Reply from a few weeks: My M&P 40 Blew UP!!

[jcs152112]

After all the remarks and the troll statements about my experience. I am going to try to post pictures and show the reply I got from Smith & Wesson. I sent the ammo that was involved, but did not receive it back because I was told they were not ammo manufacturers so they could not ship it back. They did not test the ammo because "we do not test ammo", but I was required to send it back. I had an M&P 40 that exploded with Winchester white box 40 cal ammo. I sent the gun and the ammo to Smith & Wesson. I am posting hopefully the letter I received. Anyway, to those of you who said there were no pictures, and pretty much called me every name in the book. Here is your proof. I am screwed, I have nothing to show for this but a $779.95 pistol that did not function. Don't tell me I paid too much. I have already talked to the dealer I bought the pistol from and they were afraid to pursue the problem because of their relationship with Smith & Wesson.

 

[g8rb8]

My sympathies for what you've had to deal with. The price S&W offers for a replacement doesn't seem that good considering it's only roughly $50 less than from internet vendors.

I would be very unhappy with the situation as you describe it.

Take care.

 

[1hatchet]

jcs152112 thank you for the follow up and pictures.

 

[Cbollo]

Didn't read your other thread, what exactly happened? I'm no gun expert, and I can't really tell by the picture. Pretty messed up. I wouldn't let it go, I'd demand answers about what actually failed and how. Don't see how it would be possible for standard pressure 115 gr ammo to damage one of these without a defect of some kind. Did you any any kind of customizations at all?

 

[jcs152112]

straight out of the box...nothing changed. Shot Federal fine, shot reloads fine, then problems. I have tried all I can...Just wanted to let you fine people know what happened to me. I will never buy another I promise

 

[speedyquad]

Maybe the reloads started this with damage that went unnoticed, with the Winchesters doing the final damage to a "reload weakened" firearm.

 

[Tom_R]

There are threads all over the place about M&Ps experiencing failures with 40 caliber.

S&W's own frackin caliber doesn't work in their own damn guns. Beyond a disgrace.

Keep pushing it up the chain, and tell the place where you bought this gun that you insist on speaking with the S&W rep yourself.

Keep pushing the dealer, you are owed a brand new gun, free of charge.

 

[jstanfield103]

Sorry to hear you're troubles. I do remember all the comments on the previous post. To bad and to sad for S&W to let this happen with no replacement. If it was the ammo you can not even pursue that because now you do not have it. I like what the letter said about the being a valued customer. It shows with the way they took care of this how valued you really are.
Good Luck, now I am glad I converted my 40 to 9mm.

 

[fjweems3]

After all the remarks and the troll statements about my experience. I am going to try to post pictures and show the reply I got from Smith & Wesson. I sent the ammo that was involved, but did not receive it back because I was told they were not ammo manufacturers so they could not ship it back. They did not test the ammo because "we do not test ammo", but I was required to send it back. I had an M&P 40 that exploded with Winchester white box 40 cal ammo. I sent the gun and the ammo to Smith & Wesson. I am posting hopefully the letter I received. Anyway, to those of you who said there were no pictures, and pretty much called me every name in the book. Here is your proof. I am screwed, I have nothing to show for this but a $779.95 pistol that did not function. Don't tell me I paid too much. I have already talked to the dealer I bought the pistol from and they were afraid to pursue the problem because of their relationship with Smith & Wesson.

That is awful. I don't blame you for being angered at Smith.

 

[6string]

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. S&W should make good on this!
I have a 29 that I sent back for a timing adjustment and barrel set back. They did a rather poor job, especially for the money it cost. I wrote back expressing my disappointment with their work, and how unhappy I was with the work on a very favorite revolver. Not only did S&W fix it right free of cost, I got a letter expressing their commitment to do it right signed by Roy Jinks!
It did a lot to bolster my opinion of, what is in fact, a very large corporation that can make mistakes.
I'd like to think they'll do right by you if can get ahold of the right person.

 

[MichiganScott]

There are threads all over the place about M&Ps experiencing failures with 40 caliber.

S&W's own frackin caliber doesn't work in their own damn guns. Beyond a disgrace.

The majority of Glock failures tend to be with .40 S&W's also. Maybe it's time to discard the .40 totally or relegate it to steel framed firearms.

There's more to the story about the FBI going back to the 9mm from the .40 because of the increasing number of small framed recruits and better 9mm ammunition. The .40 was designed to be used in 9mm framed handguns. There were some spectacular failures before manufacturers learned that the process was not as simple as replacing barrels and recoil springs.

I don't own a .40 and never will. When I want something bigger than a 9mm, it's a 1911 in .45 ACP.

 

[dmar]

Sorry for your troubles, that's a shame to be out that money. I didn't see your other thread, but it does not surprise me that you got personal attacks/criticism. A lot of guys get very, very defensive about any criticism of a gun that they own, or have invested in... And, a lot of people are just plain jerks on the anonymous internet! I guarantee people would not speak to my face the way, at times, that I've been spoken to over the net.

Anyway, have you contacted Winchester about the problem? They may offer some sort of recourse for you?

BTW, based on what I've heard over the years, if a manufacturer (ammo, or gun) hears that you've run reloads through you gun, they usually will not stand behind their warranty/provide compensation. As a responsible reloader, I think this is BS, but I can also understand the reasoning. A lot of good folks on this forum, however.

As an aside, I also have nothing to do with the .40. Snappy round that seems to cause a lot of problems for folks... I had an inox Beretta 96 (.40 cal.) one time and sold it. I do own a couple of 10mm guns. If you're going to do it, do it right! .

Good luck to you.

 

[cubanchurchill]

You never should have sent the ammo to S&W. You need the lot # off the box. I had a FNP 45 blow up in my hands. I sent it back to FNH and then contacted the Ammo manufacturer. FNH replaced the pistol at no cost to me and the Ammo manufacturer said they would replace it if FNH didn't. The ammo company then refunded my cost of shipping the firearm to FNH and also the price of the box of ammo. My friend you have gotten screwed somehow.

 

[M29since14]

...Keep pushing it up the chain, and tell the place where you bought this gun that you insist on speaking with the S&W rep yourself.

Maybe this will work. One big dealer in my area has "S&W Days" once or twice a year that usually feature a factory sales/field rep on-site. Take the gun, letter, and your story to one of those and see if you can quietly handle the problem with the field rep.

If this problem really was your fault, or the fault of the ammunition used, they should as least be willing to say that so you can learn from your mistake, whatever they think it was.

If you really have no fault in this matter I would "make a nuisance" of myself until this matter was resolved properly. The offer in the letter strikes me as bordering on insult, but we do not know what S&W thinks they found in evaluating your pistol.

 

[Arik]

The problem with 40 is way overblown. There were initial problems but there are more 40 cal handguns out there with tens of thousands of rounds through them without a hiccup then there are those that failed. Sometimes the ammo manufacturer messes up and sometimes the firearm manufacturer messes up. By some of your guys thoughts I figure if I see a pic of a broken 1911 it must mean,the 45 is a bad round that shouldn't be shot in a 1911

 

[hardluk1]

Not this again . Ammo spent to s&w was a major mistake . You should have contacted Winchester first . Now you have no recourse . Buy a Case gauge and check a few random rounds of ammo from all new ammo if brand or lot number if different and learn to do plunk test regardless of the cartridge . Fire a round or two and look the fired cases over if you continue to use cheap low qc lines of ammo this can happen with any number of quality firearms .

I have shot the 40sw since '92 I have always had a 40sw for CC needs but also learned to pay closer attention to how loaded ammo fits a case gauge and the chamber and how brass looks after firing a couple rounds do to being a reloader . Live and learn . Should have contacted Winchester !!

 

[bulldogman]

Sorry to hear about the problems you had with your M&P. Obviously the wild card was using reloads. I would contact Winchester and request they supply a shipping label to S&W to have the ammo shipped to them for inspection. S&W's statement that they can't send the ammo back to you sounds fishy, I shipped some faulty .22 ammo back to Remington and I'm sure not an ammo MFR. but they did supply me with a shipping label.

You need to put some pressure on both S&W and Winchester to get to the bottom of this.

 

[Virginia John]

I hate to say this but you may want to get a lawyer involved.

 

[hoc9sw]

Can't say that a lawyer is a good idea. You'd spend a lot of money for little potential value. If no one was injured, the potential value of the case would not get much attention unless you got hooked up with an anti-gun type, in which case you'd do the cause more damage than good.

 

[Buford57]

One lesson I have learned from this is that in a similar situation I would not send all of the ammo in use to one entity, whether it was the firearm manufacturer, the ammo manufacturer or an independent lab. I would definitely record the lot number before letting go of the box. You could not have anticipated this result.

I do find S&W's assertion that they couldn't return your ammo because they are not an ammo manufacturer to be a little odd since they requested and accepted shipment of same from you, who are also not an ammo manufacturer.