Catastrophic failure with Springfield XD - anyone else?

[chuckyzfr1]

Hi all,

I've been a huge fan of the Springfield XD platform, and have been carrying an Xd 9mm subcompact for many years. I also own a full-sized Xd 9mm as well. Last summer while practicing with the subcompact, I experienced a catastrophic failure. I'd been practicing with factory loaded fmj target ammo for about an hour, when I fired the weapon and the slide flew off the front of the gun. I closely examined the slide, barrel, and frame, and discovered that a lug had broken off the bottom of the barrel, which is what allowed the entire slide assembly to fly forward and off the pistol.

I contacted Springfield Armory, and they were very friendly and courteous, sent me a return label, and repaired the gun rather quickly - they replaced the barrel as well as the portion of the frame that locks the barrel in, and that the slide rides on. I asked them to contact me and explain if this was considered an anomaly, or if they'd experienced any other situations like this, but they declined to do so. I'm wondering if anyone on this site has firsthand experience like this, or has heard of anything like this -I searched the internet and could find no other instance of this happening. I'd probably put about 7-9 thousand rounds through this pistol, which may sound like a lot to some folks, but personally I do not think this is an unusual amount of shooting for your pdw - I'm an avid shooter and like to stay as proficient as possible. Also, I think this pistol should be able to hand several times that many rounds before it is "worn out" and should be replaced.

In spite of this failure, I've continued to carry this pistol - partly because I am so comfortable with it, and partly because I frankly do not have the time, or spare ammo, to become as proficient with another pistol as I am with this one. It has a brand new barrel and frame lug installed, so I'm hoping that this was an anomaly and the odds of it happening again are miniscule. But I'm also hoping to hear from people if they've experienced something like this with their own Xd's. Thanks for your time!

[Jakeiscrazy]

Sounds like a freak thing. Good for them making it right.

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[MarcSpaz]

I can't say I have ever heard of that happening before and I have been shooting pistols for 20+ years.

Glad no one was hurt and they squared you away.

I have to ask... do you do inspections at stress point while cleaning? I would assume that even if you are, it would be hard to notice something unless it is really obviously wrong. I ask because I am wondering if you noticed and heat stress marks prior to the break.

Also, did the metal at the break look like a clean smooth break or did it look like if you put the pieces together there would be lots of tiny air bubbles in the metal?

A clean smooth break indicates that the tensile strength of the metal was exceeded. If there are little tiny bubbles, that means the metal was not properly heat-treated in that spot during the hardening process.

[chuckyzfr1]

From my recollection Marc, (it was back in the early part of the summer) the break was "rough" on both pieces, and there definitely was no indication prior to this of any problems. I am pretty thorough about cleaning and maintaining my firearms, especially my ccw, and I'd never seen anything indicating a problem was imminent, the gun always looked good, other than some slight holster wear. I do wonder if it was a metal forging/casting process issue....

[MarcSpaz]

With rough edges as you described, I would say so.