Blew up my Shield...(3rd Update: Resolved!)

[tobimaru]

Yes, remove any aftermarket/added parts and replace with stock components. For some legal, or other, reason they can't mail back non-factory parts with a firearm.

Wish I had more advice but I don't. Best of luck with this Shield, and glad you were mostly uninjured. I have two Shield 9's and I shoot Freedom Munitions 115gr REMAN out of them. Actually, I shoot it out of all my 9mm's. So far, so good, for what it's worth.

 

[BigDog48]

Hey guys, I'm one of the ones who said, "why remanufactured?". The reason I said it is we have a lot of guys who reload, and I'm fine with them doing what they want...they know the risk of a mistake.

I said it because a lot of people on here are fairly new to shooting and when you read in the manual, warranty voided by use of reman ammo, or +P+ or SAAMI spec, or whatever the manual says, they don't know that XYZ company's "remanufactured" may (or may not) be as good as Winchester, Federal, Speer, etc, etc, etc. Every shooter needs to read, understand, and accept the risk of not reading or following the maker's manual. Lots of people will say, "Well, it's a lawyer thing."....Yep it is, and the OP, who I am glad is still in one piece ought to get one and go after the folks who made that ammo, and the rest of us ought to realize that it's our pistol or revolver, our ammo, and we are responsible IF we don't do what the folks who made it say to do. God bless all of us, and keep us safe from ourselves and others!

 

[Triggernosis]

^^^ "Go after the manufacturer of that ammo" for what? The price the gun that blew up and the cost of a Band-Aid?

I don't think there's any need in getting a lawyer involved at this point unless they flat-out refused to pay for the gun. First, he's got to determine what caused the catastrophic failure. Let Smith & Wesson look at it and see if they think it was over-pressure ammo or a failure of the gun itself.

I once had some federal Factory rifle ammo that was loaded too hot that caused the ejector spring in my bolt to melt. I called Federal and told them I was having problems. They told me to take my gun to a gunsmith of my choosing to do an evaluation of it. My gun smith determined that he believed ammo is too hot and there was nothing wrong with the barrel, chamber, or anything else that would have caused the problem. Federal had me send the remaining boxes of ammo (I had more than 10 boxes because I was shooting long-range competition with it at the time) back to them and they replaced it with some of their top-of-the-line ammo of my choosing. Federal called me a week or so later and admitted that the ammo did indeed show signs of being over pressure and they apologized for the error. I told them that as far as I was concerned they had made things right and we were good to go. Chalk one up on the positive side for Federal Ammo, in my opinion.
Oh, and Federal also reimburse me for the gunsmith's evaluation and the parts and labor to fix my rifle.

 

[Rastoff]

I said it because a lot of people on here are fairly new to shooting and when you read in the manual, warranty voided by use of reman ammo,

The warranty doesn't say that. In fact, they make no mention at all about re-manufactured ammunition at all.

^^^ "Go after the manufacturer of that ammo" for what? The price the gun that blew up and the cost of a Band-Aid?

Yes. If the ammunition is at fault, they should replace his gun.

 

[Triggernosis]

Yes. If the ammunition is at fault, they should replace his gun.

Sure enough. And if you read my whole response you can see that I alluded to that. But I'll be damned if I"d go hire a lawyer that would probably cost you $5,000-$10,000 to take the case to court to get $300 back.

 

[Jim Watson]

Ammo vendor called. Claimed the problem was out of battery detonation.

He is not a "stand up guy" he is trying to deflect blame away from his dangerous product.

I doubt he will pay to replace your gun, but all you can do now is let Smith breathe on it. Maybe they will give you an engineering report that will carry some weight with this character.

 

[DocB]

Well, it's just a Shield. You could use it as is as a paper weight. Would make a neat conversation piece.

 

[richardw]

So what can I do now? I already told the ammo vendor I will have SW examine the pistol. What else can I say to the vendor at this point?

If the ammo maker made the OOB statement in an email, print it out and send it with the gun to S&W for analysis. If the statement was only oral on the phone, ask for it in writing. If they will not provide it in writing, you know that they have no confidence in the opinion and the were doing CYA.

 

[Mark IV]

If the ammo maker made the OOB statement in an email, print it out and send it with the gun to S&W for analysis. If the statement was only oral on the phone, ask for it in writing. If they will not provide it in writing, you know that they have no confidence in the opinion and the were doing CYA.

Good points. And if they keep deflecting and refuse to stand behind the product, it serves as a solid warning to the rest of us to avoid their stuff, as well as to the OP to avoid shooting any more of what he has (which kinda sucks, but whatcha gonna do? I sure as hell wouldn't want to contact S&W again and and tell them I just blew up the replacement pistol, by firing more of that same batch of questionable ammo !!)

 

[richardw]

Good points. And if they keep deflecting and refuse to stand behind the product, it serves as a solid warning to the rest of us to avoid their stuff, as well as to the OP to avoid shooting any more of what he has (which kinda sucks, but whatcha gonna do? I sure as hell wouldn't want to contact S&W again and and tell them I just blew up the replacement pistol, by firing more of that same batch of questionable ammo !!)

You just gave me a new thought. The OP should let the ammo maker know that this thread exists and we are all waiting for a good outcome for the OP as well as determining whether it's ammo is safe. A little market pressure can't hurt.

 

[NCW Ray]

I don't think this has been asked yet, but have you reassembled and function checked the pistol?

It's kind of hard to see fine details in your of the frame, but was there damage done to it or the slide or barrel or did it only blow the mag out?

 

[jhnttrpp]

I've reread this several times but can't find where he mentioned the ammo maker. Could it be repeated just in case I just missed it.

 

[NCW Ray]

I've reread this several times but can't find where he mentioned the ammo maker. Could it be repeated just in case I just missed it.

Peak Performance Ammo (post #8)

 

[wrangler5]

FWIW, I have the impression that mere mortals can NOT ship live ammo. That might be wrong, but I'd check it out carefully if you're asked to send any of the remaining rounds anywhere.

 

[Triggernosis]

FWIW, I have the impression that mere mortals can NOT ship live ammo. That might be wrong, but I'd check it out carefully if you're asked to send any of the remaining rounds anywhere.

Yes, you can ship ammo without any issues at all.

 

[RobzGuns]

It's definitely worth sending a 'Sample' of the remaining ammo to S&W to examine. They may even send a shipping ticket if asked.

[Cue Flashback video]...
A few years back, someone posted a thread about a Shield40 catastrophic failure. He contacted the ammo manufacturer and S&W CS. upon the 2 companies' request, he sent the pistol and some remaining rounds to S&W to investigate and some rounds to Magtech (the ammo manufacturer) to examine.

Magtach originally reported nothing on the sample they received, but after getting a copy of the S&W report, ended up sending the customer a check to cover the cost of a new Shield.

Incidentally, That incident was one of the very few Documented Shield Kaboom threads floating around the interwebz.

 

[1sailor]

As long as you ship ammo by ground no problem. If it goes by air then you need to pay a hazardous materials fee.

 

[CB3]

It is unfortunately typical of small ammo manufacturers to avoid responsibility because of the bad impression blowing up a gun makes. As well, it really is not always the ammo, so until it cannot be denied, deny. Once accurate accountability is laid on the ammo maker, paying for a gun is a lot cheaper and better for the image than continuing to deny. But there is the process.

Even though I don't think a Shield is too expensive to replace out of my own pocket, I do not like to blow up guns I am holding. I won't buy commercial reloaded ammo, especially from small shops. The supposed savings is not worth the risks, especially with ammo as cheap as it is today.

 

[Batt4Christ]

Since you were shooting reloads I don't think S&W will cover it under warranty. It looks like the grip frame is bent. I would thank my lucky stars and call it a loss!

Does that apply? It appears that these are "factory reloads" - or maybe better - remanufactured loads by a professional factory...
...

 

[Rottentofu]

I sent another email to the ammo vendor two days ago asking him if we could resolve the issue between ourselves due to the overwhelming evidence that it was the ammo's fault and not an out of battery detonation. He still hasn't replied, yet.