Ladies and Gentlemen:

Okay, I'm looking for pics of kBs on 2nd and 3rd Generation S&W on the web, but have yet to locate any. I find this very odd because they have happened to every make and model of weapon.

I can find pics of kBs on SIGs, Glocks, H&Ks, Rugers and just about everything else with no effort. I know that they've been out of production for a number of years, but so too are some of the other brands as I've found photos other weapons built as far back as the 80s. I can even find quite a few S&W M&P Shields.

Makes me wonder of somehow kBs are less common in the older 2nd and 3rd Generation S&W products. The reason I would like to see these is that I have an interest in seeing the manner in which the weapons come apart. Often times there is a predictable pattern of cracks and shearing, etc. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I've had a succession of 2nd and 3rd generation S&Ws in 9MM,10MM,45, etc. since they first became available. And 1st gen 39s and 39-2s prior to these. Shot +P+, warm handloads, etc, in some of these. I'd never thought about it before your question. I assume it has happened, but I've never seen, heard of, or experienced any KaBooms with these guns.

BTW, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd gen guns I've owned all exhibited well supported chambers. Perhaps this is why there are not reports of KaBooms in these guns.....

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NRA Life, COTEP 640

Therin lies the question. Pics of kBs on these are conspiculously absent from the web.

Just find it odd.

I'd say that's because they are conspicuously absent from happening. If there were any I'd expect there to be threads with lots of pictures right here on this forum.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

That is precisely my point. Now, after all these years after S&W discontinued the 3rd generation guns, I'm finding out that perhaps these were the best autos S&W ever did / will manufacture.

I was a die hard SIG fan during those years. Always wanted a 4566 and 5906 - missed opportunities. I will not be purchasing a shield for a number of reasons I'm not going to discuss here. Wow. What a drag these 3rd generation pistols are a thing of the past.

What in heck is a "Kb"??? Never seen or heard of a *%$@#-boom on a 3rd gen....

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Glen

Probably very difficult to blow up a gen3 Smith. Not saying it hasn't happened or can't be done, but the case head is very well supported in these guns and someone would have to really work at it to have a KB. Aside from the chamber support, the rest of the gun is very heavy duty as well.

About a year ago, a seller on GB listed a very late production M4006. I don't know what or how it happened, but the slide was bulged/cracked at the ejection port and the barrel had a 3/4" crack extending rearward from 6:00 on the muzzle. The chamber end of the barrel appeared undamaged as did the frame. There looked to be a lot of soot inside the frame and slide in the area of the ejection port. More than normal firing residue.

John

That sounds very much like a round fired with an obstruction in the barrel, as in a squib prior to the round that did it in.

I would say that most 3rd gen owners are sufficiently A.R. in reloading,
so that Kabooms, if they occur, are few and far between...if ever...

After all, who really wants to screw up a beautiful S&W ??

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Marlin & Calico Specialist

Big Shrek, I have to ask - what does A.R. stand for?

I'm not surprised that the one destroyed or "kB'd" 3rd Gen is a .40. The round is VERY easy to push over the pressure limits of the guns chambered in the caliber, especially if you typically load the same round into the chamber every time and create some setback. I do NOT like .40 for this very reason, despite having a P226, 4006, P99 and USP all chambered in it.

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Wheelguns 'n 3rd Gens.

I've never seen or even heard of a 3rd gen going kaboom.

I did see a 4506-1 at my gunsmiths that had two bullets lodged in the barrel. A wealthy doctor owned it. He bought a bag of gunshow reloads and went to the range.

He got a squib and not knowing anything about what that was, or what he was doing, squeezed the trigger again. The barrel bulged enough that my gunsmith had to cut it to get the slide off the frame.

There was no damage to the gun other than the bulged barrel. My smith replaced the barrel and gave a huge bill and a long gun safety lecture to the doctor when he came to pick it up.

Good thing that doc was shooting a stout well made all steel gun. Regards 18DAI

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

Anally Retentive...which is also what any good reloader is

OCD would fit fairly well also

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Marlin & Calico Specialist

Thanks Big Shrek, I was definitely over-thinking that one.

Good qualities to have for sure when it comes to reloading!

"Kabooms" related to poor construction/design are NOT found in "every make and model."
Revolvers have FULL case head support and do not "kaboom" unless loads are pushed WELL ABOVE metallurgical limits.

"Pistol kabooms" specifically related to insufficient case head support are VERY DIFFICULT to validate because in virtually every case, the shooter (eventually) admitted they were using handloads in some ratio to factory loads.

Modern handguns are VERY WELL engineered when it comes to inherent safe margins AND construction variables.

I've blown up a gun or too, but I've NEVER blown up a gun using FACTORY AMMO in an UNMODIFIED GUN!

I state this so stridently because it's important that "new" or "unknowing" consumers feel confident in the purchase choices they make, and not be lead down the proverbial primrose path by "internet experts" who would have them believe "everything" of this or that manufacturer "blows up." I have an entire rack of Glock handguns in every caliber, all with factory barrels, and all have shot +P+ level ammo yet never "blown up."

Buy what YOU want and enjoy shooting it...if you're unsure, simply limit yourself to FACTORY ammo and you'll be fine.

The only time I've had Kabooms using factory ammo was Remington Golden Bullets,
aka Gilded Bullsquish (the nice version). Remington makes some of the best centerfire,
but has often failed miserably in their rimfire offerings...so much so that many shooters
only use it for tincan shooting...if at all.

During the Great Ammo Crunch, I sold several 525 boxes of RGB's at auction,
mostly because I was curious how stupid people were going to get...
as many know that the "525 Value Pack" ain't no value...lol
oddly enough, they went for highly inflated "lost my mind" bids...
showing me that there are too many people freaking out and not enough thinking...

Anyway, RGB's ruined a perfectly decent Savage 64,
bulged the barrel due to a squib followed by a big bang...
after that, was careful to use them only in single action revolvers...
& the occasional Calico pistol, as even a squib won't stay in that short of a barrel

Have noted the same bad habits in Vipers, and other Remmy Rimfire...
& since its been a decades-ongoing issue...with several lots...
will never buy Remington Rimfire ammo again.
I'd rather reload the empties myself for ammo I can trust.

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Marlin & Calico Specialist