I'm an old guy with arthritis and a thing for small, concealable handguns. I recently came across a device, the Handi-Racker, that's really been a help for me. I have 2, a medium and a large. They make racking the slides on my small pistols (a Shield, 3 baby Glocks, Springfield Armory XDsub and XDs, a Ruger LC9, and a Kimber Ultracarry II) much easier for me.

Before finding the Handi-Racker I used a loop of parachute cord that I'd place just below the barrel at the muzzle and extend to the rear of the pistols. It gave me much more leverage to work the slides on these pistols.

 

I found this article to be invaluable in helping me use my shield better
How To Rack Your Handgun Slide Like A Boss

 

Shield tool KIt!

I have found the three things very helpfull
from left to right, Handi-Racker, LaserMax, and UpLULA Magazine loadder.

 

CLEAN AND LUBE YOUR NEW GUN



I had the same problem- not only was the slide really hard to pull back but the mag springs were so stiff I almost couldn't load them.
However, cleaning and lubing the gun with BreakFree made a big difference. Yes I cleaned and lubed the brand new gun right out of the box. I was a little surprised at how dirty it was, actually, but even more surprised at what a big difference it made. The slide and mags are still "harder" than the ones on my LC9 but they loosened up a lot just from being cleaned and lubed.
One note of caution: be sure to push the sear lever down as the manual instructs, and make sure it stays down because if you accidentally push it up while you're cleaning and then try to remount the slide, you'll be stuck. The slide won't go back all the way but you won't be able to slide it back off either! Talk about stiff springs- if this happens you'll need to push the slide all the way to the rear and hold it there while someone else (my poor wife in my case) will have to locate that little lever and push it back down with a tiny screwdriver or something. It took every ounce of muscle I had to hold that slide open so she could do that. Learn from my mistake! If you're used to an LC9 or other gun that doesn't have that little lever you'll need to pay attention and retrain yourself a little.

 

One note of caution: be sure to push the sear lever down as the manual instructs, and make sure it stays down because if you accidentally push it up while you're cleaning and then try to remount the slide, you'll be stuck. The slide won't go back all the way but you won't be able to slide it back off either! Talk about stiff springs- if this happens you'll need to push the slide all the way to the rear and hold it there while someone else (my poor wife in my case) will have to locate that little lever and push it back down with a tiny screwdriver or something. It took every ounce of muscle I had to hold that slide open so she could do that. Learn from my mistake! If you're used to an LC9 or other gun that doesn't have that little lever you'll need to pay attention and retrain yourself a little.

There is another way to get out of this jam too. Assuming you are right handed...move the shield to your left hand, and with your right hand grab the serrations and rack the slide fully back. While the slide is fully open you can use your LEFT index finger to close the take down lever. Close the slide and Bobs your uncle.

 

Hard to pull slide

Between my wife and I we have four shields. The newest is a 9 w/o thumb safety. It is noticeably harder to pull shied back.
S&W states its the same spring as the older ones, in fact its the same part number for .40 or 9x19

This one has over 1100 rds and did ease up a bit or I am just getting stronger.
Its still not as easy to pull back as the older .40 which is @1000rds.

 

I have to use gloves on my old hands when I go to the range which helps when pulling the slide back and shooting 100 or more rounds.

 

I took my Shield apart to take a photo of the recoil spring to answer a question on the board, when I went to put it back together I had a heck of a time getting the slide far enough back to get the slide locked so I could turn the takedown lever, I finally ended up using gloves to do that, get a little bit better grip on the slide, it sucks getting old!

 

I bought a NIB Shield 9mm yesterday (late Birthday gift) and the one i was trying in the store was very stiff and hard to rack. I haven't tried mines yet so I will post here once I try my gun.

 

I brought home an M&P40 Shield tonight and it is easier to rack than my Kel-Tec PF-9, so I still don't what all the fuss is about.

On a different note, loading the last round into the mags is difficult without using a loader. uch:

 

I agree about how hard it is to press rounds into the S&W mags. My Ruger LC9 was much easier. They do loosen up though, with use. And you could try a little squirt of dry lube (graphite powder) in the mags when they're new. It does help but of course you'll have black fingers from it for a couple of shooting sessions.

 

If you're having trouble racking the Shield, try the Handi-racker. It fits over the slide and you push it against a hard surface like a wall. I find it very helpful. I've put over 100 rounds through it and if didn't FEEL like it became easier to rack it.

 

Maybe you need to consider a revolver.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

no problem at all with my 9
had it two weeks now. my wife can rack it

 

Very common on this gun I have very strong hands so not for me.But i could see were it could be a problem

 

Hold slide and push gun forward.:clap:

 

Not everyone has been shown how to do that... :X

 

My 40 shield was the stiffest slide I had ever encountered when I got it new. (so is the magazines) but after shooting it a couple of times and cleaning and oiling it seems to be getting better.

 

After racking the slide 6-8 times in rapist succession last night and this morning everything is nice and smooth now. Racking the slide, locking the slide, and the slingshot method is a piece of cake.

Now to shoot the gun and break in the trigger and I'll be set.

 

After racking the slide 6-8 times in rapist succession last night and this morning everything is nice and smooth now.

I'm not even going to ask! But I wouldn't admit to it on an open forum! :lol::lol:

 

Stiff Slide

I have put about 2000 rounds through my M&P shield and it has not got any easier to pull back. I am thinking about giving S&W a call to see what they can do. Les

 

:

I have put about 2000 rounds through my M&P shield and it has not got any easier to pull back. I am thinking about giving S&W a call to see what they can do. Les

Small gun in 9mm with much less mass in the slide compared to a compact or service sized pistol of the same caliber, plus a shorter length of slide travel to “get everything done in” requires a robust recoil assembly for proper function.

Physics is physics...

 

I also have one of those sfiff (understatement ) slide stops on my 9mm 2.0 Sheild . Thought I heard somewhere a person could get a slide stop for the early Sheild, and make it work properly in the 2.0 . Anyone else hear this ? Let us know if you have . Please ? Thanks .

 

I have a PC Shield .40 and a 2.0 .45. Neither of them are particularly hard to rack.

 

Lotssa dust on this thread. Today there exist the S&W EZ and the Walther CCP. Even my wife can rack the slide on an EZ.

 

I have the 9mm and 40cal. Both are extremely hard to pull back. My mom and sister can't budge them.

 

Both of my Gen 1 9mm have fired over a thousand rounds and they is still quite difficult to rack. I have other 9mm small autos that only require half the effort.

 

If they only required the normal effort to rack, S&W would have never developed the EZ.

 

You need to give the new M&P Shield EZ a try! The action is FAR easier to open. My question now becomes, can I substitute the EZ spring for my M&P Shield 2.0 spring to make it easier to rack? My wife finds it almost impossible to rack, and as senior, it's not that easy for me. A softer spring would make a world of difference!!

 

Welcome to the forum. We have a section for new member introductions where you can tell us about yourself, your reasons for joining the forum, what you like or dislike about your M&Ps, etc. Might help someone give you better advice/ideas if you have problems in the future.

They appear to be totally different pieces (spring and guide that make up the recoil spring assembly).

The EZ is designed to use a lighter recoil spring (as you mentioned) by allowing the internal hammer/hammer spring, friction, etc. to soak up some of the force the slide carries rearward as it extracts and ejects the empty case. The Shield needs that heavier recoil spring to help slow the slide down and not damage the frame/other parts if the slide comes rearward to fast with too much force.

You've got a couple 9MM options. The 9MM EZ and the Equalizer in 9MM. Both have the internal hammer/hammer spring set up and the lighter recoil springs. Both have the grip safeties. Both use a different magazine than the Shield EZ models. You can get the Equalizer in an optics ready model and magazines of 10, 13 and 15 rounds. It also comes with a very nice magazine loader in the box as part of the package. After shooting my wife's Equalizer I have no issues with it's accuracy. The grip safety is taking some getting used to but that would be true on any of the models using a grip safety.