Sadly - Another .40 Shield Kaboom

[2001gmc]

Sorry for the assumption and no insult intended. I guess I assume most folks who have been shooting long enough with some regularity have some dipped their toes a little deeper into the ammo side of things.

And I don't know anyone who's been shooting more than 2 decades who thinks asking a question at a gunstore is likely to get them a good answer. But perhaps your local stores are better than mine - so that may be an unfair criticism.

Yea I've just never really got into looking at the specs of ammo. I've herd people in the stores talk about it that reload but its like Chinese to me. I don't know anything about it. The box could say anything on it and I wouldn't know any different. Other than the +p deal. I still don't know much about it other than I just stay away from it. I just by regular ammo from reputable company's at the store and I expect it to be good ammo. Not something that's gonna blow my gun and hands up. I would never knowingly shoot reloads in a pistol for this very reason and I damn sure wont now since my 40 blew up in my hands. They claimed mine were reloads. I call BS but whatever I just have to deal with it. I know I will never shoot any reloads my pistols or any ammo I dunno the 100% facts of where it came from and where its been.

 

[NCooper]

In regards to the poster here not mentioning the brand of ammo, it may have been he didnt know. Using my keen detective skills.

I do believe he mentioned he was shooting with his brother and his brother handed him some ammo and said try these.

My guess he had to call his brother and find out.

I could be wrong though.

At least I think his brother owes him a gun..

 

[686-380]

My wife and I have been considering getting a .40 caliber semi automatic. After reading this horror story, you can bet it won't be a Smith & Wesson Shield.

I love my Bodyguard 380 and my 686-6 (after it was warranty repaired) but have been a little disillusioned of late...

 

[jdw1951]

Dikinalaska - I am not sure why you would think I am being dishonest about the ammunition. The only way to determine the cause of the KB and benefit from the experience of hearing from the forum posters is the state the the facts as they actually occurred. As I said in my initial post I felt it was very long and that I would provide additional detail as the thread developed. I also said I would attempt to respond to all questions. Unfortunately, I cannot stay online for extended periods so I try to read prior posts and respond as soon as possible. I provided the ammo manufacturers names when I saw a request.

NCooper - my brother-in-law did provide the defense rounds to me at the range and I found out later that it was from Underwood. But it had nothing to do with the timing of the ammo posting.

All - My brother-in-law has tried for two days to post to this thread but after registering. For some reason when he clicks reply, it takes him to a screen indicating he is not authorized to post. He wants to post additional information relevant to this discussion. Does anyone know if there is a time period before a new registrant is allowed to post?

 

[Art Doc]

S&W will not return the gun. You will have to accept whatever they offer since you turned over the physical evidence to them. They will blame the ammo and likely offer you a new gun. If you admit to EVER shooting reloaded ammo they will claim you damaged the gun and voided the warranty. No matter what happens they will not return the gun. Would you?

If the barrel isn't blown then the gun fired out of battery. Could be an ammo problem if the primer was sensitive and fired before the round was chambered.

I have not heard of problems with this model but I am out of the loop. Have specific problems been ID'd on other blown Shields?

 

[Dikinalaska]

JDW, again, I'm sorry for making it implied that you specifically weren't honest, as now I see it comes off that way, but it's just something to keep in mind with a few of these posts as it seems as the ammo has seemed to be a secret and seems like a very likely cause of the KB's. The Underwood seems very likely to have been the issue here, the statement was kind of a blanket statement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Maximumbob54]

Yep. That's my new .40SW Shield. Yep. Already shot a few boxes of cheap (at least when I bought it) Blazer 155gr and recoil was pretty harsh. Been shooting nothing but 180gr ammo since. Not sure how much so far but enough. Not every bullet design is great at feeding in every gun. Remember how people used to cry about HP 9mm not feeding worth a darn and then the 147gr used to clog about everything? I usually settle first with hand cycling a mag through and check for bullet setback and bullet jump to see if the ammo selected is good to go. I've found several guns that hate the Remington GoldenSaber for whatever reason. I assume because it's a bit long and odd shaped compared to most. Most .40SW has a flat nose to look like a HP and many of them look sort of short and stubby looking bullets. That shape or design seems like it might not always like to load into the chamber and not rub hard as it seats. That could be causing the bullet set back issue in such a compacted action. There's also the possibility of the mad rush to keep up ammo production that more boogers are slipping through the line. Who knows. All I know is I don't for a minute think this is a Shield issue so much as an ammo used issue. And the comment of being able to use any ammo in any gun is just wrong to me. There are several guns out there that despite being safe to use I wouldn't do it. My M19's come to mind with 125gr magnums. The M696 with anything warm is another.

 

[peterthefish]

If the barrel isn't blown then the gun fired out of battery. Could be an ammo problem if the primer was sensitive and fired before the round was chambered.

And how do you come to that conclusion? Not every kaboom without a blown barrel is an OOB event. In fact I would argue that OOB kabooms are in the minority as most modern semi autos do not release the FP safety until in battery, nor is the FP aligned with the primer or, on the shield, even fully cocked. An over pressure round is certainly capable of unlocking the action and then blowing out the case head which would likely begin separation at the feed ramp while the firearm was still in battery.

Sweeping generalizations like this are not only wrong, but they're how bad information gets spread.

 

[Camo-Man]

I have a 40 shield and it has been flawless for about 375 rounds I put through it. But I think it is time to get rid of it because I don't want this to go kaboom on me or my nephew I take shooting all the time. And it is making me feel less impressed with Smiths customer service for not replacing. All these blow ups cant be from ammo.

 

[DataChuck]

Scared

I've had my sheild for a week and have not fired it. Do you think sw would take it back and replace it with a 9?

 

[tul9033]

It looks to me like the case is split right in line with the barrel split.
In my non-expert opinion an OOB detonation would of blown the case head off or out and the barrel would still be out of battery. The pictures look like the barrel is still in battery. That would of been the path of least resistance. Not splitting the barrel length wise.
The barrel looks more like a squib, but there is no supporting evidence in the description of the event that was the case.

 

[The Viking]

Glad you were not hurt and thanks for the post. I have a Shield in 9mm; but rarely shoot it as I still prefer the snubby for a backup.

 

[Roger S&W]

It looks to me like the case is split right in line with the barrel split.
In my non-expert opinion an OOB detonation would of blown the case head off or out and the barrel would still be out of battery. The pictures look like the barrel is still in battery. That would of been the path of least resistance. Not splitting the barrel length wise.
The barrel looks more like a squib, but there is no supporting evidence in the description of the event that was the case.

So, what are you saying? Is it the fault of the gun or the fault of the ammo?

 

[JMike]

All - My brother-in-law has tried for two days to post to this thread but after registering. For some reason when he clicks reply, it takes him to a screen indicating he is not authorized to post. He wants to post additional information relevant to this discussion. Does anyone know if there is a time period before a new registrant is allowed to post?

Some forums require the applicant to activate their account and that is done by acknowledging an email (it might have gotten dumped into a spam or junk mail folder) and clicking on a link. I don't remember if this forum is one of them.

On a different note, FWIW, I don't believe for a minute that you have omitted any information in this matter. It is my opinion and belief that you have been completely forthcoming in all of this and for that, I thank you.

 

[JMike]

I've had my sheild for a week and have not fired it. Do you think sw would take it back and replace it with a 9?

Doubtful. You should talk with your retailer if it concerns you that much.

 

[1hatchet]

I have a Glock G22 that went Kaboom using .40 S&W Winchester White Box ammo. I will not own a .40 S&W caliber handgun again. Period!

 

[tul9033]

So, what are you saying? Is it the fault of the gun or the fault of the ammo?

Honestly, I don't know how metal fails. I'm trying to apply common logic to what's been presented.
Personally, I would never shoot a 135gr .40 round loaded to SD velocities. Having said that, I think it was both. The barrel failed under high pressure. The gun is rated for 35K and the round was said to be loaded at 34K. That's a fine line to be running, less than a 3% margin.
Looking at the picture below. My logic applied guess is that the pressure was too much for the chamber/barrel. You can see the widest gap in the crack is right near the chamber indicating that was the point of failure.

 

[Roger S&W]

I have a Glock G22 that went Kaboom using .40 S&W Winchester White Box ammo. I will not own a .40 S&W caliber handgun again. Period!

Was it from an older Glock 22? Before the newer Glock barrels came out with much better chamber support? My G23 is from 1999. I noticed it had poor chamber support. I replaced the barrel with a brand new one. Marked difference in chamber support.
Ever find out what caused your G22 KaBoom?

 

[JMike]

The gun is rated for 35K and the round was said to be loaded at 34K. That's a fine line to be running, less than a 3% margin.

We only know that SAAMI specs for 40SW is 35,000 psi. We know the manufacturer states the ammo tests out to 34,000 psi.

We don't really know what the gun is rated to. Only S&W design engineers know that information and I would think they would design spec it to something greater than the SAAMI specs for the round.

 

[Rastoff]

This is an interesting case and quite different than the other two I know of. In this case the barrel split. In the other two, the chamber and barrel stayed in tact. This one is clearly either a failure of the metal or an over pressure round.

I'm glad the op is ok.