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Shield EZ 9mm Feeding issue?

38K views 100 replies 32 participants last post by  ZIggidy 
#1 ·
Any issues with 9mm Shield EZ feeding? Firing 1st shot, shell ejects,
slide stops 1/4 way closed jamming round 2 partially out of magazine.
Once cleared, rest of load feeds fine. Same thing happened three times.
I will shoot it some more and see if it clears up.
Have a .380 e.z. that performs flawlessly
 
#4 ·
Any updates on this? I'm having the same issues with the 9mm EZ... After 3 brands of FMJ rounds 300+ shots = 30+ Failures to Feed... Not happy! Can feel and see slow slide return on many of the chambered rounds that didn't jam! Same Ammo works fine in my shield 1.0
 
#79 ·
As a range safety officer we are seeing a lot of this. The wife had the same issues. 98% of the problem is a poor grip of the gun and grip safety. I was able to see this first hand and FIX the problem, also with several customers both male and female. it could be life threatening in a self defense situation under stress. Practice makes perfect, let muscle memory take hold, get a good purchase on the guns grip and problem corrected.

It’s a great gun, especially for those having strength issues, just a matter of training, IMO. Hope this helps some of you out there.
 
#5 ·
Just bought New Shield 9mm (NOT the EZ) and fired 50 rounds Blazer Brass FMJ. Constant mis-feeds. Very disappointed. Worse then the problem I experienced with my Bodyguard 380. The Bodyguard now after 500 rounds only mis-feed once with last 50 rounds but that once can get you killed. The reason I bought the 9mm Shield was because I didn't feel I could rely on the Bodyguard and all the videos I watched raved about the Shield 9mm reliability. So much for believing these videos. So far this Shield is starting off worse then the Bodyguard 380 ever did. I won't send it back to S&W yet until I've put 250 to 500 rounds through it and cleaned and inspected it more.
 
#6 ·
If it happens on the first couple rounds in the mag, the weaker recoil spring of the EZ is having to overcome the tension of the mag spring when the mag is loaded. After a round or two is fired, the rounds strip off the mag easier, less tension than when the mag is full.

That's the price of having an easy to rack pistol, it's not going to cycle with the same authority as a Shield with it's stiff recoil spring.
 
#11 ·
I had that problem with a new Shield (not EZ). I’m not trouble shooting gun problems on a new gun; it has QA issues. I sent it in, they sent it back and said they replaced the extractor and polished the feed ramp. I had to call them to find out what they did. No problems after that. So apparently either the extractor was bad, or the installation was bad. And apparently the feed ramp wasn’t finished properly.

They didn’t have me send the magazines in, and they didn’t send me any back. I’ve watched many folks chase that magazine problem BS way too many times.

As you can see, some folks have problems, some do not. That’s a gun issue and it needs to go back and have them deal with it.

I think my round trip was around 12 days, if I remember correctly.

It appears the EZ’s are having a lot of problems. I thought the .380 just didn’t have the guts to run a gun that big; but it looks like the 9MM is having problems also. And that’s a shame for the people relying on these as self-defense guns.
 
#37 ·
Despite some that report no issues with the EZ, it seems there are many reporting issues.
Maybe the same people that have trouble racking a normal slide are limp wristing it ?
That along with a weaker recoil spring would compound the feeding problems.
I have heard the limp wristing excuse but in the case of my gun it is not just me having the same problem. My husband and son have also had it happen to them more than once. I think it's more of a mass producing issue. You're going to get issues. Mine is being looked at by s&w so I'm hopeful!
 
#16 ·
Had the exact same issue when my son was shooting the EZ9 , it didnt happen when I shot it. Limpwristing causes this type of malfunction. Another thing to consider is the length of the shell/bullet does vary from manufacturer to manufacturer , and heavier grain bullets can stick out farther than some others. My 147 gr. PDX1 ammo just barely clears the bottom lip of the feed ramp. Work your slide with an empty gun , look closely at how the barrel does not tip upward ( sending the ramp side down ) very far at all compared to many other guns , even the standard shield. The tilting is to aid in the shell travelling out of the mag and up the ramp. That very limited tilting combined with a slightly longer ammo can cause the bullet tip to hit or drag on the edge of the ramp and slow the momentum of the slide traveling forward. Figured this out while discussing it with the guy working at our local gun range. Seems this gun works just fine except that particular issue could make the gun picky about the particular ammo used.
 
#19 ·
Chris.praying
I purchased 2 M&P 9mm EZ guns 2 weeks ago.
i had a failure to feed problem with one.
called got a return shipping label .
Now I have the same problem with the other one.
We gave ran about 400 rounds of different Factory 115g ammo thru them. With 6 different magazines.(marked them after 1st problem)
i called and they are now sending a different shipping label for the 2nd one.
they said I would have to wait 6 weeks..
I just bought them 2 weeks ago. had I knew this, I would have never purchased them.
unbelievable.
 
#22 ·
I purchased my EZ9 thefirst of June. Took to range and had similiar issues. Was using 115 g Blazer Brass and 124g American eagle. Would fire one or two rounds and the slide would not go back into battery. Coulf slightly tap the rear of slide and it would move the round into the chamber. Tried again next day and same situation. Out of 50 rds probably had 15 hahang ups. Returned to S&W. They had it a month, replaced the barrel. Went to range, same issue with new barrel. Sent to S&W again, got it back last week. It looks like they replace everything in it this time. Took to range this week. There was a improvement. Shot around 150 rounds. Wasn't counting but still had probably a dozen plus hang ups. I think a earlier poster is correct about the loading ramp. The round had moved maybe 1/4 forward in the mag and it looked like the end of the bullet was wedged against lip of the ramp.
Don't know what to do at this point. Really like the pistol and got it for the easy slide and comfortable shooting. Don't know if ramp can be tweaked (don't like altering factory stuff) but I don't think I could carry for self defense and feel it would be reliable. Guess I may end up taking a loss and selling.
 
#23 ·
Took a closer look at the pistol this morning. I believe an earlier poster is correct about the upward angle of the barrel in relationship to the round being feed into the chamber. Loaded a mag with several rounds and eased the slide forward to pick up the round and chamber it. The tip of the bullet would actually wedge against ramp and not slide all the way in. Tap the slide slightly and it would chamber just as when I was firing the gun. Unfortunetly I think the firing hangups are caused by the angle of the barrel feed ramp and the weeker recoil spring. Seems like a lot of people have used Blazer Brass ammo in their EZ's and it has worked fine.Going to take the suggestion of loading mags and letting sit and not loading 8 rds when shooting to see if that helps. I really don't want to send back to S&W again since they pratically rebuilt the entire gun and it still have issues. My guess is using hotter ammo also might help????
 
#24 ·
@northwest Did you polish the feed ramp? It has become "almost automatic" for us to polish the feed ramps on our guns. A tiny bit of Flitz on a felt Dremel tip at medium rotating speed can work wonders.

The only feed ramps I don't polish right away are the few that have a black finish on them and look really smooth and shiny.

I got a brand new M&P .22 compact a week or so ago, and the feed ramp had a tiny burr along one side, outside edge. I could see it and feel it but hubby couldn't. It still needed to be smoothed out! She got polished before making her first range trip. She shoots very well with no bobbles or mis-anythings.
 
#25 ·
As I reported earlier in this thread, after several hundred rounds of various factory ammo without any malfunctions with my wife's EZ9. I was out with a friend today, shooting his M&P 9 and he brought some reloads made with blue bullets. a percentage of them would not chamber all the way and kept the slide from fully closing by about an eighth inch. Turns out the bullets were a couple of thousandths oversized. Check your ammo.
 
#26 · (Edited)
I do not own any reloads. All my ammo is brand name, popular loads. 115 ball ammo worked most of the time. Jump up to 124 and problems increase. Jump up to 147 and allot of problems surface. Self defense ammo is a nightmare.

The 9EZ is advertised as a self defense handgun. This is bogus advertising because SD ammo for many of us is a nightmare. I would not call this a SD handgun. It is a plinker at best. I spent hard earned money on a gun that is advertised as SD but cannot consistently shoot SD ammo. This is a problem.

No one should have to do any modification, polishing or twinking of a new gun. If the gun works well and one wishes to improve something, that is fine, but I should not have to do anything to a new gun. No different from buying a new car, appliance or anything else. It needs to work right out of the box or it gets returned for either a new gun or money back.

Why is S&W any different? I am out ammo (money) and time in trying to correct something that should not need correcting. S&W has had my gun for 7 weeks without a word. I owned it for 3.5 weeks.
 
#31 ·
Sorry to hear that Ziggidy. Very frustrating.

I have been polishing my feed ramp each time it has gone to the range since I got it back from S&W. They only replaced the barrel. I also very lightly lubed top of followers on mags and and little oil under the feed lips. Used Ballistol and wiped it off very well after applying. On, I believe, three range trips I have had only 1 stovepipe and 1 or 2 FTFs after shooting five mags on each trip. No issue with my 115g Hornady critical defense rounds. Not sure if what I did helped or just the additional shooting. Either way the EZ is now my backup and I have a new M&P 2.0 9mm Compact. 4 inch barrel.
 
#30 ·
Just a update. I polished the feed ramp as shootergranny suggested. Went to range Out of 48 rounds had 12 hangups. took another look at the repair orders I had recieved. First time sent in they replaced barrel.Second time looks like the only thing they did was range test it shooting more mags than before. I was wrong, they did not replace anything the second time around. I think it may be a magazine problem. Some folks have not had any issues with their EZ's. Looking at a loaded mag there is apprx 1/8 gap between the tip of the round to be loaded in chamber and the next round. When the slide moves forward to pickup #2 round it forces the tip of bullet down (instead of leaving at a upward angle) and the tip of bullet lodges against the loading ramp. Thats my opinion? I checked loaded mags of my original shield and Springfield Arms XDE. In both cases the #1 round is held firmly agains #2 round and remains at a upward angle for loading into chamber. Anyway thats my two cents on the subject. Have contacted S&W but don't know if I want to wait another 6 to 8 weeks for them to look at and send back in same condition.
 
#33 ·
I agree on the lube and springs Rick. I read someone did it and had luck. Also, someone roughed up the follower tops and had luck.

Kinda just swinging in the wind here with it.

If I can keep it to one FTF every 5 mags, I can live it. Since it is now a back up.

Maybe it will get better. I leave the mags loaded.
 
#34 ·
Another idea for feeding issues:

Someone somewhere suggested pulling on the magazine springs to lengthen them. I had hubby do that and he pull TOO FAR and I thought the springs were ruined, but they went back in the magazine OK. I have not shot that gun much since then, but when I did everything seemed to work OK. At that point in time.

Since most people agree that there is not enough tension on the springs, you could try pulling them to lengthen them somewhat and see if THAT helps. Also, "someone, somewhere" said S&W sent the new magazine springs and new followers and the new springs were noticeably longer than the old one. So that is another possible idea.
 
#35 ·
“Pulling” the springs to strengthen them is only a temporary condition, as the springs will soon return to their “set” length.

Any easy test to check mag springs is to remove the follower and spring, then put 2-3 rounds in the mag body. Replace the spring and follower, and go shoot it.

The rounds under the mag spring keep the spring compressed more. So if the pistol now functions reliably with that mag; you’ve solved the problem, and need stronger mag springs.
 
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