Is the .40 XD safe from kabooms???

[kmc757]

I bought an XD40 SC recently and one of the reasons was my perception that it was relatively immune from kabooms due to the almost fully supported chamber.

A friend told me about an XD kaboom and now I found references on the web to kabooms in the XD.

So my questions:

Does the XD really provide a fully supported chamber?

How safe is the XD if there is a kaboom? Does it hold up well?

Do most of you think the .40 is a safe caliber vs. 9mm and 45? It seems most reports of kabooms are in the .40 caliber.

In all the questions above, I assume using factory ammo, not reloads.

Thanks.

[DigMe]

It's as safe as any other gun. The XD kabooms that I've heard about have all been with homeloads. A pistol that blows up due to someone's carelessness in handloading shouldn't even count as a kaboom because that would blow up any pistol regardless of chamber or anything else having to do with the pistol.

brad

[carhartt]

Originally Posted by DigMe

It's as safe as any other gun. The XD kabooms that I've heard about have all been with homeloads. A pistol that blows up due to someone's carelessness in handloading shouldn't even count as a kaboom because that would blow up any pistol regardless of chamber or anything else having to do with the pistol.

brad

+1 most, if not all, of the kabooms occur because someone tried to overload a cartridge. I dont think it is specific to any one caliber.

[redtree]

Originally Posted by carhartt

+1 most, if not all, of the kabooms occur because someone tried to overload a cartridge. I dont think it is specific to any one caliber.

I agree. One of the local dealers here has a "wall of shame." There are a bunch of pistols (semi-autos and revolvers) and a couple of shot guns that have been kaboom'd, and the sign on the wall says "yeah I load my own hot loads to save money."

[wxman]

I don't know about kaboom, but today while at the range, my XD9SC had a run in with a bad round. I was using PMC ammo, and with one round, a huge black smoke arose when I fired a round. It had to come out tumbling as it shred apart the right site of the target. I left the range after that, and cleaned my gun. I have never had such a dirty gun. But the gun did not fail.

[sourpatch45]

glocks are prone to them in 40 because the chamber isnt fully supported.... but in the xd it is. im sure someone has pics.

it can and does happen with factory loads but just not nearly as much, it is usually handloads but the unsupported chamber of the glock is one big cause for them

[JonXD]

Originally Posted by sourpatch45

glocks are prone to them in 40 because the chamber isnt fully supported.... but in the xd it is. im sure someone has pics.

it can and does happen with factory loads but just not nearly as much, it is usually handloads but the unsupported chamber of the glock is one big cause for them

Maybe I'll stay away from glocks.

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by wxman

I don't know about kaboom, but today while at the range, my XD9SC had a run in with a bad round. I was using PMC ammo, and with one round, a huge black smoke arose when I fired a round. It had to come out tumbling as it shred apart the right site of the target. I left the range after that, and cleaned my gun. I have never had such a dirty gun. But the gun did not fail.

Sounds like a squib maybe.

brad

[kmc757]

Originally Posted by sourpatch45

glocks are prone to them in 40 because the chamber isnt fully supported.... but in the xd it is. im sure someone has pics.

it can and does happen with factory loads but just not nearly as much, it is usually handloads but the unsupported chamber of the glock is one big cause for them

I have heard of it happening in other calibers, but it seems like most incidents happen with a .40 caliber. It makes me wonder about the safety of the .40 in general.

Anyone else think that this is more of a problem in .40's?

[Mike in VA]

Originally Posted by kmc757

Anyone else think that this is more of a problem in .40's?

Not really.

The documented cases of KBs with factory ammo are rare, no matter what cartridge is used. 9MM and .40 S&W have similar maximum operating pressures, around 35,000 psi. Try this: pull the barrel out of your pistol and look at the thickness of the steel in the chamber area. It's pretty thin. Now look at the thickness in a rifle barrel, say one chambered for a .270 Winchester. The .270 has a maximum pressure of about 65,000 psi. The steel is at least 3-4 times as thick. Which gun is going to have the most margin for error? When operated within their design limits, the .40 S&W handguns are perfectly safe.

When you make a mistake in handloading, though, the results can be disasterous, since the ability of your typical hangun to withstand excessive pressure is much less than you typical high powered rifle.