[SmithandSour]

what's up everyone, just got the 9 shield plus and the guide rod feels like dog crap. It's makes a super grindy feeling almost like spring is rubbing when i rack it. Put 150 rounds through it yesterday and no change, i know that's not enough for a good break in but still it's annoying and shouldn't be like that. I swapped the shield plus guide rod with my shield 1.0 and it does the same in the 1.0. The 1.0 guide rod doesn't rub or anything in the Plus. I want to get a new guide rod , is the guide rod backwards compatible with the older shields ? say if i wanted to get the stainless steel guide rod from Smith & Wesson® Shield 9mm & 40 cal Guide Rod by Stainless Steel Guide Rods • Stainless Steel Guide Rods. Would it be good to go? thx. I've also emailed SW about the issue but would rather just snag a new guide rod instead of waiting for the email response

 

[Rangerman]

If it doesn't effect the function of the gun what difference does it make? If it cycles reliably when shooting that is the only thing that is important. Any Shield I have owned have stiff recoil springs. They relax some after 500 to 1000 rounds, but they are still stiff compared to my Glocks. I always find it interesting that folks buy a new pistol then see what they can find wrong with it. If it runs it should be fine.

 

[mrerick]

Several years ago, I bought a police surplus 4566 (third generation) S&W pistol.

It had a plastic guide rod, and was rough - very similar to the symptoms you described.

I found out that there was a metal replacement (it's lightweight, so probably an alloy) and by changing to that it became an excellent smooth cycling handgun.

i had tried a couple of things to smooth out the plastic one, but they didn't work. The replacement (I bought an extra at the time "just in case" I'd need it) was the way to go.

The Shield could be something different due to the increased complexity of these compact pistol recoil designs. S&W advice would be recommended.

 

[Rangerman]

Shield guide Rods are stainless steel from the factory.

 

[GREGW]

I bought a Plus about 2 months ago and love it. So did my wife....so we picked one up for her last weekend. Both guns are identical with no external safety or any modifications. My gun operates flawlessly and has a smooth feel when racking the slide and it has from new. Her new Plus definitely has a sticking point about half way when racking the slide. I noticed this at the gun shop and mentioned it and was told it will "loosen" up after some use. (This is where I should have had him bring me another gun, but didn't) Anyway, after 150 rounds the slide still has a sticking, dragging feel. I disassembled and tried to find the point where it drags without the guiderod/spring and can't pinpoint it, but it does drag with the spring removed. I will try interchanging slides and springs with my gun to figure it out. Probably wouldn't have noticed it if I didn't have a duplicate gun to compare to, but it does make it more slightly more difficult to rack than it should be.

 

[SmithandSour]

If it doesn't effect the function of the gun what difference does it make? If it cycles reliably when shooting that is the only thing that is important. Any Shield I have owned have stiff recoil springs. They relax some after 500 to 1000 rounds, but they are still stiff compared to my Glocks. I always find it interesting that folks buy a new pistol then see what they can find wrong with it. If it runs it should be fine.

well the slide ended up getting stuck to the frame , slide stop broke and guide rod was getting beat up, all after 150 ish rounds .So i warrantied it, smith fixed it , I got rid of it . Nice try at a gotcha, buddy . I’ll be sticking to Glock , HK and other non budget fire arms . Have a wonderful day

 

[mrmike7189]

All i can say is clean it first, check for function, add OIL . shoot it. The break in period is probably 100-500 rounds.
Some people expect perfection out of the box and that is usually not the case...even with glocks& hk's