Crazy K38
Member
I opened a box of remington umc jsp and the first round I grabbed had two DEEP dents in the side of the casing and two flat spots on the head of the casing, anyone else caught some neat factory defects
facty messup
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Forester
Member
Not mine, but I found these images on Google:
Andy Taylor
Member
Back when CorBon was a new company I worked at a gun range. We got in a case of .357 Magnum CorBon and all the primers were seated upside down. It was many years before I would buy a CorBon product.
flop-shank
US Veteran
Too many. That's why I'm going to handloads only for everything, but .22s, when my factory ammo is burnt up. I no longer trust the ammo makers.
David Sinko
Member
I am starting to find some discarded Remington factory ammo with cracked primers at the range. I found 12 gauge shotshell and a .30-06 that had been stuck by the firing pin and the primer cracked and caved in rather than detonate. I have never seen this happen before and then I see it twice, with Remington primers. Now it seems you can't even trust the components!
Dave Sinko
Dave Sinko
Gatofeo
Member
One night, in 1978, I was a bored Security Policeman at the rear gate at Howard Air Force Base, Panama.
I was there by myself, guarding the bridge over a swampland that led to the little town of Vernado.
Anyway, I pulled the .38 Special military 130 gr. full metal jacket cartridges from my gunbelt and began inspecting them.
God knows why. I was bored.
Well, the first thing I noticed was that most of the cartridges had a fine crack running around the case, right where the web met the case wall.
As a reloader even then, I knew what would happen if that cartridge were fired: the back of the case would separate from the case wall. Upon ejection from my revolver, the case wall would be left in the chambers after the rear of the case was thrown free.
The remaining case wall would prevent the reloading of fresh ammo.
I would be well and truly expletive deleted
That morning, after my shift, I wrote up a hazard report and filed it with our captain.
I later heard that all kinds of poop de jour hit the Air Force prop blades over that ammo!
Made me feel good. I might have saved a life.
Anyway, within days a C-130 loaded with cases of new .38 Special ammo landed at Howard Air Force Base, just for the Security Police and the aicrews who carried .38 Specials.
It was the same, ol' 130 gr. FMJ stuff, but at least it wasn't defective.
The C-130 held other cargo, of course, but we were amazed that my lil' ol' report received such swift attention.
Those who have been in the military know that it can take months or years to rectify a problem.
We all wondered if some congressman's son wasn't secretly serving with us.
In more than 40 years of buying factory ammo, that's the only defective stuff I've found.
Of course, this is probably because I shoot almost entirely reloads. I haven't purchased factory .38 Special or .44 Magnum ammo in 30 years.
Cases I find at the range are carefully inspected.
That photo of 7.62 Tokarev ammo is interesting. It shows the stab crimp, used to hold the bullet in the case.
It also shows split necks. That's really nothing new.
Cracked necks in old ammunition is nothing new. Necks will crack over time if the brass neck has not been properly annealed.
Take a look at a 5.56mm cartridge of current manufacture. Notice the subtle difference in color where the shoulder meets the neck?
Before the case was loaded, its neck passed through a small flame. This softened the neck a little -- compared to the body -- so the neck wouldn't become brittle over time and split from the tension induced by the bullet jammed tightly into it.
Annealing case necks, near as I can tell, began with military ammunition just before World War II.
Nearly every .30-06 cartridge from World War I and shortly after has a split neck. It's very commonly seen in such old ammo.
Yet, World War II .30-06 ammo in my collection clearly has annealed necks and there are no splits.
A lot of foreign ammo, especially the older stuff, doesn't have annealed necks and you'll find splits in it like this photo.
Some claim it's okay to shoot such split-neck ammo. Others warn against it. Search the net and you'll find both schools.
Myself, I think it would depend on the cartridge and the firearm it's fired in.
I wouldn't shoot a .30-06 or 5.56 with split neck. Both operate at rather high pressures.
However, if I found some old .38 Special ammo with short splits in the neck, I'd probably fire it.
In a high-pressure cartridge like the 7.62 X 25, I'd rather not fire cases with any splits. However, the bullet can be pulled and reused for reloading.
It may not be wise to salvage the powder. God knows how many different types of powder might be found within the cartridges within a "sardine-tin" case of ammo.
Everyone agrees that splits in the BODY of the case make the ammo dangerous to fire. The most dangerous is a split in the head of the cartridge. Such a defect will almost certainly blow back hot gases into your face.
I was there by myself, guarding the bridge over a swampland that led to the little town of Vernado.
Anyway, I pulled the .38 Special military 130 gr. full metal jacket cartridges from my gunbelt and began inspecting them.
God knows why. I was bored.
Well, the first thing I noticed was that most of the cartridges had a fine crack running around the case, right where the web met the case wall.
As a reloader even then, I knew what would happen if that cartridge were fired: the back of the case would separate from the case wall. Upon ejection from my revolver, the case wall would be left in the chambers after the rear of the case was thrown free.
The remaining case wall would prevent the reloading of fresh ammo.
I would be well and truly expletive deleted
That morning, after my shift, I wrote up a hazard report and filed it with our captain.
I later heard that all kinds of poop de jour hit the Air Force prop blades over that ammo!
Made me feel good. I might have saved a life.
Anyway, within days a C-130 loaded with cases of new .38 Special ammo landed at Howard Air Force Base, just for the Security Police and the aicrews who carried .38 Specials.
It was the same, ol' 130 gr. FMJ stuff, but at least it wasn't defective.
The C-130 held other cargo, of course, but we were amazed that my lil' ol' report received such swift attention.
Those who have been in the military know that it can take months or years to rectify a problem.
We all wondered if some congressman's son wasn't secretly serving with us.
In more than 40 years of buying factory ammo, that's the only defective stuff I've found.
Of course, this is probably because I shoot almost entirely reloads. I haven't purchased factory .38 Special or .44 Magnum ammo in 30 years.
Cases I find at the range are carefully inspected.
That photo of 7.62 Tokarev ammo is interesting. It shows the stab crimp, used to hold the bullet in the case.
It also shows split necks. That's really nothing new.
Cracked necks in old ammunition is nothing new. Necks will crack over time if the brass neck has not been properly annealed.
Take a look at a 5.56mm cartridge of current manufacture. Notice the subtle difference in color where the shoulder meets the neck?
Before the case was loaded, its neck passed through a small flame. This softened the neck a little -- compared to the body -- so the neck wouldn't become brittle over time and split from the tension induced by the bullet jammed tightly into it.
Annealing case necks, near as I can tell, began with military ammunition just before World War II.
Nearly every .30-06 cartridge from World War I and shortly after has a split neck. It's very commonly seen in such old ammo.
Yet, World War II .30-06 ammo in my collection clearly has annealed necks and there are no splits.
A lot of foreign ammo, especially the older stuff, doesn't have annealed necks and you'll find splits in it like this photo.
Some claim it's okay to shoot such split-neck ammo. Others warn against it. Search the net and you'll find both schools.
Myself, I think it would depend on the cartridge and the firearm it's fired in.
I wouldn't shoot a .30-06 or 5.56 with split neck. Both operate at rather high pressures.
However, if I found some old .38 Special ammo with short splits in the neck, I'd probably fire it.
In a high-pressure cartridge like the 7.62 X 25, I'd rather not fire cases with any splits. However, the bullet can be pulled and reused for reloading.
It may not be wise to salvage the powder. God knows how many different types of powder might be found within the cartridges within a "sardine-tin" case of ammo.
Everyone agrees that splits in the BODY of the case make the ammo dangerous to fire. The most dangerous is a split in the head of the cartridge. Such a defect will almost certainly blow back hot gases into your face.
swamp creature
Member
After the purchase of a M329PD, I opted for the Buffalo Bore "reduced recoil" load made specifically for that gun. I could only get through an average of three rounds before I would experience misfires. Inspection of the failed rounds showed what I thought was light strikes. Knowing that newer Smiths often have this condition I continued as best I could. When I switched to a box of Fusion 44mag, I no longer experienced any problems. I went back to the failed BB rounds and noticed that the primers had moved deeper into the case head than unfired rounds. I thought I was seeing things so I loaded another cylinder with rounds that were fully inspected and found to have flush seated primers. After a couple of shots, misfire. I opened the cylinder and found the primer had moved deeper into the pocket.
I e-mailed Tim Suttles of Buffalo Bore and relayed my findings. Mr. Suttles told me it was my gun, not his product. I told him the gun does not fail to consume any other brand (I have tried most, at this point). He still insisted it was my gun. I asked him to send me a shipping label and I would send him some rounds. No reply, it's been six months now. I have not had a failure yet from any other manufacturer. I gave the remaining boxes to my stepfather who also had FTF from a fixed pin Smith 629-4. He disassembled some and found that the brass was "boogered badly inside" as he put it. I didn't ask any further since my experience with Buffalo Bore prevents me from buying their product again.
On a side note, the "reduced recoil" loads from BB sure didn't feel any less than standard pressure magnums. Garrett makes 310gr. Defender loads for the scandium Smith that are nice to shoot and have incredible penetration and knock-down power on wild boar. They, however, are extremely smokey and dirty.
I e-mailed Tim Suttles of Buffalo Bore and relayed my findings. Mr. Suttles told me it was my gun, not his product. I told him the gun does not fail to consume any other brand (I have tried most, at this point). He still insisted it was my gun. I asked him to send me a shipping label and I would send him some rounds. No reply, it's been six months now. I have not had a failure yet from any other manufacturer. I gave the remaining boxes to my stepfather who also had FTF from a fixed pin Smith 629-4. He disassembled some and found that the brass was "boogered badly inside" as he put it. I didn't ask any further since my experience with Buffalo Bore prevents me from buying their product again.
On a side note, the "reduced recoil" loads from BB sure didn't feel any less than standard pressure magnums. Garrett makes 310gr. Defender loads for the scandium Smith that are nice to shoot and have incredible penetration and knock-down power on wild boar. They, however, are extremely smokey and dirty.
nitesite
Member
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