Anyone ever have a .40 shield blow up
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Brass like that is why I avoided 40s for a long time. I reload, generally buy range brass and didn't want to run into that issue.
This is the first gun I have ever had an issue with. I own 2 sigma 40s, 1 SD, a 5" M&P 40 as well as several other metal guns in 40.
I incorrectly remembered who did the restitution check. While Buffalo Bore was involved in a couple of the well documented instances of catastrophic failures, MagTech was the ammo company involved in this instance and paid the owner, after S&W sent their findings to them.
Sorry for any confusion, but it was almost 6 or 7 Yrs ago.
Echo40
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So, I've been considering getting an M&P40 Shield myself, and after doing a bit of research on the subject, I decided to do a little follow-up post in this thread with my findings.
Reports of M&P40 Shield KABOOMs seemingly all date back to the year 2014 and 2015, share a lot of things in common, in some cases so much in common that I suspect that they're duplicate reports posted by the same person under different usernames on other forums, or otherwise disingenuous retellings of the same story by different people.
The most common report that I have read always has a few things in common...
Personally, I cannot help but question the legitimacy of these reports on account of the fact that they share too many distinctive similarities, yet lack any concrete photographic evidence to support their claims. Occasionally they'll come with a few thumbnails of the gun, of which the only visible damage is cracks on the frame where it split. Due to the small size and low resolution of the images, it's different to get a good look at the damage, but it doesn't look like the sort of damage you'd expect to see from a legitimate blowout because cracks don't appear to have been the result of a KABOOM. However, there are never any pictures taken of the shooters injuries, no fresh wounds, no scabs, not even pictures of the scars after the injuries healed. Furthermore, they're all from the year 2014-2015, by new users who don't stick around, with no mention of them afterwards. The reports just vanish along with the users who posted them.
So yeah, I have to call these reports into question. One would imagine that if there were any truth to these reports, then there would be a lot more of them, at least a few of them would come from regular users, and the the folks who made such reports would still be around, retelling the story.
I don't know about you, but if such a thing had happened to me, then I wouldn't just post about it only once immediately after it had happened. I would have pictures not only of the gun, but of my injuries or at least the scars of my injuries, and I would certainly come back with a follow-up report after I had contacted Smith & Wesson/Winchester and reached a resolution.
The only other reports that I've read either came from someone who openly admitted to using experimental reloads or otherwise someone who obviously was shooting reloads because they dodged any questions regarding what ammo they used, and much like the others, they're posted by fly-by-night accounts that seemingly were created solely for the purpose of telling the story of their alleged KABOOM, then promptly abandoned.
Fishy, to say the least.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
Reports of M&P40 Shield KABOOMs seemingly all date back to the year 2014 and 2015, share a lot of things in common, in some cases so much in common that I suspect that they're duplicate reports posted by the same person under different usernames on other forums, or otherwise disingenuous retellings of the same story by different people.
The most common report that I have read always has a few things in common...
- Ammunition
In nearly every report that I've read, the ammo fired was Winchester White Box 180gr ammo. - Out-of-battery discharge
Based on the description provided, the cause of the KABOOM almost always points to the gun firing out of battery. - Injury to the shooter's hand and face
The shooter claims to have been injured on their shooting hand from the grip splitting and taking shrapnel to the face, but neither wound leaves them with any permanent injury or physical disfigurement. - Drive-by-posts
These reports always come from new users who typically don't even post more than 20 messages on any given forum before they disapper without a trace, never to be heard from again.
Personally, I cannot help but question the legitimacy of these reports on account of the fact that they share too many distinctive similarities, yet lack any concrete photographic evidence to support their claims. Occasionally they'll come with a few thumbnails of the gun, of which the only visible damage is cracks on the frame where it split. Due to the small size and low resolution of the images, it's different to get a good look at the damage, but it doesn't look like the sort of damage you'd expect to see from a legitimate blowout because cracks don't appear to have been the result of a KABOOM. However, there are never any pictures taken of the shooters injuries, no fresh wounds, no scabs, not even pictures of the scars after the injuries healed. Furthermore, they're all from the year 2014-2015, by new users who don't stick around, with no mention of them afterwards. The reports just vanish along with the users who posted them.
So yeah, I have to call these reports into question. One would imagine that if there were any truth to these reports, then there would be a lot more of them, at least a few of them would come from regular users, and the the folks who made such reports would still be around, retelling the story.
I don't know about you, but if such a thing had happened to me, then I wouldn't just post about it only once immediately after it had happened. I would have pictures not only of the gun, but of my injuries or at least the scars of my injuries, and I would certainly come back with a follow-up report after I had contacted Smith & Wesson/Winchester and reached a resolution.
The only other reports that I've read either came from someone who openly admitted to using experimental reloads or otherwise someone who obviously was shooting reloads because they dodged any questions regarding what ammo they used, and much like the others, they're posted by fly-by-night accounts that seemingly were created solely for the purpose of telling the story of their alleged KABOOM, then promptly abandoned.
Fishy, to say the least.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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Pilot172P
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Several years ago when I first bought my Shield 40 1.0, I had a death wish and worked up some very hot loads to the maximum. I had cases bulging just like in the picture from rosewood above. I hit 1303fps, 584ft-lbs with a 155gr, and 1498fps, 673ft-lbs with a 135gr. Both with the 3.1" OEM barrel. If these rounds did not Kaboom (they came close though), no factory round will. I was not using new cases either.
Interesting read and thread, Gents. Sorry, this may be a wee bit off topic. I am just about to get restarted with .40 reloading after a long hiatus. All I could find online were 180-g plated (from Cabela's) and supposedly once-fired brass from a known good seller. I have a couple pounds of Power Pistol and Hornady (+ one more) show light 5.6-ish loads with 180's at 850 FPS. The velocity numbers mentioned above would scare the heck out of me. Back kinda-sorta on topic, I am still looking for a 4006 to test my loads on - last one I was following on GB went for $850 
. I also remember seeing posts here, a few years ago, about kaboom's in Shield 40's.
. I also remember seeing posts here, a few years ago, about kaboom's in Shield 40's.
Will shooting a .40......
...on a 9mm frame wear more quickly? Shouldn't blow up though,.
...on a 9mm frame wear more quickly? Shouldn't blow up though,.
Reason you hear more about kabooms with .40 is the high pressure, and then bring some bullet set back into the mix and pressures skyrocket.
Not as common with 9mm, even though pressures can be high there too, because of more metal surrounding the chamber.
I have had a .40 Shield for 4 1/2 years and don't worry about shooting it.
I am careful not to re-chamber the same round over and over.
You empty the chamber to clean your gun, or empty your carry ammo out to fire some range ammo, you might end up chambering that same round many times before it gets fired.
More than twice and that round gets set aside to fire at the range next outing.
Not as common with 9mm, even though pressures can be high there too, because of more metal surrounding the chamber.
I have had a .40 Shield for 4 1/2 years and don't worry about shooting it.
I am careful not to re-chamber the same round over and over.
You empty the chamber to clean your gun, or empty your carry ammo out to fire some range ammo, you might end up chambering that same round many times before it gets fired.
More than twice and that round gets set aside to fire at the range next outing.
Echo40
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@GeoJelly, Keep an eye out for sales on California Highway Patrol 4006TSWs. Up until recently, they were showing up frequently on a variety of websites for around $600, and are very nice guns.
I bought one back in May for about $399 and aside from a bit of holster wear its in excellent condition.
Prices have obviously increased as supply has dwindled, but I can safely say that if you can find one in excellent condition, then they're easily worth twice, if not thrice what I paid. The 4006TSW is built like a tank, and I know that's something of a cliched statement, but it's absolutely an apt statement when it comes to the 4006TSW because it's just an overbuilt hunk of steel which with the proper springs installed could probably handle ridiculously overcharged loads that creep into 10mm Auto territory.
The California Highway Patrol has been transitioning away from the 4006TSW since 2017, so they may have finally finished, but I had thought the same early this year before they released another batch on the civilian market and I bought mine, so keep an eye out just in case there are a few more still in their armory just waiting to get kicked loose.
If all else fails, the M&P40 is in my opinion, a worthy successor to the 4006. Sure, its not massively overbuilt, and its frame is made mostly of polymer with a Stainless Steel chasis as opposed to solid steel like the 4006, but it's a tough modern duty pistol regardless, and you can still find police trade-in M&P40s for as low as $299.
I bought one back in May for about $399 and aside from a bit of holster wear its in excellent condition.
Prices have obviously increased as supply has dwindled, but I can safely say that if you can find one in excellent condition, then they're easily worth twice, if not thrice what I paid. The 4006TSW is built like a tank, and I know that's something of a cliched statement, but it's absolutely an apt statement when it comes to the 4006TSW because it's just an overbuilt hunk of steel which with the proper springs installed could probably handle ridiculously overcharged loads that creep into 10mm Auto territory.
The California Highway Patrol has been transitioning away from the 4006TSW since 2017, so they may have finally finished, but I had thought the same early this year before they released another batch on the civilian market and I bought mine, so keep an eye out just in case there are a few more still in their armory just waiting to get kicked loose.
If all else fails, the M&P40 is in my opinion, a worthy successor to the 4006. Sure, its not massively overbuilt, and its frame is made mostly of polymer with a Stainless Steel chasis as opposed to solid steel like the 4006, but it's a tough modern duty pistol regardless, and you can still find police trade-in M&P40s for as low as $299.
cmj8591
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This is an M&P 45 that let go on a police range. It had about 1000 rounds of nothing but factory before the bang without a hiccup. Mostly Win white box and some Ranger T. This was an ammo problem and the gun performed exactly as it was engineered to, blowing out the magazine and forcing the slide barrel and broken frame forward, away from the shooter. No injuries resulted.
There were a few kabooms reported here on the forum ack when the Shield was fairly new. I followed several of the reports pretty closely as I owned a .40 Shield. Looking at the aftermath, I was convinced that all these guns had fired slightly out of battery. S&W said no, but I call bs.
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