Shield Arms S15 Gen2 Issues and Resolution with my Glock 43X (Left Handed Shooter)
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- čas přidán 15. 04. 2022
- I was happy that Shield Arms finally released a left handed version of their S15 MAGAZINE. Unfortunately it did not work for me out of the box. I wasn't willing to settle for inferior performance to the stock setup.
After some frustration and great customer service by Shield Arms I was able to get this setup to work reliably that I'd be willing to use it as my EDC. I had to upgrade to the premium mag catch but that helped fixed the problem as well as adding the Shield Arms Maxwell.
#shieldarms #s15 #glock43x #edc
My resolution was to go back to a Glock OEM mag release and Glock OEM mags. No more problems.
I unfortunately have had nothing but problems from my three s15 magazines. G48 and G43 slide on a factory 43x frame both produce jams almost every round. The bullet goes nose up and fails to chamber rather than feed properly. I am using their mag catch and even sent them in to be checked. Told no problem with the mags and that because S15's seat further back they show issues with other components. I went through my large bin of parts and swapped everything out with multiple OEM upper parts kits and the failures still occur with every round. I put the OEM mag catch in with OEM mags, zero malfunctions. I wanted these mags to work so bad and tried everything I could short of paying someone else to do a second run through with two slides and multiple sets of parts, which I am just not willing to do as they should work just like my factory mags do. I know first hand these mags can do nothing but produce failures for some when OEM mags work flawless. Everyone will have a different go of it but in my case I'll be sticking with factory only so I know it will work when needed. Bummed to be out $150 for a mag catch and 3ags that just don't work. Past return window and Shield Arms told me to take my gun to a gunsmith to get it working properly.....yeah or switch to OEM mags and catch and have no issues and not spend more🤣
There are so many issues with those mags… I’m not sure if I should thrust my life on it.
This is my experience and a couple of friends with these DA mags, I purchased 3 SA15 & a 15+5 as did a couple of friends. We all had G43X & G48. We all had issues with them like not locking the slide after the last round, jamming, & type one malfunction. Contacted SA, there CS dept very polite & professional, they ask us to return all mags and the SA mag catch for inspection. They came back with I had a gen 1 so they replaced all mag spring’s with the gen 2 spring. Still had the same issues, returned everything back upon their request & they now blamed my 3rd party slide lock lever from the Glock store, so I gave SA the benefit of the doubt and removed the 3rd party slide lock lever & reinstalled the OEM that came with the pistol, we all still had the same issues, I requested to return all mags and get a refund and no luck. These are very expensive mags & mag catch, so buyer beware. My advice, don’t buy them and don’t change any of your pistol internal parts for 3rd party parts. Your life will depend on it. IMHO, these mags are junk!
Watch this video before you buy these mags. czcams.com/video/6HuEk7SG1A4/video.html&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ
And these one too. czcams.com/video/9o2hW4psEz0/video.html&feature=share&si=ELPmzJkDCLju2KnD5oyZMQ
Same issues easy fix if you run 20 round s15 take apart a p mag a use it’s spring works 100 percent of the time with any type of ammo I’ve tested this week at a time it fixed my issue 100
That's what we like to call common sense, not worth rolling the dice.
Had the same issues...i sanded down the magazines where it was rubbing and it helped a little. Swapped the catch and helped more. My OEM mags got stuck with the premium catch but work OK with the older steel catch. But, agree, dang frustrating.
ran 500 rds through shield arms mags no issues yet for glock 43x i will keep training with it until it fails and if those mags fail i will go back to stock mags from glock
Thanks for sharing. I'm about to get my G43x MOS and am planning to get S15 mags but I thought of delaying the upgrades and test fire first the gun with the original mags.
Break it in first. Around 250 rounds thru a 43x/48 the action smooths up real nice. Seek somebody that has the current gen2 S15.
From what I’m seeing. Some Glocks have no issue and others do.
I’ve had some problems in three different g43x/48 with S15 mags.
They all run run fine with the Glock mags.
I’m fixing to send a dozen mags back to shield.
I haven’t given up on the S15s yet but may modify my stock mags with +2 kits.
-Good luck
Shame so many people are having issues with the Shield mags. I did at first too. I installed the premium mag release and had issues with the shield mags ejecting and the glock mags didn't work at all, so i put the glock release back in to see the difference. The shield mags didn't work for crap. I was close to giving up but I got an email from Hyve that they were having a sale so I ordered on of their mag releases. It works great with both shield and glock mags. About 400 rounds through it and no issues at all. Just a thought if anyone is getting frustrated, this is how I lucked into mine working out.
Also NDZ mag release is working great both OEM and S15
which mag release from hyve, the sell one for steel mags and another for OEM mags...
Thanks for the clarity
Just want to tell you that your 43x looks amazing, what are the octagon’s on the lower? It just sets the look off and the swamp fox seems a perfect fit. Thanks for the info and again that is one of the best looking 43x’s I have seen. I just picked my factory one up and my s15 kit is supposed to be here tomorrow, maybe in time mine will look that good
Thank you for the kind words. The grips are from Handleitgrips. I use to have the talon grips on there but I liked the look of this style. It doesn’t have the same grip and comfort as other grips but it does look damn cool and grips just fine. As long as you don’t have super sweaty palms this will be fine for anyone. Good luck on your 43X build!
www.handleitgrips.com/product-page/honeycomb-vinyl-style-gun-grip-wrap-gun-parts-kit
I had the same thing happen with the Glock mags. If you shave down the polymer just a bit on the stock mag right above the notch in the mag they will run flawless.
I'll keep the OEM mags for defensive purposes.
I’m a lefty as well and in recently installed that shield arms 15rd mag and with the metal mag release but every time i got to put one in the head the slide gets stuck
ALWAYS ALWAYS carry a spare magazine! The magazine is the one thing that is most likely to fail so having a spare mag is vital!
100%!!
If it’s gonna choke the odds are high it’s magazine related.
That mag catch issue happens to me with the OEM mags and mag catch. I always just slam the magazine in but now it might be because there is a lack of a curve on the mag catch as you described. That might be something that the Shield Arms mag catch does better than the OEM version.
Use NDZ mag release. They are working both OEM and S15
I bought 2x S15 Gen 2 mags for my 43x MOS straight from their website alongside their recommended steel magazine catch. About 500rds in on both, so far, no FTF. Maybe the defective batches are still being sold via third party vendors?
It does kind of suck that there is such inconsistent experience with the S15 mags. Shield Arms sort of blames it on the tolerances for Glocks. Using the Magwell and premium catch ultimately made the difference for me to keep the setup and run it. I'm pretty happy with it so far.
I have a G48 and a G43X, run S2 Shield mags in both. Over 8000 rounds in 8 mags and no issues
Left handed shooter myself. I keep mag catch set up for a right hand shooter. Had 4 shield arms mags and they all had issues. Sent them in and were replaced with Gen 2 mags under warranty and they won’t pick up the first round. Sent pics and videos to shield arms and even sent them my fix, which was tape on the back of the mag to push it forward. Now they claim all mags are in spec and it’s my gun. I tried these mags in multiple 43x and 48’s and same issue. I now run the stock 10 round mags.
I had a similar issue. The magwell fixed the problem because it forced the magazine to sit a specific way that wouldn’t allow the mag to tilt forward. I don’t blame you for going back to the stock mag setup. I was almost there.
I have issues with them in 2 different pistols. My issues are that the last round hold open often doesn't work & they randomly drop down (mag catch disengages) so they don't feed. Just sent them back to Shield Arms and they said they "are within specs and work in our pistols". Seems that most have no issues, but about 20% do have problems-many that can't be resolved. Mine are Gen 2 and using the gen 2 Shield Arms mag release.
Having similar issues in 3 different glocks.
Gen2 S15 and their gen2 mag release.
No hold back empty. Fail to strip the last round. I own 15 of those mags. Some work pretty decent and randomly throw a no lock back. The others fail to lock on regular basis and often fail to strip that last round.
I have a sheild arms magwell on my 43x but on my 48mos i put a katana v2 its supper sick .
Got used to having my mag release under my trigger finger shooting IPSC in Germany. I can drop a mag without shifting my grip. Wouldn't change for the world.
Sorry it’s a hexagon pattern, it looks amazing
I had three mags they claimed were out of spec, which they replaced, but why don't they just do QC in the first place?? Glock mags are good to go out of the package, but I feel like I'm doing shield arms QC for them. I don't trust thier products.
I am giving props to Shield Arms because they ARE trying to make good mags.
Never had a issue
U still run these? 5 mags in and they all fail to feed after a few rounds
Good information that I hadn’t seen yet. I was unaware that the Glock OEM magazines would get jammed with the premium steel mag catch. I think shield arms is doing their best to make the S 15‘s 100% reliable for most 43x’s and 48’s. They are probably doing some internal tweaks that are not advertising. Overall I think the reliability of these will improve and reported failures will become less and less.
Definitely don’t mix polymer magazines and metal catches and vice versa regardless of setup. It may work for a short but but in time it will wear out. For my setup it didn’t even work at all.
@@pewpewjitsu7299 yeah. I had the standard plastic catch and in when I got the first S15s. The catch failed at 200 rounds, far earlier than expected. It may be important to note that the standard steel catch (not the premium) will work reliably with the OEM magazines in the event that you need to limit to 10 rounds based on local ordinances. The key to that is to be extremely gentle while inserting and removing the magazines. Also shooting with the OEM magazines and steel catch needs to be very gentle, test shooting only for reliability. It is apparent that if you are gentle and easy on the OEM mags they will last far longer with that metal catch should you need that configuration than the plastic catch will when using as S15’s.
I've been using 1 oem mag on the metal catch trying to break it/make it fail. Im about 200 through and no issue besides some chewing on the indents where it catches. Also in not sure what the problem is, I haven't had one hand up, they eject every time, even if they don't fly out the bottom when loaded. They did drop free
@@pewpewjitsu7299 I’ve run my stock Glock magazines with the steel shield mag release. No problem.
Different generations of glock factory mags had bare metal in the mag catch area riding on the polymer mag release.
Some those mags had the bare metal on both sides of the mag.
I had numerous FTF issues and I sent SA a video of my 48mos having FTF issues. All they did was tell me the problem was something else. They are also refusing to give me back a refund.
Same
The 43X and 48 are known to need much more break-in than bigger models. Maybe Shield is catching some of this flak.
My 43X had many FTE untill 700 rounds in stock form, mags and all. If I had started out with Shield mags, I would have most likely blamed them for the FTE.
My S15s wouldn’t stay in the gun after a few mags worth of ammo even with the shield arms mag catch
I noticed that sometimes the follower didn't line with the pin in the gun and this caused problems of the S15 ejecting and some cases inserting.
Isn't the "Standard" mag catch reversable just like the OEM?
It is reversible, but it has a tendency to snag the magazine. This is more prone for left handed shooters since they are inserting the mag with the right hand.
are you trying to say Mag release every time your say mag "catch"?
Would you be willing to sell your stock Glock magazines? Good video and I’m glad you got everything worked out.
Thank you! I'm going to keep the stock magazines and mag catch so if i ever decide to sell this gun i can put it back to stock configuration.
@@pewpewjitsu7299 We both know you ain’t selling that one. LOL
I purchased their modified Glock 48 with the S15 mags and having malfunction issues on and off. At first I thought I had bad ammo, but now I know it’s related to their mags. Seen other videos on CZcams recently with the same issues. I’m right handed and still issues .
Oh wow so the magwell can add to reliability with the s15 mags
How much did the Mac will cost and how much does the premium manganese cost laugh out loud
50 Round? 0:56.
This video gives me anxiety
The million dollar question is WHY Glock didn't made them 15 round capable to begin with? I can bet they thought it was not a good idea, heck they had to knew the mega success it would be, g19 killer, p365x killer, I want to trust shield arms but so many videos make me doubt, I want 15 rounds but I want more reliability :/
Glock is an advocate for polymer mags, I don't think they've ever made a metal mag a day in their life, I think they do need to start making their mags metal but old habits die hard
@@shadowcastyt I see, thanks! But can't help to have my reserves about thos S15 mags based on videos on youtube that discredits them, would rock to have 15 rnds tho.
Why didn’t they make them hold 15 rounds? Uh…see this video and countless others for the answer!
@@AggiePhil now after watching many videos my conclusion is it was because the glock magazine is made with two layers one plastic and a metal one, shield arms removed the plastic one so just metal gives more space, guess glock don't want to do that and they have their reasons for not doing so.
All of these complaints are before trying to shoot. And he sounds really dejected. How sad will he be when he goes to shoot and it fails to feed after every shot?
It would have ran properly right out of the box. No aftermarket magazines on a concealed carry handgun
Guns, Jiu Jitsu, & Freedom. You sound like someone I’d want on my team. Sorry to hear of all your troubles (e.g. lots of back & forth with shield arms, them telling you one thing then saying another, deep gouges in your mag, getting a mag stuck, no longer able to use real Glock mags, seating problems, engagement issues, etcetera, etcetera).
But you threw me off after reporting all that & then stating shield is great & is high quality. I’m a gun/Jits/Freedom dude as well, but I’m also in Manufacturing/Engineering as a profession. And we call your experience with these products a failure.
BTW, that “clip” is called the slide stop release. Upon firing the last round, the weapon should lock back in the loading state with the slide fully opened... and that’s another problem s15 mags have. For many people, the gun won’t lock back like it should.
Anyways, I’m glad you’ve found happiness in your experiences there. Your patience & tolerance is 2nd to none.
Thank you joe! I always appreciated people who are into jitz 2A life. I’m finding there is a large amount of us. Shield arms customer service is up there. They have been challenged creating a product to work that the original design wasn’t meant for. Kudos for trying and I hope their Gen 3 will get better performance and reviews.
I just competed at the Pans last month. I’m gonna make a review video of my match and post it soon. Ossss!
@@pewpewjitsu7299 bro that’s awesome 🤙 I look forward to watching that! OSSS!
If it was me, keep the 43x mos for fun. Go buy a stock Glock 42 or 43. Carry one of those if you have a problem with the Glock 26/27. It’s important to keep a Glock in its factory configuration. Aside from sights. People choose Glock to begin with for there reliability, I wouldn’t bet my life on shield arms. I think the g26 is overlooked too often in my opinion. Also for a ccw I wouldn’t use a red dot.
Can u do a parts/ build list for the 43x
I am working on putting together a review and build info video. Will post in the next week or two.
Just posted a build list video. Check my page for new video.
No Jams?
I bought the 43x 3 years ago then bought 2 gen 1 shield mags and steel mag release. I've ran over 2000rnds of all different flavors through it with no jamming, failure to feed or stovepipe. I have also ran my defense loads..speer gold dot 147gr hp without a flaw.
I haven't in the past 500 rounds. The only jams I got was when I first got the magazines. For some reason there was a lot of play forward and backward and I dont know if this contributed to the jam or not. Since I put the magwell on the magazine sits flush and sturdy and I've had zero issues since then. For practice rounds I use CCI Blazer Brass 115g FMJ. I haven't used any steel or non brass rounds. It has taken all my defensive rounds without any issue. I use between Federal Hydrashok 124g and Hornady Critical Duty 135g.
All of these headaches to get only 5 more rounds? Stay stock, and practice reloads. I rather have 10 rounds I know will cycle, versus 15 that are unsure.
Why even mess with these mags when they have mixed reliability? Mags are the weakest part of the whole gun.
I hate to say it ,but it seems like Sheild Arms is Beta testing their customers. I'll wait till gen 3 or 4 comes out
If you want/need 15 rounds in a sub compact/micro reliably a G26 with G19 mags is the answer not the dumpster fire that is the S15 mag.
Are you eating crackers while you made this video? It sounds like you're chewing every so often.
haha... no. I'm an amateur when it comes to filming these videos so I make stupid unnecessary noises with my mouth and throat. plus I had a cold when I shot this so a ton of sniffling.
Slide stop, ejector... it's all the same. You have no idea what you've talking about. Get real, get trained, get ready for the fight. Fancy guns won't win fights. Sorry but it's true.
They are horrible mags 3 friends own 15 mags between us some 20 rounders or 15. We have put several hundred rounds through these mags between us. We have shield arms mag release, magwell and I'm warning people do not trust your life if u edc the gun using there mags. Horrible horrible company. Spring issues too. Rounds will feed then miss fire and eject magazine rounds loose won't push up buy new springs although these where new and same shit.