S&W Shield 9EZ shoots low

Be sure to bring you sandbags along in case of a deadly encounter, because You sighted in your pistol for that particular POI
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Shouldn't be too difficult to understand that some techniques used to troubleshoot at the range aren't intended for general use. Suggesting that someone shoot from a rest as part of a troubleshooting technique is really no different from suggesting that someone else shoot it to help troubleshoot an issue.
Everything shoots about 6” low at 10 yards
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That's a pretty significant sighting error. That would correspond to the sights being off by a tenth of an inch.

Just curious, what kind of groups are you getting at 10 yards?
 
Except that the POI for shooting off rests can be different than shooting off hand.
So although shooting off a rest might yield significantly smaller groups, and eliminate the shooters errors, the point of impact difference should also be investigated.
That was all I was pointing out.
 
If done right, there shouldn't be a significant difference. If the proper sandbag technique is used and the POI is significantly different, then the shooter has an issue that needs to be addressed.

The POIs should definitely be close enough to each other to tell if it is the shooter causing the groups to be 6" low on the target at 30' vs. the gun being the problem, for example.

Same situation as when another person shoots the handgun. There will be a difference in POI from person to person, but if the difference is significant then one or the other person, or maybe both, have some issues that need to be addressed.

Patrick Sweeney provided a thorough explanation of how to properly shoot a handgun from a rested position in the February/March 2020 issue of Handguns.

https://www.handgunsmag.com/editorial/handgun-accuracy-testing/374315
 
Before anyone replies it’s the way the shooter holds or fires the gun that causes that, Please be assured I’ve removed that as a possibility from the equation.
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OP already stated that he is not the problem, and that he shoot to POA with all his other guns.
 
That's virtually always the claim.

That's why I always ask for group sizes in cases like this. If a person is shooting 6" low and making 1" groups at 30', then I take it seriously. If a person is shooting 6" groups at 30' and they are 6" low, then there are other issues that need to be addressed. Even a really inaccurate handgun can make little bitty groups at 30 feet.

To be absolutely clear, I'm not calling anyone a liar. I do not for a second believe that the OP is attempting to mislead anyone. But different triggers can often result in a shooter having issues acclimatizing to a gun, and shooting low is probably the most common symptom of that kind of a problem.
 
Geez, guys... I was only asking if anyone else has the issue with a 9EZ.
I also have a 380 EZ and it hits to POA. Can anyone make a logical conclusion from that statement?
 
S&W Shield 9EZ shoots low

I think the sticking point for a number of people is that in order for this POI/POA most match to be solely due to sights your front sight would have to be 1/10” too tall. That’s a lot of material. 6” low at 10 yd is a big difference. I know you get that and it’s in part why you made this thread, it’s just more common for a shooter to be inducing an error than it is for a factory sight to be that off.

If this is a new pistol did you contact S&W in terms of a warranty repair? I know you talked to their customer service about alternate sight options, but this low at that distance if it is the pistol indicates a problem imo. Another option is using a pair of calipers to measure the front sight on your pistol and comparing to someone here or at a store if they accommodate you.


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I did contact S&W customer service. All they did is send me links to alternate sight providers. They offer no alternate sights for the EZ. No offer for a return authorization was made.
Other than this thing hitting low from POA, I have no complaints with the gun. It is truly easy to load/field strip & rack the slide.
I’ve been shooting handguns for over 40 years and have never had one shoot this far off. I suppose I could just use kentucky elevation and aim high if I know it shoots low. Or add a laser sight

Thanks for the reply.
 
You can always file down the front sight if it's not a night sight or a fiber-optic sight. A shorter front sight will make the gun shoot higher.

If it has 3 dot sights, you'll probably have to file enough off to cut into the dot, so you'll have 2 1/2 dot sights.

I have had one factory handgun with fixed sights that shot quite a bit low. However, in that case, it was a well-known problem with that gun/model and the factory admitted that they had messed up with the sights.
 
Okay, shot off bags, better groups but still shoots low. this ain't my first hand gun nor is it the first one that shot low. Happened with a Kimber 1911, Citadel 1911, 2 Ruger CMDs, a Beretta FS92. I filed the front on the 1911s, was able to get a taller rear sight for the 92. The sight on the EZ is not very tall plus it has a white dot, will file into the divot the dot is in. No way to shoot a small target when holing high, can't see the target. One way or another I'll repair it.

This seems to be a wide spread problem or people don't care......
 
Sorry I missed the 6” low part near the top.

Per calculations, remove 0.1 inches from the front sight. With a nice new fine toothed metal file, it will zoop off quick.

My past experience with Smith was their indifference.
Experiences with Ruger made me go out and buy another Ruger just out of gratitude, not that I needed another!
 
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Just to double check, went to rhe range today and shot at 10 yds with a sandbag rest. Still hits significantly low.
I notice that there are some performance center version of the EZ with tru glo green/red sights. These sights differ from the standard EZ factory white dots but am uncertain about sight height. My dad just purchased a 9 EZ and he also has a shoot low issue. When mine shoots low from a rest, it’s not me.
Think I’m going to replace the sights with green/red dots probably fiber optic.
 
Again, measure your sight height, from the top of the slide to the top of the sight.
Then go to the dawson chart and enter the distance you are shooting and the measurement of the error, and they can give you the correct height of the sight that you need.
 
A customer of mine had this exact issue. I ordered a Novak blank front sight and cut it down so POA=POI, then dimpled for a white dot, reblued the sight and put white paint in the dimple. Done.
 
Had a ported performance center Shield that shot low. Same front sight hight as the non ported gun. Of course it was going to shout low. A friend wanted it so I let him have it.
 
So I began to wonder why my 380 EZ hits at POA. Well, the 380EZ front sight is NOT dovetailed into the slide like the 9EZ. The 380 front sight is e-clipped into the slide. The 9 EZ is dovetailed onto the slide. On the 9ez, there is also a gap between the top of the slide and the bottom of the sight outside the dovetail. It’s only about a .013 gap from what I can tell with a feeler gauge.
 
ciwsguy said:
On the 9ez, there is also a gap between the top of the slide and the bottom of the sight outside the dovetail.
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That's not super unusual.

I think HighValleyRanch has a good idea. If you contact Dawson Precision they might have an idea.
 
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