Went to the range today, and had my first ever problems with Federal Bulk Ammo. I have always used the 550 Red Box from WalMart, but they have been out forever, so I picked up a 525 Blue Box from the LGS. In the first magazine of 25 I had three that did not fire, I usually dont have that many in a thousand. In the second magazine that I fired I had a round that didnt sound or feel right, and it did not cycle the bolt. I dropped the magazine, and pulled the charging handle, but an empty case flew out. I pulled the bolt and charging handle out of the way, and the barrel was clear. I finished the magazine, and got up to let my son shoot. On his second shot same situation, but this time ... No light at the end of the tunnel. The gunsmith from the range was nearby and careful pushed the bullet out with a cleaning rod. That was the end of my shooting for the day, as I made up my mind I was done with that box of ammunition. I have heard there are good and bad batches of ammo, but today was my first experience with the bad.

You could contact the manufacturer, explain the situation and provide them with the batch and lot number. Might be able to get your only back or something.

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Jorge
- M&P15, 15-22, Shield

Thinking about doing just that. I have only had positive experience with this ammo, until I opened this box.

Fed sent me money when I reported an issue with their ammo. In my case it was a few empty casings and being a few short. I sent them an email through their site explaining and giving them the lot number. A couple days after that they got back to me and in a few weeks I had a check. Not bad CS IMO.

Ok thanks. That is good to know.

Always a good idea to let the ammo manufactures know about problems and give them batch numbers. We are the final inspection of their product, and if they had really bad problems they can recall batches and save others from this or worse problems.

And kudos to your boy for stopping, and not just racking another round...saved you from a bulged barrel or worse. Good training pops.

What is the batch number... I got 10 boxes of the blue box.

Will a .22LR bulge a barrel?

I have had trouble with the blue box stuff several times. When a round fails to fire take a close look at it.....on everyone I have checked the bullet is loose in the case. It will easily spin in your fingers. Not sure what this means.

FWIW, the ammo is exactly the same in both the 525 round blue box and the 550 round red box. The packaging and distribution is different, that's all.

Never seen a loose bullet, but in 5k, I've only has two rounds that failed to fire the second time.

The Lot # is 1GN504.

I have seen a lot of them that will spin, i just nought it was normal. I have had far fewer failures compared to the amount that will spin. My failure rate with Federal Champion is about 1 per 100 or so...
My failure rate with CCI Blazer is about 0 per 100 or so....

glad to hear you guys stopped in time before it damaged the rifle. definitely contact atk - ive heard a lot of good things about their CS.

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od: xd9 3"&4", 15-22, 1911 .22

There was a post not too long ago, fella got a ring in his 15-22. I've seen several .22 bulged barrels, mostly bolt action, one pistol. I guess with semiauto you have the bolt blowing back to release some of the pressure, but it can still happen.

That's what freaks me out about the federal rounds sometimes feel like they "poot" out. Still like them, best value to quantity/quality.

"Poot" out... LOL... That's why I use CCI... "Poot" out LOL...

I had a box of Blazers with loose bullets. About 1 in 15 would fail to feed because the bullet would angle upwards from the case when it contacted the feed ramp--not a pretty sight.

I didn't have sense enough to report the lot # to CCI.

whats a squib? noob i know... still learning all your guys terms and slang

force from the fired cartridge isnt powerful enough to push the bullet out of the barrel. So your barrel is plugged.

A squib is caused by a defective cartridge. Not enough power to propel the bullet out of the barrel. The bullet gets stuck in the barrel, and can cause a bulged or exploded barrel if another round is fired behind it. Very dangerous!

it was real dud too .. not even two inches into the barrel. Just glad it came out pretty easily!

yea that would be bad... i knew the consequences just not the term! thanks for the info...

we all shoot .22 because its cheap. bulk stuff is cheaper and even with the best of the bulk, there will still be issues when monstrous quantities are being produced. everythings a compromise though so as long as you're smart and understand the risks involved, you get to shoot plenty and learn a few things along the way.

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od: xd9 3"&4", 15-22, 1911 .22

It was a box of the blue Fed Champion that caused me to have my extractor pop out due to a mechanical jam in my PC model. Later found out that the Champions are a little longer than the regular Fed 550 bulk box. Used them up in another gun and won't buy them again. CCI-Tactical is about all I use now.

Ya I've found that with my slidefire I don't have time to stop in case of a squib round so I stick with CCI tactical. It's been the most reliable (for me anyway YMMV) and has the least amount of failures of any kind. I have had the problem of loose rounds w/ the blazers causing the angled round in the casing when it encounters the feed ramp also. I've found it the easiest/most fun to just take the extra time and give a once-over to anything I'm loading in the mag. Doesn't take that much more time and when the ones I love are looking down the sights I'm a little more comfortable that there won't be something catastrophic happening to them or the rifle.

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-Dik

Interesting, considering that they are both made on the same machines. The only difference is the packaging and the amount in the box. Different packages for different distribution channels.