As a lifelong supporter and owner of Smith & Wesson firearms, I was stunned when my new Shield .40 Smith & Wesson (S&W) exploded in my hand while practicing shooting Sunday Dec. 1, 2013 at my local gun range. I included a couple of photos. I had only shot 92 rounds of a major manufacturer's 180-grain FMJ practice ammo when my brother-in-law who was shooting next to me suggested a defensive load he was shooting. I loaded 4 rounds of the different manufacturer's .40 S&W 135-grain JHP defensive load. Subsequently, I proceeded to fire the first 2 rounds slowly and then the last 2 rounds rapid fire. Upon firing the fourth round, the Shield firearm blew apart sending pieces including my Crimson Trace Laser flying in all directions and very close to my head. I was stunned as I dropped the Shield to the range bench noticing the significant damage to the firearm and realizing while my hand was in major pain with abrasions, burns, and contusions, it was intact and there were no other apparent injuries to others or me thankfully.

I have read the similar threads concerning .40 Shield kabooms and I am very concerned someone may be seriously injured. Each of the threads depicted different manufacturer's ammo. And, in my case my brother-in-law was shooting simultaneously the same defense load out of the same box as me. The only difference was he was shooting an M&P Compact while I was shooting my Shield. The M&P Compact fired approximately 70 rounds of the defense loads with no problems.

My only intention of posting here is to share my experience hopefully to prevent others from being seriously injured. Each person will draw his or her own conclusion. Many times since my Shield blew up I wanted to post this; but I decided to wait until the firearm and ammo were comprehensively evaluated. And, I saw the ongoing thread of another .40 Shield kaboom.

With the exception of approximately 10 rounds held for potential future testing as necessary, the rounds remaining in the box and another full box from the same lot were tested and determined to be within SAAMI specifications.

While I don’t want to dwell on the frustration of the difficult protracted process of trying to get S&W to examine my Shield, it has been exasperating. After shipping the Shield via FedEx and 2 months after S&W logged it in, I just received a letter from them that appears to be the same or similar to letters received by the other Shield kaboom owner’s. I may include a photo of the letter later. For now, here is an excerpt: “We have recently reviewed a Smith & Wesson M – 40 Shield pistol, Serial Number HPJxxxx. After a thorough review, we have determined that the damage to this weapon was not the result of a defect in the materials or workmanship of the weapon.” They then offered to sell me a new Shield for $334 “since they value me as a customer.”

Sorry for the long beginning post. I look forward to your comments or questions and will attempt to respond as necessary.

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Very dangerous situation glad you came out with only minor injuries. I contemplated buying this exact gun but chose to go with a jframe 642 i'm glad i did

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Using Tapatalk

sorry for your mishap and glad you weren't seriously injured...I have been sitting on the fence trying to decide between the 40c and the Shield...I still haven't decided for sure but the last two Kaboom posts are making me lean towards a 40c...with that said I also realize that anything that is mass produced is going to have defective units...it is a shame that due to all the lawsuits over the years (not all frivolous) that we can't get a manufacturer to admit when something is defective...thank you for your informative post

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carpe diem
one day at a time

What brand defensive ammo ?

Thank you jdw1951 for posting this important information. The arguments in favor of the .40 Shield were starting to sway me and I was going to reinstate it as my EDC. With this new post, I think I will stay with my present EDC, the Kahr CM9.

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Audemus jura nostra defendere

Did that ever happen to a 4006?

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US ARMY
Viet Nam 70-71

and I always thought S&W stood behind their products. Makes my decision on my next purchase a bit easier.

WOW! This is just crazy. There sure is a lot of so called reloaded and bad ammo going around these days. I'm glad you wern't hurt in this incident. This is just unbelievable!!!

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M&P15,9MM,M66,22-A,Glock 30SF

As I recall your serial # starts the same as other Shields that have gone boom. I can't believe that there is that much bad factory ammo out there than only affects the Shield. I am thinking a bad batch of Shields. I know that because of these kaboom threads, I have no interest in a Shield.

Sorry your gun blew-up, glad you were not seriously injured. Thank you for sharing.

Wow! Glad you weren't seriously hurt! Seems like S&W might be ignoring or just denying a problem with the .40 Shields. I have a Glock model 22 and model 27 that I bought new back in 1996 and both have had thousands of rounds fired through them. Never a "kaboom" nor any malfunction of any type. Not even as much as a failure to lock a slide back. Makes me shy away from any thought of buying a Shield in any caliber which I had thought about doing. I think I may look at a LC9 for something thinner than my 27.

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Virg...

Thanks for the posts. Since I have owned S&W revolvers for over 40 years without having one problem, I thought I would purchase a pistol for EDC. After reading the rave reviews in the mags I purchased the Shield .40. It was a toss up with the 9mm given the modern ballistics but I guess my old school of diameter/weight I went with the .40. I guess I should have picked the 9mm since I have not seen any issues with them so far.

I have been a fan of the 40 S&W for 20 yrs. I reload it paying attention to detail more than any other cartridge. I make sure every round goes through a SAAMI gauge before it goes in my guns. I have a 40 Shield for EDC, and my GF will have one soon. Also own other 40's, and have owned several over the years. I have never had a problem, and have total faith in my guns and ammo.

Good to hear you are ok!! I am glad I have NOT purchased a shield. I have thought about it for quite sometime, but have not made the purchase. I make a living (and support my family) with my hands. Don't want a gun that may jeopardize that. & yes I know that there is some risk when firing ANY gun, but this shield problem is crazy!!

If you have to pay for the replacement, get a 9mm Shield, and make sure they return your destroyed pistol.

Was going to shoot mine today, might have to wear a full face MC helmet and kevlar gloves!

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Chewy

Is there any merit to this statement? It would ease my mind if it in fact could be narrowed down to certain serial numbers.

My shield has been flawless, but I'm sure the majority have right up to the kaboom.

What does the barrel look like? Did you have an out of battery event?

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State of Jefferson
Jim

S&W says it's not a defect. I find it disturbing that a major company would ignore a defect. That being said have you thought of having a licensed gunsmith look it over with the ammo you used?

Not trying to discredit anything the OP said, but I can't understand why it has to be a secret what ammo it was that was involved, as well as the serial-number particulars of the firearm.

When I hear "135-grain" in the context of .40 S&W, I'm immediately wondering.

Both of these important data items would help the rest of us to be better informed, and would not prejudice the OP in the slightest.

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WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

I only know of 4 ammo choices that match the ops post.

Federal hst
Winchester ranger
Cor bon double tap
Underwood.

What I find interesting is this is the first non 180 grain kaboom, That I've read about.

Would love to see the serial numbers of all three guns.

No way this is not a defect or at least a combination of ammo and gun. I would call a attorney about this if it happened to me. There is a pattern here. Don't ever expect S&W to admit anything. No way their legal dept would ever let them. This has got damage control written all over it.

What brand? What type? What charge? Why can't the ammo be spotlighted like the Shield was?

Was there a squib? Was there a chamber rupture? Was there a case rupture?

And this was the conclusion of the firearm maker:
By whom? What were their conclusions?

It seems we are seeing a lot of gun explosion reports, but I have not yet seen one where ALL the pertinent information about the event has been clearly revealed. JDW, I am glad that you were not injured, and I do believe your report, but I do want to point out that there are large potentially significant pieces of information missing from it.(As there have from all the previous kaboom reports)

There are enough reports of kabooms here to be worth taking serious notice of, but none of these reports have conclusively ruled out faulty ammunition.

Now, I'm sure Rastoff will be along shortly to tell you what I'm really thinking.

Feelinglucky: Rostoff is not on right now, maybe later. To save space I will not re quote you- since they were the same questions. SN#'s, Ammo manufacture,Squib,case,barrel, and WHO performed the SAAMI test on the ammo?/? My only addition would be a thread of the SN#'S of kabooms, photo(s), Ammo-brand, bullet weight, reload data if applicable. At present it is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle by mail without all the pieces. Maybe we could get some answers that may keep people safe and answers from S&W. Be Safe

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I BACK OUR BLUE

I agree with those that call for identifying the ammo used. To not do this is a disservice to everyone here.

I was going to buy a Shield 40 but the wait for it would have been too long so I got an M&P40C instead. Now I'm glad I did. Not that I think that most Shields are bad & this seems to be a fluke but didn't S&W already have a recall on Shields? I have to wonder if the great popularity of Shields doesn't have an effect on slamming them together at the factory to meet the demand with the corresponding loss of workmanship & care required to manufacture a firearm.

I'm glad you & everybody else walked away with just a stinging hand bit I'm not glad that S&W blew you off with the offer to purchase a new one at $344 - $4 cheaper than I got my brand new 40C with 3 mags & the Nation's Finest $50 rebate.

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Former USN, Retired US Army

Sorry All - I just got back to my computer since I have a lot going on today. I see there are many legitimate questions that I will answer to the best of my ability.

I am not sure about the other kabooms serial number data but I included my serial number HPJ0xxx.

S&W did not provide any information to me about their testing processes or results except to state there were no defects in materials or workmanship. I am requesting S&W to return my Shield and will possibly ask an independent lab to look at it.

The OEM ammo was manufactured by Underwood. After my hand was functioning properly I compared the cartridge dimensions to SAAMI standards and the remaining rounds were within spec. At the same time I contacted S&W I also contacted Underwood. Within one hour of receiving my original email notification, Kevin called me to let me know they would carefully examine each round and let me know the results no matter if they had produced an improper round or not. I sent the remaining rounds with the exception of the 10 I mentioned earlier. My brother-in-law also sent the remaining full box when he returned to his home in another state. Underwood inspected each round, pulled bullets, checked powder charges, and fired rounds to measure pressures. Kevin Underwood subsequently called me and indicated each round was within SAAMI specs. My brother-in-law and many members of his shooting club have used a significant amount of Underwood ammo and that is why I tried it to see about using it as a defensive round. All my research indicates their customer service is excellent.

So hopefully everyone can see my dilemma. I have two highly reputable companies who indicate their product was manufactured properly. In the case of the ammo, as I stated earlier, my brother-in-law was shooting the same rounds simultaneously in his M&P Compact and had no problems.

I have more photos I will post I will post but I just purchased a new Mac and need to obtain some photo software to size them for posting. The photos above were sized by a friend who is not available now.

Give me some time to put up more images later and take care of normal weekend responsibilities. And, hopefully understand I have no intent to hide any information. I am not a gunsmith but will try to describe what my personal examination of the Shield was before I mailed it to S&W. I believe all of us want the same thing: to make sure no one else gets hurt.

Thank you for posting. I'm glad you weren't more seriously injured.
I can imagine 135gr defensive ammo is pretty hot.
Please follow through with us and reveal who the major manufacturer is.
You may save some of us from suffering pain, economic loss and possibly even death (if the KaBoom were to occur in the middle of an assault/gunfight.)

Edit: I see your posting just made. Underwood is known for high quality but yet potent and hot ammo. I'm not pointing blame at them. I'm just shocked we've got another KaBoom with factory ammo.

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

No disrespect to anyone's opinion or Smith&Wesson but there is no telling how much of this is happening that we don't even know about. Lots of folks with guns out there that don't even get on the net much less join a good forum filled with good folks like this one is. I'm very concerned about this. I dont want to see anyone get hurt because there 40 shield blew up or any gun for that fact.

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M&P15,9MM,M66,22-A,Glock 30SF

Glad nobody was seriously injured with this. Look at the mag in the photo. Half the follower is gone ? Broken extractor? This was some kind of weird out of battery discharge, where it looks like the round exited the right hand side of the frame. Was the slide or safety block damaged (cracked ?) changing the rear sight out? Something knocked it out of whack. What else causes out of battery discharges? My Shield 9 runs like a swiss watch, but I wish we knew the whole story on this one. I guess with polymer guns we're likely to see more of this.



-Mike

Seems to be isolated to shield .40's...haven't heard of shield 9's having this issue.

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M&P 9C-G19-Shield 9-Kahr PM9

This ongoing situation with Shield 40s exploding is horrendous and unacceptable. Someone who suffered this really should pursue justice.
Don't worry about your Shield 9mm.
Just as when Glock was suffering the KaBooms years ago, it didn't involve any of their 9mm pistols.
Only those chambered in .40S&W.

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

On more thing before I get back to work around house, Underwood told me BEFORE I heard from S&W or any testing was done that they guarantee 100% customer satisfaction with their product.

Underwood is well known for high quality ammunition.
They are highly respected by hunters and shooters having a huge loyal customer base.

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

jdw, could you also provide your shield's build date if known?

Does that mean that they will replace your Shield? If Smith and Wesson did not manufacture a defective product, then Underwood did.

If, in the past, S&W has cautioned about using ammo with less than 125gr in 357 mag Titanium revolvers, do they proscribe any ammo in the .40 Shield?

I am not blaming anyone. I have been a plant manager for over thirty years and was a machinist ten years before that. I have seen small mistakes made all the time. With all the shields sold in the past three years, how many mishaps have there been. It could have been a over charged round or a defect in the steel the gun was made from but not dectiable now.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

That's crazy. Glad you're ok. I wonder why S&W wouldn't just replace your firearm? It's got to be less expensive than even an hours worth of their attorney to respond to a letter.

Hope it works out for you!

Considering that during shooting, there's an interaction of gun, shooter and ammunition, Smith and Wesson may not want to assume responsibility if perhaps the ammunition could be at fault.
Yet, these guns are tested with proof loads before they leave the factory. Maximum pressures for the .40 is 35,000 psi. Apparently, Smith's polymer formula is not up to the task and if these kabooms continue, The Consumer Product Safety Commission might step in and Smith may have to eat all the .40 shields, including the ones that haven't blown up yet.

This is a scary event and it could have easily resulted in serious damage to the shooting hand. So glad you were not seriously injured.

I don't have a dog in this fight but got curious and did a search on ".40 s&w shield review" and was a little surprised to see glowing and rave reviews about what a fine handgun it is.

I don't reload but read something about bullet setback and how it can drastically increase pressure and since the .40 apparently is already on the edge could that be a factor?

I would be concerned if I owned any .40. How accurately is the setback on factory ammo?

Teats, Bulls and the .40 S&W | The Bang Switch

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Back to back World War Champs.

S&W should let you pick the gun you want to replace it with.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

JFR - just took a quick break from work to check in and unfortunately I do not know the build date. I packed the Shield in the original box and shipped it to S&W. Will check back in later.

Before I bought my first M&P handgun I did allot of research on them. One determining factor of going with the 9's over the 40's was when I found out the 9 was designed from/off the 40's frame (call it a "heavy duty" 9 ?). The other was I didn't like the "snappy" recoil of the 40. I own the 9's from the Shield, 9c, FS, FS Long and FS PRO and have had zero problems with any. I skipped the 40's and went with the heavier built M&P 45's. FS, Mid size and 45c for more "knock down" power, also with zero problems. All are well used and carried as CCW for different occasions. Never used any ammo other than factory and with-in the manuals specs. No +P or "super defensive" factory loads.

Just happy to hear no one was hurt too bad or worse.

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THIS WE'LL DEFEND ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

It will be interesting to see if S&W returns the damaged pistol to you.

I firmly believe that they will not.

How is a proof load determined: 130% of standard load?
What is pressure of proof load?
I have seen a max pressure for 35000 for 40 sw in manuals
Hirtenberger Ammo determined (1995) for Glock that bullet setback of 2.5 mm or 1/10" could double pressure: That said do we need a heavier crimp?? Be Safe,

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I BACK OUR BLUE

What I learned from this post is if your weapon goes boom you send the damaged gun to a gunsmith to verify the cause and call an attorney.

Seriously, no firearm manufacturer is going to admit fault and most folks are not going to hire an attorney for a $400 loss.

What a joke expecting Smith and Wesson or sny other gun manufacturer to come to any other conclusion is like asking a doctor to perform an autopsy on a deceased patient and expect an outcome of negligence.

I think the original poster needs to rethink his emotional condition following such a tramatic event. My guess is you are suffering from pist tramatic syndrome.

My advise seek medical attention and call an attorney.

Russ

I firmly believe that would be even more insulting than S&W offering to sell him another Shield for $334

I thought S&W treated their customers right!

The right thing for them to do is one of 3 things:
1) Offer to buy back any Shield 40 from the customer (exploded or not exploded)
2) Trade customer's Shield 40 for a new Shield 9mm
3) Send customer a new Shield 40 replacing the destroyed one without charge.

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro

jdw1951, thank you once again for your report. I am glad that you did not suffer any serious injury. I feel that your intentions and credibility are beyond reproach.

As for myself, I have seen enough in this forum to want to convert my 40 Shield into a 9mm. The 9mm magazines are easier to come by but I cannot find a 40 to 9 conversion barrel for the Shield. I prefer a barrel designed as a conversion as opposed to using a 9mm replacement barrel.

If anyone knows where I can obtain a conversion barrel, I would appreciate your help.

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Audemus jura nostra defendere

Roger

Here is the delima for S&W

If they offer any type of compensation it could be construed as guilt.

I can assure everyone on this forum the damaged weapon spent more time on an S&W attorney's desk than the S&W gunsmith desk and the weapon is not going back to the rightful owner unless S&W is subpoenae which is not going to happen because we sll know people don't hire attorneys over a $400 loss.

S&W is banking on the owner will walk.

The smart thing would be for a smart attorney to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of every Shield owner who has experienced a boom.

A class action lawsuit is the only way an attorney would take the case. $400 is nothing but if the number is multiplied by 100 you will peak an attorneys interest and one letter to S&W by that attorney will mean a quick settlement and free guns for everyone.

Russ

A member mentioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission in post #40

Will they be the ones doing that?

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40c FS,9Shield(2)40,9Pro