The verdict is in, and as most had guessed the verdict is that the cause of the catastrophic failure was from an ammo defect. At this point I'm just glad that the lower is salvageable. Other than having the bulge fixed and finding a new complete upper, I'm not sure what my next move is. I have had some tell me that I should go after the ammo manufacturer. While I haven't ruled it out, I know that the cost of the repairs aren't worth the hassle. Still some point to the fact that I could have been injured and they say that I have a responsibility to others who might be injured due to bad ammo from this manufacturer (Prvi Partizan). I just need to think this through and decide if I agree with that or not. Anyway, here is the official (mildly redacted) Colt Manufacturing Engineering Exam Report.

Nobody was injured (died) and the manufacture is in another country- right? If you call or write them with your complaint maybe they'll send a nice apology letter blaming you somehow. If you want to sue good luck I think 10 new AR's will cost you less than it would to find a few attorneys to take on ALL the attorneys there company has. In this case you get what you pay for the ammo was cheap and now you're out a gun. --- If you buy an expensive vehicle you're going to spend on super unleaded & synthetic oil- right? If you spend the money for an overpriced rifle spend the money on some good "AMERICAN" ammo this way WHEN it happens to you again you may have the chance of getting a gun back.
BUY AMERICAN --unless you enjoy the smell of foreign powders....
good luck & be safe

That blows ... I think I would send picks and a copy of the letter to the ammo maker.....

Good Luck

They've got to have a US connection - importer. I would at least fire off a briskly worded letter to them (including your scans) noting my rather serious dissatisfaction with the damage their product has caused and the ability of the internet to put a sizable ding in their sales !

http://www.prvipartizan.com/dealers.php

Ray

the internet is a wonderful thing. you have the legit docs from Colt. i would give the american importer of this ammo 1 chance to make it right and if they blew you off, i would be all over the gun forums including ARF.com and all the others posting this. the cost in potential sales and bad reputation and emotional satsifcation to you would more than offset your cost of a new rifle. got any friends relatives, anybody who is a lawyer ? i would include a heart attack letter from them to make your point when asking for a new upper.

Glad you were not hurt, but you must contact Privi, forward to them a copy of the Colt report, state the remaining ammo and box (if you have them) can be sent to them at their cost and tell them to make good the replacement cost for a new COLT LE6920 upper and money for your personal time and trouble or you WILL take this to court! Ammo companies are required by the alphabit boys to have insurance for this type of fiasco.

That's all I need to see to convince me not to buy any product they manufacture. It is obviously unsafe in some circumstances.

I'm glad you weren't injured and I hope this whole mess turns out well for you.
I now know to avoid that brand of ammo.
Good luck.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

Isn't this the ammo factory that blew up in Serbia?

Back in the late '80s and early '90s when I was shooting surplus military rifles a lot, I shot a LOT of Prvi Partizan/Hanson. It was 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser, .30-06, 7.62x54Rmm and 7.92x57mm Mauser. I never had a problem.

One thing I did notice when reloading the cases was that they were ALL at EXACTLY the maximum length when I reloaded them the first time. Probably a parameter set by the socialist "plan". If they were always at the max length, that leaves open the possibility that one of them was over length enough that the case mouth was crimped into the bullet when it was chambered. That of course causes excessive pressures and blowups.

My suggestion is to establish contact with the importer, advise them of what has occurred, and see what their response might be. I'm thinking that it is entirely possible that they will want to do the right thing. Parts and labor to rebuild your AR will amount to a lot less than legal fees to even respond to a claim for damages, much less the costs of defending a lawsuit.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

I just got off the phone with colt manufacturing (again). I tried to call yesterday, but because the gun was sent from my FFL, they said that they couldn't talk to me (go figure) concerning the repairs and the shipping of the entire gun (scrap and all) back to me. Interestingly, I asked that they send me the paperwork to initiate the process (versus it going to my FFL and then him forwarding it to me) and they initially said that they couldn't send it to me, but rather, they would have to send it to my FFL. This, even after I had to get my FFL to call them yesterday for them to even be willing to talk with me today. After I politely stated that my FFL is an active LEO and this fact would delay my getting the paperwork, RJ took my name and address and said that he would try to send me a copy as well.

Anyway, the ballpark figure for repairing the lower is $55 plus $15 or so for shipping. Not too bad, so I'm going to have that done. Then I'll start my research to decide what to do about getting a complete upper and whatever else I'll need. LOL... my 6920 has become a "project gun".

It's too bad they didn't offer to rebuild your gun for a reasonable cost.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

Forget the Colt and go buy a quality upper and be done with it.The Colt is the one of the highest priced AR's on the market.When you buy their product you also get the worst warranty and slowest customer service out there.The fit and finish of most Colt factory guns is atrocious! I have had great luck with Rock River although there are alot of other quality products out there.Rock River has a lifetime warranty on their products.I have never used their customer service but I have friends who have and they have been very satisfied.

Not my experience at all. Rock River is OK, but it is just a Colt knockoff. They cut corners in the manufacturing that Cold does not. The same failure shown here would have been at least as bad, possibly worse with a RR. The failure was from an out of spec round of ammo, and RR's warranty does not cover such failures either.

Saying the RR is better than Colt is like saying Tarus is better than S&W. There is more than just price to consider.

I love my Colt 6920, but it's my understanding that Colt doesn't give a you-know-what about it's civilian customers, sort of like HK. They're all about military and LE sales. Something tells me if this were a S&W M&P15 it would have been rebuilt for a reasonable cost.

I own a Rock River Arms CAR A4 too. It's nice, and the DEA/FBI use them, but it's not in the league with Colt. I have friends who use M4s for a living and they say that the best are made by LMT, with companies like Colt and Noveske either in that top tier or very close to LMT, followed by S&W and RRA, then all the others like Bushmaster, DPMS, etc.

What kind of ammo were you using? Wolf? Prvi Partizan is good stuff and they make ammo for NATO, but I wouldn't use any Russian ****. You can buy PMC M193 pretty cheap.. no need to use garbage ammo.

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Aaron Terry

It was Privi Partizan as per Colt's report

Why would you even post that statement the very next sentence after you praised the ammo that was used?

I missed the part where the report said Prvi was used. I should have explained "garbage" ammo better. I meant steel cased stuff, like Wolf. I have seen lots of problems with the steel cased ammo.

I have shot 1000s of rounds of PRVI and never had any problems so I'm surprised by that. I don't think most people I shoot with would lump Prvi in with Wolf and other poorly-made imported 223.

In my ARs I shoot mostly PMC and American Eagle.

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Aaron Terry

I should add, paralell, that there are a lot of ex-army guys I shoot with who think highly of Prvi. Go to MidwayUSA and some other sites and read the reviews.. they're generally very positive. So I don't think you did anything wrong going with Prvi. Just sucks.

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Aaron Terry

I should also add that for the same reason COLT doesn't repair or replace the AR is the same reason PRVI will not do much for you. How would they determine your AR hasn't been shot / fired 20,000,000 times (service life) and this is your way of getting a new gun. In their defense they'll use the excuse that COLT the manufacture of the weapon didn't honor your claim why would they give you a free gun. I would still let PRVI know of the issue -try using the BBB as a tool but don't expect a free gun.

good luck...

Where does it say that I am looking for a new gun? Would I have accepted a new gun had Colt deiced they were at fault? Sure. Would I accept a new rifle if the ammo manufacturer decides to send one? Of course I would. This however, is about the fact that when things like this happen, people could get hurt. I wasn't seriously injured. The next person might not be so lucky. This incident could have been an isolated incident therefore the likelihood of anyone else getting hurt could be minimal. Great! But it might also be something that isn't isolated and could therefore hurt someone bad. I'll be letting the ammo manufacturer know so that if there is something inherently wrong with that ammo, they will have the opportunity to do something about it.

- I meant no offence to your feelings in my previous post I was trying to let you know that Colt is laughing at you and I'm sure PAVI will do the same for buying and using their foreign ammo. Please control your BF and consider buying American next time. Do you drive a Toyota???

Well said, parallel. You are a responsible man. Good luck to you.

(And I drive a Toyota. Smoke Cuban cigars, too, 'pon occasion. Hmm. My Win 1886 is Miroku. Does that count? )

The ammunition companies in the U.S. and abroad when it comes to current military calibers like the 5.56/.223, 7.62x39,9mm etc. have been pumping them out non-stop. The War going on and remember the last election where there was all sorts of buying. The ammo companies in this country have quality control and I am sure those foriegn makers do to. However they on the other hand if put under a heaping workload may lose that quality now and again. Unfortunatley someone ends up behind the gun using that ammo. It would be nice to see the ammo company or distributer of it make it right with you. However it may be more hassle than it's worth. Glad to hear you did not get hurt.

A almost exact situation occurred with a guy at my local gun shop with a Smith and Wesson AR. It blew up. Went round and round with SW and they determined it was the ammo.
I will not mention the ammo company but it is one of the re- "manufacturers".
Anyway, long story short, they replaced the guys rifle.
So by all means contact the ammo maker, you have nothing to loose.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Any word from Privi??