Spontaneous deconstruction.

Monday, April 25, 2011 Filed in: Revolvers

This case has apparently been making the rounds as of last week:

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Courtesy of Armed and Amphibious.


Speculation abounds, and without the gun in hand that's all we can do. There is, however, one likely cause that has historical precedent.

S&W has over the years experienced cases of incipient cracks of the frame boss underneath the barrel in several models, the 442 Airweight Centennial being perhaps the best-known example. The cause has usually been attributed to over-torqued barrels. Whether that is the case here remains to be seen.

There could have been other flaws in construction or materials, or the ammo used may have exceeded the design parameters of the frame (more precisely, the gun's design parameters didn't encompass the entire range of projectile energies allowed under SAAMI specifications.) However, the kind of damage shown would be consistent with a catastrophic failure at the point described.

Glad the shooter was (by all accounts) uninjured.

 -=[ Grant ]=-

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