M&P Shield "Explosion" *Revisited*

[krizia829]

Some of you may remember my post about my M&P Shield that nearly exploded a few months back. Long story short, they couldn't give me a reason why it was deemed inoperable so they offered me a new one at a "reduced" price.

Well.. I found the casings by coincidence inside of my range bag that I had right next to it on the podium! There are side walls where we shoot, preventing anyone else's casings to fly in your area. Plus no one else was shooting next to us.

Here's the culprit! I found 2 of them. One casing was Winchester, the other said F C. Looking back, I remember that another round felt funny, which must’ve been the second round that I found but it wasn’t as damaged as this one.

Any ideas on what may have caused this? They are factory rounds. I do not shoot reloads out of handguns.

 

[deerslayer357]

Does the shield have a fully supported chamber? Looks similar to the area that you see the “Glock bulge” around just above the case head

 

[bullgator]

If those are new factory ammo from different manufacturers, I’d say it’s a gun issue.
I’d get back in touch with S&W with the new info and pics. Let them know you aren’t looking to go legal, you just want answers, and confidence in their products.

 

[Robert28]

I’ve heard the trigger pins walk out on the new shields, mine has done it too, but I’ve never seen anything like that.

 

[Dub]

Fired out of battery ?

 

[krizia829]

Does the shield have a fully supported chamber? Looks similar to the area that you see the “Glock bulge” around just above the case head

I would assume so! Not sure why it happened..

 

[krizia829]

If those are new factory ammo from different manufacturers, I’d say it’s a gun issue.
I’d get back in touch with S&W with the new info and pics. Let them know you aren’t looking to go legal, you just want answers, and confidence in their products.

I will email them and see what they say. I found it strange that everything was to “manufacturer specifications” when they looked at it but can’t give me an answer as to what specifically is making it inoperable

 

[krizia829]

I’ve heard the trigger pins walk out on the new shields, mine has done it too, but I’ve never seen anything like that.

Ive had that Shield for 11 years. Hundreds, maybe 1-2000 rounds through it. Never ever had an issue.. it was the first gen made

 

[krizia829]

Fired out of battery ?

Possibly.. Not sure what happened.. It was on the 3rd shot through that mag when it caused the mag to blow out.. It seems like that may be the answer but since it was a follow up shot, we have no idea. If it would've been the first shot after racking the slide manually, I would agree for sure but I have no idea.. As a precaution, I got rid of that whole box I had of 9mm. Had both Winchester and Federal ammo in there.. I kept only the umc rounds I had

 

[trial&error]

Primer strike looks good so it should have been in battery by design. Just a guess looking at the one round is when slide fell the bullet slid forward making contact with the lands. Brass blew out expelling the magazine and still had enough to discharge the bullet. The front end most likely is mangled by the slide not having full power to cycle so the case didn't clear before the slide fell.

Just a guess.

 

[Adam5]

Fired out of battery ?

I’m thinking the same thing.

 

[rosewood]

The shield, at least in the 40 S&W isn't a properly supported chamber. With factory self-defense rounds, you get pregnant cases after firing. I sent to the mother ship and they returned it saying it was within spec. Ruins brass and a weak case can blow out just like that. There are aftermarket barrels that solve the problem, but alas, you shouldn't have to go that route.

Rosewood