My new Shield came with extras, but not the good kind

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  • cmr13

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    Oct 16, 2013
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    Elkhart County
    I recently bought a new S&W Shield 9mm with no safety. It was a new one from the back room of ZxGun, it hadn't even been in the display case. So I took it home and was checking it out, fondling it, etc. You know, the standard "new gun" routine. I didn't have my carry license yet, and I didn't have time to shoot yet so I hadn't loaded it. I didn't get a chance to shoot it until Saturday the 24th of September. I had some Tula 9mm steel cased ammo (I only got it for practice and I won't be buying it again) and so I began to load the magazines up to go out and shoot. I live in an area where I can shoot in my back field. The Shield comes with a 7 round mag, and an 8 round mag.

    So I started with the 7 round mag and was able to get 5 rounds in before I just could not get any more rounds it. I thought "ok, my thumbs are weak, and it's a new mag and the spring is stiff". I had rented a Shield at a local range and was able to load the magazine all the way, so that's why I thought it was because it was new. I decided to give up and just shoot with 5 rounds in that mag. I loaded the 8 round magazine to 7 rounds and went out to shoot. I had only one problem in 50 rounds, and I attributed that to break-in, Tula ammo, and whatever else. I wasn't really worried about the jam, but I still couldn't load the 7 round magazine to 7 rounds, only to 5. By the time I was done shooting I was able to load the 8 round mag to 8 rounds, while at first I could only get 7 rounds in that one.

    I figured I was just weak or had weak thumbs, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the magazine. I carried the Shield (when I could) with only 6 rounds (5+1 in the chamber) for the next 4 days, until I was able to get back to ZxGun. I didn't carry the 8 round magazine because then the grip is longer and more likely to print. I wanted to get another 7 round magazine, and I figured I would pick up a magazine loader while I was there so my weak thumbs wouldn't be a problem. I got the new 7 round mag home and to my surprise I was able to load it to 7 rounds. The last round was sort of hard to get in, but I still could. I then tried to use the mag loader to load the original to 7 rounds and I couldn't.

    So I decided to do what I should have done the first day, take the magazine apart. I took the baseplate off, took the spring out, took the follower out........... and then I took the follower out. There were 2 followers in the magazine. After I took the first one out I looked at the top lips of the mag and there was another one there. I was not expecting that to be what the problem was. I was thinking maybe the follower was messed up, but nope, there were just 2 of them where there should have been one. I reassembled the magazine with only 1 follower and I was then able to load it fully to 7 rounds. I was glad to have figured it out.

    Lessons learned:
    1. Check your new equipment to make sure it is working correctly. Even if that means further disassembly then normal.
    2. If there is a problem don't put off investigating further.
    3. Don't carry a gun if you know there are problems with it. I was down 2 rounds, and was carrying a messed-up mag. That could have been deadly.
    4. Everyone makes mistakes, I made mistakes and so did S&W. I learned from it, and I'm going to email S&W so they are aware of it as well.

    I hope you guys can learn from my mistakes. If you all have any similar stories to share please do. That's the awesome part about INGO, we can learn from each others mistakes. :ingo:

    I did find one other person on the internet that had the same issue with a Shield: *The importance of cleaning new mags, just found 2 followers in new Shield mag


    TL;DR - My Shield 7 round magazine had 2 followers in it. Check your gear and don't make the same mistakes that I did.
     

    8th SPS USAF

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    Jan 8, 2011
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    Hobart , In
    I would contact SW with your story. They have great CS and my give you another mag for your trouble? At least you could help someone else not to go through what you did.
     

    MolonLabe7

    Marksman
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    Jan 26, 2013
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    Muncie
    I agree with the above post, SW has great CS, and it would be worth it to let them know about the issue. Glad you got everything figured out!
     

    Taurahe

    Plinker
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    Dec 14, 2013
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    Greenwood
    Free spare parts.... It could have been worse. I too would call SW cs.... But I won't agree with their "great" customer service
     

    BiscuitNaBasket

    Grandmaster
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    73   1   0
    Dec 27, 2011
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    Greenwood
    As a general safety rule I check all firearms before a planned shoot, not just right after the firearm comes in my possession. A basic field strip and look through the barrel for obstructions could prevent a serious injury at the range. That's just me though.

    If I were going to carry the firearm I wouldn't do it without testing it first. If something did raise a red flag while testing then I wouldn't carry it until the issue was resolved.

    I won't comment on S&W CS since I've never had to deal with them.
     
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    JetGirl

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    May 7, 2008
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    N/E Corner
    As others said, contact S&W and let them know regardless. Even if only to beef up quality control. But as others have stated, they will likely send you something for your trouble.
     

    looney2ns

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    Jan 2, 2011
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    Evansville, In
    Guess I'm too an*l. New to me gun comes home. All new mags get disassembled along with the gun before it gets taken out to shoot. Everything gets a good cleaning and a nice coat of CLP before re-assembly. Most new mags are filthy on the inside.
     

    BiscuitNaBasket

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    73   1   0
    Dec 27, 2011
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    Greenwood
    Guess I'm too an*l. New to me gun comes home. All new mags get disassembled along with the gun before it gets taken out to shoot. Everything gets a good cleaning and a nice coat of CLP before re-assembly. Most new mags are filthy on the inside.

    M&P mags have a black line (seems like a dry-erase marker) on the followers in new magazines, but that's the only dirty thing about them that I've noticed. At any rate, it can't hurt to disassemble the magazine and make sure all the parts are there and that there are no extras.
     

    cmr13

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    Oct 16, 2013
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    Elkhart County
    I would contact SW with your story. They have great CS and my give you another mag for your trouble? At least you could help someone else not to go through what you did.

    I agree with the above post, SW has great CS, and it would be worth it to let them know about the issue. Glad you got everything figured out!

    Free spare parts.... It could have been worse. I too would call SW cs.... But I won't agree with their "great" customer service

    As others said, contact S&W and let them know regardless. Even if only to beef up quality control. But as others have stated, they will likely send you something for your trouble.

    Thanks everybody! I do plan on emailing them:
    ...I'm going to email S&W so they are aware of it as well...

    And if I get something for it, cool. If I don't, oh well. At least they will know about it.

    Guess I'm too an*l. New to me gun comes home. All new mags get disassembled along with the gun before it gets taken out to shoot. Everything gets a good cleaning and a nice coat of CLP before re-assembly. Most new mags are filthy on the inside.

    I'll probably be more like this in the future.

    M&P mags have a black line (seems like a dry-erase marker) on the followers in new magazines, but that's the only dirty thing about them that I've noticed. At any rate, it can't hurt to disassemble the magazine and make sure all the parts are there and that there are no extras.

    The top follower in the magazine with 2 of them had the black sharpie mark, as did the 8 round magazine. The 2nd (lower) follower in the 7 round one had no such mark.
     

    AngryRooster

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    Apr 27, 2008
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    Thanks everybody! I do plan on emailing them:

    And if I get something for it, cool. If I don't, oh well. At least they will know about it.



    I'll probably be more like this in the future.



    The top follower in the magazine with 2 of them had the black sharpie mark, as did the 8 round magazine. The 2nd (lower) follower in the 7 round one had no such mark.

    I had an M&P that had this as well. One mag had the large sharpie mark on the follower and the other didn't. Both of them worked fine and when I took them apart they looked fine with no differences other than the mark. Still don't know what it was for.
     

    cmr13

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    Oct 16, 2013
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    Elkhart County
    I had an M&P that had this as well. One mag had the large sharpie mark on the follower and the other didn't. Both of them worked fine and when I took them apart they looked fine with no differences other than the mark. Still don't know what it was for.

    My thought was that maybe they test load & fire with each magazine, and then put a mark on them after they do so? But I really have no actual idea.
     

    AngryRooster

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    If you call or email them see what they say. The one thing I didn't check on mine was the mold cavity markings for the followers. Maybe they have a machine they are watching and the mark is a check by the operator. We did this all the time at the auto plants I worked at before.
     

    Paul30

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    No matter how Purty a new gun is, it does not get carried for protection until it proves to me it is reliable and I shoot it well. I made that mistake once in my life, thank god it didn't cost me my life. Mine was a S&W airweight that shot "sometimes". After realizing it was not reliable I repaired it and shot a lot through it before trusting it. I purchased a new shield, but did not bother to carry it until I had a few boxes downrange and was confident I shot it well and it functioned reliable.
     

    AngryRooster

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    Apr 27, 2008
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    No matter how Purty a new gun is, it does not get carried for protection until it proves to me it is reliable and I shoot it well. I made that mistake once in my life, thank god it didn't cost me my life. Mine was a S&W airweight that shot "sometimes". After realizing it was not reliable I repaired it and shot a lot through it before trusting it. I purchased a new shield, but did not bother to carry it until I had a few boxes downrange and was confident I shot it well and it functioned reliable.

    Good practice. On semi-autos I run at least 300 flawless FMJ rounds and a minimum of 50 of chosen JHP before it gets carried. A single bobble of any kind resets the counter. There are very few guns I would think about carrying (and only in a dire situation) without shooting first. Those would be a Glock in 9mm, Ruger GP 100 or SP101, Smith K,L,N frames, possibly M&P in 9mm. At the very least a disassemble and visual inspection first of these as well.
     

    Drail

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    Oct 13, 2008
    2,542
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    Bloomington
    Clearly S&W just does not care about anything any more. Makes me really glad all of mine are over 30 years old and rotary. I had exactly one S&W semi auto for a short time until I found out how much they asked for parts and magazines. I mean, just how difficult is it to place one follower into a magazine? This story and the revolver they sold to some poor guy with a 6 round cylinder but with 7 flutes milled into it. Unbelievable.
     
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    cop car

    Sharpshooter
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    Jan 7, 2009
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    Human beings still put these things together. People make mistakes. It's not a big deal. I wouldn't waste your time emailing. If I got that email from a customer I would be thinking "cool story bro" after reading it.

    Your time could be better wasted here on ingo! :)
     

    451_Detonics

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    Mar 28, 2010
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    North Central Indiana
    Back when Dad and I had the shop we got a Colt Detective Special in for a customer that had supposedly been through Colts custom shop. The barrel was completely unrifled and way undersized in caliber. This was a gun that should have been test fired twice yet I believe trying to shoot it would have resulted in a catastrophic failure. Sadly we had to return it immediately as it was in essence a short barreled shotgun but it would have been an interesting collectors piece.

    No one is perfect nor are the machines people operate.
     

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