Didn't expect a KaBoom today...

[McE]

Why are there no pictures of the gun?
Take plenty of pictures for your reference. Once you send it in to S&W they won't return it and they won't tell you of their findings.

 

[loonybin]

Not a reloading expert but trying to learn as I get ready to start doing it. That looks similar to what you might see with excessive headspace. If other shells from the gun don't show in signs of stretching of the case in that area then my guess is similar to others that it seems to have fired while not in battery.

Did you notice any sort of hang fire? A click...BOOM situation. Just wondering if the click would have been enough to move the slide slightly and then when it fired it was not fully supported. Just a guess.

You mentioned the boss is cheap. Any chance he got a "deal" on the ammo at a gun show? There's always the chance someone sold him some crappy reloads with worn out brass and passed it off as new.

I will look at some of the other cases tonight and get a comparison picture. There was no hang fire. This round was in the middle of the magazine and I was practicing rapid fire, so I didn't notice it until I had powder hitting my face.

As for him buying it at a gun show... I suppose he could have. He wouldn't remember where he got it, though. I don't keep track of where I buy my ammo, but then, I don't buy ammo at gun shows unless it's a known company (we have a couple smaller companies here in KS who produce good quality once-fired reloads, but that's all rifle ammo).

It's hard to tell from one single picture, but it does not look like it fired out of battery to me. The firing pin dent is centered on the primer and the case blew out at the thickest part. Looks like the ammo was way over pressure and the case failed in the unsupported area of the chamber.

I will get come comparison pics of this case with some others.

This! ^^^

No damage to the gun that I could see. It partially dislodged the magazine and failed to eject the case, but that's it.

I'm glad you were not injured!

Does the partially-burnt powder embedded in my thumb count? [emoji1]

 

[loonybin]

Why are there no pictures of the gun?
Take plenty of pictures for your reference. Once you send it in to S&W they won't return it and they won't tell you of their findings.

Let me get this straight: if they want me to send in my gun, they won't return it and won't tell me why??

I didn't take pictures of the gun because there's nothing visibly wrong with it to take pictures of.

 

[gman51]

I am guessing but I think it could be the casing was bulged or cracked towards the head rim not allowing the round to totally go into chamber. So when the round fired the pressure blew out at the weakest point which was where the round was out of chamber.

 

[Hunter8282]

Let me get this straight: if they want me to send in my gun, they won't return it and won't tell me why??

I didn't take pictures of the gun because there's nothing visibly wrong with it to take pictures of.

Just my humble opinion, but if you send it in and S&W wants to study it or feels in anyway that it is unsafe, they'll likely just give you new Shield and keep yours.

 

[vipermd]

Case rupture/head separation - It does not have to be a over pressure load to cause it to go bang. My Sigma 40 went kaboom, pieces all over, while a M&P 40 blew out the magazine at nearly the same time. Unfortunately I got some of a friends ammo, and we had simultaneous kabooms. I was traced back to brass that had been damaged in cleaning, No I do not know the type of cleaner, how it was done, or any other specifics, rest of the rounds went into the burning barrel. Be Safe,

 

[loonybin]

Just my humble opinion, but if you send it in and S&W wants to study it or feels in anyway that it is unsafe, they'll likely just give you new Shield and keep yours.

Ok, we'll that I can handle. Maybe a little extra cash will wrangle a Shield 45 out of 'em... Of course, it would suck to have to start over breaking in the trigger.

 

[Jim Watson]

Only way I know is if the firing pin is sticking out of the breech face, the extractor is loose enough for the primer to slide into place in front of the firing pin, and with that all aligned, the round hangs up as it is being chambered, thus forcing the firing pin into the primer. Lots of things had to have gone wrong here . . .

Some of the early Series 80 Colts were subject to sticking the firing pin forward, usually when dryfired as in an IPSC Unload and Show Clear. All those I ever saw just jammed up with the round under the protruding firing pin. As you say, it would take multiple simultaneous faults to have the gun slamfire on a protruding firing pin. Considering the number of Internet Out of Battery claims, I am confident that something else was going on. Bad ammo, bad brass, overcut barrel are my usual suspects.

 

[Fastbolt]

Do the rest of the rounds in that "box" you were given all look as worn and used as the one in the picture?

 

[loonybin]

You mentioned the boss is cheap. Any chance he got a "deal" on the ammo at a gun show? There's always the chance someone sold him some crappy reloads with worn out brass and passed it off as new.

It's hard to tell from one single picture, but it does not look like it fired out of battery to me. The firing pin dent is centered on the primer and the case blew out at the thickest part. Looks like the ammo was way over pressure and the case failed in the unsupported area of the chamber.

Ammo typically doesn't go bad that fast. Many of us are still shooting 50 - 100 year old ammo. Small spots of tarnish also doesn't weaken the brass unless it's major corrosion.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Do the rest of the rounds in that "box" you were given all look as worn and used as the one in the picture?

Well, after looking at the rest of the unfired ammo, it is very apparent that this box had some reloads in it, if not the entire box, and they were old:

Yes, there are a couple hollowpoints there, one in a NATO case.

What I find interesting is the striker mark on the blown case does not appear as deep as the marks on the other cases, and doesn't have the elongated mark:

Here are a couple of images of some other cases, some from the box from my boss, some that isn't. Federal, Speer, CBC, Winchester.

I suppose this could be a combination of old/bad ammo and firing out of battery, or it may have just been the round itself being bad. The world may never know for sure. S&W has issued a RMA tag for me to send the pistol in. I suspect the pistol is fine, but it will be good to know for certain. Lesson to learn: if someone gives you "factory" ammo, check every round to make sure they weren't misled when they bought it.

 

[markyboy57]

Of the five unfired rounds you showed, the first three on the left have damage at the base right where yours ruptured.
That looks like it would cause head separation.

 

[scooter123]

The condition of the cases and variation of headstamps demonstrates that these were reloads. Based on the poor condition of the cases I suspect that these were reloaded by someone who doesn't think Quality or Appearance matters at all as long as they go "bang". Because as a reloader I wouldn't ever load cases that weren't properly cleaned before loading them. Because if you don't clean your cases you won't see tiny cracks that can develop when they have been loaded too many times. Basically what happened here was a tired old case that had been reloaded many many time finally burst. No fault of the pistol and because reloads were being used no warranty coverage for any resulting damage.

 

[glenwolde]

Is it just me, or is that a very strange looking extractor groove on the three cases on the left? I don't recall seeing extractor grooves cut that way. It has an odd "step" rather than a bevel.

 

[K Frame Keith]

Cheap reloads. End of story. Glad you're ok.

 

[shocker]

All M&P's will fire slightly out of battery. Test it yourself. With an unloaded M&P, pull the slide back slightly, and pull the trigger. The firing pin will drop and seems like it would hit the primer.

That's why I asked about a test. True, the R51 and Glock will fire if the slide is slightly back but pull it back far enough to move the breech away from the barrel so that a "significant" gap appears and they won't. My PMR 30 is the same. That's two hammer delayed blowback actions and a striker tilting barrel.

 

[NCW Ray]

Throw that ammo out, buy some new quality ammo and go SHOOTIN!

 

[DataPimp]

Is it me or does it look like there is a crack or separation where I put the red arrow?

I know it has been said already but those rounds pictured are garbage (at least the first 3)

 

[vmumford]

The brass looks odd to me. It looks really scuffed up in numerous directions, nicked, pitted, tarnished, and the rim area looks rounded off, not sharp, and not well defined. The explosion may have caused some of that, but it just doesn't look right.

It also looks as if the powder didn't completely burn.

Glad you weren't seriously injured.

I noticed the same thing. Looks like its been bouncing around in the pick up for a wail in a bag with other cartridge's. Should look at all you ammo and pull all that look like this.

 

[dben002]

Gotta agree with the bad ammo guys on this one...really bad ammo....dispose of any you have left. Never put that kind of ******* in your weapon again........ever....by the way the new Shield 45 has a much nicer trigger (since you mentioned it).

Glad you are ok...stay safe

 

[AGoyette]

Let me get this straight: if they want me to send in my gun, they won't return it and won't tell me why??

I didn't take pictures of the gun because there's nothing visibly wrong with it to take pictures of.

Dumb question, if nothing is wrong with your gun, why are you sending it in? If you are concerned, have a gunsmith look it over. I agree that it looks like an over pressured round that gave away in the least supported area of the barrel. An old term for this is called Superface. Pretty scary when it happens. I just had one with my Core at a level 2 match in De Soto, KS.