Dangerous Factory Ammunition (WWYD?)

[notamos]

I was shooting a factory-built rifle this afternoon with factory ammunition. We were shooting w/ our Labradar. The rounds were averaging ~3070fps until one went off @ 3650fps... Recoil/sound/etc., was crazy. Knew there was a problem immediately as it blew the floor plate off the mag (The recoil slid the floorplate off). Anyway, as of now, the bolt is stuck shut and I'm not touching it until I get some advice.

I want the rifle checked out, a refund for the ammunition and a refund for the boxes of ammo I have left from the manufacturer as there is no way in hell I'm shooting it. ;-)

Is it best to go to the ammo manufacturer first or not?

What would you do? How would you approach it?

 

[Gsquared]

I was shooting a factory-built rifle this afternoon with factory ammunition. We were shooting w/ our Labradar. The rounds were averaging ~3070fps until one went off @ 3650fps... Recoil/sound/etc., was crazy. Knew there was a problem immediately as it blew the floor plate off the mag (The recoil slid the floorplate off). Anyway, as of now, the bolt is stuck shut and I'm not touching it until I get some advice.

I want the rifle checked out, a refund for the ammunition and a refund for the boxes of ammo I have left from the manufacturer as there is no way in hell I'm shooting it. ;-)

Is it best to go to the ammo manufacturer first or not?

What would you do? How would you approach it?

Yes, I would contact the ammo manufacturer today. Also, see what you can do to “document”/save the information on your Labradar. For example, can you video the history of that shot grouping, etc. and send that video along with your issue/complaint to the manufacturer. Good luck.

 

[displacedtexan]

Read the last two lines.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Read the last two lines.

Never know until you ask. I know of a few guns that have been replaced by ammo manufacturers

 

[notamos]

I'll report back tomorrow. Unfortunately, they are closed for the day. This is premium ammo, not $25/box junk.

 

[MichaelC]

Yes, you should immediately contact the manufacturer. Unless they are a fly by night operation, and not a major manufacturer, they are going to want to know that a lot of ammunition they produced has a problem. They will likely take care of you to some degree or anther. But, it’s a safety issue for them. I have been through this with a pistol ammunition production for work and the episode injured two officers and destroyed two guns.

 

[Ucsdryder]

View attachment 617694
Read the last two lines.

I don’t think that’ll hold up. Reasonable care? What’s the definition? reasonable to who? Is adding 20-30% too much powder to a cartridge considered reasonable care? Not if it’s potentially dangerous to the shooter.

I bet they take care of you.

 

[Gsquared]

View attachment 617694
Read the last two lines.

If that was all there was to it then you wouldn’t have heard of Morgan and Morgan, the defective Ford Pinto and Explorer would have never generated class action lawsuits, and there would be no legal specialty called product liability law! Also, the OP never said he had Hornady ammo, unless it‘s been updated. Document, document, document! Where did you purchase it, how/where was it stored, do you have other ammo with the same lot #, etc. Witnesses? You get the point.

 

[LoggerDan]

One out of twenty ain’t bad! Haha

 

[Kyle C]

What manufacturer, and what caliber rifle were you shooting?

 

[ODB]

View attachment 617694
Read the last two lines.

Trust me - no company wants a story like this bouncing around the interwebz. And those last two lines only go so far. If they are negligent and there is a record of it...uh oh...

 

[browning2480]

You said we were shooting. Sure you didn’t pick up a hot hand load from the other we by mistake?

 

[doc holiday13]

gun islikely fine. it's locked up because the brass is mangled and pushed into crevasses it doesn't belong. call the ammo manufacturer and give them the story. see how the want to handle it

 

[def90]

I've heard of several people on other shooting forums that have had firearms fixed or replaced by ammo companies. If there is a bad lot of ammo out there the manufacturer is going to want to know.

 

[Gutshot007]

A little different situation . Had a friend shooting a buddys bolt action rifle and there was something wrong with bolt locking mechanism (not sure of specifics). He shot the gun and part of the rear portion of the bolt came off and cut up his hand pretty good . The gun manufactured fixed the original gun and actually gave the guy shooting the gun whose hand got cut up basically a free gun . I would definitely let them know . Not sure what threshold they have for an ammo lot recall ? Could have been one in a million . As a company i would hate to chase that one . Good luck

 

[notamos]

Funny how, when things like this happen, everyone tries to blame the person who had the issue... Not necessarily on this site - but others.

I'm going to give the ammunition manufacturer a chance before I start dragging their name through the mud. Last night, I was contacted by another person who had the SAME LOT of ammunition, purchased at the same place. Well, their rifle exploded and put them in the hospital for 4 days. After talking to him, I decided to weigh the 16 remaining rounds in the box. 2 of the 16 were ~11 grains heavier than the rest.

When they open, I'll get on the horn with them.

 

[CorbLand]

Ok...I am going to ask the real question here. How accurate was it at 3650?

 

[SWOHTR]

Just give the ammo to someone who’s at your “honey hole.”

I kid. Contact the mfg.

 

[5811]

Funny how, when things like this happen, everyone tries to blame the person who had the issue... Not necessarily on this site - but others.

I'm going to give the ammunition manufacturer a chance before I start dragging their name through the mud. Last night, I was contacted by another person who had the SAME LOT of ammunition, purchased at the same place. Well, their rifle exploded and put them in the hospital for 4 days. After talking to him, I decided to weigh the 16 remaining rounds in the box. 2 of the 16 were ~11 grains heavier than the rest.

When they open, I'll get on the horn with them.

Are we keeping ammo/lot/point of sale a secret with it putting people in hospital?

 

[Ucsdryder]

Are we keeping ammo/lot/point of sale a secret with it putting people in hospital?

So there are at least 2 people with this dangerous ammo. Probably a few thousand more. Might want to give people a heads up…

And how did the person know it was the same ammo and lot? Did he randomly reach out?