Blown primer. New rifle. Only 1 round fired.

[PNWGATOR]

Very interesting. It seems Federal has an issue with this ammo or with this lot.

Agree.

We’ll see what happens.

 

[SloppyJ]

Following along. So are you sending the rifle back now or going to replace the broken parts and try the new ammo? Tough call with a hunt coming up. But I bet you have your rifle in order well before your hunt next time!

 

[wind gypsy]

Also worth noting, when I shook the Nosler Accubond cartridge I was able to hear the powder in the case. When I shook the Federal Terminal Ascent cartridge I couldn’t hear anything in the case. I know it’s not a scientific or quantifiable data point but to me at least it’s worth noting. I’m not a reloader but it seems odd that there’s no free space in the Federal TA. For all other rifle ammo I have I can hear the powder shake in the case, e.g., .308 Win. 7.62 NATO, .30-06 Springfield, 6.5 CM.

100%+ case fill ratio vs less doesn’t tell you how hot something is loaded unless you know which powder it is.

 

[SDHNTR]

Update.
Also worth noting, when I shook the Nosler Accubond cartridge I was able to hear the powder in the case. When I shook the Federal Terminal Ascent cartridge I couldn’t hear anything in the case. I know it’s not a scientific or quantifiable data point but to me at least it’s worth noting. I’m not a reloader but it seems odd that there’s no free space in the Federal TA. For all other rifle ammo I have I can hear the powder shake in the case, e.g., .308 Win. 7.62 NATO, .30-06 Springfield, 6.5 CM.

That means absolutely nothing. Some cases are compressed with powder, some or not. Powder is not just powder. Fill quantity is highly dependent on burn rate and a multitude of other factors.

 

[Wrench]

So now we know where all the re26 went....

 

[txnewguy]

UPDATE

The rifle was sent via FedEx to Weatherby today. (I’m looking at replacing it with a Tikka T3X Superlite in .30-06.)

Federal received the ammo earlier this week. FWIW Federal said they’d conduct testing and “let me know what their results are.” But they did send a check for the full amount I paid for the 3 boxes of ammo.

 

[hereinaz]

Wise choice.

 

[Pharmseller]

UPDATE

The rifle was sent via FedEx to Weatherby today. (I’m looking at replacing it with a Tikka T3X Superlite in .30-06.)

Federal received the ammo earlier this week. FWIW Federal said they’d conduct testing and “let me know what their results are.” But they did send a check for the full amount I paid for the 3 boxes of ammo.

Funny. I replaced a Weatherby Ultra Lightweight 30-06 with a stainless Tikka T3 Lite in 30-06.

Then I replaced a Weatherby Ultra Lightweight 7mm-08 with a stainless Tikka T3 Lite in 7mm-08.

Great trade.





P

 

[Pharmseller]

Oops, almost forgot, I replaced a Weatherby Super Varmint Master in .223 with a Tikka Varmint in .223.

I’m beginning to see a pattern here.



P

 

[txnewguy]

UPDATE

Weatherby called and said their Lead Gunsmith installed a new extractor and extractor spring. The gunsmith checked everything and there was “nothing of note and the rifle is safe to shoot.” The customer service rep also said, “two rounds of function ammo” were fired and everything was fine.

The rifle should ship back to me this week.

That being said, I’ll just use the new Tikka T3X Superlite 270 Win in a couple weeks for an elk hunt.

I’m waiting to hear back from Federal.

 

[txnewguy]

UPDATE

Federal emailed: “We received test results. Pressure and velocity was within SAAMI specifications. We functioned the ammo in a variety of rifles and we did not encounter any issues. Our examiner was not able to duplicate the blown primer issue that you encountered.”

Thanks everyone.

 

[SDHNTR]

Odd. In this case, both parties can’t be right. At least assuming there was no operator error like leaving the ammo out baking in the sun, or maybe a chamber with oil/water in it.

 

[txnewguy]

Odd. In this case, both parties can’t be right. At least assuming there was no operator error like leaving the ammo out baking in the sun, or maybe a chamber with oil/water in it.

It’s a mystery to me.

I’ll try to sell the Weatherby. But it’s a niche cartridge so it’ll take a while.

 

[Clund81]

Recently had the same thing happen to me. Weatherby 307 280ai and Federal Terminal Ascent. Shot fine until rounds 12 and 13 popped primers. Inspected all primers after that and noticed the primer was cratered at firing pin indention instead of being smooth. Found a 307 group on Facebook and appears others have had same issue with the federal ammo. Starting to think there’s an issue with the ammo after reading this thread and experience in the 307 group.

 

[SDHNTR]

Recently had the same thing happen to me. Weatherby 307 280ai and Federal Terminal Ascent. Shot fine until rounds 12 and 13 popped primers. Inspected all primers after that and noticed the primer was cratered at firing pin indention instead of being smooth. Found a 307 group on Facebook and appears others have had same issue with the federal ammo. Starting to think there’s an issue with the ammo after reading this thread and experience in the 307 group.

You also have some serious ejector marks on the rounds that still have primers intact.