New Member: S&W .500 Magnum Warranty Issue?

[13rus]

Hello all from a new member, me!

I bought a new 4" S&W .500 Magnum last weekend. Always wanted one. Came home and upon close inspection noticed that there are a couple of defects on the gun - there are three pits in the stainless finish, they look like factory steel defects. Two pits are on the frame and one on the cylinder. Is this a warranty issue I should pursue with S&W?

Another issue came up today when I bought 4 different kinds of ammo and went out to shoot it for the first time. I shot a total of 4 rounds:

- HSM 300 grain JHP midrange
- Ultramax 440 grain cast 1350 fps
- CorBon Hunter 500 grain HC, 1500 fps, 2499 ft/lbs
- Hornady 300 grain FTX 2075 fps

I am not recoil sensitive and shooting the .500 is a lot of fun! However one of the rounds seems to have literally exploded, with particles apparently flying out of the left side of the cylinder.

I only found this upon cleaning the gun:

- There is a tiny bent spot on the outside of the barrel where the gases escape.
- There are small scratches on the cylinder where the gases escape, they are leading towards the edge of the cylinder, towards left side.
- There is apparent scarring inside the barrel on the shooter side.

Only one shell expanded and took some effort to extract from the cylinder - Hornady 300 grain FTX.

I am not sure which of four rounds caused the damage, but it seems to be the Hornady one. Has anyone had any issues with this ammo?

A couple more questions:
- Is the gun OK to shoot now?
- Is ammo explosion a gun issue or an issue with the ammo?
- Is this damage repairable under warranty?
- Should I call S&W and what should I tell them?

Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Jst1mr]

Sounds like you have an issue that should be directed back toward S&W. However, did you clean the gun prior to shooting it, making sure barrel was clean of any grease or residue? Also, looks like you shot both lead and jacketed bullets...I know on my .460 you are instructed to use different compensators for each, don't know if that's true with the .500 or not...should not cause an issue other than difficulty in removing the comp. anyway...

 

[13rus]

The .500 manual doesn't seem to state that one must use specific compensators. I, however, used correct compensators for the ammo. The gun was cleaned prior to shooting with cleaner and Remington Oil, the barrel and cylinder were wiped clean. I will contact S&W customer service, see what they tell me. Thank you!

 

[13rus]

Just called S&W, they told me to send the gun in so their technician can take a look. Told me to attach ammo labels as well. So far I am pleased with their customer service.

 

[plinky]

I am sure that S&W will take good care of you but just out of curiousity I'd like a better understanding of what happened.

You say that one round apparently exploded. How did you come to realize this? What sort of debris were ejected? It is normal for gasses to escape from the barrel/cylinder gap and in a high performance revolver like the .500 even more so. Metal fragments flying from the gap are bad but still not what most would call an explosion. Could you give more detail as to what happened? Pictures of the areas in question would be very interesting.

 

[13rus]

When I said round I meant the bullet itself disintegrated. Somehow. I didn't notice it happening, only noticed scratches and damage when i was cleaning the gun. I will post pictures in a few hours. Thanks.