Jammed .380 bullet from remanuf. "Echo Ammo".

[Ignition Override]

This is just a recommendation for extra precaution. A previous round had an indented primer, but no ignition. The gun already used approx. 200 rds. with no issues. I will throw the remaining 70 or so rounds into a deep area of the Wolf River.

These remanufactured rounds have various headstamps. Glad that I had decided to stand just to the left of a vertical partition at the range. Otherwise it's impossible to find ejected cases. No issues with similar quantities of Mid South, Tennessee Cartridge, and only minor issues with Tula or Monarch.

This .380 "Echo" round did not sound or feel normal. If my memory is any good after that confusing event, the case did not quite eject, but the case Did have lots of carbon on it.

Removing the slide from the Sig 232, which is fairly new, made it clear the the bullet was stuck in the bore. A few strong pokes with a cleaning rod (muzzle end) from a guy's Mosin Nagant did nothing. Nor did some gentle hammering on the rod.
Hoping that the gun smith is at work today at "Guns And Ammo" in Memphis.

 

[Eb1]

When you said "Wolf River" I knew you were in Memphis, TN.

 

[Ignition Override]

True. The Loosahatchie is much closer but the "best" jogging trails are the north side of the Wolf.

As for Echo Ammo, it's not at all worth the discount, from the perspective of my Sig 232, which is almost brand-new.
Have people had such a serious problem with any other brands of remanufactured .380 in the mid-south, or in other parts of the US?

The gent who answered the phone at the ammo plant offered to pay any gunsmithing charges, but if minor I won't bother.

 

[Field Tester]

Why throw the rounds? Heck I'll pay shipping for the components if you like. The bullets and brass are still good right? That power could help my neighbor's rose garden.

Why were you unable to find the spent brass?

So you were able to get the slide off? Why not push from the breech end instead of going against the rifling?

I hope it doesn't cost you much. Good on them for offering to cover expenses. Did they offer to take the ammo back, find out the date of manufacture or anything related to investigating a bad batch? Any offer of compensation for your loss on the rest of the ammo (I wouldn't feel safe shooting the rest either since it's such a small amount, smart move)?

What do you mean it didn't quite eject. Good catch on not sending another round down the pipe. Sucks that it happened.

 

[carbine85]

Save the parts. Pull the bullets and sell them or give them away to a member here.

 

[Frankl03]

You need a brass rod and a hammer. if the the bullet is just past the chamber then put in the brass rod from the muzzle end. Should take only minor tapping to dislodge the bullet.

 

[Ignition Override]

Thanks for the concern and curiosity. The gun smith pushed the bullet out in less than a minute.

And the gent with the ammo company called again to ask about the gun. He said that this had not happened before.
I told him that mistakes happen, and I had created a squib in a reloaded .303 rifle round by not double checking that powder was in each brass case
(Since then I check all cases three times with a flashlight).

I'm keeping the ammo and will use it up first, but will continue to be ready for anything unusual, whether with fresh comm. or other brands of remanufactured ammo.
This Sig 232 has been almost perfect, with minor glitches using a few Tula or Monarch rds., so there seemed to be no reason to check brass from ammo produced in the US.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

We had a squib shooting my Wife's G42 with re manufactured ammunition earlier this year. It was the only .380 available locally until I got my dies and started building .380.

The bullet lodged about 1/2 way thru the barrel and one of the guys at the Range (counter person at the gun store portion of it...) took the barrel in the back and tapped it out with a brass rod from the muzzle end using just hand pressure.

The biggest danger with a squib is pounding another bullet down the bore after a stuck one but fortunately a pistol will not eject the case on a squib and load a fresh live round. It did scare the dickens out of me as I was watching my Wife shoot and the gun had a very strange report and she stopped dead, pointing the pistol down range, and turned to look at me like "What was that?"

I flashed her the "Stop!" sign (both palms forward) and she froze until I took the gun from her and cleared it, field stripped and couldn't see light thru the barrel. Scary stuff but a great learning experience illustrating the point that if you hear an odd/faint report and no recoil *stop* shooting the pistol. Never happened before but we can't say that again.

VooDoo

 

[carbine85]

If you have a good scale you might try weighing each round. You should be able to see variances if a round is short of charge.

 

[Ignition Override]

carbine85: Excellent idea.

That should have occurred to me.

 

[ljnowell]

The thing that worries me about a squib is where did that powder charge go? In many cases when someone is making commercial reloads using a hand operated press they make a mistake and miss a charge and it results in a double charge in another case.

Something to think about.