please help me understand what happened

S&WNUT would it be possible that the cases are different lengths and some of the longer ones got a very hard roll crimp while reloading, therefore caused a higher pressure load. Just thinkin....
 
At one time I used to use a tool to 'uniform' the primer pockets. I found that it caused pitting on the breech faces of my guns due to escaping gases. Needless to say, I threw that brass away and discontinued the practice. No more pitting.
Looking at the photos, I notice the primers look very flattened, some even dished inwards. Not normal. I'd be careful here drawing conclusions. If your loads were not excessive, and your primer pockets had not been messed with; it is possible that the firing pin bushing was incorrectly installed and may have caused the problem.
If you use the same loads in another gun with known good performance, do the primer pockets still leak? (You may already know the answer to this). I wonder whether factory loads would produce the same results in terms of primer leaks. Maybe have an experienced local gunsmith look at it before calling S&W. I believe they could replace the FP bushing, refinish the surrounding metal, and make it look alot better.
 
Last edited:
My goodness, those are some scary looking primers. For sure you have gas leaking around them. What others said before, and I'll add that I won't load Unique on my progressive press.
In the process of weight checking my Unique loads on some 45 Colt reloads from the progressive, I found the powder measure always crept upward in charge weight, never downward, whether the reservoir was baffled or open, whether the reservoir was full or half, always upward in weight. I checked to be sure the charge screw wasn't creeping, tapped down the reservoir before starting, but always, the charge crept up.
I now throw Unique powder with the measure one case at a time, hand weigh and trickle to adjust all Unique loads now.
I'm using either an old Lyman #55 measure or a Hornady LNL. Using Unique, the Lyman does better than the Hornady for me. Unique is a good powder in its versatility, but meters very badly in my experience. The always creeping heavier charge off the LNL measure scared the daylights out of me. Other powders go up a tenth, down a tenth, back and forth, back and forth, but not Unique. I can't explain it for sure, but I think it's related to settling in the measure reservoir.

I think you're out of luck on a S&W warranty or repair, and maybe a smith could make and fit a larger firing pin bushing, but I don't know if a smith would take on the potential liability.
Primers are cheap. When in doubt, throw them out.
 
Are you going to send the gun back to S&W?
If, as you seem to suspect, the gun is causing the problem due to an overlong firing pin or too enthusiastic hammer fall, then the problem is with the gun and S&W should make it right.

However, I wouldn't hold my breath.... (but you never know)
 
It appears to be an over charge to me. You can see some of the primers are flat and there is some flow around the firing pin dent.
 
Groo here
Those primers look concave not flat.
If so , I think you have a low pressure that pushed out the primer
with out expanding the case.
This could cause the primer to leak[ less support from the primer pocket] also the impact of the primer / case might also be a factor.
I would not think pressure with a concave primer.
 
Primers are cratering and leaking around he edges. What bullet did you use?
Are you certain it was 4.5g of Unique you were using?
I routinely shoot this load for Steel Challenge with a 158g lead bullet. It is a light target load.
 
firing pin bushing

Erosion around firing pin bushing , can be ammo ,or primer related , in any event the bushing may be able to be replaced
and the bolster face refinished. You should contact customer service .
 
I am just wondering WHY you kept firing the same ammo after this situation first started? I would think that you could not have missed this in your routine cleaning sessions. S&W might install a new FP Bushing but the damage around it is part of the Revolver's Frame and can not be reasonably repaired IMHO.

I would ditch the loaded ammo you have with these components and get rid of any remaining stock. I've also used many older components without this happening, but a shooter/re-loader should ALWAYS take note of abnormal signs when cleaning the gun afterwards.
 
I am not worried about warranty just hope it can be fixed.

Find a gunsmith and have him punch out the bushing and see if the frame will hold a new one.

It won't be pretty but it should work fine for a CCW.

If you send it to S&W they may want to scrap the frame.
 
Last edited:
My guess would be soft primers and a too long firing pin. Looks like the strike crushed the primers pulling the outer edge inward thus losing the seal.
I would call S&W for sure. Send them the pictures by e-mail. Very likely send them the gun along with some of that brass. Up to them what they want to do.
However, be aware that S&W might not return the gun to you due to liability reasons. I've heard of that happening with frame damaged guns before. OTOH, I consider that gun in its current condition to be unusable anyway. So you have nothing to lose.
 
A good machinist could probably make and fit an oversized bushing to eliminate most of the existing pitting. Of course a new firing pin would be in order also. The key would be convincing someone that you would assume all liability for such a modification and not them. If it was my gun, I would certainly try to fix it before calling it a paperweight. As others have said, odds are against S&W fixing it.
 
Fortunately, we're not in a situation (yet) where a replacement cannot be obtained. If this 442 is an EDC, I would certainly not use it, fire it, or try to repair it. Buy another gun. Am I stepping on any toes by suggesting the new EDC be fired with factory ammo only, given the situation with the current gun?

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
I am just wondering WHY you kept firing the same ammo after this situation first started? I would think that you could not have missed this in your routine cleaning sessions. S&W might install a new FP Bushing but the damage around it is part of the Revolver's Frame and can not be reasonably repaired IMHO.

I would ditch the loaded ammo you have with these components and get rid of any remaining stock. I've also used many older components without this happening, but a shooter/re-loader should ALWAYS take note of abnormal signs when cleaning the gun afterwards.

The few rounds (35) of the hundred fired is what it took to do this it was clean when we started and this was found during cleaning as it gets every time it is shot
 
S&W Replaced the 442 with no problem a great company and made in USA

Great news on some awesome S&W customer service! Did they offer up what they found to have happened with the gun? Did they question, or mention reloads?
 
Reloaded ammo voids any warranty. You say the primers were leaking? Something wrong with cases or primer. I think you're going to eat this one.

Not a personal thing, but I can tell you from experience this is NOT necessarily true. One needs to have his "ducks in a row" when talking to Smith about warranty work and handloads, but I own a 629 Classic that failed during use of some of my handloads. Smith replaced the cylinder at their expense. It took some explaining and a bit of argumentation on my part, but they did replace what I still believe was a faulty part.

Evidently that happened in this instance as well. I am glad. Thankfully, Smith is an American-owned company again. That had to help...
 
Back
Top