M&P went Boom

[High Lord Gomer]

My 13 year old was shooting this M&P in a match Saturday when it went Boom. It blew the extractor out and put a very small cut on his hand.

My best guess, as much as I hate it, is a double charge. It was defintely not a squib as it was his 5th shot and he had 2 on the first tagret, 2 on the second, and this one on the third.

He was shooting a combination of my reloads (MG115FMJ, TG 4.5, 1.125 OAL) and some left over WWB. Again, I have to assume it was one of mine that went boom.

Not sure what to do with it. Is there any point in sending it back to S&W?

 

[High Lord Gomer]

 

[Papakeith]

What would S&W be able to do with it? The frame, barrel, everything is toast. It did it's job though, it directed the majority of the blast away from the guns user. I'd just call it a loss.

As to the double load. ever use a powder check die? I have one and really like it. If I have an empty load or a double it locks up the press.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Dang! That's scary stuff.

Glad to hear no one was hurt.

You are probably spot on with your guess of what happened, but it would be nice to know for sure.

 

[MXGirl230]

Wow, that's crazy! We have the Pro model

Maybe wouldn't hurt to contact S & W and see what they might do for you. We have been told their customer service is great. We dealt with them on a minor issue with our sights.

On the other hand, I wonder if they would do anything because you were using reloads?

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I am hoping some of the parts should still be usable (Apex Sear, Apex firing pin block, striker assembly).

AFAIK, it takes a 5 station press to use a powder check die. The 550 only has 4.

I'm not even sure how to get it apart at this point.

 

[Ol'89r]

A little JB Weld and Duct tape will fix it. :whoa:
Scary stuff Mike. :yikes: Glad he's ok.

 

[dirt bike dave]

Not a big shooter by any means, and never reloaded anything myself, but I have heard of a situation where the wrong kind of powder did a bunch of damage. This story involved rifle powder in a .357 cartridge. The result was a tore up a Desert Eagle and a shooter that had a slide fly past his ear. The theory was the slower burning rifle powder caused all kinds of havoc.

 

[Okiewan]

Boom is right.
Glad no one was hurt Mike!

 

[Papakeith]

I'm not even sure how to get it apart at this point.

Mount it on a plaque above your reloading bench as a reminder.

As for the powder check die, the lack of extra stations is what made me move from the pro1000 to the Hornady LNL. With the 5 stations I have room for the powder check and the factory crimp die.

 

[Thump]

Mount it on a plaque above your reloading bench as a reminder.

with a brass engraving on the plaque that reads "Stupid Hurts"

Glad nobody got hurt Gomer. There is a good reason for buying a quality fire arm. Things like this happen if you shoot a lot. Not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. A lower quality pistol could have become a frag grenade and caused real damage.

 

[pesky nz]

I had a flirt with clay targets and remember an over enthusiastic bloke trying to automate his reloading and dropping an extra primer inside the case, luckily he discovered his error when he ran out of primers too soon and was able to dissasemble the overloads before he fired any. Don't know enough about pistol ammo to say it is ever possible in a 9mm, but if you suspect an error on your part it may be wise to dispose of that batch of reloads (less costly than a new weapon or worse).
Perhaps S/W can give the pro's opinion on what happened from seeing the results or your pictures .
Glad no-one was injured badly

 

[justalonewolf007]

Disappointing that happened. That's the first M&P kaboom I've seen. I've had very good experiences with Smith and Wesson's customer service so far. At this point, the worst they can do is say they won't replace the gun because you used reloads. What would it hurt to let them know what happened?

Very glad no one was hurt!

 

[High Lord Gomer]

After posting pics and having discossions on a good shooting forum frequented by many knowledgable folks, I'm 100% sure it was an over/double charge and 99% sure it was one that I reloaded. I am going to send it to S&W to see what they can salvage from it.

 

[holeshot]

Yikes...and I was planning on doing reloads on my S&W 460.. :whoa:

 

[High Lord Gomer]

It is very safe if you are careful

When I first started I loaded 2 squib rounds (bullet and primer but no powder).

I then went almost 150,000 rounds with no problems and I became too lax about double checking things and avoiding distractions.

I am now back to being more careful.

 

[pesky nz]

It is easy to get a bit lax and it reminds us all to be careful of the simple tasks

 

[KXaggerator]

I have another though what if the case was trimmed too short or bullet over crimped and the round was not fully supported against the bolt face. Just a though, though I am pretty sure the double charge is most likely the cause. I like bulky powder because of the consistent ignition and obvious sign of double charge.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I have been giving thought to switching powders but I really like TiteGroup. I use 4.5-4.7gr in 9, .40, and .45. It makes it easy to make the required power factors for USPSA and IDPA.

I don't trim pistol cases. Rarely do we shoot 50 yards and probably 90% of our shots are 15 yards or less. We're more into the speed than accuracy.

I also barely crimp cases when using jacketed bullets (except for .357 Sig...I crimp those hard). For 9mm I get rid of whatever bell I put in while dropping the powder and then only bring it a thousandth or two in from there.

I appreciate the questions and suggestions. It helps to rethink every portion of this process to make sure I don't do it again.

 

[Pushin50]

A double powder charge can cause havoc and potentially damage the gun. If you double chagred it, then compressed the charge while seating the bullet, that can be an even Bigger problem. When the powder is compressed it will burn much faster causing much higher gas pressure.

 

[Papakeith]

Exactly how is the burn rate of a powder increased by compressing it?

 

[RM_guy]

Man, you can get nuttin' past anyone in here ;)

 

[Papakeith]

I'm just askin' is all. . .

 

[_JOE_]

Sounds like someone needs to break out the physics book. :nod: I never took it in high school but find it really intriguing now......

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I have no idea how accurate it is, but it sounds like it makes sense:

http://www.shootersforum.com/94947-post8.html