Blew up my Springfield barrel. What do I do?

G

Greg Bell

New member
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Guys,

Dang it! I was testing my reloads today when I had a ftf. I did a tap rack and bang without thinking (as I have trained myself to do) and blew up the gun when I fired on a squib.

Damn it! This gun ran like a charm. It was a Imbel Springfield Loaded that ran on all kinds of hollowpoints, etc without fanfare. The barrel split in several places. I took it apart and it required a small amount of force to get the barrel out the front of the slide (I pushed it out with my thumb, after a few tries). I can't detect any damage to the lugs or anything else.

I have a newish reissue Series 70 barrel in my parts bin. Can I just drop this in or do I need to do something else?

Should I buy a Kart barrel and install it?

What would yall recommend so I don't waste my money on a new barrel, especially if the gun is trashed. Anything I should look for?
 
G

Gbro

New member
I bulged one on my V-16 LS. luckily i had a after market barrel in it at the time. I still have my ported barrel and it shoot just fine.
i bought the extra barrel at the same time i bought the gun. Springfield said no machining should be nessesary.
Give them a call and see if you can order a new barrel.
 
R

Rinspeed

New member
SA has great customer service so why not give them a call. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold you a barrel at cost and fitted it for nothing.
 
C

Chui

New member
The barrel will not likely just "drop in".

If you have the maching skills you could purchase a Kart barrel and install it or you could just as easily send it to a competent gunsmith in your area to fit or send the pistol back to Springfield Armory and have them install a one-piece barrel.
 
U

Unregistered

Moderator
I wouldn't be surprised if they sold you a barrel at cost and fitted it for nothing.
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I would be very surprised if they did that. They made me pay shipping to return a new pistol that would not run.
 
C

Chui

New member
Unregistered, that should not have happened. I know someone who had a Loaded pistol with a mis-fit barrel and they paid for shipping.
 
J

JohnKSa

Administrator
They made me pay shipping to return a new pistol that would not run.
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Helpful hint.

SAVE YOUR SHIPPING RECEIPTS!

If the gun comes back with an invoice that indicates warranty repair, make a copy of the invoice and highlight the part that says "warranty repair" or something similar. Also copy your shipping receipt. Send a POLITE HARDCOPY LETTER including the receipt copies to the customer service department of the gun company requesting that your shipping costs for this warranty service be reimbursed. No emails or phone calls, paper is still the way to go in this case.

Do not put a phone number or email in your letter. This puts them in a situation where they either reimburse you or have to send you a hardcopy letter stating that you're not going to be reimbursed.

If they send you a "rejection letter" copy it and send the copy to the highest ranking company official you can get an address for and politely ask him why it's his policy to penalize consumers for quality control issues with his products.
 
J

JohnKSa

Administrator
They were very emphatic that they would not pay my shipping to them.
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They won't pay up front in many cases, the key is doing this after you have the gun back with an invoice stating that it was a warranty repair AND doing it in hardcopy vs. over the phone.
 
B

BillCA

New member
They won't pay up front in many cases, the key is doing this after you have the gun back with an invoice stating that it was a warranty repair AND doing it in hardcopy vs. over the phone.
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For some companies it makes sense to wait until you see if the issue is covered under warranty before paying for shipping. They may not tell you that they will pay for it, but most will.

JohnKSa is right - force them to use snail-mail and paper to respond to your request for reimbursement. This way, if you don't get satisfaction, you have documentation to forward to the CEO of the company. Usually results are positive if the head honcho gets involved.
 
M

MTMilitiaman

New member
My brother has a SA MilSpec that had the front sight shoot loose on some hot reloads. The pistol was still functional, just there was noticeable movement in the front sight. My brother sent it in to SA and had it back within two weeks. Not only did SA take care of the front sight, they refinished the slide, and paid for return shipping.

Your best option is probably to have a barrel fitted by a competent gunsmith. If you don't have one on hand that you trust for this sort of thing, the people that built the gun in the first place are as good a bet as any.
 
G

Gib

New member
Gregg- Barsto barrels has a "drop in" for your Loaded that needs little or no fitting. I have a Springfield Mil-Spec and a Springfield Loaded and both barrels will drop in and work in either gun. (I have way too much time on my hands.)
 
W

Walter

New member
This is good info...

JohnKSa
Quote:
They made me pay shipping to return a new pistol that would not run.
Helpful hint.

SAVE YOUR SHIPPING RECEIPTS!

If the gun comes back with an invoice that indicates warranty repair, make a copy of the invoice and highlight the part that says "warranty repair" or something similar. Also copy your shipping receipt. Send a POLITE HARDCOPY LETTER including the receipt copies to the customer service department of the gun company requesting that your shipping costs for this warranty service be reimbursed. No emails or phone calls, paper is still the way to go in this case.

Do not put a phone number or email in your letter. This puts them in a situation where they either reimburse you or have to send you a hardcopy letter stating that you're not going to be reimbursed.

If they send you a "rejection letter" copy it and send the copy to the highest ranking company official you can get an address for and politely ask him why it's his policy to penalize consumers for quality control issues with his products.
Click to expand...

It should be posted as a "sticky".

Walter
 
J

JohnKSa

Administrator
Let's keep this one on topic.

Discussions of the relative strength of different designs/brands are of general interest but should be done on a different thread.

Likewise, a discussion of the merits of various approaches to malfunctions should also be taken up on another thread--and probably in the Tactics subforum.
 
S

SRG

New member
I feel fairly certain that Springfield will attribute this to your reloads and, therefore, offer no warranty. This looks like a squib load to me.
By the way, what is "tap rack"?
 
O

Ozzieman

New member
No

I would not “Drop” in a barrel and start shooting.
I would have a good gunsmith look at the gun or send it back to the manufacture and tell them what you did (be honest). They are going to know that there barrel didn’t fail from an ordinary load.
The big thing here is not to just get the gun shooting but to make sure that it’s safe to shoot.
You have put the gun through a large amount of stress. Just looking at it with the naked eyes might not detect cracks in parts that saw that stress.
Accidents happen and yours is a common one for blow ups. You’re also lucky that you came away without an injury, part of it is because of the design.
Play it smart and have the gun checked out by an expert before you put another round through it. They might find something that could save you from a bad injury.
 
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