Shield Plus Feed Issue

[TomJ]

I bought a 9mm 4 inch Performance Center Shield Plus a while ago. Almost immediately, I had feed issues with it and contacted S&W. They had me send it back and the only repair they did was polishing the feed ramp. I did have issues with the magazines in that I could only load 10-11 rounds in a couple of them. They sent me new magazine springs and followers which allow me to load 13 rounds in the magazines now. I haven't shot it much since then until this week and am having feed issues again, with the nose of the bullet jamming at the bottom of the feed ramp. The attached picture didn't turn out that great, but you can see that the bullet is tilted downward. It's occurred with 2 different magazines. Has anyone experienced a similar problem? I'm calling S&W Monday, and given their magazine issues I'm wondering if this is a problem with the gun or the magazines.

 

[Spats McGee]

I do not have an answer, but that’s disappointing.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

My SW 380 EZ had feed issues at 1st. It eased up as i shot it. Maybe you need more break in on it. Hopefully that is all it needs.

 

[L-2]

There's really no way to determine what's going on with the OP's specific handgun without going through some in-person diagnoses and shooting. Some things which I might be seeing and some suspicions, however:
-The pictured 9mm round may have its bullet pushed in too much at this point (bullet setback) due to the (possibly, more than one) FTFeeds As a bullet is pushed into the case, the round's overall length (OAL) becomes shorter and shorter. The shorter OAL can then make a FTFeeding issue worse.

The OP mentioned new (mag) springs and followers were sent to him by S&W. I don't understand why there was a loading limitation of rounds with the original mags; then with new mag springs and followers the round count increased; the mag capacity limitation may be related. I don't know if the replacement mag springs & followers are correct for the given mags, or if the mag springs were even installed in the correct orientation, whether backwards or upside down, which could also explain nose-diving rounds due to a follower tilting. With the increased mag capacity, were the mag springs even the proper length or too short(?).

Generally, but not specifically the subject pistol, these modern polymer firearms are consistently made with little deviation, yet this is an example of one such pistol with some amount of deviations/problems which occurred/can-occur. Hopefully, with some key replacement of parts, the problem(s) will be cured.

I would like to someday read what the problem(s) was/were.

 

[JTQ]

Loading up mags and letting them sit, fully loaded, for several days, often sorts this problem out.

 

[generic sportsshooter]

It's a problem with US handgun manufacturers in general the last few years.
They send out crap (they know that), customer sends it back, they fiddle with it, add some random parts, and after weeks/months the customer gets the gun back which still doesn't work.
And that repeats itself until the customer gives up and buy's something else, usually european/asian made.

 

[TomJ]

There's really no way to determine what's going on with the OP's specific handgun without going through some in-person diagnoses and shooting. Some things which I might be seeing and some suspicions, however:
-The pictured 9mm round may have its bullet pushed in too much at this point (bullet setback) due to the (possibly, more than one) FTFeeds As a bullet is pushed into the case, the round's overall length (OAL) becomes shorter and shorter. The shorter OAL can then make a FTFeeding issue worse.

The OP mentioned new (mag) springs and followers were sent to him by S&W. I don't understand why there was a loading limitation of rounds with the original mags; then with new mag springs and followers the round count increased; the mag capacity limitation may be related. I don't know if the replacement mag springs & followers are correct for the given mags, or if the mag springs were even installed in the correct orientation, whether backwards or upside down, which could also explain nose-diving rounds due to a follower tilting. With the increased mag capacity, were the mag springs even the proper length or too short(?).

Generally, but not specifically the subject pistol, these modern polymer firearms are consistently made with little deviation, yet this is an example of one such pistol with some amount of deviations/problems which occurred/can-occur. Hopefully, with some key replacement of parts, the problem(s) will be cured.

I would like to someday read what the problem(s) was/were.

In answer to your questions, it's new factory ammo that had not been previously cycled through a gun, so I don't know that bullet setback would be an issue.
When the Shield Plus came out there was a known issue (per S&W) with the springs and followers in their 13 round magazines which only allowed you to load 10-11 rounds. That was a good suggestion to confirm the springs were installed correctly, which I just did and they are. It would be difficult to insert them incorrectly as they're much smaller at the top and they can only go in one way in order for them to fit the follower correctly.

JTQ, I'm not in a hurry so I'll try loading them and letting them sit for a few days as suggested.

 

[TomJ]

Per Smith & Wesson's customer service, when they've seen this issue it's been caused by the magazine springs and followers. I have five 13 round magazines for it, and they're shipping out new springs and followers for all of them. I should have them in a week, and hopefully it resolves this.

 

[GarnetandBlack]

It's a problem with US handgun manufacturers in general the last few years.
They send out crap (they know that), customer sends it back, they fiddle with it, add some random parts, and after weeks/months the customer gets the gun back which still doesn't work.
And that repeats itself until the customer gives up and buy's something else, usually european/asian made.

That’s just not the case. Semi-auto handguns manufactured in the US are more reliable than at any time, including Smith and Wesson. In fact, it is an extreme outlier to have anything but a perfectly functioning Shield Plus. They are just very well designed and built these days, and it’s rare to get a bad one. Much more rare than it was a decade or two ago.

 

[Mike J]

The 380 EZ we bought a couple of years ago had feed issues with the last round in the magazine. It liked to feed the round all the way through the pistol & out the ejection port without chambering. It didn't do it every magazine but I found it concerning. I sent it back to S&W they polished the barrel, etc. It came back with the same issue. I requested new magazine springs & they sent them to me. I cut one of the old springs in half & nested it in the new ones & the pistol worked. I posted about my experience on the S&W forum & someone said they had replaced the stock springs with springs IIRC from a LCP ii. So I ordered some springs for that & after a little alteration & maybe clipping off a coil or 2 the little pistol runs like a top. It just isn't EZ to load anymore. I still might buy another S&W auto but it annoyed me. I was more annoyed that I got a pistol back with the same issue I sent it in with than that there was an issue.

I hope you are able to get it sorted out or hold their feet to the fire enough to make them take care of it.

 

[TomJ]

I have mostly good news. The S&W rep sent me 2 followers and no springs. I called them back and spoke to another rep who seemed much more knowledgable, and he informed me they had a batch of bad followers for a while. He's sending the remaining followers and springs. I just got back from the range and one magazine is still having issues, but I put 200 rounds through the other ones without a malfunction. Replacing the spring and follower in the remaining problem magazine should resolve that, and fortunately it's not the gun but a magazine issue so I don't need to ship the gun back.

 

[Mike J]

Thank you for following up with us. I am glad to know they are taking care of you.

 

[TomJ]

I received the remaining springs and followers today and made it out to the range. I shot another 150 rounds without a problem. With 350 trouble free rounds through it I'm calling it good. On the plus side, it's accurate and soft shooting and will be carried often. I obviously wished it had worked out of the box, but these things happen and I appreciate S&W taking care of it quickly.

 

[Spats McGee]

Glad to hear it.

 

[SwampWolf]

I was more annoyed that I got a pistol back with the same issue I sent it in with than that there was an issue.

So true. It's bad enough to have to send a new gun back to the manufacturer for a fix and it's salt in the wound to have it returned "fixed" and not be.

 

[Col. Harrumph]

I occasionally see nosedives like this with ball ammo in a Triple-K magazine for my Star B. It only happens, I think, when I rush filling the magazine. If I take care the topmost round is seated all the way back and angled parallel to the fee lips, it feeds 100%.