destroyed Shield

J

javadog60

Inactive
I destroyed my 9mm shield today. I was shooting reloads, my own. I'm sure that most will say I screwed something up in the reloading process and I may well could have. Just glad I was not hurt, other than my feelings.

The brass was blown out at the bottom and the blown out area conformed to the feed ramp. Brought to mind the unsupported chamber Glock issue of the past.

I sure liked the gun. Had just installed night sights on it. Traded in a Ruger LC9s that would not feed when I bought the Shield new. This was the first and only malfunction with the Shield, but it was fatal. The frame is cracked in two place and something is wrong with the striker. Sure hate going through the process of selection another pistol for concealed carry.

Don't know how to post pictures but I don't know how.
 
Why not just get another Shield? Doesn't seem like you'd have to go through a selection process again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Picking up another Shield seems like the way to go. If you still have the brass, sending the gun and brass to S&W for analysis might not be a bad idea either.

But it's not like they have a reputation for blowing up.
 
Swap any aftermarket parts for the originals, send it to S&W for "inspection", and be completely honest about what happened, while thanking them for making a pistol that was able to take that kind of catastrophic failure without injuring the shooter (whether you believe it or not).

If you're lucky, and/or the recipient of your letter is in a good mood, you may get a notable discount on a replacement.


Though it did not involve S&W, I have a family member that got TWO replacement rifles for the 'manufacturer's cost' of ONE rifle (paid 30% of the cost of one, but he got two rifles), after having a catastrophic failure that involved contaminated powder returned to a reloading supplier by a customer. (W296 in H335 :eek:)
 
I would return the pistol to S&W, saying honestly that you don't know what happened, and see what they say. At worst, they just scrap the gun and wish you well, but they might find a defect and you could end up with a new pistol. At worst, you are out the shipping, which will be minimal if you can handle it through your local dealer.

Jim
 
I'm with FM put the original sights back on and send it and the shell casing in for examination. What do you have to loose. The worst they could say is what caused the failure and that you have to pay full price for a new one. S&W is a very good customer oriented company and I would imagine they would sell you a replacement at a discount. Go for it. As they say, "Nothing ventured nothing gained".
 
And, BTW, I would want to know what happened. I rarely have blowups, but I do some experimental work, so it has happened. But I want to know why (if I don't know already) so I don't do a stupid thing twice.

Jim
 
If you send your gun to S&W, they can't send it back unless they render it totally unusable. Anything else would make them liable.
So, they will have to work a deal with you. Use their customer service email. Do not call them.
 
If you send your gun to S&W, they can't send it back unless they render it totally unusable. Anything else would make them liable.
So, they will have to work a deal with you. Use their customer service email. Do not call them.
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Dun dun dun....
Exactly.

I left that unsaid in my post, that's half the point. ;)
 
FrankenMauser said:
Swap any aftermarket parts for the originals, send it to S&W for "inspection", and be completely honest about what happened, while thanking them for making a pistol that was able to take that kind of catastrophic failure without injuring the shooter (whether you believe it or not).



If you're lucky, and/or the recipient of your letter is in a good mood, you may get a notable discount on a replacement.





Though it did not involve S&W, I have a family member that got TWO replacement rifles for the 'manufacturer's cost' of ONE rifle (paid 30% of the cost of one, but he got two rifles), after having a catastrophic failure that involved contaminated powder returned to a reloading supplier by a customer. (W296 in H335 :eek:)
Click to expand...



I work in a customer service based industry. This right here is incredibly important. You never know.


Sent from my grapefruit using smoke signals.
 
Don't assume that a case failure is the fault of the load. I blew out a case in my glock, and found out that the case actually tore open down a the web it would have blown out at the top of the chamber if it had been pressure, this was obviously a flaw in the brass. The brass at the web where it tore through,is about theme times heavier than the body.
 
Where's the "pics or it never happened" crowd?


+1 on the suggestion to send it back and see what happens, but whether S&W does anything or not, I'd definitely get another Shield 9.
 
mmb713 said:
Starline has a caveat with their 9mm Luger brass to not shoot reloads in a S&W Shield because of its unsupported chamber. Now we know that's no bs.



https://www.starlinebrass.com/brass-cases/9MM-Luger-Brass/
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I don't remember reading a lot of similar stories. Maybe this is indicative of a model problem, or maybe it's just an example of a bad reload. I think one is more likely but hey everyone has to make that call.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's kind of wrong to do something not recommended in the Manual and then try and trick them to get a free gun for your mistake. :o
 
**NOT RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN S&W SHIELD PISTOLS WITH NEAR-MAX OR +P LOADS, DUE TO POORLY SUPPORTED CHAMBER CONDITION**
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^^^From Starlines website^^^

Guns don't know if a cartridge is a reload or not.

Now back to the OP post. He didn't mention what bullet/powder combo he used. Best bet is one of three things, bullet setback, double charge, or too hot of a load.
 
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