M&P Explosion

[NewM&Powner]

Hello all. First, I want to make it known that I do not come to harm S&W's reputation in any way shape or form. The purpose of this post is a concern I have, and to furthermore educate myself with knowledge of AR-15's, particularly the M&P. Therefore, I would very much appreciate it if this thread were not closed or deleted, but discussed so that we may get to the bottom of these two isolated issues.

I am a new owner of the M&P 15. I have yet to put a single round through it. As any gun owner or buyer would, I tried to do as much research as I possibly could on the products I were interested in. Most of the things I read on the M&P were positive. However, AFTER my purchase, a buddy of mine directed me to a thread in which there are at least two known cases of the M&P malfunctioning and essentially blowing up. Let me make it clear however that no one was injured, and the extent of the "explosion" was not so severe that the rifle completely fell apart. However, it is something that is not fixable, and could have easily harmed someone unlucky enough. Please look at the links provided, so that you may see pictures and the discussion that has risen from this malfunction.

S&W M&P-15 Exploded - DefensiveCarry Concealed Carry Forum

S&W AR-15 Problem - DefensiveCarry Concealed Carry Forum

Naturally, my concern is that this will happen to me. The serial number of the subject weapon is around 1000 ahead of mine. This would indicated our rifles were produced around the same time I would assume, depending on how quickly S&W is manufacturing these days. Could someone enlighten me to the real problem of the subject rifle? Was it a gun malfunction, or is the ammo at fault like some seem to think.

My second concern is S&W's customer service. It is said that their CS is one of the best. However, after reading those two link above, I am questioning that assessment. Hopefully someone from S&W will come in here and be able to truthfully answer these questions, as I am eagerly, but nervously anticipating my first shoot.

Thank you for your time.

 

[NewM&Powner]

31 views and no one has anything to say? Any ideas as to why this happened? Anyone?

 

[handejector]

Call S&W and ask them what they know.
It sounds like both rifles had a problem with Remington ammo, so you might call Remington and ask them also.

 

[John in SE Indiana]

My second concern is S&W's customer service. It is said that their CS is one of the best. However, after reading those two link above, I am questioning that assessment. Hopefully someone from S&W will come in here and be able to truthfully answer these questions, as I am eagerly, but nervously anticipating my first shoot.

I don't think I'd hold my breath waiting for S&W to come on here to answer your questions. I read through the threads, and it seems as though S&W feels the issues were ammunition related. The gun owners obviously don't believe that. I have no idea which is true, or whether both might be partially true.

I have dealt with S&W customer service on several occasions, via email and on the phone. Never a problem. I have an M&P9 full size and an M&P15R (chambered in 5.45x39). Based on some posts in the M&P Forum, I contacted S&W about some tooling marks on the rifling of the 9mm - with no hesitation whatsoever, they said 'Send it back and we'll check it out' and sent me a UPS label. Their explanation was that the 'scratches' did look like tooling marks, but that they wouldn't affect the accuracy or durability of the pistol. And then they replaced the barrel anyway. Turn around time was less than three weeks, including having them do the M&P Pistol Action Package work on it while they had it. I have had several questions about my M&P15R answered via email by a great tech support guy - quick, accurate responses. Bottom line, I don't think you should worry about S&W CS until you find out they let you down. I don't think this will happen, but others have stories that say different. YMMV.

As far as your M&P15, take it out and shoot it. Make sure you've cleaned and lubed it properly before hand, and make sure you're using factory load ammunition from a reputable supplier (okay, reloaders, don't flame me over this - let him break the thing in on factory ammo and THEN run the reloads). There are 10's of thousands of M&P15s out there that have had NO problems - including mine through several thousand rounds of combloc surplus, steel case 5.45 ammo.

 

[S/W - Lifer]

You need to contact S&W and speak with someone familiar with the M&P 15 rifle. Let them know your concerns.

If I remember correctly, that rifle is actually produced under contract. I think the manufacturer is Stag Arms. Perhaps someone on the forum can confirm that. In your situation I'd be sharing my concerns with Stag, if in fact they are the maker.

The cause of these failures could be defective ammunition. I would contact the rifle owners from the links you provided to see if they have had their ammunition tested. If so, you would surely be interested in learning the results. If not, you might partner up with them to get it done.

If this does not play out to your satisfaction and you have doubts regarding the safety of your rifle, I'd send it to Stag for inspection or sell it. An AR-15 is a tool for doing business. Safety and reliability are critical. You should be confident that your rifle is going to perform to your satisfaction.

Just my 2 cents worth of personal opinion.

 

[John in SE Indiana]

If I remember correctly, that rifle is actually produced under contract. I think the manufacturer is Stag Arms.

The very early M&P15s were made by STAG, but production was moved 'in house' quite some time ago. I think the OPs gun is an SMxxxxx S/N - this is the more current production, and manufactured by S&W, AFAIK.

 

[m1gunner]

It sounds like a QC problem with the Remmington brand ammo.

If out of spec ammo destroys a new gun, the gun manufacturer isn't at fault. The working conditions this year for both gun makers and ammo makers is unprecidented in modern times. CS was doing all they could do, seeing what the industry conditions were at the time.

If you are concerned, you could express your concerns to customer service and ask them if they would do a technical inspection on your rifle before you shot it. Chamber dimensions would be the area of concern if you suspect a problem with your rifle. Alternately you could have a local gunsmith check it out.

The type of failure described in the two incidents are classic overpressure failures in the AR barrel/gas system. Look on Fulton Armory's website about similar failures in other brands of ARs. I have pics of at least one Army M16 that was destroyed by overpressure, but it was a barrel obstruction that did it.

Hundreds of thousands of rounds are fired weekly from ARs in this country, and the S&W versions are considered quality rifles. Any widespread problems in ammo or rifles would be widely known soon after they started.

Black Hills and Wolf are both known for good relations with the AR community if you are looking for ammo. I shoot mostly Federal and Winchester in ARs, and haven't had problems.

Inspect your ammo before loading. Never try to fire a round with a loose, crooked, or damaged bullet. Bullet setback can cause the type of overpressure that damaged the mentioned guns.

 

[John in SE Indiana]

m1gunner: much better answer than mine, considering the concerns of the OP. Thanks!