Kaboom? Not quite...

[snap cap]

I had a great time yesterday at the IDPA BUG Match at H2O Fowl Farms until my gun exploded on me. Actually, it was the factory reloaded ammo I was using that exploded. Apparently, the brass was reloaded one too many times and got too weak, especially at .40 caliber pressures. It was at the last round of the last stage of the match, too! 2 SO's were not able to get the slide off of the gun. I was with 2 SF weapons SGTs who told me they would fix it when we got back to the truck, and they did. They got the slide off and they got the brass case out of the chamber. The back rim of the case was blown clean off of it. I still have both pieces. I cleaned and inspected the gun, a S&W Shield .40 There was no damage to the gun, not even a hairline fracture on the polymer frame! The follower on the magazine looked like it was broke in half until I took it apart and it looks like the blast spun the follower on its side, so, that was easy to fix!

In case you are wondering, yeah, my hand was real sore and swollen all day until I put some ice on it. It is still a little sore today, but the swelling has gone down. I praise God for His protection!

 

[Get Off My Lawn]

Good for you is was only a minor kabom.
Is the S&W 40 chamber fully supported, or is it like the earlier Glock chambers?

 

[S4f]

Glad no one was hurt.
I can attribute more malfunctions to reloads than any other cause at idpa matches my own and others.

 

[snap cap]

According to this article, it is fully supported:

Supported Vs. Unsupported Chambers - Detroit Ammo Co.

A chamber provides full cartridge case support only if the case is supported down to the level of the INSIDE BOTTOM of the case.

detroitammoco.com

 

[Get Off My Lawn]

According to this article, it is fully supported:

Supported Vs. Unsupported Chambers - Detroit Ammo Co.

A chamber provides full cartridge case support only if the case is supported down to the level of the INSIDE BOTTOM of the case.

detroitammoco.com

I is confruzed. The article is about Gock's, and you were shooting a S&W Shield?

 

[snap cap]

It is a Shield. The pictures in the article shows the difference between supported and unsupported, irregardless of which kind of gun it is.

 

[John Travis]

Very rare to have a head separation with a straight wall pistol case. Without seeing the case, my bet would be an over charge or possibly a bullet that seated deep into the case while feeding.

 

[snap cap]

Here is a picture:

 

[snap cap]

Here is another view:



I know... It looks like an unsupported chamber issue. It is not.

 

[cold1]

It looks like there is some primer flow around the firing pin dimple, but no other signs of over pressure on the primer. Thats a little odd.

 

[rufrdr]

Out of battery fire?

 

[Diverdad]

Glad you’re okay.

 

[Jmoser]

Doesn’t mean that reloaded case hadn’t been fired previously in an unsupported chamber.

 

[snap cap]

That's true. It sure looks that way, dont it?