Remove magazine, clear chamber, lock the slide back, flip down the sear deactivator gizmo, rotate the take down lever, pull the slide back to release the lock, then move the slide forward. But it only goes about 1/8" beyond the point where it would with the take down lever closed, and it stops.

There is a spring above the take down lever (behind the pivot point) that pops out of the frame and blocks the slide from moving forward. If I use a small screw driver to set the spring back into the frame, then the slide passes and can be removed. Is this a common problem? Something a novice can fix, or does the gun need to go back to the manufacturer?

Operation doesn't seem to be affected, just field stripping. The gun has been flawless otherwise. I put about 100 rounds through it today and many hundreds of rounds prior to today.

The gun was purchased back in the Spring when the big rebate was going on. Date of manufacture is March 14, 2017.

Edited to add date of manufacture and to clarify the description. Magazine is removed and forward movement of slide is about 1/8" beyond normal closed position (not forward of locked back position).

This message has been edited. Last edited by: safespot,

There is a thread on a spring that can move out of place locking up the slide on the smith and wesson forum, here is a link
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...38948=#post139791519

This message has been edited. Last edited by: iraIII,

Thanks for the heads up I will check mine out.

I had the same issue and wasn't able to field strip my Shield either. S&W took about three weeks to repair it and it has been flawless since it came back. As you probably are aware, the slide can also be removed by pulling the trigger as the slide moves forward after pushing the take down lever into the disassembly position. I find that to be the easier method after making sure the pistol is unloaded, of course.

Take the mag out?

Bob

Yes.

quote:

Originally posted by iraIII:
There is a thread on a spring that can move out of place locking up the slide on the smith and wesson forum, here is a link
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s...38948=#post139791519

Thanks for the link. That’s exactly what is happening. In my case the entire side of the spring is shiny from rubbing on the slide. I’ll call S&W support. I think it needs to go back for repair.

quote:

Originally posted by rbert0005:
Take the mag out?

Bob

Yes, magazine is out. I edited the original post to indicate this, and to correct the description of how far forward the slide can be moved with the take down lever rotated 90 degrees.

Did you pull the trigger while moving the slide forward?

quote:

Originally posted by jdmb03:
Did you pull the trigger while moving the slide forward?

Yes. That and rotated the sear deactivation lever as shown in the manual. Turns out neither have anything to do with the issue. Check out the forum thread iraIII provided the link to above. There are some good photos showing root cause.

Interesting. We haven't tried to take down any new shields to see if the spring that's causing this is flush from the factory, but I think I'll do that when I get in today.

One problem with NIB Shields that we're coming across is that we've been encountering sporadic examples that will lock back the slide without engaging the slide stop, or even without a magazine seated in the magwell. Seems as if the size of the chamber block of the barrel is out of spec and is catching on something on the underside of the slide. The only way to get the guns to go back to battery is to tap the muzzle end of the barrel downward, preferably with a mallet (pinching is too close for comfort when using one's hand). We've had at least three or four of these with the last batch of 9mm Shields that came in. S&W was spitting these things out like crazy during last years rebate madness, and it's evident that QC suffered as a result.

(Aside: if you thought that you were getting a great deal on a Shield from PSA and others when they were seemingly blowing them out even before factoring in the rebates, you probably would be PISSED if you saw just how much dealers were paying when buying in bulk from S&W for those guns during the promotion. The margins were, shall we say, very comfortable even at the supposedly 'blowout pricing'. A friend at one local shop who bought a ton of Shields from S&W for a winter promo clued me into this sleight of hand. At these prices to volume dealers and the demand that this brought, it's no wonder S&W allowed quality control to go to pieces.)

Yeah our shop fell for the "buy X amount and get one shield free". Then we were stuck with them for 6 months.

We have one left. A 2.0 with integral laser in 9mm. Manager said yesterday "No more shields or bodyguards!".

We ordered a dozen more Walther PPS M2 9mm. LE package. Better pistol. Sells like hot cakes. Women can actually rack the slide on the PPS! Regards 18DAI

Oh yeah. S&W has done their best to hack off small volume dealers. Before it was Shields; now we're sitting on 2.0 Compacts that online dealers were selling at $399 retail. That's noticeably less than what S&W charged us per gun.

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Yeah our shop fell for the "buy X amount and get one shield free". Then we were stuck with them for 6 months.

We have one left. A 2.0 with integral laser in 9mm. Manager said yesterday "No more shields or bodyguards!".

We ordered a dozen more Walther PPS M2 9mm. LE package. Better pistol. Sells like hot cakes. Women can actually rack the slide on the PPS! Regards 18DAI

That’s surprising. The shield is probably one of the best selling pistols on the market. A buddy who sells a ton at gun shows tells me he sells 2 shields for every Glock.

Yea I hear that all the time. "1 million shields sold, blah blah". But in our shop, they just sit. In fact the two other shops in the area dont move them either. Except for the one shop who up until last month was the local s&w dealer.

He told us that the shield 45 sold well for about 6 months. But after that he was sitting on inventory. He told s&w to stuff it and is no longer a dealer. Too many problems with sending guns back and pissed off customers. And they wanted him to carry their revolvers - which he refused to do.

The Walther PPS sells itself. Most of the people who buy it actually try the shield first. After trying to rack the slide and trying the trigger on the shield, I put the PPS in their hand. SOLD!

The new cheaper LC9 from Ruger is also a hot seller. We got in 8 and they were gone on the 2nd day. $249 + tax OTD. People are loving that gun. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Yea I hear that all the time. "1 million shields sold, blah blah". But in our shop, they just sit. In fact the two other shops in the area dont move them either. Except for the one shop who up until last month was the local s&w dealer.

He told us that the shield 45 sold well for about 6 months. But after that he was sitting on inventory. He told s&w to stuff it and is no longer a dealer. Too many problems with sending guns back and pissed off customers. And they wanted him to carry their revolvers - which he refused to do.

The Walther PPS sells itself. Most of the people who buy it actually try the shield first. After trying to rack the slide and trying the trigger on the shield, I put the PPS in their hand. SOLD!

The new cheaper LC9 from Ruger is also a hot seller. We got in 8 and they were gone on the 2nd day. $249 + tax OTD. People are loving that gun. Regards 18DAI

I have a PPS M2 and a Shield and the shield is more accurate for me. I’m talking one hole at 10-12 yards without trying hard. The PPS doesn’t have nearly as much aftermarket support in terms of Sights or Holsters. I feel like the Gen 1 PPS I had was more accurate than the M2.

S&W must be getting a lot of calls on this issue. I told the technician I was having trouble getting the slide off of a shield. He immediately said you probably have a spring blocking forward travel. When I confirmed he said we need it shipped back for warranty repair. So off it went. Estimated 4 week turn around.