M&P Shield .40 Blow Up

Matt Butner

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Well this is my first post on here and it is not due to a pleasant experience. I bought my shield a few months ago after doing a lot of research and shooting myself. I decided on the shield out of several other guns for a number of reasons. Made in the USA always appeals to me, plus i still have my great grandfathers revolver that is wonderful. So anyway i decided to get the shield. I put about 4-500 rounds through it without a single problem and was extremely pleased and even told several others to buy the gun.

Here is where things went sour. Me and a few buddies went to target practice and i was bragging about the accuracy of this gun, put a magazine in and proceeded to fire, when all of a sudden it felt like my gun blew up in my hand, something hit my face and left a few cuts, my hand was hurting but had all of my fingers, checked myself out and was ok other than the blood running down my face. Checked the gun and the round was stuck, so i pulled it out and noticed the big hole in the brass of the Winchester ammo, the gun looked to be ok, so after a break and taking care of the cuts i tried to shoot the gun again. This time it would not fire, almost like the striker was not hitting like it is supposed to, tried again and it fired two rounds, and then the same thing. Well i knew something was definitely wrong and looked a little close at the gun, that is when i noticed that the frame was cracked, wow what a bummer.

So i called Smith & Wesson up, told them what happened and they said- ok send it back and we will take care of it. So i sent it back in february 2014 and just received it back last week. I was excited to get the gun back only to find a piece of paper stating that there was nothing wrong with the gun. Are you kidding me, the freaking frame is cracked and is not shootable. It also states that it was test fired and had no problems. While this gun would shoot sometimes there is no way they shot the gun several times. I cannot believe how this has been handled. It is one thing to have a gun blow up but its another to have a company say there is nothing wrong with it when the frame is cracked. The inspection process had to be a joke to not catch this. So here i am again without a messed up gun that i bought to protect myself. I called back today and after three calls i finally got through and told them what happened. All i got in response was useless answers and a "send it back again". So here i go again going to be without my gun for another almost two months. This will probably be the last Smith & Wesson that i will ever buy unless they make this right. Oh and not only did i get the same gun back, they also managed to put a big scratch on the gun, wow this is not what i expected and am very dissatisfied, disgusted, angry, and several other emotions right now. I will post picks as soon as i can.
 
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Pics of the damaged gun? Maybe send them a pic highlighting the damage, along with the gun? There is precedence regarding the Shield 40's and blowing up. I'm surprised your research didn't pull that up. I wouldn't judge a brand based on one gun though. JMO
 
I am not judging based on one gun, i am judging based on the fact that they sent the gun back saying there is nothing wrong. Clearly the inspection process was more of a "quick glance". Like i said i really liked this gun, the customer service has been terrible though, enough to make me question ever buying a Smith again and i truly hate that.

While i was researching the gun i did not read of any blowing up or i would have been more hesitant.
 
Sorry if it is hard to read guys, its been a long day plus add the frustration of this. Pics coming.
 
Here are the pics
 

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It was factory white box ammo either purchased from walmart or a local gun shop. My friend who was also shooting that days was there with his .40 and had reloads. There is a possibility that it could be one of his loads; however, i don't think it is.

I just can't believe this was not caught during inspection. This is unacceptable to me.
 
It was factory white box ammo either purchased from walmart or a local gun shop. My friend who was also shooting that days was there with his .40 and had reloads. There is a possibility that it could be one of his loads; however, i don't think it is.

I just can't believe this was not caught during inspection. This is unacceptable to me.

Ah..."there's a possibility it could have been one of my friend's reloads."
Thanks for your honesty.
 
Yes that possibility is there but i am sure it was not. I even sent the casing in to Smith & Wesson but did not get that back.
 
when you send it back, write a detailed description*i'm sure you did this the first time too) and include the pics showing. these show exactly where the damage is. also let them know about the scratch.

it is possible that the ammo, especially if it did end up being one of your friends reloads, that caused this. S&W may not cover it if it is an ammo issue.
 
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