Ruptured Cartridge in new 9mm Shield

[STRunner91]

I shot my brand new 9mm Shield yesterday for first time. First mag of 7 with new Federal 135 gr Hydra-Shok JHP went off smoothly. Second mag were all FMJ, some Federal and some PMC, which I believe to be reloads. Got these from a guy a while back in a big box. Have shot a few from this batch with no issues. First 4 rounds OK, but on the 5th round the base of the cartridge came apart. It was a PMC cartridge.

It blew out mostly along the lower side at the feed ramp, as you can see by the piece taking the shape of the ramp. The cartridge is cracked over half way around. It jammed tight and took a lot of pull on the slide to eject the cartridge. The gun looks good, though. I tore it down, cleaned it, and inspected it closely with 5X and 10X glasses. It appears unharmed and after reassembly, it seems to function normally.

Has anyone ever had this happen to them? If the gun appears good and functions like it should, would you shoot it, or send it to S&W to have it checked out? It's brand new and still under warranty. Probably wasn't the gun's fault. Who knows? This is my first M&P and this is the first time I've experienced a cartridge failure such as this. I don't reload, but I have shot reloads others have loaded for years with no issues.

Anyway, thank you for your time and input..

 

[Dmaxboy08]

this is why you NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER shoot someone else reloads. Im very glad you are okay tho. As far as what caused it, someone will chime in and give the answer. If i had to guess, i would say overcharged.

 

[Franklin]

NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER shoot someone else reloads, its bound to happen. That overcharged cartrige would have ruptured in any gun, don't blame the Shield.

 

[bp231986]

Your warranty went out the door when you shot reloads....i think?
As far as what happen..was probably loaded toooo HOT or the brass was reloaded once to many times.

Best of luck

Bryan

 

[Dean1818]

You were lucky.

It could have come from a reload that was double charged.

Don't push your luck...... Toss (in an appropriate way ) the rest of the
Reloads.

 

[Jasonm43]

I shot my brand new 9mm Shield yesterday for first time. First mag of 7 with new Federal 135 gr Hydra-Shok JHP went off smoothly. Second mag were all FMJ, some Federal and some PMC, which I believe to be reloads. Got these from a guy a while back in a big box. Have shot a few from this batch with no issues. First 4 rounds OK, but on the 5th round the base of the cartridge came apart. It was a PMC cartridge.

It blew out mostly along the lower side at the feed ramp, as you can see by the piece taking the shape of the ramp. The cartridge is cracked over half way around. It jammed tight and took a lot of pull on the slide to eject the cartridge. The gun looks good, though. I tore it down, cleaned it, and inspected it closely with 5X and 10X glasses. It appears unharmed and after reassembly, it seems to function normally.

Has anyone ever had this happen to them? If the gun appears good and functions like it should, would you shoot it, or send it to S&W to have it checked out? It's brand new and still under warranty. Probably wasn't the gun's fault. Who knows? This is my first M&P and this is the first time I've experienced a cartridge failure such as this. I don't reload, but I have shot reloads others have loaded for years with no issues.

Anyway, thank you for your time and input..

Ur warranty is no longer as smith can tell what powder was in the ammo whe. Shot all they do is a swab and they know as far as what happened that brass was loaded one to many times and it ruptured where the brass is unsupported all be it very small area where it isn't in contact that's what happens .. As others have said Never never never never shoot ne reloads that u didn't do ! Period. End of question u got lucky

 

[STRunner91]

Thank you for your responses. I think I may take your advice, Dean1818, and consider getting rid of the rest. Saving a buck or two isn't worth it with this kind of stuff. I always wear safety glasses and this was a perfect example of why. Didn't feel too good on the hand and face when it happened. All of the other cartridges fired and looked normal afterwards, but this one had issues.

As far as the gun itself though, structurally, I believe the gun to be sound. The poly frame appears perfect and none of the visible parts seem bent, distorted, or otherwise out of place when compared to a parts schematic of the gun. If the chamber wall was cracked anywhere, it is likely that I would see it with the 10X, which I didn't. But since this is a firearm and it is my well-being and possibly the well-being of others at stake here, I may take the barrel to a local nondestructive testing acquaintance and have the barrel penetrant tested for cracks before I shoot the gun again.

 

[MichiganScott]

As far as the gun itself though, structurally, I believe the gun to be sound. The poly frame appears perfect and none of the visible parts seem bent, distorted, or otherwise out of place when compared to a parts schematic of the gun. If the chamber wall was cracked anywhere, it is likely that I would see it with the 10X, which I didn't. But since this is a firearm and it is my well-being and possibly the well-being of others at stake here, I may take the barrel to a local nondestructive testing acquaintance and have the barrel penetrant tested for cracks before I shoot the gun again.

FWIW, that looks like tired brass and not a high pressure failure. I believe that if you can't see any damage under 10X, their probably isn't any. I'd have a gunsmith check the chamber out to see if it was bulged.

Of course, you could always call up the guy you got the ammo from and ask him if he'd like to put a magazine full downrange from your new gun.

 

[Fkimble]

I suspect the bullet hit the rifling just prior to being completely in the chamber stopping forward motion. Different shape bullets can do this even though they are no longer overall than a different shaped bullet nose that works fine. Also could have been a case that was not completely resized causing it to not completely chamber. And as mentioned could have been faulty brass or an over load. Just for grins, remove the barrel and run all those reloads thru a kerplunck test. See if they freely drop into the barrel and then freely drop out when the barrel is inverted. I bet they dont pass. Anyway I woould break them down for the brass and bullets and primer. Don't try to remove the primers.

 

[3hounds]

I would not break them down for the brass.

If you reload pull the bullets and save them.

Is there a bulge on the case's of the factory rounds ?

3

 

[STRunner91]

I like your idea, MichiganScott. I may do just that. I know where the guy works and may pay him a visit one day soon, but at the moment, I'd like to stick a few up his barrel so to speak. Better give myself a cooling off period. He seemed sincere enough that it was all good ammo. Darn near 300 rounds left and I'm afraid to shoot any one of them. It's my own darn fault and I've gotten what I payed for.

I am thankful we were shooting outside, and nobody was right next to me, and the little gun contained it rather well. Right hand was a bit sore but OK now.

Having a gunsmith look it over is a good idea, though. Very wise suggestion. Thanks..

 

[HereSinceTheLongHunters]

Glad you're OK.. good lesson for us noobs.

 

[MJClark]

I agree with having a gunsmith look it over. I have seen something similar with a Glock (not me).

After quite a bit of investigation, it was determined that it was bad brass and it was a standard load. If it was a hot load, there would be more damage to thr gun, however, The gun suffered no damage.

 

[STRunner91]

3hounds, the first mag of factory Federals I shot don't appear to be bulged, but they must be a little because all but a couple, when I slide the spent cases into the chamber, there is friction beginning approx. .1" before the cases seat in the chamber. The other two slide right in, but didn't have any slop when they were all the way seated, like an unshot round. All of the other spent cases from the suspect batch exhibit the same friction upon entering the chamber at around .1". They all can be seated fully and withdrawn without too much pulling.

Also, I did what Fkimble suggested (the ole kurplunck test) and dropped the unshot suspect ammo into the Shield's chamber. 100% dropped in and dropped out, with no friction at all. Just for comparison, I took down my Glock 19 and did the same with it with a few rounds, and the results were exactly the same. I have a cheap plastic dial caliper that's not accurate to down to .001, but good enough for rough comparisons. I measured the ID of the Glock chamber and the Shield chamber, and both seem the same. If anything, the Glock seems ever so slightly tighter than the Shield. I measured across the Shield's chamber at many points so the fractured round doesn't appear to have caused the chamber to become oblong in shape, at least using my crude measurements. Everything seems true and round. One thing I noticed was that the Shield's feed ramp seems to extend further into the chamber than on the Glock. Interesting.. Maybe it's my eyes, but the difference seems significant. It appears that there would be more of the case unsupported by the straight chamber wall in the Shield, than in the Glock. Probably my imagination..

Thanks, HereSinceTheLongHunters. I'm 54 and have had guns most of my life, but right now I feel a bit like a noob. The science of reloading is way outside of my current knowledge base. I knew I'd find some good guidance here.

 

[STRunner91]

I never mentioned it before, but the bullet did make it through the barrel when the round fired. Barrel was clear.

 

[catcus-jack]

All cases expand when they are fired.If the guy you got the ammo from stated they were reloads the ball is in your court.I am sure he did not force you to fire them.You made that decesion on your own.I would have no trouble pulling the bullets and using the cases with the primers,maybe even the bullets after inspecting all components.

 

[Skunkhome]

Thank you for your responses. I think I may take your advice, Dean1818, and consider getting rid of the rest. Saving a buck or two isn't worth it with this kind of stuff. I always wear safety glasses and this was a perfect example of why. Didn't feel too good on the hand and face when it happened. All of the other cartridges fired and looked normal afterwards, but this one had issues.

As far as the gun itself though, structurally, I believe the gun to be sound. The poly frame appears perfect and none of the visible parts seem bent, distorted, or otherwise out of place when compared to a parts schematic of the gun. If the chamber wall was cracked anywhere, it is likely that I would see it with the 10X, which I didn't. But since this is a firearm and it is my well-being and possibly the well-being of others at stake here, I may take the barrel to a local nondestructive testing acquaintance and have the barrel penetrant tested for cracks before I shoot the gun again.

What is this about saving a buck or two? Did you buy these loads? If someone is making and selling "reloads" they must have a ammo manufactures license which means they have to have a bunch of insurance to cover such events. On the other hand reloads are like wine and beer. You can make it for your own consumption but you are not permitted to sell it or give it away. If you bought them you need to pay the seller a visit and tell them someone owes you a new gun and they can count themselves lucky no one was injured.

 

[STRunner91]

All is well. I called the guy today that sold me the ammo. He was shaken by what happened and very apologetic. He's giving me my money back and only asked that I not shoot any more and dispose of the rest. He admitted buying them as reloads while at a gun show several years ago, but reiterated that he had shot quite a bit from the batch with no issues. Truthfully, I believe this guy. But we both agreed that it only took one bad round to render the rest unusable. I believe the guy was being sincere. Both of us vowed to heed the warning from you guys about shooting reloads.

Talked to a S&W Rep today and spent quite a bit of time going through what happened and looking at the gun where and as he instructed. He was confident in my evaluation and felt along the lines of the "tired brass" assessment, as opposed to the over-loaded round scenario. He's seen a lot of these blown up by overloads and mine doesn't fit into that category. I think I will shoot it again (with good ammo) later this week after one more guy looks it over for me to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Thanks for all of your posts. You folks are awesome!

 

[Maddmax]

Thanks for your follow-up.

 

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Ur warranty is no longer as smith can tell what powder was in the ammo whe. Shot all they do is a swab and they know as far as what happened that brass was loaded one to many times and it ruptured where the brass is unsupported all be it very small area where it isn't in contact that's what happens ..

So you're saying that if you ever shoot a reload in a S&W you no longer have a warranty?