New Shield Plus DOA

General Firearms Handguns - Semi Auto
1

I ordered a Shield Plus 3.1" Performance Center pistol almost 2 weeks ago. I really like the platform, and I already have a 4" Shield Plus Performance Center, a 4" 2.0 Shield Performance Center, and a 3.1" Shield Ver 1.0.

Well, it finally shipped this week, and arrived yesterday afternoon. I went to pick it up this morning at the FFL…

Well, the pistol is broken and has to go back to where I bought it from… On the very first trigger pull, the striker did not release… I noticed that sometimes it took 2 or 3 trigger pulls to release… Not every time, but initially 1/2 the time…

The employees at the gun shop didn’t believe me, and that started to irritate me, as I have owned 3 digits worth of handguns over 30 years… So, they tried it, and it worked. But, it did it 1/2 the time for me (of course, I was trying it more than they were).

I even showed them, and they insisted the striker was releasing - despite no noise…

They were getting me irritated because I knew I was right… I even illustrated it in front of them… I could pull the trigger, nothing happens… Let go of the trigger and then pull it a 2nd time (without working the slide)… And, THEN it would release.

Finally the owner came out (he is a gunsmith), and after he tried a few tries, the trigger was 100% dead… All of the time at that point…

So, I contacted the dealer I bought the gun from, and they emailed me a label. When they get the broken Shield Plus back, they will reship a new one.

I don’t remember on what forum I saw it, but in the last 2 weeks - I swear I read someone else with the same problem on a new Shield. They sent it back to S&W, and then it came back working fine afterwards…

This sucks.

2

Just like anything else made by man no matter what brand name is on it, there will always be some things that are defective right out of the box or off the showroom floor. Nothing new.

3

S&W quality may be not up to par, recent recall on their shotguns as well. With S&W, I stay with their revolvers.

4

I’ve always said when you buy quality gear, you decrease the chance there will be a problem. But nobody is 100% , 100% of the time. It’s what they do after the fact that really counts. The great ones, make it great. I would have shipped to S&W, but either way they are fixing it and yes it sucks. But in the end you should be good.

PB

5

I don’t get what the problem was with the store. I mean who cares? My store doesn’t care what or why…did you say it’s broken? Box it up, ship it back and let the manufacturer worry about it!

Also, if it’s new just contact the manufacturer. I had the same problem with a brand new Sig 365xl last summer. Called sig and sent it out on Friday of the July 4th weekend. They had it back to me on Tuesday

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6

Yea, it does suck. But, I hear what you are saying… Every brand does occasionally make a lemon…

I’ve owned 3 digits worth of handguns over the years… And, I’ve only had to send in something like 4 or 5 guns back immediately… Usually after the 1st range trip… Although, I did have a Springfield 1911 that had to go back after I got home, because the reverse plug for the guiderod wouldn’t come out of the gun… So, I could never disassemble it.

But, with all the various transfers I’ve done, this was the 1st time I ever left the FFL without the gun, and had it sent back immediately.

The problem with the store was that they were insinuating I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. They are making me out to be the nube, when 1 of these guys had the nerve to tell me the striker was going off, despite NO sound. And, when I showed them that 1 pull did nothing, I release the trigger and when I try again, the striker goes off that time… And I NEVER moved the slide… I’m being told this is normal…

Those guys shouldn’t be working in a gun shop. Wow.

As for contacting the manufacturer? Yea, I could do that. And, they may or may not make me pay for shipping. But why walk out the store and take a broken gun home at all. Then, it will be a while before I rebuild my confidence in it, when I get it back. No, it’s much easier to have it shipped back to the vendor and they will replace it. Luckily, the online vendor was super easy to deal with. They answered immediately, and I had a label in my email to within 5 minutes of the call (I was still on the line when it came in). Doing it this way will likely result in it being done much sooner than sending it back to S&W too.

7

Do you have to rebuild confidence with your car after something is fixed?

Can’t speak for SW but the few guns I’ve had to send back from SIG, Glock (way out of warranty), ParaOrd have all been free shipping

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8

Sending it to the dealer will be the fastest. SW has been quoting months for returns. OP, if you ever need to “test” one without firing to simply see if the fp or striker are releasing, use a pencil or plain Bic pen. Of course they will hurt you so be careful.(was that too soon?)

9

Well, would you buy a car you knew wouldn’t start before you left with it, and then get it fixed right after - instead of getting a new car? Of course you wouldn’t.

And, if you did - as you drove off the lot with it that first time, wouldn’t you hope it’s all fixed now?

No, it makes much more sense to have it swapped out by the dealer.

10

Thanks for the advice. And yea, I figured this would be the fastest option… And the online dealer was super easy to deal with

11

Actually I had that happen. Fuel pump went on the lot. I liked the car and the pump was replaced with a new one. Sometimes it happens.

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12

Well, that ain’t me. You do you.

I’ll make my own decisions. And, choosing to have the gun replaced by the dealer was the smartest choice.

13

Op, not sure why you started this thread, dont think you’re getting the response you were looking for.

14

Well, I got my replacement in yesterday. And, this one works fine.

I still say, why accept a defective gun from an online vendor - when the vendor is willing to do an exchange? It was much faster than dealing with S&W repairing it too.

I disagree with the thought process of some here…

15

Glad your replacement went smoothly and good luck with the new pistol. I only have two, a 2.0 and a Plus. In terms of quality, they are both spot on. Hopefully no quality issues at S&W.

16

Lemons happen and I’ve the misfortune to get a few.

  1. HK USP 45c, mag would not seat fully loaded from time to time. Two trips to HK couldn’t fix it.
  2. Not one but two Steyr M series pistols, a M40 and a M9, failure to extract with any ammo.
  3. Armalite 9mm pistol, failure to extract, sent back to Armalite who hired a chimpanzee to dremel… everything. Which really isn’t fair to chimpanzees. Sent back and replaced by a new pistol that I promptly sold. A CS rep admitted to me that Armalite didn’t know anything about pistols.