Shield 40 Mishap

[2001gmc]

Yea and if its truly not the gun that's fine but least they could do is work with Federal and get them the cartridge and hash it out between them. Smith done told me it was either the gun or ammo. I still to this day say the gun had a problem I don't care what they say. 10 FTE in 150 rounds? Last 50 rounds I couldn't hit a pie pan at about 5yds was shooting over under left and right. Then BOOMMMMMMMMM! But I got offered a gun at a discounted price right. But I done paid for the gun once. F%^& me right!

 

[cb619]

I've only ever had one time where I sent a gun back to S&W (not my Shield). I had a beyond exceptional experience. More often than not people find then when guns have to be sent back to the factory, they make up for your trouble.

I had an issue where my M&P 15-22 broke an extractor. About 2 weeks after I sent it in I got it back in the mail along with a note and 2 free magazines. The note stated how the gun was now tuned to Performance Shop standards.

 

[minconrevo]

I would ask them to send you a 9mm shield, as you cannot feel safe with a 40. I bet they will happily replace it with a 9.

Glad you are not hurt, this is one reason I am not a fan of 40 S&W..... typically guns "designed" with a 9mm in mind are used for a 40 because they are "strong enough" (insert all 40 lovers telling me they are made for 40 pressures, overbuilt for 9mm, yadda yadda) Of all the Kabooms I have seen, a majority of them is with 40S&W. Think about it... Same gun, thinner barrel/chamber, larger heavier bullet, larger charge, etc...

You cannot drive a stock car like a race car, unless you plan on replacing parts early..... and often

I have 40's but do not acquire them other than by accident/trade etc. I am not impressed.


As for the reloads question, remember folks UMC/winchester,hornady, etc ALL can have a double charge.... ALL of them.....

At the rate ammo is being made now will anyone claim that there is a foolproof way to screen all ammunition? Or even that QC is as good as 5 years ago?

Just being a reload doesn't make it low quality, just as being factory does not make it high quality.

The 9mm Shield is a fine machine. I have a couple of them, with well over 1,000 trouble free rounds down the two combined. Not one FTF, FTE or any other sort of failure.

Consider a 9mm over a 40 S&W.

 

[jhc37013]

I've been following this thread to see what the outcome is. I feel bad for you all you want is a working gun and S&W is jerking you around.

I have a Shield and a 9c and wanted to add the FS 9, after hearing about the piss poor CS you received I think I'll go with a Glock 17, who knows maybe I'll go all the way over to the dark side.

This is exactly why from a business stand point alone S&W should just replace the gun, word gets around and more than a few generations worth of customers could be lost from this one incident. They are treating this as though 1000 other Shield owners are waiting to step forward with a blown up gun and say "hey you replaced his now replace mine", where is the moral ground they seem to be standing on I don't get it the OP was shooting factory ammo and Federal said the rest of the ammo was good.

 

[BillK01]

This is exactly why from a business stand point alone S&W should just replace the gun, word gets around and more than a few generations worth of customers could be lost from this one incident. They are treating this as though 1000 other Shield owners are waiting to step forward with a blown up gun and say "hey you replaced his now replace mine", where is the moral ground they seem to be standing on I don't get it the OP was shooting factory ammo and Federal said the rest of the ammo was good.

Well I may get lynched for saying this here - but I put money down on a Glock 30SF yesterday at my LGS - even though I had planned all along to get an M & P Compact .45. This thread is part of the reason for that decision.

 

[DocSunShine]

Well I may get lynched for saying this here - but I put money down on a Glock 30SF yesterday at my LGS - even though I had planned all along to get an M & P Compact .45. This thread is part of the reason for that decision.

OP maybe you should forward a link to this thread as well, seriously. If I ever had a problem like this with a gun manufacturer I'd damn we'll not only never purchase one of their firearms again, but I'd scream what happened to me from the mountain tops. Even Glock's crappy CS is better than this!

 

[jhc37013]

Well I may get lynched for saying this here - but I put money down on a Glock 30SF yesterday at my LGS - even though I had planned all along to get an M & P Compact .45. This thread is part of the reason for that decision.

For years I have owned both Smith and Glock and love them both so I always take a neutral approach to it but from the time I have spent on Glock forums it has always seemed Glock has always taken care of a customer if there darn gun exploded, I have even seen it when the glock owner used reloads. Even though this is a S&W forum you shouldn't be lynched anyone who knows even a little about handguns knows it does not get much more reliable than Glock and for self defense well it just makes sense but Smith has there own resume as well.

 

[gnystrom]

Lots of chatter but you are doing it correctly. S&W will replace your gun. You may have an option of calibers on the replacement. Personally, I would go with a nine.
Federal will be checking run #'s the second they are contacted.
Whatever happened, it is a rarity and not to worry, you should never experience another one. I know it happens but, I work at a range and I have never seen a factory centerfire blow up.

Hard lesson learned, wear glasses every time..........
Keep us informed.

 

[2001gmc]

Federal knows they done tested the other remaining rounds in the box. They need the blown cartridge from smith now to test it.

 

[AGoyette]

Lots of chatter but you are doing it correctly. S&W will replace your gun. You may have an option of calibers on the replacement. Personally, I would go with a nine.
Federal will be checking run #'s the second they are contacted.
Whatever happened, it is a rarity and not to worry, you should never experience another one. I know it happens but, I work at a range and I have never seen a factory centerfire blow up.

Hard lesson learned, wear glasses every time..........
Keep us informed.

I believe S&W has already said that GMC is out of luck. That they feel like there's nothing wrong with his shield and that the gun blowing up was caused by ammo. The ammo company said that their ammo was within specs and it was caused by the gun. Makes me glad I don't have a shield! I would much rather have an XDs in 9mm over a shield any day.

 

[1fly2ty]

2001gmc,
You have now learned a very valuable lesson!
1 Never give the manufacturer the firearm, you gave the manufacturer the only item that would have proved one way or the other that either the gun or the ammo was the culprit.
2 you sent all the ammo you had left to the ammo manufacturer, and now they can cover up their part of the failure!
3 now S&W wants you to buy a new gun and your pissed off, which is the way most guys would be.
We as firearms owners expect these large corporations to stand behind their product, and sometimes they do, however they are large publicly traded corporations that are only interested in the bottom line because they have share holders that they have to answer too.
In this case its easier for each of these corporations to blame each other and that way there can be no documented failure of the gun or the ammo.
Had you done as I suggested earlier the outcome would definately turned out in your favor, because the large corporations don't like it when an attorney is involved in a product defect litigation, because if the failure is indeed the firearm they stand to loose millions of dollars and if it hits the news they loose part of their market share.
In the end its all about money, and they win and you lose, certainly not the way it should be, you would think someone at S&W would have a conscience and do the right thing! At this poiint I would hand write a letter to the CEO and using facts not emotion explain your circumstance and see what happens, as a closing I would state that you are demanding that your firearm be returned, you might get it back , and if you do get it to an attorney with the pictures you took, and see if you have standing for a law suit.

 

[Rastoff]

1 Never give the manufacturer the firearm,...

So, what was he, or anyone else, supposed to do? He called S&W and they said to return the firearm for inspection. If he hadn't, they simply would have said no.

I'm not arguing, I'm just curious as to how anyone would get restitution if they don't send the firearm to the company? Every company is going to ask for that. Do lawyers takes cases like this pro bono? If not, it would be far more expensive to fight it than the gun is worth. And, considering it's an isolated case, there is no class action suit here.

So, what do we do if we don't send the firearm back?

 

[Jakpro]

You can get a product liability attorney on a contingency basis which will cost you nothing out of pocket. However, seeking resolution in the court system is a very lengthy and often disappointing affair.

My personal opinion is that Smith and Wesson has not even attempted to address this issue or resolve it. Their product could very well have caused serious damage to the shooter and they seem unconcerned.

 

[1fly2ty]

Rastoff,
If a gun fails as this one did, the reason you need to get an attorney involved is to ensure that both companies are held accountable. The attorney will send the firearm to an independent lab where they will test the metals, plastics and determine if during the manufacture of the firearm something was done incorrectly, they will also test the spent brass, and they have photos to document other failures that gmc's firearm will be compared against. Once the attorney contacts S&W & Federal via a letter indicating the firearm and spent casing was tested by an independent lab, they want to squash any possibility that it was their fault, at that point they will want the pistol for their own testing lab to look at.
Had this gent lost a finger or damaged his hand he would have immediately contacted an attorney, its no different when only the pistol is involved.
I recommend this with any firearm that has this kind of failure, I will say that if I were in this gents shoes and I were shooting my handloads and this happened I would not bother with an attorney because you are opening yourself up to a very high level of scrutiny, and in the end you would probably not prevail. I think that S&w has sadly mishanled this whole situation, and in this instance they could have given the customer the benefit of the doubt, and sent him a new firearm, but they choose to point their finger at the other possible source and cast blame in their direction. I have 5 M&Ps and a several other handguns if any of them ever failed and I knew that I had done nothing to cause it I would be going straight from the range to my attorneys office and if there were any witnesse' I would collect their names addresse's and phone number's. I worked for 5 large corporations after I retired from the Navy and I wil tell you the minute someone that bought our product, started talking attorneys or if we got a call from an attorney, we took care of the problem! One of those companys was sued and everytime we received a customer complaint, we had to put it on a clock, and if it wasn't resolved in 72 hours we were subject to federal fines, we were on probation for 2 years!

 

[Rastoff]

1fly2ty,
Yes, I'm aware of the value of an attorney. I just wasn't aware of this:

You can get a product liability attorney on a contingency basis which will cost you nothing out of pocket.


And I think this:

However, seeking resolution in the court system is a very lengthy and often disappointing affair.

...is the main reason most don't go looking for an attorney. And, will an attorney represent you for a $450 gun?

You say that S&W has done nothing. I'll bet that they would disagree. According to what has been posted, they tested the gun and found it to be within specs. Then they offered the owner a new gun at a discounted price. I'm sure S&W feels that they have gone over and above on this.

However, I'm with the rest here and think they've done as little as they think they can get away with. It's sad really.

So, 2001gmc, the question now is, what are you going to do? The ball seems to be in your court.

 

[Mike1161]

Winning a law suit is not the issue here. Sure he might get a new gun and the value of the ammo, but to win enough to pay a lawyer requires damages beyond just the value of the gun. A lawyer would be crazy to take one case like this since there is no upside for him to receive since the OP wasn't hurt and had no medical bills. The case could take years which reduces the incentive for the lawyer even more. At best the OP might get a new replacement gun, to expect a significant cash award is unrealistic.

The best approach is from the top down, senior management doesn't want to waste its time on a $500 matter. I believe that they will quietly determine that the OP should have a new gun and without admitting any fault or liability on their part, S&W and maybe Federal will work out a deal between themselves for the value of the gun. The OP would be required to sign a wavier, and a non-disclosure agreement and that will be the end. That is except for the bad feelings

 

[2001gmc]

1fly2ty,
Yes, I'm aware of the value of an attorney. I just wasn't aware of this:

You can get a product liability attorney on a contingency basis which will cost you nothing out of pocket.


And I think this:...is the main reason most don't go looking for an attorney. And, will an attorney represent you for a $450 gun?

You say that S&W has done nothing. I'll bet that they would disagree. According to what has been posted, they tested the gun and found it to be within specs. Then they offered the owner a new gun at a discounted price. I'm sure S&W feels that they have gone over and above on this.

However, I'm with the rest here and think they've done as little as they think they can get away with. It's sad really.

So, 2001gmc, the question now is, what are you going to do? The ball seems to be in your court.

Well Federal is aware of whats going on. I have to get the letter to them that Smith is sending me with the findings on the test. Federal wants the blowed casing from the misfire. I have wrote a letter to Robert the vice president of Smith a nice long letter and forwarded email thats been going on between me and smith from the get go. Sent the pics to him also and ask that he see the blowed casing gets to federal. Just that so far.

 

[Rastoff]

2001gmc,
I think you're on the right path. If you can find one to talk to you, a lawyer is a good idea. Many have a free consultation. It can't hurt to ask the question. I believe that no one will take it, but at least it's something to try.

 

[cb619]

Just my opinion but.. These companies have a lot more expensive lawyers than the average person can afford. Now I bet in court S&W will provide lab results of the gun matching manufacture specs as well as Federal doing the same. They will probably prove that a 3rd influence of some sort such as other ammo was at fault in some way.

Being you would have to no way to prove that you only fired Federal ammo exclusively through the weapon, they would not be held liable. Same goes for Smith and Wesson. They will probably use the argument that since themselves and Federal proved that they were not the cause, it must have been that 3rd party aka you.

Realistically, all you might win if someone took your case would be a large legal bill.

 

[DizzyK2]

As an attorney, I would tell you that without an injury, I wouldn't even take your case on a contingency fee. There is too much work involved in starting a lawsuit to make it worthwhile for most attorney's if there wasn't an injury involved. As someone already pointed out, independent tests need to be done and paid for. Who pays for that? If the OP lost a finger, hand, eye, etc...now we're talking thousands of dollars in damages, including lost income, hurt feelings, etc... What was originally a $600 problem has now hit over 100 grand. Thank god the OP wasn't injured in this accident.

Attorney route: The OP would have had to shell out at least $500 for a lawyer, plus pay another few hundred dollars for the lab tests. In the end, he'd be out at least $1000 just to get a $600 gun replaced.

At this point, writing to the VP might help. As noted before, consider sending this entire thread to them as well so that they understand that the word will spread. Have you posted to other forums? If so, gather all of them and send it to S&W. The small single-stack market is filled with plenty of competitors so any bad publicity will obviously scare other buyers to other guns. Even with the recall for the Springfield XD-S, there are plenty of people buying it because they know that Springfield will stand by their product. A friend got his XD-S 9mm back from Springfield in a month. You have to make it clear to S&W the damage that negative publicity will have on their main product for the small single-stack market.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice and should not be construed as such.