S&W M329 PD Gas Shield Erosion w/Ramshot Enforcer

I don't know why it has to be sent to S&W for replacement. The gun still functions without the blast shield, and even though it needs to be replaced, it is not life threatening.

With all the problems and there are more than covered here, I wouldn't be without my 329s. As stated above, I recognize the limitations and can live with them in exchange for the light weight.

Paul
 
If shot a lot with upper end loads, this is a gun that needs more frequent maintenance/repair than conventional steel revolvers. It's the price that one pays for this light weight technology in a cartridge like the .44 Mag.

Anyone that is going to rely on the 329 for personal protection with "real" .44 Mag loads, needs to understand that the "lock" and crimp jump (bullet movement under recoil) can be problems.

Test your carry ammo thoroughly before betting your life on it.

Paul
 
Paul, again, thanks for your honesty. I fully understand about not being without your M329 too.

I can tell you what I would do though, and, you can do what you want, I would change powders to one I KNEW would be less offensive to my firearm AND gave me near full magnum performance.

Here are a few I would try. IMR 4227, 2400, SR4756, AA#7, Longshot.

Paul5388 has made several comments about ball powders and flame cutting being more pronounced than other powder types, i.e. flake or stick. Those are the ones I would try first.

Another thing I would try is a near magnum load with Unique or Herco or SR4756, something in that burn rate. You don't need ALL the flash bang ALL the time. But at just a little over 400 rounds and a failure, I don't know.

It would be interesting, and you have a good firearm to prove it out, to find out if Paul's theory is correct.

I do have another question, are either one of your firearms more succeptable or have they both acted the same? Does one wear out more than the other? Just curious.

Again, thanks for your candid responses.
 
Skip,

Gun 1
At 2,780 rounds the gun suffered complete blast shield failure. 427 rounds after repair the blast shield fell off.

Gun 2
Blast shield fell off at round 513 and was replaced. It then shot 3,102 rounds before complete blast shield failure.

I'm currently using a starting load of VV N110 – it is a stick powder (very similar in appearance to 4227) with a burn rate close to 2400. We'll see.

Paul
 
Paul,
How many rounds have you fired since using VV N110? If there was wear and tear visible after only 400 rounds or so, you should have some idea after 100. Just wondering.

Again, not throwing stones at your choice or reasons behind your choice of firearms. I fully understand the NEED for a firearm like the M329. I just think that there could be some different system of blast shield designed for it. Maybe a dovetailed insert that can be replaced by the owner or something.

I do know this, as good as Smith and Wesson firearms have been in the past, there is someone that works for them that can come up with a better solution.
 
As far as I could tell and IIRC, the blast shields that fell off at 400 and 500 rounds were the result of an installation/frame problem -- i.e. not erosion related. So, I'm guessing it will take 300 to 500 rounds to start to see anything.

The gun I'm working with has had 174 rounds fired to date (since the new frame/blast shield). A2400 - 26 rnds, H110 - 52 rnds, HP38 - 6 rnds, and VV N110 - 90 rnds. I took the pictures today for future comparison purposes:

DAJ09xxBlastShield174Rnds-1.jpg


DAJ09xxBlastShield174Rnds-2.jpg



I don't see any erosion at this point. The second photo shows what looks like a shallow depression in the area you would expect to see erosion. I couldn't feel anything with the figer nail or a plastic pick -- it might be light shadow and/or residue that didn't get cleaned off or stress from where the front of the shield was bent to fit under the barrel extension.

Paul
 
Hello Paul, I am curious how your experimenting with stick powders is going. I hope to shoot mine this weekend and am debating using some rounds already loaded with H110 for my Blackhawk, or starting the 329 on 4227 and avoiding H110 all together with it.
 
tek,


I've only shot 400 rounds total (350 w/VV N110). I just cleaned the blast shield and I can see a faint erosion line starting to show. I tried to get a good picture, but couldn't get both light and camera to cooperate. This gun is a bit slow (velocity wise) to what others have posted on different forums. Example: 21.7gr of H110 under Beartooth bullets 325gr WLNGC clocks at 1,085fps at 5 paces from the muzzle and about 60 deg F. Hodgdon lists 22.0 as max with this bullet. So, I took a look at the barrel/cyl gap. A business card that measures .009 on my calipers fits in the gap and the gap feels a bit larger than that -- this may also be contributing to some of the blast shield erosion that has started.

I've had at least 4 blast shields replaced by S&W at no cost to me (they also picked up shipping both ways). If it was me, I'd just go ahead and shoot the gun and let S&W fix whatever problem develops.

FWIW,

Paul
 
Paul105 said:
tek,


I've only shot 400 rounds total (350 w/VV N110). I just cleaned the blast shield and I can see a faint erosion line starting to show. I tried to get a good picture, but couldn't get both light and camera to cooperate. This gun is a bit slow (velocity wise) to what others have posted on different forums. Example: 21.7gr of H110 under Beartooth bullets 325gr WLNGC clocks at 1,085fps at 5 paces from the muzzle and about 60 deg F. Hodgdon lists 22.0 as max with this bullet. So, I took a look at the barrel/cyl gap. A business card that measures .009 on my calipers fits in the gap and the gap feels a bit larger than that -- this may also be contributing to some of the blast shield erosion that has started.

I've had at least 4 blast shields replaced by S&W at no cost to me (they also picked up shipping both ways). If it was me, I'd just go ahead and shoot the gun and let S&W fix whatever problem develops.

FWIW,

Paul
Click to expand...

Is that barrel to cylinder gap within spec in the eyes of S&W? I would think that should be fixed under warranty.
 
Does H110 burn that much hotter, or is it the size of the granules of powder being small enough to flow through the gap and act like a sandblaster?
 
tec

I don't know -- the explanation I have heard is that it's more of a sandblasting effect.

By the way, the gun used in the above test has only seen limited Hodgdon H110 use (only 3 rounds since the picture w/no erosion) -- the vast majority was VV N110 (a stick powder similar to I4227 in appearance, but faster in burn rate).

Also, the blast shields that I have had replaced were eroded with A2400.

Hammerdown,

I think S&Ws bbl/cyl gap specs are pretty generous.

Paul
 
Paul105--Have you tried the J-B Weld "fix" for your 329PD top strap erosion problems? Mine has been installed for quite some time now, and it is still holding up to the extent that I haven't had to re-apply it.
 
Shuz said:
Paul105--Have you tried the J-B Weld "fix" for your 329PD top strap erosion problems? Mine has been installed for quite some time now, and it is still holding up to the extent that I haven't had to re-apply it.
Click to expand...

I'm interested in the details of your fix. What did you have to do to prep the metal? There's only .010" between top of cylinder and blast shield, so I'm curious to know how to apply a thin coat of JB. Even though I stay away from H110/W296 and use Enforcer exclusively, my blast shield is going away. I've got long over 1k rounds with this one and it will probably hold up for another 500+, but I would like to stretch it out if possible.
 
Just thought I'd toss out an idea ... see what you can do with some razor blades to make your own replacement blast shields, even if they fail relatively soon ... replacement becomes cheap and easy, but I suspect that the razor blade stainless steel just might hold up better than the factory part.
 
I'm curious just what material is the blast shield made out of??. From looking at the pics all it appears to be is a piece of steel with a bend in it that goes under the forcing cone plus the hole for what looks like a retaining pin. Frank
 
Shuz said:
Paul105--Have you tried the J-B Weld "fix" for your 329PD top strap erosion problems? Mine has been installed for quite some time now, and it is still holding up to the extent that I haven't had to re-apply it.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I haven't tried it.

Paul
 
venomballistics said:
Just thought I'd toss out an idea ... see what you can do with some razor blades to make your own replacement blast shields, even if they fail relatively soon ... replacement becomes cheap and easy, but I suspect that the razor blade stainless steel just might hold up better than the factory part.
Click to expand...

According to Smith and Wesson,the bbl has to be taken off in order to replace the top strap shield. Most of us, at least not me, are not equipped to do that.
 
dla said:
I'm interested in the details of your fix. What did you have to do to prep the metal? There's only .010" between top of cylinder and blast shield, so I'm curious to know how to apply a thin coat of JB. Even though I stay away from H110/W296 and use Enforcer exclusively, my blast shield is going away. I've got long over 1k rounds with this one and it will probably hold up for another 500+, but I would like to stretch it out if possible.
Click to expand...

dla--Here's what I did: Took out the cylinder and mounted the gun upsidedown in a padded vice. I then mixed up just a scoosh of J-B Weld and applied it to the gas cut line, kinda filling it in, and then smoothed off level with the rest of the shield with an X-acto blade razor knife. No other prep was done. Hope this helps.
 
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