Face blast

[nn]

How do I figure out what kind of debris is bouncing off my face?

First post you stated blood drawn; it has to be jacket material or lead.

 

[scooter123]

One factor that you left out of your original post is where you were shooting. I been hit by jacket fragment at my local indoor range several times when I was loading my gun. They were ricochets from the bullet traps from other shooters. My lane uses pyramidal bullet traps for each lane and an "edge strike" will throw debris back to the shooting stands.

I've also caught jacket fragment in the face twice when shooting full power 357 Magnums with my 620. Close examination of the forcing cone, a careful timing check, and a re-check of the B/C gap revealed no issues with the gun. B/C gap check between a tight 0.005 inch to a just barely loose 0.005 inch depending on cylinder position. Checking the forcing cone immediately after the first occurance showed no evidence of a shaving issue and every cylinder position was checked for alignment with a gage.

The final choice for the cause was that the bullet traps needed cleaning and my Magnums had enough energy to kick debris from the trap to the firing line in spite of a center hit on the trap.

However, in my cases of being hit by fragments, at no time did they draw blood. They just stung a bit and reinforced the need to never do any shooting without protective eyeware.

Point of all this is simple. If you were using an indoor range, don't make the assumption that you were hit by fragments that you fired. They could have come from a shooter a couple of lanes over. They could have been from your own trap that may have needed to be cleaned out. So, don't panic just yet. Have the gun looked over by a qualified gunsmith locally or do it yourself if you know what to look for. Also, make sure you don't clean the gun after an incident like this, if your shaving brass a thorough cleaning will remove any evidence of that. If you, or your gunsmith, see an issue, then send the gun back to S&W for correction.

 

[maxxpower]

One factor that you left out of your original post is where you were shooting. I been hit by jacket fragment at my local indoor range several times when I was loading my gun. They were ricochets from the bullet traps from other shooters. My lane uses pyramidal bullet traps for each lane and an "edge strike" will throw debris back to the shooting stands.

I've also caught jacket fragment in the face twice when shooting full power 357 Magnums with my 620. Close examination of the forcing cone, a careful timing check, and a re-check of the B/C gap revealed no issues with the gun. B/C gap check between a tight 0.005 inch to a just barely loose 0.005 inch depending on cylinder position. Checking the forcing cone immediately after the first occurance showed no evidence of a shaving issue and every cylinder position was checked for alignment with a gage.

The final choice for the cause was that the bullet traps needed cleaning and my Magnums had enough energy to kick debris from the trap to the firing line in spite of a center hit on the trap.

However, in my cases of being hit by fragments, at no time did they draw blood. They just stung a bit and reinforced the need to never do any shooting without protective eyeware.

Point of all this is simple. If you were using an indoor range, don't make the assumption that you were hit by fragments that you fired. They could have come from a shooter a couple of lanes over. They could have been from your own trap that may have needed to be cleaned out. So, don't panic just yet. Have the gun looked over by a qualified gunsmith locally or do it yourself if you know what to look for. Also, make sure you don't clean the gun after an incident like this, if your shaving brass a thorough cleaning will remove any evidence of that. If you, or your gunsmith, see an issue, then send the gun back to S&W for correction.

Thanks for the info. I was shooting at an outdoor range and the only one shooting. As for the blood I held white towel up to the impact spot and came away with a red dot of blood but not bleeding by any means.

 

[FHBrumb]

I'd call S&W, and tell them about it. I'd bet that they offer you a shipping label. Use it please.

 

[BUFF]

That is good advice. Part of the price you pay when you buy a new S&W (and many other products) is to pre-pay the cost of warranty repairs. Some guns will need them, most won't. Successful companies know how to figure this future cost into their stuff.

S&W warranty work usually turns around pretty fast. Most of the time you will have it back in less than two weeks. Considering they usually pay shipping both ways, there is no reason not to return it for what is probably minor work.

Guns that "spit" enourage a flinch that can be hard to overcome, besides all the rest!

 

[Loco Weed]

I had major problems with spitting with a mod 28 with a 4" Magnaported barrel. All that flak was coming out of the ports and hitting me in the face during full recoil. Especially bad with lead bullets. I quickly replaced the barrel with one that wasn't ported. I assume your barrel isn't ported.

 

[sonny]

I have had revolvers which spit back at me; at my face and my left supporting hand. I got rid of a couple, kept another or two, but I'm sure that a trip to a competent gunsmith (or factory) would take care of it. I think that occasionally you may have an overly-large barrel-cylinder gap, but improper timing is perhaps more likely. You may be shaving off a part of the bullet when entering the barrel forcing cone.
I had one revolver that shot the 265gr .45 LC hardcast bullet in 4 or more pieces as shrapnel that put MANY holes in a paper target at 10 feet. That gun was an exceptionally tight-throated gun with cylinder throats of .446 instead of .452-.455. My bullets were actually being blown apart, probably before they ever got to the barrel.
I reamed the throats to .4531 and that took care of it. Nice gun now, and accurate.
Sonny