Round explodes while clearing S&W .40

[Glenn H]

Catching the round looks cool. Kind of like holding the pistol sideways.

Thanks for the detailed explanation upthread. For those of us old enough to remember the 55gal sand filled barrels outside various hooches here is a story you might enjoy.

Vietnam War Stories: Phu Loi, Shootout at Long Binh Finance-East! by: Jay Brown. 1971.

 

[S&W5906]

.....Military guys seem to be big on catching the chambered round, not sure why.

Because unless you are in a fight, rounds have to be accounted for. If an SP goes out with 10 rounds, he had better come back and turn in 10 rounds at the end of his watch. Or have a good reason for having used any.

 

[TheYoungblood]

During a gun class in the late 90's the instructor stated someone once encountered a double feed causing similar incident. The ejector made contact one rounds primer resulting in ignition while out of the chamber. It is unlikely but still in the realm of possible.

Sigh, English. Must learn it.

 

[shawn mccarver]

I have heard of that before. The best way to find out is to check the primer indent. It is possible that while pulling the slide to the rear that the extractor lost control of the round as it was pulling it rearward out of the chamber and it might have hit the top round in the mag and went right into the ejector and it went off. The expended rnd. would show that by the indent mark. Bob St.George

This a yet another reason to NOT participate in the strange preoccupation of trying to turn your .40 into a 9mm by changing barrels.

There seems to be thread after thread about this idiotic practice, and the same people refuse to listen to reason each time the issue comes up.

Since the breech face has different dimensions, due to the different size of the case heads, the 9mm has slop and the live cartridge can move sideways upon ejection of a live round turning your ejector into a spare firing pin.

Since it can happen with a proper size cartridge, it seems more likely with a cartridge that is too small for the breech face.

I have enough excitement and do not need to take any extra chances to blow my fingers to smitherines by having an ill fitting cartridge ignited by my own ejector.

If you want to shoot on the cheap, get a 22!

 

[losingle]

Lot good info on this post. Amazing what I can learn, didn't convince me. He pulled the trigger.

 

[Paints-n-cows]

I would like to see the round casing and see what it looked like...to include the primer.

If there is a strike on the primer, it would be interesting to see what the indentation looked like

 

[mscampbell2734]

Whiles its always fun to second guess someone else's accidents without photos of the brass and such its really pointless.

Having said that MY.02 go to a dropped round hitting gravel or some such on the ground, causing the round to explode. This is supported by the part about the officer catching some shrapnel in his leg.

As for the various ways to unload, yes I've heard of rounds going off from slipping off the extractor and the primer hitting the ejector. Never seen it happen in 10 years as an instructor. But I've seen 3 or 4 rounds explode when dropped on gravel. Take your pick.

 

[Paints-n-cows]

Having said that MY.02 go to a dropped round hitting gravel or some such on the ground, causing the round to explode. This is supported by the part about the officer catching some shrapnel in his leg.

If I remember correctly, it said that the round fired as he ejected it. There was no mention of it hitting the ground, only clearing the chamber.

 

[VTHokiesDuckHunter]

Most likely pulled the trigger. 99% of "accidental discharges" are of course "negligent discharges".

Guns are mechanical devices, and "accidental discharges" could happen, which is why all of the elements of gun safety must be adhered to (pointed down range in a safe direction, etc.)

But most likely, this was a "negligent discharge".

 

[oldnfat]

Wow, I had not heard of this before. Thanks to all who contributed for the info. I will certainly be mindful of this when ejecting an unspent round.

 

[S&WIowegan]

Yes it can happen...a guy did it to himself many years ago at one of our local IPSC clubs. He was unloading to show clear and had his left wrist near the ejection port. Assume the round bounced off his wrist back into the gun. The blow-out caused said wrist to bleed profusely but nothing permanent.

Brian Enos has written about a .38 Special round dropping onto gravel and detonating....I believe it happened to him during a practice session many years ago.

 

[TripPowers]

There are a number of odd recalls I found once extractor issues deep in the heap

 

[retarmyaviator]

Yes, it happens. Usually the result of the primer hitting the ejector as the slide is being drawn quickly rearward. For some reason, .40's seem more prone to it, but it can happen with any caliber.

It is somewhat rare, but I have heard about it often enough, and seen the photos of mangled fingers, to make sure I keep my hand clear of the ejection port when ejecting any live rounds.

Front Sight, the USPSA magazine, had an article about this last year. It does happen and as stated above it is more common with 40 S&W.

I have since gotten in the habit when clearing after a course of fire to tilt the pistol to the right with the ejection port facing away and down before ejecting the last round. Easy to do being left handed.

 

[goldenlight]

He pulled the trigger.

Exactly this.

He messed up. How he got any knowledgeable person to believe this horse pucky is beyond my ability to comprehend.

 

[Smith357]

I'm not sure I believe it. Clearing a semi-auto must have happen millions of times a day. Will someone explain how that could happen?

One possibility, a longshot, he did not wait long enough for a dud/hangfire and it went off while clearing. You are supposed to wait for 30 seconds on a dud just in case the round decides to discharge.

 

[steve154]

Several years ago I had just finished a qualification. I had placed my duty ammo (180 grain Federal HS) in an empty 50 round box. When I grabbed the box off the bench and turned the bottom of the box fell out and the dumped on the ground. In a flash it felt like someone hit my left hand with a bat. One of the rounds went off. The casing turned to schrapnel. One of the peieces went in my hand an buried under a tendon, anoher hit my groin and penetrated my pants, but not my shorts and another piece hit me in the belly and penetrated my jacket. I ended up having surgery to remove the piece in my hand and was off work for a month.

 

[firescout]

One possibility, a longshot, he did not wait long enough for a dud/hangfire and it went off while clearing. You are supposed to wait for 30 seconds on a dud just in case the round decides to discharge.

The article didn't say they were shooting at the range. The Lt. was going to show a reserve officer his sidearm.

From the info in the article, and the S&W warning in the manual, I would say that the primer hit the ejector as the Lt. was 'briskly' racking the slide back.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

As others have said, look at the primer, if it's even still in the case.

Military folks handle their weapons too much. In some cases, like going on and off watch, it's probably unavoidable. But going into an office building, or a chow hall? Ridiculous, at least for a handgun. A loaded handgun will seldom jump out of one's holster and shoot someone, but a loaded handgun being played with will often discharge, for all kinds of reasons, most of them having something to do with the trigger.

Excuse me. Back to my revolvers.

 

[Sebago Son]

I don't have a pistol but I've been researching for one. I've read that if you pull the slide back too quickly and all the planets align perfectly, the ejector can strike the primer and cause a discharge. Is this possible, or just an old wive's tale?
By the way, once I scrape enough pennies together I'm gettin' an M&P 40c.

I actually witnessed this happen with a Colts 1911. The operator was a very experienced, mature guy. He was wearing gloves and this was a winter exercise. The primer had a clearly rectangular imprint. Was pretty exciting. The brass split, the bullet fell back into the action and fell out of the empty magazine well, landing at his feet. The gas escaped the ejection port.

 

[jchiusano017]

SD40VE Round Explodes Shrapnel in Wife's upper Lip

I've never heard of a round exploding as it's being ejected, especially from a S&W.

rs-gun/]Round explodes while Ridgefield officer clears gun[/SIZE] | The Columbian

Bought 2 of these pistols new in Dec. First time going out with the wife to fire them at the range. Hers misfires. Mine does fine 2 magazines through it with no problems. Headed home to drop off my wife, picked up my friend and went back to the range. Fired 2 magazines through my wifes gun no problems. About 2 months later, we go back to the range (05/17/13). Clip holds 15 rounds. My wife fires first. Shot 1 clip. Then I shot. Then she shoots.... by the 6th round, the chamber opened and shrapnel flew at her upper lip. ER visit. Still has shrapnel in upper lip. Was shooting winchester s&w 40 165 grain full metal jackets at the range with a mound of dirt and plywood. Was not a ricochet.