itgoesboom
member
Went hunting this weekend, and brought along a box of Federal Vital-Shok. So far, it's the only ammo I have bought for this rifle, and I have tested it with 5 boxes of ammo since I bought the rifle.
While sitting in the RV on the 3rd or 4th day, I found a round in the box with a different tip to it. It looked like the exposed lead tip had been broken off. Obviously, I didn't want to use that round for hunting, so I was putting it off to the side for future range use, when I noticed that it was noticably lighter. A quick shake confirmed that there was powder in the case, but very, very little.
Got home and brought it to a neighbor who reloads, and he weighed out the rest of the box, and that round weighed 78 grains less than the other rounds
The bullet is not-so-obviously a different design, the copper jacket is just slightly longer than the other rounds.
In addition, the headstamp on the ammo is different, instead of F C 30-06 it is R P 30-06, Reminton Peters.
Here is the thing, this was a brand new box of ammo, bought at a reputable dealer, the suspect cartridge wasn't one of the end cartridges in the box, it was in the middle of the line of cartridges. The box didn't appear opened in any way, in fact it was the most pristine of the boxes, which is why I saved that box for the hunt. Also, it couldn't have gotten have gotten mixed in on my end, since I haven't bought any other ammo in that caliber. Only 6 boxes of the same Federal load, 5 of them shot already.
It has really thrown me for a loop. I can imagine what would have happened if I had loaded that cartridge without looking carefully during my hunt.
Best case scenerio would be missing a shot at an animal, worst case would be getting the bullet stuck in the bore without knowing, and firing again.
Just thought it was intresting.
I.G.B.
While sitting in the RV on the 3rd or 4th day, I found a round in the box with a different tip to it. It looked like the exposed lead tip had been broken off. Obviously, I didn't want to use that round for hunting, so I was putting it off to the side for future range use, when I noticed that it was noticably lighter. A quick shake confirmed that there was powder in the case, but very, very little.
Got home and brought it to a neighbor who reloads, and he weighed out the rest of the box, and that round weighed 78 grains less than the other rounds
The bullet is not-so-obviously a different design, the copper jacket is just slightly longer than the other rounds.
In addition, the headstamp on the ammo is different, instead of F C 30-06 it is R P 30-06, Reminton Peters.
Here is the thing, this was a brand new box of ammo, bought at a reputable dealer, the suspect cartridge wasn't one of the end cartridges in the box, it was in the middle of the line of cartridges. The box didn't appear opened in any way, in fact it was the most pristine of the boxes, which is why I saved that box for the hunt. Also, it couldn't have gotten have gotten mixed in on my end, since I haven't bought any other ammo in that caliber. Only 6 boxes of the same Federal load, 5 of them shot already.
It has really thrown me for a loop. I can imagine what would have happened if I had loaded that cartridge without looking carefully during my hunt.
Best case scenerio would be missing a shot at an animal, worst case would be getting the bullet stuck in the bore without knowing, and firing again.
Just thought it was intresting.
I.G.B.