shows misconception people think of limp wristing. In his video you can see limp wristing only contributes to FTE and not FTL or FTF.
To OP I would look at the magazine feed and the slide spring. make sure the slide is moving freely. Look for any unusal wear in the slide rails....clean the gun well and lube it properly. Most guns need a proper breakin...the smaller they are the more that needs to be flawless in operation.

 

[humblenutto]

The Military Arms Channel just did a recent video on limp-wristing. Good info here.

I was going to post that. Basically you need a firearm with a powerful round, and a heavy slide to frame ratio. Then you can run into problems of limp wristing causing malfunctions. Most guns do not have that problem. Glocks tend to because of how over blown their slide is in terms of weight compared to the grip frame. Which is fine as long as you hold on to the firearm correctly. By holding the gun correctly, you are adding your mass from your hand, arm, and wrist into the mass of the frame for the action to push against. When you limp wrist you take that mass out and the frame doesn't have enough mass by itself to absorb the shock from firing the round correctly.

Other guns have less problems as the slide is lighter and doesn't reciprocate as much and thus needing more grip frame mass, or the grip frame is heavy enough, or the shot being fired isn't pushing back too much into the slide to need to transfer that energy into the frame.

I over hear limp wristing as being the cause of malfunctions way too often. Unless you have a Glock, I wouldn't really worry about it.

 

[commonground]

The Military Arms Channel just did a recent video on limp-wristing. Good info here.

Good video. I had one limp wrist stove pipe with my S&W M&P 9c when I first got it but, knew immediately what caused it. I had been used to shooting the Browning Hi-Power 9mm which is heavier.

 

[BekahM]

The Military Arms Channel just did a recent video on limp-wristing. Good info here.

Great video! At 2:54, when he said, "What limp-wristing can't cause is a failure to close on a round"......did he mean that a failure to feed is not a limp-wristing problem? When my Shield jams, the spent casing is ejected, but the next bullet catches on the edge of the feed ramp and that's where it sticks. I have to pull the slide back slightly and then the bullet goes in properly.

My guess is your getting tired and beginning to limp wrist. This was the first time you had shot a substantial numbers of rounds through the gun. The size of the gun and the snap of the .40 recoil contributed to it.

I agree.


When I clean my gun, I use oil......Should I use grease on the slide? Do you think that would help any amount with the slide cycling?