WARNING! Defective Winchester Ammo!

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elano

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In a couple new boxes of 9mm ammo I found over 7 defective rounds. The first bad one failed to chamber. Luckly it didn't as it could have blown the gun up in my face. I then looked through the boxes and found 6 more. It's amazing that they actually boxed these up.

I contacted Winchester who requested that I send the defective ammo back for their inspection. In return, they sent me a lousy winchester cupon that wouldn't even cover a new box.

I contacted their product service rep, Sheryl Forbeck, who infomed me that they could not give me a FULL refund OR a cupon for a whole new box because I had already shot some of the ammo. When I reminded her of how dangerous ammo like this is, she did not express any concern regarding my safety. I told her I might have to warn other shooters on the internet then, she relied, "You do what you have to do."

So here are the pictures. Please inspect EVERY round of your winchester ammo as somebody is obviously sleeeping at quality control.

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I had the same issues with a box WWB I bought about a month ago. I only found two that looked very similar to your pictures though. I noticed them when I was loading a magazine at the range. Looks like QA has gone down on their 100 ct boxes. I wouldn't ask for a full refund if only two were bad. The other 98 rounds functioned fine.
 
I already usually go with other brands for plinking ammo whenever I can. After seeing this I believe I will begin actively avoiding WWB.
 
That [redacted] should NEVER have left the factory. Period.
It's sad to see that from a company with an iconic name like Winchester. Sure the company is nothing but maybe a shadow of what it was a hundred years ago, but if they keep up THAT level of QC the "shadow" will fade entirely into history .....
 
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Scary, but real. I don't particularly like WWB and I avoid using it. Now I most definitely will avoid it.
 
Wow, Winchester has been having a lot of problems with their 9mm ammo over the past several months. :eek: Even their premium JHPs have had QC issues in this caliber, and I'm surprised that they apparently have done nothing to address them. :mad: On top of that, their response is appalling! :fire: I mostly shoot .40 S&W and WWB has always been good for me, but it looks as though the only way they'll get the message is if enough of us stop buying their products.

By the way, I don't know whether this sounds unreasonable to some, but I inspect each and every cartridge before I fire it--almost always right after I buy ammo (so I won't have to worry about it later at the range). This includes lining them up to visually ensure that their OALs are within spec. It's a chore, but I wouldn't feel that I'd done everything I could for safety if I didn't.
 
Winchester's QC in the last year has become absolutely pathetic.

I purchased 3 boxes of .40 S&W PDX1s and each box had at least one round with a deformed cases similar to the above pictures. I had to toss 3 from one box alone. For what amounts to a little over $1 a bullet, this is un excusable.

As much as I like the PDX1, I will no longer buy Winchester products until they get their act together.
 
I had a winchester primer blow clean through and jam a rifle; winchester requested the primer back to investigate, then said "what blown primer? Don't know what you're talking about." Customer service leaves a LOT to be desired. Glad you caught that stuff before it got you.
 
I had one last week while shooting my Glock 26.

Went to pull the trigger and it hadn't reset, I seen the gun wasn't all the way in battery, so I tried pushing on the slide. No way, it wouldn't budge, cleared the round and finished the mag.

Put the round back in another mag and the same thing happened.

Put the suspect round next to another round and seen that the case was longer.


Been shooting Winchester for years without a problem but after that I'm going to avoid their stuff like the plague.
 
anyone seen this with calibers other than 9mm? I havent seen any .45ACP like this yet or .38Sp either

I will keep an eye out tho from now on

I cant say ill stop useing winchester completly untill I see this in my own personal ammo supplies
 
I use the WWB in my .38 special wheel guns every now and again. Never seen anything wrong with them, and I obviously wouldnt have the issue of the slides crushing the casing. Once in a blue moon a round wont slide in or out of the chamber very easily, but thats usually after firing an old case.
 
I've had several boxes of .45ACP and 9mm with similarly deformed cases and bullets that I bought all at once awhile ago. I didn't bother calling winchester back after sitting on hold for 45 minutes after being asked to hold for a moment while the operator went to find someone to take my call.

Several of the rounds looked like the case wasn't aligned properly,and the bullet tried to seat anyway halfway off center. There was a fair amount of loose powder in the bottom of the box as well. I had 2 9mm bullets that were split almost perfectly down the middle almost to the case (FMJ, WWB 100rd) and I had one .45 with a similar "cut" partway through the bullet. I wish I'd taken pictures, but instead I pulled the bullets, dumped the powder, cut down the cases that could be used, stuck rubber Xring bullets in them (primer only) and shot a few cans in a buddy's barn.
 
Try calling the product service rep directly at 618-258-3300. Her name is Sheryl Forbeck. We have to let them know that this kind of product is unnacceptable.
 
This isn't new. I saw exactly the same defects in WWB 9mm I purchased back in 2005!

I didn't call Winchester then as I only found 2 or 3 rounds in one box (100 rd value pack).

Unacceptable.
 
Count me in as another dissatisfied Winchester customer! I had a batch of brass that I purchased some time ago. Of the 100 pieces, at least three had split case necks right out of the bag. I seem to recall that I discarded 5-7 pieces from this bag, which equates to 5-7% of my total purchase.

When I contacted Winchester about this issue I was pretty much given the run around. I now buy Remington brass.
 
did find one, that I know of, UMC Mega Pack .223 round. Sadly, I was watching my stories (NCIS, or similar), whilst loading my AR mags. While shooting, for some reason, I felt the need to drop the mag, round under the top had been factory loaded backwards. This is to say that I ended up with a total copper jacketed wadcutter, only loaded to full velocity. Good to see that it was TCJ, vs. FMJ, and assuming that soft copper jacketed lead wouldn't have had an adverse effect on my steel barrel, but glad I didn't have to find out. Let this be a lesson. Always pay attention to this sort of thing. Sucks that this was discovered mid range trip. Winchester does seem to have the market cornered on cheap range ammo for us non-reloaders.
 
9mmfan-"Winchester does seem to have the market cornered on cheap range ammo for us non-reloaders."

I've been buying the red & gray boxed Federals for less then WWB @ Wal-Mart. It works out to $0.22 a round for 9mm.. Heck, that's less then mail order re-loads. I've been buiying them up.
 
I had one with a peeled case in 9mm last month. I caught it before loading up. Also I've thrown out at least 5 rounds due to them being noticeably lighter than others. So sadly I'm looking elsewhere for ammo.
 
Scary, I was out shooting last night with WWB! I haven't found any deformed rounds in the box I have thankfully, but that they are out there, and that the Winchester rep seemed so unconcerned, makes me worried.
 
Try calling the product service rep directly at 618-258-3300. Her name is Sheryl Forbeck.
That is who the OP contacted. I do not know whether she deals with all Winchester products globally, or just domestic ammunition. It may be more effective to contact senior management at their East Alton, IL facility.

FWIW, it was announced in Nov 2010 that all center-fire production would be moved from Illinois to Mississippi over the next few years. So, the Winchester employees know their jobs are "short term". Such an environment often is plagued with low morale and quality issues. Additionally, funds to invest in maintaining/upgrading the Illinois operation have likely been reduced. Customer service may also have their "hands tied" due to budget constraints. IF this is the situation, the involved products may be questionable for some years ahead until the relocation is completed.
 
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