caryg
Member
Bought some 357 mag ammo, personnel defense for my Smith 327 Night Guard. Had trouble getting all out of the cylinder after shooting. This is the only ammo manufacture I have had this problem with? Any thoughts as to why?
Trouble with Hornady ammo
- Thread starter caryg
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steveno
Member
contact Hornady with the lot #
IAhunter
Member
Have you been shooting a bunch of .38's in that gun? Is it possible you have a build up behind the rim of those .357 cases?
Same problem with some 357 Mag 125 gr FTX fired out of a new 627-5. I had just bought this box of ammo within the last couple of months.
While the new ammo loaded smoothly, I had to push the ejector rod on the side of the shooting bench to eject the spent brass. Other brands of factory and reloaded 357 ammo ejected easily.
After I got home, I measured the remaining 20 unfired rounds out of that particular box and compared them to 100 FTX rounds I'd bought last year. I checked the diameter midway down the shell case below the bulge of the bullet. The new sticking ammo measured averaged .376 inches compared to an average of .374-.375 on the older ammo. I also compared the diameter of the new fired cases versus some older once fired unsized FTX fired cases that I was saving to reload - new .381 vs old .379. Just out of curiosity, I took the new and older once fired casings and tried them in my M66 and M686. Same result - the new casing would not fit in the cylinder (unless I wanted to whack it with a hammer, which I didn't) while the older casing fit flush and ejected easily.
At least in my particular case with my particular ammo and guns, it looks like that miniscule increase in case diameter after firing is causing the shells to stick. And I had not been firing 38s in my 627 before I tried the 357 FTX.
I plan on contacting Hornady on Monday. I've never had any problems with their FTX ammo before (357, 38+P, & 45), so I'm sure this is just one of those irritating things that happen on occasion. Plus it shows why it's a good idea to check our weapons and ammo anytime we make any changes. Not to mention, it's just fun to go shooting. By the way, the lot # on my box is 3110983.
Pete
While the new ammo loaded smoothly, I had to push the ejector rod on the side of the shooting bench to eject the spent brass. Other brands of factory and reloaded 357 ammo ejected easily.
After I got home, I measured the remaining 20 unfired rounds out of that particular box and compared them to 100 FTX rounds I'd bought last year. I checked the diameter midway down the shell case below the bulge of the bullet. The new sticking ammo measured averaged .376 inches compared to an average of .374-.375 on the older ammo. I also compared the diameter of the new fired cases versus some older once fired unsized FTX fired cases that I was saving to reload - new .381 vs old .379. Just out of curiosity, I took the new and older once fired casings and tried them in my M66 and M686. Same result - the new casing would not fit in the cylinder (unless I wanted to whack it with a hammer, which I didn't) while the older casing fit flush and ejected easily.
At least in my particular case with my particular ammo and guns, it looks like that miniscule increase in case diameter after firing is causing the shells to stick. And I had not been firing 38s in my 627 before I tried the 357 FTX.
I plan on contacting Hornady on Monday. I've never had any problems with their FTX ammo before (357, 38+P, & 45), so I'm sure this is just one of those irritating things that happen on occasion. Plus it shows why it's a good idea to check our weapons and ammo anytime we make any changes. Not to mention, it's just fun to go shooting. By the way, the lot # on my box is 3110983.
Pete
After calling and talking to a real person at Hornady (not one of those annoying endless automated answering systems that seem to be taking over the world - shades of Terminator?), Hornady sent me a shipping label asking me to send them the remainder of the box I had just bought. I had fired 5 rounds out of the original 25.
As I mentioned before in my earlier post, I have not had any problems with some older 357 Mag 125 gr FTX ammo that I had bought in the past.
Got a call from a Hornady rep (Kirk Emery - not sure about the spelling) earlier this week and he explained the problem in simple terms that I could easily understand. Some of their cases were improperly annealed (heat treated). The equipment used was applying too much heat during the manufacturing process, resulting in soft cases that expanded too much during firing. This led to the sticking shells and difficult ejection. When annealed to the proper hardness, the cases shrink back down after firing to allow easy ejection. He explained that they just got some new state of the art equipment that will take care of the problem in the future.
Hornady was sending me 2 new boxes as replacements for the one partial box I had sent to them.
You just gotta love a company that listens to a single customer, and then takes the time to explain the problem and make things right! Going to buy a lot more Hornady ammo in the future.
Pete
As I mentioned before in my earlier post, I have not had any problems with some older 357 Mag 125 gr FTX ammo that I had bought in the past.
Got a call from a Hornady rep (Kirk Emery - not sure about the spelling) earlier this week and he explained the problem in simple terms that I could easily understand. Some of their cases were improperly annealed (heat treated). The equipment used was applying too much heat during the manufacturing process, resulting in soft cases that expanded too much during firing. This led to the sticking shells and difficult ejection. When annealed to the proper hardness, the cases shrink back down after firing to allow easy ejection. He explained that they just got some new state of the art equipment that will take care of the problem in the future.
Hornady was sending me 2 new boxes as replacements for the one partial box I had sent to them.
You just gotta love a company that listens to a single customer, and then takes the time to explain the problem and make things right! Going to buy a lot more Hornady ammo in the future.
Pete
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I'm trying to remember if it was Hornaday that had a hysterically funny message about pounding on the phone keys and screaming while waiting to talk to someone some years back. And yes, I did get to talk to a real live person with really minimal wait. I'd barely quit laughing.
VectorFL
Member
I've had recent troubles with Hornady ammo, and came here to search to see if anyone else has. I have a 642, J-frame. I've owned it for a couple years and shoot Remington 130 gr. which I get at Walmart. I decided to try some hollow points. I bought a box of Hornady 110 gr. +P. I just wanted to shoot a few rounds. First shot went bang, second shot went "click", nothing. Third shot, "click", nothing. I opened the barrel and each round had a dent in the firing pin. I ended up running the entire box of 25 and I had a total of 6 miss-fires.
I called Hornady Monday morning. A human actually answered the phone, I told him my story and he took all my info. He said to send it back to them so they can check it out. UPS showed up at my door the next day with a prepaid address sticker to stick on my box. So my ammo is in route to Hornady now. They will call me when they check it out.
Note: I've shot many, many Walmart, Remington boxes of rounds through that gun without ever once miss-firing
I called Hornady Monday morning. A human actually answered the phone, I told him my story and he took all my info. He said to send it back to them so they can check it out. UPS showed up at my door the next day with a prepaid address sticker to stick on my box. So my ammo is in route to Hornady now. They will call me when they check it out.
Note: I've shot many, many Walmart, Remington boxes of rounds through that gun without ever once miss-firing
VectorFL
Member
Wow, it took over two months, but I received a phone call from a rep at Hornady. He said that they had been dealing with another company supplying their firing caps. After numerous complaints from customers about misfires due to the faulty firing caps, they had stopped doing business with that company and are now getting their caps from another company. They are replacing my one box with three new boxes. Went shooting this past weekend and no misfires. It's really nice in this day and age to call with a complaint and talk to a live person, and receive a phone call with a full explanation and a positive result. Thanks Hornady.
Hornady is a great company.
I still like their XTP line, even though it doesn't expand to the degree that is now the norm. Excellent accuracy and penetration with every XTP load I have tried. XTP was some of the first ammo to pass the FBI criteria back in the mid/late 80's.
I still like their XTP line, even though it doesn't expand to the degree that is now the norm. Excellent accuracy and penetration with every XTP load I have tried. XTP was some of the first ammo to pass the FBI criteria back in the mid/late 80's.
Wow -- I came on here to start a thread on this very subject and am pleased to find this! Appears I've got a box with the hard-as-iron primers.
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