Remington .223 Question

[slowr1der]

I was at Dicks Sporting Goods today trying to get some .22 ammo. While there I also got some Remington 55 grain MC .223 ammo that they had to shoot in a buddies gun next time we go shooting. I opened the box which appeared to be sealed on both ends by some sort of glue or something just to look at the ammo. Upon opening it I noticed 18 cases had the normal gold colored primers and 2 had silver colored primers. All of the brass had the RP headstamp. I also noticed a ring around the bullets on all of them almost like a seating die sometimes leaves. Did Remington somehow get reloads mixed in here? Or are they just using whatever primers they can scrounge up right now? I just thought it was odd, but being that it was from Dicks and the box appeared to be sealed prior to me opening it, it seems unlikely that they would be reloads, but I'm wondering if I should shoot them?

 

[Lj1941]

Call

Call customer service or email them.It doesn't sound right.Maybe somebody tampered with them.I would NOT fire them if they don't look right.Better safe than sorry.

 

[jmr40]

With ammo/component shortages I wouldn't be surprised that find Remington were using primers from different suppliers. I wouldn't worry about it on plinking ammo. On target grade ammo it could effect accuracy.

 

[adelbridge]

I also noticed a ring around the bullet

Cannelure

 

[AABEN]

Sound like some one did some switching of ammo.

 

[mtrmn]

NEVER ONCE picked up a 20rd box of Remington ammo that was GLUED.

Where was this "ring" located on the bullet? Was it imbedded in the bullet with little ridges in the bottom of the groove? Or was it just a mark on the bullet near the tip?

 

[slowr1der]

The ring was not a cannelure, it was just a light ring around the bullet that you sometimes can see from where a seating die pushes down the bullet.

I finally got a call back from Remington today and they informed me that it was safe to shoot. The lady on the phone claimed they put a "moly" coating on the primers for sealant and the just went a little crazy on the ones that are silver. Doesn't moly coating usually turn stuff black though? Anyway, she told me to take a pencil eraser and rub the primer and that it would get the coating off and become gold colored like the others. Sure enough, this it did. She seemed positive that it was safe to shoot.

 

[Lj1941]

Upon farther reflection I believe that in fact some dishonest person pulled a switcher-roo with who knows what ammunition. I never have seen a glued box either and the fact that they look like reloads is a big warning sign.

 

[MCMXI]

The lady on the phone claimed they put a "moly" coating on the primers for sealant and the just went a little crazy on the ones that are silver.

Moly is used on many primers but not for sealing purposes. It's used to reduce the force required to seat primers i.e. it reduces friction during seating.

I have loads of boxes of .223 Remington MC with "mix & match" primers. The boxes are glued too but they all work just fine.

 

[YZ]

I have noticed same-box variations in primer coloring. They shot the same every time. In your scenario I probably would have felt safe to fire that ammo while looking for any differences.

 

[Cee Zee]

The "UMC" I bought yesterday was glued shut too. Apparently it is something new. All the boxes I bought were glued. BTW that UMC stands for Union Metallic Cartridge. That company started making ammo for the Union in the Civil War (thus the "Union" Metallic Cartridge). They were eventually merged with Remington and have become their economy division. They are also well known to have primer issues at times. But I like the stuff myself depending on the caliber. My rifle shoots the .223 pretty well. I haven't really noticed a lot of bad rounds. At any rate they aren't known for dirty tricks or anything of the sort.

 

[Cee Zee]

Don't know how this double post happened.