M&P Frame Replacement

[Tachead]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm physically okay, couple pieces of shrapnel in my face but nothing serious. My suspicions are squib load. The fact that it blew the handle apart tells me the pressure from the round couldn't escape down the barrel. And they were lightly loaded hand loads, which screws the warranty pooch no matter what. Sucks cause it's only 4 months old.

I may go Glock now, Police ordinance has an individual officer sale program and it's under $500 for a g17 if I remember right.

If I'm scrapping it do I have to do any paperwork to legally destroy it? Physically it's taken care of...

First, you need to be more carfeful when reloading or stop reloading as this incident was most likely caused by a bad handload(no powder, too much powder, wrong powder, exc.). Second, you need to learn more about firearms and firearm safety(the fact that you think just the frame needs replacing says a lot about your knowledge/safety level as the barrel and other components were probably damaged as well).

As to the original question, I would scrap the gun(keep it for parts that were not damaged) or inquire about warranty repair. They are cheap comparatively and its not worth the risks considering what happened. It could have been a lot worse man. Be careful and dont continue to reload if you dont think you can achieve perfection. You are not saving any money blowing up $600+ dollar firearms and next time it could cost you or someone else their life.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

Was it out of battery firing or a detonation? You said it was light handloads. Was it a double charge possible with light loads using faster burning propellants? Were they loaded to published data for light loads with powder/primer combo's or were they loads you backed down yourself using medium burn propellants for full power use? Some very light loads with slower burning powders can go off like explosives(detonation) and not a steady gas pressure build up. The 9mmLuger also was shown to skyrocket chamber pressures from SAAMI 35,700 to well over 65,000 merely by compressing full power loads .030" deeper than proper OAL on loading or during chambering. I haven't followed pistol reloading for years, so maybe these problems don't exist anymore.

You are lucky you weren't hurt worst than nicks. Do you have pictures of the casing and the pistol. Where was the casing after firing?

 

[big_bear87]

I haven't got any pictures of the casing as it was completely mangled. I was following the reloading data from Hodgdon with respect to my powder and primers together.

Update on this story: I finally received my replacement pistol from the warranty centre yesterday, and promptly sold it today. Nothing against S&W but I just don't have the trust in their polymer pistols I once did. Time for a steel revolver I think.

 

[enefgee]

Ever seen a revolver detonate - MUCH worse than a polymer pistol, normally the whole top strap comes off.

 

[Master-G]

Time for a steel revolver I think.

No way that could go badly!

 

[wasrupzuk]

I'm in the sticks- not much population yet in the shooting community these pistols became hugely popular for a short time and they still have a following.
I know of 3 that blew up- I was an RO for one of them.
2 in 9, one in 40.
In the same time frame I have witnessed or heard of (locally) no other firearm kabooms that destroyed the gun (issues yes, close calls yes, kabooms no).
In every situation I have read S&W seems to happily repair the pistol on warranty- no matter the related causes.
Considering the popularity of this platform and getting stuffed on warranty on another S&W product it leads me to believe;
-The parts are so cheap to make and replace it's financially better to fix it.
-They know it has engineering deficiencies and this is the cheaper fix.
-They are worried about possible litigation and are suppressing the issue by keeping the customer happy.

However it seems to be a well designed hand grenade as I don't know anyone who's been injured by one yet...

 

[enefgee]

I'm in the sticks- not much population yet in the shooting community these pistols became hugely popular for a short time and they still have a following.
I know of 3 that blew up- I was an RO for one of them.
2 in 9, one in 40.
In the same time frame I have witnessed or heard of (locally) no other firearm kabooms that destroyed the gun (issues yes, close calls yes, kabooms no).
In every situation I have read S&W seems to happily repair the pistol on warranty- no matter the related causes.
Considering the popularity of this platform and getting stuffed on warranty on another S&W product it leads me to believe;
-The parts are so cheap to make and replace it's financially better to fix it.
-They know it has engineering deficiencies and this is the cheaper fix.
-They are worried about possible litigation and are suppressing the issue by keeping the customer happy.

However it seems to be a well designed hand grenade as I don't know anyone who's been injured by one yet...

Maybe I should stop shooting mine - after 50,000 rounds it might be due. Then again, maybe I've been reloading long enough to know how not to blow up a gun.
too bad there's no sarcasm smilie

 

[wasrupzuk]

Your viewpoint might be valid, but possibly not..
I find it curious all the kabooms lately are connected to one platform.
Chances that all the ammo related failures occur on one platform for a given period of time; possible but improbable.
IF a platform had a tolerance stacking issue or some part was made out of spec for a batch and got through QA the failure rate for a popular mass produced item percentage wise would be very low- I'm speculating other than a small percentage impact.
You got a good one, congrats...
Others never made out so well and to suggest they are incompetent reloaders...
Well I'm still waiting on them to have another issue with the other platforms they all use now (hasn't happened yet- never happened on their earlier platforms either).

 

[Punisher-One]

Your viewpoint might be valid, but possibly not..
I find it curious all the kabooms lately are connected to one platform.
Chances that all the ammo related failures occur on one platform for a given period of time; possible but improbable.
IF a platform had a tolerance stacking issue or some part was made out of spec for a batch and got through QA the failure rate for a popular mass produced item percentage wise would be very low- I'm speculating other than a small percentage impact.
You got a good one, congrats...
Others never made out so well and to suggest they are incompetent reloaders...
Well I'm still waiting on them to have another issue with the other platforms they all use now (hasn't happened yet- never happened on their earlier platforms either).

Hundreds of Police departments across Canada and the United States have gone with the M&P platform. That is literally tens of thousands of pistols putting thousands of rounds downrange per year. I think if they were seeing an inordinate number of catastrophic failures they would be dropping the pistols. They are not.

Defects in craftsmanship on a few pistols here and there can happen. No manufacturing process is 100% reliable 100% of the time.