Yeah, you're right! Stick dynamite in them and they will break.
I feel bad for the OP also. He's out a gun and that sucks. He wants someone else to pay for it. I understand. He did not know the ammo might be bad reloads.
And while hindsight is great, a good rule of thumb is if you don't know where the ammo came from then don't use it. Or, at least learn how to detect reloads. May not always work, but...
If it were me, at this point, I would take S&W up on their offer.
Jim