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Thread: Rash of Shield .40 Kabooms?

  1. #1
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    Rash of Shield .40 Kabooms?

    It seems there have been a number of Shield's blowing up lately. Anyone here have problems with theirs or know of any?

    http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...ld-kaboom.html

  2. #2
    Member
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    May 2011
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    This photo shows a ruptured chamber and cracked barrel.


    Sure looks like an overloaded round and not a failure of the gun. From my limited knowledge if a gun fired out of battery (bad gun) then the chamber/barrel would be intact but the frame would be blown apart by venting gas. Since the barrel split along its length I'm inclined to say it was a too hot round from either bullet setback or overcharge.

    ETA - Maybe the tiny light gun recoils enough to create some serious setback in the last rounds in the mag. That would require a level of analysis & testing the guy in that post didn't come close to. What we know is he was running uber hot loads from Underwood. Here are the specs.

    •Caliber: 40 S&W
    •Bullet Weight: 135 Grains
    •Bullet Style: Nosler Jacketed Hollow Point
    •Case Type: Brass

    Ballistics Information:

    •Muzzle Velocity: 1450 fps
    •Muzzle Energy: 630 ft. lbs.

  3. #3
    Site Supporter JodyH's Avatar
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    +P .40 ammunition that meets SAAMI specifications...
    I stopped reading when I got to that part.
    If you buy your ammo from "Sumdood Uber-Ammo Inc." don't act surprised when you have to pick your nose lefty for the rest of your life.
    "For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night."
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  4. #4
    Site Supporter Tamara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JodyH View Post
    If you buy your ammo from "Sumdood Uber-Ammo Inc." don't act surprised when you have to pick your nose lefty for the rest of your life.
    Sigline material right there.

    It looks like the chamber wall thickness is a lot more happy-making in 9 than .40 (much like the Glock.)

    Are those barrels Melonited? Is Bill handy, or is he still up to his elbows in SIG?
    Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.

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  5. #5
    We are diminished
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    From the linked thread:
    Feelinlucky - I spoke to Underwood right after the KB and asked about the +P designation. They put it on the 135-grain ammo as a caution against people using the ammo in non +P rated firearms. They also indicated the pressure was 34,000 psi.
    So they claim it's loaded below standard SAAMI MAP for .40 but put a label on it to "caution" people if they don't have a +p rated .40 S&W pistol. Of which there are none, because there is no such thing as a .40 S&W +p SAAMI specification. Yeah, that's a company I'd buy ammo from.

  6. #6
    It doesn't have to be from Billy-Bob KillMan, either. The only really notable issue anyone has seen with HK pistols is when Border Patrol was cracking some P2000 slides; and to my knowledge, the culprit was a special 155gr .40 load produced specifically for them by either Winchester or Federal, I cannot remember which now.

    I have always been leery of that cartridge, for several reasons… but this is a big one. It is walking a tightrope between over-pressure and not, as normally loaded. Add in somebody (whether government nimrod or private sector snake oil salesman) juggling bullet weights, etc., in an attempt to make a LoudenBoomer/Toe-Tagger Special out of it, well…

    .

  7. #7
    Site Supporter Tamara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LSP972 View Post
    I have always been leery of that cartridge, for several reasons… but this is a big one. It is walking a tightrope between over-pressure and not, as normally loaded. Add in somebody (whether government nimrod or private sector snake oil salesman) juggling bullet weights, etc., in an attempt to make a LoudenBoomer/Toe-Tagger Special out of it, well…
    I can't remember who said it but I remember someone saying ".40 was meant to work in 9mm-sized pistols; 10mm Auto with a short case wasn't."
    Books. Bikes. Boomsticks.

    I can explain it to you. I can’t understand it for you.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by LSP972 View Post
    It doesn't have to be from Billy-Bob KillMan, either. The only really notable issue anyone has seen with HK pistols is when Border Patrol was cracking some P2000 slides; and to my knowledge, the culprit was a special 155gr .40 load produced specifically for them by either Winchester or Federal, I cannot remember which now.

    I have always been leery of that cartridge, for several reasons… but this is a big one. It is walking a tightrope between over-pressure and not, as normally loaded. Add in somebody (whether government nimrod or private sector snake oil salesman) juggling bullet weights, etc., in an attempt to make a LoudenBoomer/Toe-Tagger Special out of it, well…

    .
    http://www.underwoodammo.com/40sandw...ntboxof50.aspx

    There's a link to the "+p .40 S&W" as sold by Underwood. Just look at the comment box, and you'll understand the scope of the problem. What that guy was shooting out of his Shield is basically 10mm Auto loaded into a .40 case.

    Quote Originally Posted by Tamara View Post
    I can't remember who said it but I remember someone saying ".40 was meant to work in 9mm-sized pistols; 10mm Auto with a short case wasn't."
    I will give Underwood credit for this much-they've made a goodly sum of money on consumer ignorance of history.Seems like they've impressed a lot of bubbas with this bastardized "+p 10mm Lite" if the comments are any guide.
    Last edited by GardoneVT; 02-16-2014 at 10:14 AM.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by GardoneVT View Post

    Just look at the comment box, and you'll understand the scope of the problem.
    Oh, I understand the "scope of the problem" quite well; uber-derpness, on several levels. IOW, nothing new. These guys aren't the first, and they won't be the last.

    .

  10. #10
    Member Symmetry's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ToddG View Post
    From the linked thread:


    So they claim it's loaded below standard SAAMI MAP for .40 but put a label on it to "caution" people if they don't have a +p rated .40 S&W pistol. Of which there are none, because there is no such thing as a .40 S&W +p SAAMI specification. Yeah, that's a company I'd buy ammo from.
    Yep. There is a reason why the major manufacturers load their ammo to the velocity and pressures that they do. People who use this stuff in their firearms get what the pay for...............greatly increased firearm wear, greatly decreased service life of the firearm, and extra nominations for a Darwin Award.

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