Admin Edit-
Numerous times in the last few years, a new member has showed up with a catastrophic failure and has been engaged by one or more posters with statements questioning their veracity and/or just being downright insulting.
That is beneath the level of this board.

The new guy gets the benefit of the doubt.
If we err, we shall err on the side of courtesy.

If the story begins to look incredible or meant to be disruptive, report it and we'll handle it. Till then, extend common courtesy to the poster with a problem.
I don't recommend being the next guy that needs this admonition.

//////////////////////////////////////
the original post-

This 29 was new, and had less than 400 rounds through it. After the third round i noticed the barrel wasnt pointing the same way as the gun. When i was able to get the drum open, i saw the barrel and frame were cracked, as well as the barrel being blown out of the frame a bit. Glad it wasnt worse, no one was injured during this failure.

Shooting Winchester USA Ammunition 44 Remington Magnum 240 Grain Jacketed Soft Point

Attached Images

	20160827_225007.jpg (86.2 KB, 3206 views)
	20160827_224951.jpg (66.7 KB, 2964 views)
	20160827_165442.jpg (125.9 KB, 3112 views)
	20160827_165451.jpg (86.5 KB, 2925 views)

That sucks....call S&W and get a FedEx call tag to send it in.

Fingers crossed that they will replace it no questions asked.

__________________
On the Oak Savannah

What SA fireman said. AND, preserve the rest of the ammo, segregated from your other stuff, in case S&W claims it was an ammo problem.

__________________
de minimus non curat lex

I did save the rounds that were in the drum when it happened as well as the box they came in (and rest of the rounds in it), do you think they will want them? is it possible factory ammo could have done that?

If that's what you were shooting at the time the gun failed, then it probably did it. Were you shooting something else prior to the Remington factory loads? By the way, the proper name for the "drum" is cylinder. Since you were three rounds into the box of Remington's, the previous box of ammo may be the actual culprit. Factory loads? Reloads? Boutique ammo?

Factory ammo shouldn't cause a failure like that. But factory ammo can be defective. That's why it's important to keep it, the ammo box too, since it will have lot codes on it.

You should probably also contact Winchester, irregardless of what S&W says. If they have some bad ammo out there, they'll want to recall it.

I can see what looks like some powder flakes in the barrel. I wonder it matches what Winchester normally uses. Could be they got the wrong powder in their cases. Don't clean it off. It could be a big clue.

__________________
~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Thanks for all the advice. I have not and will not clean the gun or casings that were in the cylinder.

We were actually 9 rounds into that box when it happened. the previous box would have been the same, winchester .44 JSP. I have only ever shot the winchester .44 JSP, except for one box of HPs, that i believe was also winchester (i think that was my second box of ammo in that gun).

Did you buy the ammo at a "big box" store, or at a gun show?

__________________
~ S&W aficionado in training ~

so far it has all been from walmart, except for one box i bought at a gun show a couple weeks ago. i would have to check to see for sure, but i think that was the box we were shooting

I'd like to see some pics of the ammo from the box you were shooting, if in fact it was gun show ammo.

I think an ammo problem would blow the cylinder and top strap.Looks like a problem in the steel IMHO

will do as soon as i get home

Watching..

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

This may not mean much but, every ammo induced failure I've ever seen blew apart the cylinder and tweaked the top strap.

In 1976 I took out the top half of the cylinder and top strap on a 29. TOTALLY MY FAULT!!!! As I look at this ,I'm thinking you are very lucky. I only wonder if it could have been much worse if the barrel had not given up and relieved some of the pressure by moving forward. This might actually be a time it was good the barrel was not pinned?

i am super thankful no one lost a hand or eye or something. no one got hurt at all

Question not asked so far and I suspect strongly the answer is no but is there a bullet stuck in the barrel?

And if the barrel is clear, can you see any obstructions or abnormality using a bore light or something similar?

haha yes, i did (safely) check to see if there was a stuck round in the barrel, and it is clear. i didnt check to see if there were any burrs, spurs, or other metal defects in there since there is so much debris in it and i didnt want to clean it out. i can say that 9 rounds earlier when i cleaned it, the barrel was clean as a whistle

Sounds to me like a flaw in the metal of the frame. All the blowups I've seen blew off the top half of the cylinder and bent or tore up the topstrap.

I agree. That gun is supposed to be a tank. I would bet some kind of defect causing failure like that.

Wow, bummer. Did any of the rounds "feel" different? My guess is ammo had nothing to do with it and it was a manufacturing defect. I hope S&W sees it that way and you get a new gun. It may just be light reflecting off unburned powder but what is the yellow stuff that looks like corn meal?

The Model 29 is a pretty stout gun, but even the best gun manufacturers drop a t**d now and then.

nothing seemed different as far as i could tell, i even filmed one of the rounds before that happened, and it looked pretty normal.
the yellow flecks look the same in person as in the pictures.

The only similar -- in fact, identical -- failure I have ever seen was the result of a full-power load fired after a squib. If that's the case, a close examination of the bore will show a ring somewhere, even if it is invisible from the outside.

__________________
Pisgah

Well, if it was 'gun show' ammo, it doesn't mean they weren't reloads.

Im no metallurgists, but if the cylinder is undamaged, no bullets stuck between the cylinder and forcing cone in the barrel, barrel missaligned etc.
The only times Ive seen this type damage on a new or rebarreled revolver
was caused by barrel overtightening .Pinches ( constricts) the barrel down right in that forcing cone area. Having many custom revolvers, and rebarreled revolvers over the years I always check for this as it kills accuracy. Smaller caliber guns get away with it without much damage but the larger caliber ones it shows up rather quickly. May not be reason but my .02. Good luck Bob

You have to use a match or other tight gauge, range rod head to feel the tightness

Bingo - where it is broken is classic of a barrel that was over torqued and the frame cracked. It generally comes on apart fairly soon.

Bad ammo blows top half of cylinders / top straps off generally.

__________________
Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

would that lead to the crack in the barrel as well?

Yes. Google smith and wesson cracked frame and you will find images just like yours.

__________________
Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

Is that something that happens often? Do i need to check the next revolver to make sure this wont happen to it?

Is it just me or was there a 29-10 failure very similar to this not too long ago on this board where the forcing cone split cause the frame to separate around the barrel threads. I think that one was deemed a metallurgical failure. It was sometime this year I think.

I think Fiocchi ammunition was used. Does this ring any bells?

Not often, but that is the thinnest part of the frame. You can open the cylinder and see it pretty easily from below if it is there.

__________________
Straight shootin'
SWCA#2439

poordevil - A picture is worth a thousand words.... And I see a barrel about to depart the frame on that 29.

Might be a metallurgical problem, but I would also guess an over tightened barrel led to the failure. This was a known issue with early Ruger Redhawk .44 mags., that tended to send their barrels down range along with the bullet. I believe it was traced to a batch of guns with over tightened barrels..

Larry

Can you post a pic of the cracked barrel?
Almost looks like the threads in the barrel or frame were out of spec and let go because there wasn't enough meat there.

what angle? that is the best picture of the barrel and frame cracks that i have

I'm not seeing any cracks in the barrel or the frame.
Are you referring to the space between the barrel and frame?

Ah, now I see the forcing cone crack.

Ruger had a problem with early (1980's) Redhawk barrels sheering off at almost the same location. The problem was chlorinated lubricants -- probably not the issue here, but still pretty interesting. The story is mentioned by Grant Cunningham in his article called Lubrication 101: Gun oil, snake oil, and how to tell the difference. -

"... is there anything we should avoid? Of course – any [lubricant] product that contains chlorine compounds. These compounds, usually referred to as chlorinated esters, were used as boundary additives for many years. As boundary lubes they actually work pretty well; the problem is that they promote a phenomenon known as “stress corrosion cracking” (SCC). Essentially, SCC creates microscopic pits and cracks that, under heat and pressure, widen to become noticeable cracks – and sometimes, even broken parts! (One major gun manufacturer actually had barrels fall off of their revolvers. An investigation ensued, and they found that the chlorinated esters used in their machining oils was causing stress cracking in barrel threads. When combined with the gun owners’ use of cleaning and lube compounds containing chlorinated esters, the barrels simply sheared off at the weakest part – the threads. Like most aircraft makers, the company learned to forbid chlorine-carrying compounds on the manufacturing floor, to prevent a recurrence.)"

Sorry for the thread drift. My vote in this case is for a metallurgical problem -- a fracture at a stress point, exacerbated by overtightening of the barrel perhaps.

__________________
S&W Rover

One possible cause of a blow up is to thoroughly foul a bore with lead bullets loaded to too high a velocity, then fired a jacketed bullet though it. That will raise pressures.

I'm not familiar with the barrel contour of the .29 but the barrel appears bulged near the frame.

Possible squib then another round sending both bullets out of the barrel?

Just one possible explanation. What do the experts think about the possible bulge?

Bruce

Checked some stock photos and there appears to be a bulge in the OP's gun barrel.

Don't you fret none Vanilla Fudge by the time S&W's team of forensic engineers get done looking your 29 over they will even be able to say what time you had lunch that day and what time you even took a dump afterwards.

No doubt as we speak here their team of lawyers on retainer have launch an investigation to determined where and how this catastrophic failure occurred.

Hang in there. You may not get a new gun out of it but you may have saved some lives.

__________________
Mulebuk Sam and the Governor

epj corrected me earlier, and i got it now. thanks to epj for that

Unless a squib got by the OP. Then, well, you see what can happen.

Waiting for more expert opinions.

Bruce

Clearly Mister Smiff's kaboom...No ammo problem, no lead build-up,
and no barrel bulge. Mister Smiff will make it right too

think that it is possible they wont replace it? that would be a bummer

Can you honestly say that when the picture clearly shows an altered barrel contour in front of the frame.

To the OP. Run your fingers down the barrel or use a caliper and measure or feel if the barrel gets wider near the back. Photo could be reflecting light making it look off.

Bruce

It sure looks like there's a bulge in the barrel about an inch in front of the frame.

I'm glad the shooter's all right and at least it was a new 29, not a real one.

I can tell you from personal experience , if you have a squib load and are wearing hearing protection you will not hear it . There is a difference in the feel of that particular round going off . But it slips by even long time shooters sometimes . The person standing behind / beside is the one that will notice it first . I stopped a shooter from firing a 2nd round after I heard a squib , they didn't notice it . The bullet was stuck in the barrel . This may or may not of been your problem . Smith builds a pretty stout 44 . I have been shooting the 29's for years , old ones and new ones and nary a problem . Let's see what Smith comes up with .

Try to think in positive terms that some of the best lessons we ever learn in life come the hard way taught.

Can you even begin to imagine what would have happen with lets say a Taurus revolver with the junk Chinese metal they use. Highly doubtful you'd be here telling us this tale.

You'll have one heck of a story to tell the grand-kids one day.

__________________
Mulebuk Sam and the Governor

A Winchester ammo box bought at a gun show.
Oh, dear.

S&W and Winchester should both be in on this one, we strangers on the internet are not likely to prove anything and we certainly aren't going to replace anything.

Numerous times in the last few years, a new member has showed up with a catastrophic failure and has been engaged by one or more posters with statements questioning their veracity and/or just being downright insulting.
That is beneath the level of this board.

The new guy gets the benefit of the doubt.
If we err, we shall err on the side of courtesy.

If the story begins to look incredible or meant to be disruptive, report it and we'll handle it. Till then, extend common courtesy to the poster with a problem.
I don't recommend being the next guy that needs this admonition.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Thanks, OP, for sharing this. Gun blow-ups are the most interesting posts by far!