Cracked frame on Smith 669

[BearTitan]

So two weekends ago, I take my carry piece, Smith 669 in 9MM, to the range. I am shooting better than I have in years. Just killing the 10 ring at 10, 15, 25 yards.

I get home and field strip the gun to clean it and notice a scratch on the right side of the frame. Upon further inspection, I notice that it is not a scratch, but a CRACK in the scandium frame. The crack runs up the side and over to the midline of the gun.

I called Smith that Monday. They said that they would repair or replace the gun at no charge. That Friday, I received a prepaid UPS sticker in the mail. On Monday, 4/2, I shipped the pistol back to Smith.

I spoke with their customer service today and they confirmed that they received it on Tuesday and that it is in their shop.

I will keep you all posted how this turns out.

I had never heard of a frame cracking before!

[TonyF]

It's not unusual for aluminum framed pistols.

[BearTitan]

That makes me feel a little better. I mean I really baby my guns.

It will be interesting to see what Smith does, and how quickly.

[1FingrCHan]

Check out this Colt kaboom, even steel frame cracks under pressure. I have heard scandium or Titanium is stronger than steel so I don't know if this is isolated incident or bad design. Nice light gun, however.
http://www.thegunzone.com/anaconda.html

1FingrCHan

[BearTitan]

Great, I have an Anaconda too! I only shoot factory loads, though.

[T Durdin]

1FingrCHan,

Dude, I hope you don't mind if I should thread that in reloading. I've never seen a catastrophic failure like that. That guy's lucky he ain't sipping his meals thru a straw in a hospital ward somewheres. My Dad told me he overloaded some shells for a guys .303 one time and it brazed the casing to the chamber.

[1FingrCHan]

Originally Posted by T Durdin

1FingrCHan,

Dude, I hope you don't mind if I should thread that in reloading. I've never seen a catastrophic failure like that. That guy's lucky he ain't sipping his meals thru a straw in a hospital ward somewheres. My Dad told me he overloaded some shells for a guys .303 one time and it brazed the casing to the chamber.

Thread away dude, it is free on the net, he he he,......


1FingrCHan

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by T Durdin

1FingrCHan,

Dude, I hope you don't mind if I should thread that in reloading. I've never seen a catastrophic failure like that. That guy's lucky he ain't sipping his meals thru a straw in a hospital ward somewheres. My Dad told me he overloaded some shells for a guys .303 one time and it brazed the casing to the chamber.

You ought to see when someone doublecharges a .40 in a double stack and lights half the mag.....or rams a hot round up behind a squib and blows the barrel in half.


Lycangunpowderisumgunpowderthrope

[T Durdin]

Anybody ever get injured from stuff like that? Fatalities?

Sure makes you think about those little distractions while at the loading bench.

[1FingrCHan]

Originally Posted by T Durdin

Anybody ever get injured from stuff like that? Fatalities?

Sure makes you think about those little distractions while at the loading bench.

You might want to look at these:

http://www.thegunzone.com/range-stupidity.html

http://www.thegunzone.com/squib.html

http://www.thegunzone.com/kablooey.html

Better yet, the entire gunzone.com information is dedicated to help people understand carelessness with firearms can be regretful.



1FingrCHan