I had an interesting and scary experience a couple of days ago and wanted to share. Recently, I finished an AR build in 9mm utilizing components from Palmetto State Armory including their Glock mag lower with their 9mm barreled upper and hybrid bcg. This has become one of my family's favorite guns to shoot as its relatively accurate and easily reloaded for.

I ran across a good deal not long ago for some range brass that was cleaned and probably only once fired. The only caveat came from the seller who had noticed a number of cases that were "Ammoload" cases with the step inside the case. He recommended that they be culled and not loaded if any were found. I have found about 4 so far but apparently one made it past me and caused the following problem this past range trip.

My son was shooting the AR-9 when he noticed a different sound on one shot but proceeded to pull the trigger again. The next shot was much louder and he felt hot gas hit his face. I had my back turned to the firing line as I was refilling magazines. He called me and said, "Dad, something's wrong." Here's what we discovered:


(right - regular 9mm case, middle - bottom part of Ammoload case, left - upper rim of case split from base and found in chamber of gun)

The previous case had split leaving the foremost ring of brass in the chamber. That was apparently the first sound my son noticed. The next round chambered enough that when he fired the case blew out creating the louder sound and the gas that hit him in the face. Even now, I shudder to think of what it might have been if brass shrapnel had hit his eyes and he wasn't wearing his shooting glasses.



This is the best guess I can come up with for what happened and from the pieces of brass I was able to find. The forward ring of brass came out of the chamber and the shortened back half of the brass and the exploded brass case both came out of the brass catcher I had mounted to the side of the gun.

The two things I wanted to share is first and foremost, please wear your shooting glasses. No amount of fun is worth losing your sight over.

Secondly, I will do my darndest to not let any of the stepped brass get by me from now on. I hope this cautionary tale keeps someone else safe as well.

Happy shooting.

First off, great news that no-one got hurt . Ammoload is a know "bad brass" name, they also appear under different headstamps. I load 9 major power factor so I'm pretty diligent in my brass inspection. All the stepped brass cases get put in recycling, I've found that all the ammoloads are stepped, along with this IMI and FMT are also mostly stepped (I've read about some non stepped IMI and FMT but have never actually seen them) You will also probably find that there is always that "one guy" who will come onto a thread and says he has loaded thousands of Ammoload cases and never had a problem. That has to be truth, it's on the internet, it has to be true. Anyway, glad no one was hurt.

Another story reminding us that taking care in reloading is more that just closely weighing charges.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

That's good to know about ammoload brass, I did not know that. Don't know if I have loaded any of them in the past, sure won't in the future. Thanks for the info.

I've seen several threads over the past couple of years concerning similar issues with Ammoload cases, enough that I have a cull sitting on my reloading bench as a reminder. While your post may seem repetitive to some a reminder about problem brass from time to time is ALWAYS useful, so thank you for posting.

One thing I find a bit disturbing is that your 9mm conversion was actually able to impact the primer with the bolt that far out of battery.

This^^^. Makes for a dangerous situation next time you pull the trigger on an unseated round, which for a variety of reasons may sooner or later happen.

Larry

eyes and ears everytime.

I have a PSA 9mm AR with the Glock style lower. Mine can definitely fire well out of battery. Seems to be normal for many pistol caliber AR's.

Thanks for the good (non-injury) news along with the timely photojournalism.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

What does the head stamp/s of this brass look like? I use range brass from the indoor range where I work, and I don't think I've ever seen or used any.

Regarding firing out of battery...
Just curious, how deep is the primer imprint on a case that fired in battery?
Is this a headspace issue or a long firing pin?

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Fight socialism. Never stop.

Thanks for sharing that story and the warning!
Do you think the casing is damaged during the depriming stage that causes the failure or is it really just bad design? For as common as 9mm brass is I'm not willing to take chances but just wondering if the depriming method used could internally alter these cases and weaken them?
Karl

If you all are wondering what the Ammoload brass looks like, you can do a search of these forums and find some pics in previous threads. It has a distinct shoulder or step inside the brass case and the brass above the step is noticeably thinner than a normal brass case. You can clearly see that in the above pic of the separated brass case. The case head markings show the name "Ammoload" if I am remembering correctly. If you run across any case that has the step/shoulder inside, throw it away or put it in your brass recycling bin as it is unfit for reloading.

I was not there to see or hear what happened but from the OP it seems the first round had a separation (sounded funny) Then another shot was fired??

At the first "funny" sound shoot should have stopped (kinda
ike a squib)

"My son was shooting the AR-9 when he noticed a different sound on one shot but proceeded to pull the trigger again. The next shot was much louder and he felt hot gas hit his face. I had my back turned to the firing line as I was refilling magazines. He called me and said, "Dad, something's wrong." Here's what we discovered:"

It appears the first shot left the front of the brass in the chamber than another round jammed in on it and fired.

Kinda like case head separation on a 223.

Really shameful to be letting someone shoot with eye protection. Sorry to be blunt I am a NRA RSO and even people not shooting Must wear eye and ear protection.

Glad to hear everyone is OK!

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Still Running Against the Wind

Make it a rule, funny sounding shot...STOP ! Do not pull the trigger again , something BAD usually happens.

I see these guys at the range pulling the trigger so fast they couldn't stop the next shot if their life depended on it....bad idea in my mind.

Gary

....gives me a sickening sort of feeling. Like the maker didn't care that their brass would probably be reloaded.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Thanks for all of the comments. Maybe a little more information can clear up a few points. First the load: Precision Black TCP 125gr coated bullet, 4.0gr CSB-1 (mid-range load), COAL 1.10", cleaned range brass. This is a middle of the road loading that shoots extremely well out of the AR-9.

The fist shot that resulted in the case separation was not a squib and didn't sound any different than that it was just a little "off." I had my back to him while he was shooting and couldn't discern a problem based on sound alone. Still, he knew something was different and should have stopped and opened the action to check. Even though my son is thirty years old, this made for another teachable moment for old Dad!!!

I check my fired cases for pressure signs faithfully and this load shows no flattened primer nor cratering. The firing pin indention on the normal brass all seem uniform and of the correct depth. I haven't had any light strikes nor pierced or exceptionally deep primer strikes with this gun.

What I really think happened is the Ammoload case separated into two pieces in the chamber upon firing and the bolt extracted the base section leaving the forward ring of brass in the chamber while the bullet normally exited the barrel. The ring of brass was thin enough to allow the next cartridge to achieve sufficient depth for a firing pin strike to occur but initially (probably) blew out the side of the case allowing the case to back out enough to completely disintegrate. I think the presence of the brass catcher bag on the side of the gun captured most of what escaped the chamber area including the exploded case which allowed me evidence to make pictures of.

I share this incident for two reasons. First, my son was wearing eye and ear protection at the time and I am glad for his safety.

Second, all stepped cases go in the cull bucket. This has been my policy for a while now but my vigilance has skyrocketed.

Shoot safely.

Here's a couple of pics I found on the web of this issue:

Does anyone know the reasoning behind the step inside the brass? Less inside space for more combustion/pressure?

I suspect it was someone's idea to strengthen the web area of the case where they normally fail, unfortunately it appears that it actually created a weak spot for failure. I initially thought that the inner "step" was a pressed in piece but after cutting one up I realized that it was formed that way. Another idea was that it prevented the bullet from being seated too deep, but that apparently isn't the reason either.

Attached Images

	Ammoload 3.JPG (58.2 KB, 36 views)
	Ammoload 2.JPG (57.8 KB, 35 views)
	Ammoload 1.JPG (59.0 KB, 35 views)