M&P Shield .40 Blow Up

^^nice catch. I shoot mostly WWB 165gr and I have about 600-700 spent cases. I just checked, and all of them are stamped "WIN".
I have a couple cases of WWB 9mm. I just opened a couple boxes and sure enough, they have WIN 9mm LUGER on them. I wonder if it means anything? Unfortunately, I have no other Winchester ammo to compare it to.
 
The plot thickens!

The new WWB 165 gr rounds I have sitting in my closet say WIN as well. (.40)
 
that first pic ... yeah i can see a line/crack by the trigger but there is one on the other side as well or at least looks like one. to me that looks like a seem. just because it appears to be on both sides in the same place.

but this whole thread seems like a typed out version of that youtube video.

not saying it is or isnt, it matters not to me, just adding 2 more cents. if it is broke..bummer

Sorry, i have not even seen the youtube video your talking about. I can tell you for a fact that its not me. The only reason i posted this is to help others decide for themselves about the gun, not that i am saying do not buy this gun because i was extremely happy before this. I just want my gun fixed. I would never have even posted this if the gun came back in working condition. I am venting my frustration mostly and letting others know about the customer service issue. I am trying to inform others, that is my intent. I have no other motives than that.

As for the cuts i received, they were small and were caused from pieces of the brass. I decided to shoot it again because i did not know it was cracked. I would have never done this if this was the case. It is more noticeable than in the pictures and is certainly a crack.

After checking the gun in every way i can, i did find that using the small clip "which is what was in the gun when it happened" creates a misfire. The gun will click every time the trigger is pulled but the striker doesn't sound like it is moving. It does not do this as much with the large clip. With the large clip it works most of the time. Also the short mag will not release easy.

I am going to try and contact someone tomorrow about it. Hopefully this will be taken care of. I will keep everyone posted.
 
After looking at the short mag i noticed one of the edges are messed up. This mag worked fine until this happened. I am assuming the pressure in the gun caused this?g4.jpg
 
The worn spot on your magazine follower is at the location where it contacts the slide stop. The wear in this photograph does look a tad bit excessive. I doubt it is related to the kaboom.
 
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It certainly looks cracked to me. I'm super-surprised that S&W returned the gun without replacing the frame. Something is definitely wrong.

Also, it is clear that the round fired outside the chamber. It looks like a case of the round being trapped between the chamber and the extractor. I've seen it happen. During police firearms training, students are taught not to attempt to catch or trap a live round being ejected from the chamber for whatever reason.
Nobody took note of this posting? "It is clear the round fired outside the chamber. It looks like the case of the round is being trapped between the chamber and extractor."
Can we please discuss this guys?
Is this an "out of battery" firing? Something different?
The cause of this KaBoom?
 
As I understand it, .40 S&W rounds are very high pressure, more so than .45 or 9mm. It's pushing the envelope to the limit, so to speak. If one of those goes off outside the firing chamber, especially in a plastic gun, it's going to cause a mess. Good idea NOT to use reloads, if reloads might cause problems.

Very glad you weren't badly hurt Matt. I can't believe S&W failed to see the two cracks, they are extremely clear to me in all your pictures.

I have a 9mm Shield. I have enough bang to control in my Springfield XDm .40 compact, and that's a larger gun though not full size.


From the various pictures posted of busted guns it seems that the .40 Shield is an accident waiting to happen to the person firing it.
 
had the same issue with the follower on my Shield .40 mags. they were destroyed after 400 rounds and on a few occasions would not lock back. I was also having issues where while chambering, last round in mag, it would dent the bullet as if it was slamming into the top of the chamber. I stopped shooting it immediately!!! when I noticed never mind a blowout. Would have had it checked out before I fired it again. Just sent mine back to smith.

165grn wwb says WIN .... out of a box of mine purchased 2 months ago at walmart
 
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had the same issue with the follower on my Shield .40 mags. they were destroyed after 400 rounds and on a few occasions would not lock back. I was also having issues where while chambering, last round in mag, it would dent the bullet as if it was slamming into the top of the chamber. I stopped shooting it immediately!!! when I noticed never mind a blowout. Would have had it checked out before I fired it again. Just sent mine back to smith.

165grn wwb says WIN .... out of a box of mine purchased 2 months ago at walmart
Frank, I've been following your thread and look forward to hearing what the results will be when you get it back.
Wanted to ask you. Do you feel the problem in this thread here is related to issue discussed in post#48 above?
 
As I understand it, .40 S&W rounds are very high pressure, more so than .45 or 9mm.
Nope, not at all. The .40S&W has exactly the same pressure specs as the 9mm which is 35Kpsi maximum.

Neither is this an out-of-battery event. The case tells the story. Where the case is ruptured is at the unsupported portion of the chamber. Also, the OP said that this was fired in a normal situation. The M&P cannot release the striker when out of battery for two reasons. First, the firimg pin block would not be moved out of the way. The slide would be back too far for the trigger bar to engage the striker block. Secondly, if the slide is back far enough to have the chamber exposed, the striker won't be cocked. It won't engage the sear if it's that far back.

The most likely cause of this failure is either a weak casing or over pressure. Experience tells us that S&W is not going to replace the frame for free. They will blame the ammo. Even so, that doesn't excuse them from missing this crack.
 
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So have any shield 9mm owners had this happen to them? Is there a reoccurring issue with the 9's as well? Personally, I don't like the idea of a small polymer gun chambered in 40sw, its too snappy and you're already dealing with lowered mag capacity with a small gun. It's another concession that I'm not willing to make for a larger round. Every 40 I've ever owned has been a duty-weapon sized gun. I just think it's too hot for a small framed gun.
 
Speak to an attorney before you send it back a second time. You should be able to get a consultation for a reasonable fee. So far I have yet to see S&W do the right thing where the Shield blow ups are concerned.
 
So have any shield 9mm owners had this happen to them? Is there a reoccurring issue with the 9's as well? Personally, I don't like the idea of a small polymer gun chambered in 40sw, its too snappy and you're already dealing with lowered mag capacity with a small gun. It's another concession that I'm not willing to make for a larger round. Every 40 I've ever owned has been a duty-weapon sized gun. I just think it's too hot for a small framed gun.
There have been no reports of Shield 9mm's doing this.
Surprisingly, the Shield 40 is a great shooting pistol. Amazing how it tames the potent .40 cartridge.
 
i have reloaded thousands of 40 s+w rds, and that piece of brass in the picture has a hole the exact size of brass i have picked up at range that has a "Glock bulge" some resize fine if you use Lee bulge buster size though die(must be a problem if they make a special die for it)but some you can see a tiny line the exactly the same size and shape as the brass in picture. 40s+w is very easy to double charge using fast burning pistol powders.IMHO this was a hot load that had been loaded in a defected case. Just sharing my 30+ years of reloading experience. my shields 9 + 40 both have a lot of rds shot.no problems at all its a fine pistol.
 
Speak to an attorney before you send it back a second time. You should be able to get a consultation for a reasonable fee. So far I have yet to see S&W do the right thing where the Shield blow ups are concerned.


Because there is nothing wrong with the firearm. Most if not all KABOOMs are due to overcharged commercial or hand loads done the same.
Ive shot both my shields alot with lots of different brands of ammo and sone home loads my father in law did. Not one FTE FTF or misfire
And no KABOOM. From what Ive seen heard and read S&W has pretty much said its bad ammo not a defective gun.
 
I shot 100 rounds of PMC 165gr thru my new Shield 40 yesterday. One round barely had enough powder to cycle the slide. The brass caught in the ejector port. I thought it did not fire at all, there so little sound and recoil. Factory ammo is not perfect. I prefer too little powder to too much.
 
I have a couple cases of WWB 9mm. I just opened a couple boxes and sure enough, they have WIN 9mm LUGER on them. I wonder if it means anything? Unfortunately, I have no other Winchester ammo to compare it to.

I have WWB in 9mm and 40 cal....the are all stamped WIN, followed by the caliber.
 
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