Now what with Shield 40

[sstewart]

I had a reloaded case rupture while firing. Thank God I am fine, but my new shield is not. The frame is a total loss. (I had to use a dremel tool to extract the slide & barrel.)
After that, the slide seems totally fine, but the barrel is cracked.
(The extra force came out the back of the case downward thru the frame and blew out the magazine and shells. The extra pressure on the feed ramp is what cracked the barrel)

I called S&W after the LGS armorer didn't want to touch this. The man on the phone basically suggested that they would tell me that the gun is a total loss and to buy another pistol. And that it would take them 3 or 4 months if I chose to send it in.

I don't have a problem purchasing another shield. This wasn't S&Ws fault. It is mine, if you make a mistake reloading or don't spot a bad case, you can't blame the gun.

So...
scenario #1 - I buy a 40 cal barrel and a new 9mm shield
- will this give me a 2 caliber shield ?

scenario #2 - I buy another 40 shield and boy where those 2 extra magazines expensive.

S&W not very helpful on the phone this morning once I said this was my fault. So, I am wondering if they will refuse to sell me the 40 cal barrel.

Any advice? thanks in advance.

 

[sstewart]

Just to be clear. I am not bashing Smith in any way in this. I just want to get some advice on what to do now.

 

[Smitty357]

.40 Shield and a factory 9mm barrel (magazine also if u want). This way the conversion is easier on u. However, finding those 9mm barrels is a waiting game.

As for the magazines. Around here the LGS sells them for about $30 and some change. And this is with any Shield mag no matter if its the +1 or the standard mag.

The extra 9mm barrel is more of the "finding" issue.

 

[sstewart]

so you think I can't get 40 barrel from S&W. Or bad idea to put old 40 shield slide, recoil spring & new barrel on 9mm frame.

 

[Robotech]

Everything but the slide, barrel, and magazines are identical between the Shield 9 & 40, so putting the 40 slide and barrel on a Shield 9 frame isn't a problem.

Getting a 40 replacement barrel may be difficult, but you might contact S&W and offer to send them the damaged barrel as "proof" of what you have, but more importantly, so they can examine the failure of the barrel. Yes, it may be "your fault" from a bad reload, but if I were S&W I'd really want the chance to look at it, perhaps even enough to send a free replacement.


.

 

[3hounds]

Why do you think this was your fault ?

3

 

[TahoeDust]

Oh man, double charged reload? That sucks, but it happens. Glad to hear you are OK.

If it was me I would pick up a 9mm Shield and keep an eye out for a .40 barrel. Being able to swap complete slides to change caliber would be convenient.

 

[Gyrene6891]

IMHO get the 40 and buy the 9 barrel...

 

[mrrick]

When reloading, after charging cases with powder, I ALWAYS take a flashlight and visually check the cases for double loads.

 

[sstewart]

I don't know if this was my fault. All I know is the case ruptured at the base of the round.

Called S & W twice now. They don't want to sell me a barrel. They are saying they no longer sell barrels anyone. Except certified armorers.

Referring me to the certified armorer at my LGS. Seems to me, He & owner don't want to do anything about this. I'm going to talk to him again next.


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[Dave Nowlin]

Lots of things could have happened here. The case might have been reloaded to many times. The .40S&W round is somewhat marginal anyway. When Glock first came out with this caliber they removed too much material from the chamber when cutting the feed ramp and some Glocks experienced what you described with factory ammo. The .40 Shield I had seemed to have adequate support of the case head. But too many reloads with the case or overload could easily have caused this issue. No handgun maker will support a warranty claim with reloads. Has Storm Lake or any other barrel maker come out with barrels for the Shield?

 

[sstewart]

Nope, no 3rd party barrels yet for the Shield. I agree completely with your post. I have been looking at my reloading setup for .40S&W. I am not posting here about that.

In Summary, I would like to purchase a 9mm shield, if I can get a .40 barrel. The at least I legitimately have both calibers then.
Unless, for some reason, pointed our here, thats not a good idea.