Reporting a dud

[Thefumegator]

Went shooting with my cousin today, and while he was shooting my Browning, the hammer dropped without the obligatory BANG.

He stopped shooting, I ejected the round, and it had a primer strike that would have set off ANY functional primer. The ammo was the ever-declining WWB value pack.

My question is, would Winchester want to know about this? Would they even care?

Wes

P.S. Do you count a bad round against a gun's reliability? I wouldn't think so, but I'd like your thoughts.

[Preacherman]

You could contact Winchester via their Web site, and see what they say. As to the reliability issue - if it's clearly the ammo's fault, then it's not the gun's fault, is it?

[Thefumegator]

Yes, I suppose it couldn't hurt to see what they say.

As to the reliability issue - if it's clearly the ammo's fault, then it's not the gun's fault, is it?

That's how I see it, but I thought I ought to ask -- just to be safe. :D

I will admit, though -- I think I was in shock when I saw the hammer fall on my Browning without it shooting... Until I saw that it was the ammo, I thought I was going to be sick. :uhoh: I mean, if you can't count on a good P35, you can't count on ANYTHING.

Okay, I suppose I'm still a little on edge. Perhaps I'll feel better after I clean it. :rolleyes:

Wes

[RON in PA]

Just out of curiosity: did you try to shoot the cartridge again?

[kyoung05]

I had a similar problem in my Springfield mil-spec 1911 with WWB .45 value pack ammo. It was the newer kind that is "loose" as opposed to being in those styrofoam trays. My gun has been dead reliable for as long as I've had it, so it was kind of a shocker to me too. I loaded the round again, and it fired the second time. Fine for range, but imagine if you were using this ammo for anything serious. :eek:

[stans]

This is sad seeing as how the WWB ammo was and is so plentiful and cheap. But if it won't fire, then it becomes cheap junk and that is just useless. Back to the reloading press!

[jdkelly]

I've shot about 8k WWB rounds in the last 6 months without a failure to fire. My CZ75B has broken twice in the same period (slide lock shaft) and I had to replace the extractor and extractor spring.

Respectfully,

jdkelly

[Mr. Mysterious]

I had a hard primer in my last box of WWB .45. It wouldn't fire in my 1911 nor my SW99.

[Lennyjoe]

My BHP never did that. :neener:

[Jim101]

On this same topic. I have been reading about striking a .22 then the shot going off 2 - 4 minutes later? Has anyone heard of this? It was a thread started by and answered by respected shooters... They all agree that it does happen..
Just wondering,


Jim

[HighVelocity]

Yes, delayed ignition happens. If I have a round that fails to fire (hasn't happened in years) then I keep the weapon pointed downrange and watch 60 seconds go by on my wristwatch. I have never had one fire after the fact but I did see a missfire on a S&W revolver go off out of time when the shooter fired the next round. :eek: The shooter got metal in his face and hands and the gun was toast.

[george_co]

Last year, I had one round of WWB that failed to fire. The primer was well struck by the pin, it just didn't fire.

I suppose we could consider it a good time to perform failure to fire drills. Just kidding, as suggested earlier keep the weapon pointed down range for a minute, and chuck the round somewhere safe in the event it does decide to go off.

[unspellable]

I have a Winchester 32 Special that will not chamber. I have a 10 mm round that will not chamber. (Don't remembr the make.) Both of these rounds look normal to the eye. I have two Winchester 38 Specials out of one box that won't chamber. The bullet nose on both is smashed out of shape. I have a 25 ACP with the primer loaded sideways. Innumerable Remington Thunder whazzits that have misfired although they generally go if you whack'em a second time.

For reloads, I had a rifle cartridge in which the primer went but the powder didn't. The primer shoved the bullet about seven inches up the barrel so it didn't lack steam. Couldn't see anything wrong with the powder.

It's an interesting point that the SAAMI maximum OAL for the 9 mm Parabellum is exactly the same as DWM's MINIMUM length was when the catrdige originated. This is the main cause of the Luger's poor reputation for reliabilty as the magazine works on the same principle as a 22 LR magazine and depends on adequate cartridge length to properly position the cartridge. In other words, ALL factory loaded 9 mm Parabellum cartridges are defective by reason of being too short.

[Flashpoint]

I've had this happen 3-4 times with the 9mm WWB, but a second strike always made it go bang. I just chalked it up to "you get what you pay for". Luckly I have never had this happen with a .40cal, because my .40 does have the second strike capability.

[petrel800]

"ever declining WWB value pack"

What?! You had one round out of 100 that failed to fire and that is declining value. If you have ever counted the 9mm boxes that are packed loose you will notice that most of the time you get 101 or 102 rounds. Consider it bad luck and keep shooting. I wouldn't knock Winchester for one round considering I've shot at least 2500 rounds of the stuff in 9mm alone without failure. So if you add my 2500 rounds to your 100 . . . 1/2600 * 100% = .0384% failure rate. I know reloaders who aren't that good.

I'd let one or two rounds every now and then go, and if your using WWB for self defense, you may want to reevaluate that situation. If I got a box with several misfires I'd take it back to the store. You could probably misfire 5 rounds per box and its still cheaper than the next closest brass cased target ammo you can buy. I think you should just let it go.

[denfoote]

Last weekend, I was shooting W^4B out of my .40S&W Sigma and had a dud!!
I figure one out of 200 was not bad!!

On an explainatory note. It's well known that Wallyworld sells seconds!! This applies to clothing. I guess it also applies to ammunition!!

[SIOP]

most of the time you get 101 or 102 rounds.

Ditto. I've shot thousands of rounds of WWWWB through my Uzi, and frequently get FTF's with good primer strikes. But, like you said, almost every box of 100 has over 100 in it. I bet 90 percent of the boxes I've shot had more than 100 rounds. Now, if I were to start getting squibs that would be another story altogether. I wouldn't want to bet my life on this stuff, but it sure makes for a cheap day at the range.

Dan

[SLCDave]

I got one in a pack that the bullet was seated upside down. I figured they would want to know about it. Emailed them, and they sent me a letter stating it should be returned to them via UPS, specified the type of packaging it should go in, etc. They said if I wanted them to send me prepaid labels to go on the box, call them, and they would send them. I called and left a message, and said I was letting them know as a matter of courtesy, not that I felt slighted by a couple of cents, but if they wanted me to send it back, send me the labels. Well, I get the labels, and they give the specific strength the box must be, crush test strength and all that, and state it will not be accepted if I send it in a lesser box. I'm about this --> <--close to making up a tiny wooden crate to ship them the single 40 S&W round they are requesting.

Like I said, I don't feel slighted because of the single bullet I got loaded backward, but if I got a bad batch and had to jump through all these hoops to get some resolution, I'd be miffed to say the least.

[at-home-daddy]

I once bought a box of CCD Blazer Brass .45 in which all cartridges were placed in the box upside down, with a half-dozen of the catridges having bullets that were set back considerably into their cases. I emailed Speer/CCI and told them about it, and attached some photos. They quickly replied and inquired into where it was bought and batch #. They said to mail it back (with no offers of compensation) and they'd send a replacement box. Since I wasn't in the mood to throw more good money after bad, I said I'd simply dispose of the old box and asked that they send me, a long-time customer, a new box. They did so, and quiite promptly. All in all, good service...and worth the time to contact them about the problem.

[unspellable]

I have an acquaintance who had a box of Winchester 458 solid's by Winchester. These are more less the same as a hardball, just a thicker jacket so they are more reistant to deformation. The bullets had the jackets but the lead core was missing. Just empty jackets loaded in. Not what you want to try and stop a buffalo with.

I might try contacting Winchester about my bum 38 Specials just to see what will happen.

[LWS32]

I shoot a lot wwb and like it(9mm&38)But they would not reply to emails when I needed info on silver tips for my seecamp.

[Jim Keenan]

I guess I will never understand why people buy cheap junk and then complain when it turns out to be - cheap junk.

Jim

[1911Tuner]

I've shot about 1500 rounds of Wally World's WWB ammo in .45 ACP without a
hitch. Other than the fact that it's pretty dirty, I don't have any complaints.
I prefer PMC ball though...The price is about the same, and it's much better ammo IMO.

I have had several misfires in 200 rounds of 9mm when I tried it in my P-38.
(I know...I ain't s'posed ta be shootin' it, but sometimes it just calls me out.)
The gun never fails to light a primer on a reload or any other 9mm ball ammo...
just the Valu-Pack stuff. I think the primers are inconsistent as to cup thickness..Likely odd primer/powder/bullet/brass lots that Winchester rejected for its higher-end ammo, and decided to bargain-basement the stuff instead of recycling it. The way I see it...As cheap as it is, I can always pull the duds apart and recycle the components...but the first squib that sticks a jacketed bullet in a barrel, and all bets are off.