WARNING - Remington Thunderbolt ammo

[montezumaz]

FYI - My shooting buddy, John was shooting Remington Thunderbolts through his Remington 121 when a round malfunctioned and jammed his rifle. A quick trip to our gunsmith and after about 20 minutes he had the jam fixed. The Thunderbolt brass "exploded" through the firing pin strike on the primer which prevented the shell from being ejected. (The metal was visibly protruding from the bottom of the shell.)

Our gunsmith's evaluation: The brass was too thin and we should stay away from Thunderbolts if we value our firearms (fingers, hands and eyes). Thought I should pass this experience along as a forewarning.

 

[montezumaz]

FYI - My shooting buddy, John was shooting Remington Thunderbolts through his Remington 121 when a round malfunctioned and jammed his rifle. A quick trip to our gunsmith and after about 20 minutes he had the jam fixed. The Thunderbolt brass "exploded" through the firing pin strike on the primer which prevented the shell from being ejected. (The metal was visibly protruding from the bottom of the shell.)

Our gunsmith's evaluation: The brass was too thin and we should stay away from Thunderbolts if we value our firearms (fingers, hands and eyes). Thought I should pass this experience along as a forewarning.

 

[BobsSmith]

Hi..Thanks for the heads up!

I have been getting more into shooting .22's lately! Had a lot of fun at the range last week with my Ruger Single Six.

I want to get my old Remington 511 & Ruger M77/22 out as well. Oh, my Browning Buckmark too! So many guns, not enough time!

I generally used just standard .22 LR's in mine and shy away from the Stingers, Thunderbolts etc.

Best

Bob

 

[2152hq]

I stopped using them a couple of years ago when they went through that phase where they thought that alloying the lead for the bullets was unnecessary.
Still have a couple of useless boxes around.

 

[1x2]

I stopped using them a couple of years ago when they went through that phase where they thought that alloying the lead for the bullets was unnecessary.

What was the problem and result? I don't understand- please explain.

Thanks,
1x2

 

[2152hq]

Originally posted by 1x2:

I stopped using them a couple of years ago when they went through that phase where they thought that alloying the lead for the bullets was unnecessary.

What was the problem and result? I don't understand- please explain.

Thanks,
1x2

A couple of years back, Thunder Bolt ammo had a QC problem where some of their bullet alloy was so soft it leaded up a barrel in literally a magazine or a cylinder or two of rounds.
The bores were so leaded that a cleaning rod w/ brush were difficult to push through the barrel and in many cases got stuck and had to be 'assisted' to rest of the way with hammer taps. The leading that came out with the brush/rod is best described as slivers or splinters of lead anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch long.
Seems there was some lots that had the problem, others didn't. (Un)luck of the draw,,,but if you got the bad stuff,,it was good for nothing. Not a good feeling if you had bought a couple of bricks of the stuff.

 

[jframe]

Been shooting Thunderbolts and whatever else I can lay my hands on through my Henry lever gun since December with no issues whatsoever.

 

[NFrameFred]

With the billions of rounds of 22 rimfire produced , statistically there are going to be a few cases that have structural weaknesses - it's inevitable. Combine that with a rifle with a slightly long firing pin, or a pin with a sharp edge on it . . . any number of things.

Point is, I've seen bad rounds and malfunctions from everything from Eley match ammo to the "counter" rounds Montezumaz is speaking of.

Statistically, because of price point and reduced quality control inspection for the cheaper rounds one would expect more problems. But overall, I think the manufacturing and quality is superb considering the number of rounds produced and the range of firearms they fit and function in.

I have guns that love the old Thunderbolt rounds and some that don't like them at all. On balance, I don't think they're any better or worse than any other low price point rimfires.

 

[2152hq]

It wasn't all the production ThunderBolts at that time. Enough that there were postings on different sites with people having the same problems with the extreme leading.

The thing that got me was the response from Remington. They told me it was my gun(s). It in no way could be the fault of their ammunition. Made me put remington on my ignore list. Maybe the problem/help line was staffed in Bombay or somewhere..

I have no doubt that it was a short lived problem. I haven't heard of the leading problem since that time or any other like soft cases. I have had pierced cases before in rimfires and it's always been a overly long FP and/or a sharp point to blame.

 

[stiab]

Made me put remington on my ignore list.

Me too. I sent them an email four years ago when a bulk box of their .22 ammo had by actual count over 10% no fires in two S&W revolvers (M18 and M63) that had no misfires with Federal bulk ammo. They replied that if I sent the ammo back to them, AND IF they discovered a problem, THEY MAY consider refunding my original purchase price, IF I still had the original receipt. They did not offer to cover my shipping costs. Too many MAY's and IF's for me. It was obvious they did not want to hear any complaints.

 

[1x2]

Real good discussion, thanks, guys, for shedding some more light. I, too, have had the occasional brick of poor ammo over the years.

I also agree with NFrameFred- BTW, NFrame, what are the chances you'll be changing your avatar?

Thanks,
1x2

 

[SS686]

I'll be yet another with problems with the thunderbolts and the bulk golden bullets. I emailed Remington and about a month later, they replied telling me the same thing you said below. I had to pay for shipping and IF they found a problem they would give me a new box of ammo (or whatever their phrasing was). The cost of shipping might have cost more than the box of ammo. They know they have a problem. When it first happened I went online and there are lots of guys across all sorts of forums saying they are having the exact same type of problems. I switched to Federal and CCI and my gun likes those. I refuse to buy any ammo or guns/rifles from Remington. I'll buy from other American companies, but Remington has frustrated me too much with their more blase attitude.

Curtis

Originally posted by stiab:

Made me put remington on my ignore list.

Me too. I sent them an email four years ago when a bulk box of their .22 ammo had by actual count over 10% no fires in two S&W revolvers (M18 and M63) that had no misfires with Federal bulk ammo. They replied that if I sent the ammo back to them, AND IF they discovered a problem, THEY MAY consider refunding my original purchase price, IF I still had the original receipt. They did not offer to cover my shipping costs. Too many MAY's and IF's for me. It was obvious they did not want to hear any complaints.