Just a Warning on Ammunition

[RIFLEMAN1000]

Just thought I would give you all a heads up on a little incident that happened to me on Sunday. My gun club had a Centerfire Rifle Shoot on Sun. So i show up with my Savage in 22-250 and my Ruger in 7 x 57 . I use the Savage for one range and the Ruger for another. Anyways i was using Remington Factory Ammo in the 22-250, (which was all purchased recently) when all of a sudden i had a round that would not chamber. I tried several times to chamber it but thank god it wouldn't. So i put the round aside and continue shooting the rest of the target.

Well when i go back and look at the round i notice its just a tad bit bigger than all the others lengthwise. So i look at the markings and it says 250 savage with Remington case markings . So i check the rest of the Ammo and its all 22-250 so i ask if anyone is shooting 250 savage and no one is . I dont own a 250 savage and never did , also i dont know anyone who owns a 250 savage so theres no way i could have mixed them up . I had a perfect round count in all the boxes so there was no way i could have picked up a round somewhere.

So i call Remington Ammo on monday and explain and i get the jeez we really messed up line , we will send you a shipping label to send in the box of ammo in and give you some replacement ammo. Now im getting a little hot under the collar and i tell him i could have been killed and there like well it was manufactured in 2004 anyone could have put the round in the box. So i say yeah they just happened to open a box of remington 250 sav and swap just one round with a box of remington 22-250 . Anyways getting back to the point not only be carefull with reloads but also factory ammo.

I have a new Rule always check Headstamps on all ammunition factory or reloads.

 

[cekim]

I remember reading a Bob Pease story years ago about an electronics company that had a contract that called for no less than 99% yield...

They would intentionally put one bad one in a box of 100

Glad you caught it - that sounds like a good rule...

 

[Dirtypacman]

I am also glad the situation ended with no damage or injury.

 

[Steve_P]

Interesting in the fact that 22-250 originated as a necked-down 250 savage....

Steve

 

[dwarven1]

Thanks for the reminder. +1 for you, sir!

 

[EC1]

Just thought I would give you all a heads up on a little incident that happened to me on Sunday. My gun club had a Centerfire Rifle Shoot on Sun. So i show up with my Savage in 22-250 and my Ruger in 7 x 57 . I use the Savage for one range and the Ruger for another. Anyways i was using Remington Factory Ammo in the 22-250, (which was all purchased recently) when all of a sudden i had a round that would not chamber. I tried several times to chamber it but thank god it wouldn't. So i put the round aside and continue shooting the rest of the target.

Well when i go back and look at the round i notice its just a tad bit bigger than all the others lengthwise. So i look at the markings and it says 250 savage with Remington case markings . So i check the rest of the Ammo and its all 22-250 so i ask if anyone is shooting 250 savage and no one is . I dont own a 250 savage and never did , also i dont know anyone who owns a 250 savage so theres no way i could have mixed them up . I had a perfect round count in all the boxes so there was no way i could have picked up a round somewhere.

So i call Remington Ammo on monday and explain and i get the jeez we really messed up line , we will send you a shipping label to send in the box of ammo in and give you some replacement ammo. Now im getting a little hot under the collar and i tell him i could have been killed and there like well it was manufactured in 2004 anyone could have put the round in the box. So i say yeah they just happened to open a box of remington 250 sav and swap just one round with a box of remington 22-250 . Anyways getting back to the point not only be carefull with reloads but also factory ammo.

I have a new Rule always check Headstamps on all ammunition factory or reloads.

Where did you buy the ammo? Also, I might be concerned about a 22-250 round in a 250 Savage box, if it was switched in the store.

 

[Mil-Dot]

Where did you buy the ammo? Also, I might be concerned about a 22-250 round in a 250 Savage box, if it was switched in the store.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[firtree]

I once had the same issue with a .380 mixed into a box of 9mm Makarov (S&B).
Makes me wonder about their quality control and how they shift production lines over to a new
product if these things happen...

 

[EC1]

I once had the same issue with a .380 mixed into a box of 9mm Makarov (S&B).
Makes me wonder about their quality control and how they shift production lines over to a new
product if these things happen...

I've seen too many people have multiple open boxes of ammo in a store to be ready to blame the manufacturer for one round of the wrong ammo in a box. I know I sometimes open a box of ammo to look at it but will not open a second box; unless I have replaced the ammo and closed it ahead of time. This is too serious to begin blaming the manufacturer before you eliminate people (aka "us") from the equation.

 

[RG617]

I've pretty much stopped using Remington ammo. My one big bitch is - no surprise here - their bricks of .22 thunderbolt. After just over a thousand rounds of thunderbolt through my MkIII bull barrel, I had a total FTF rate of 6%. I could never imagine using any serious ammo from a company that allows that much failure in any of their rounds even if it is just bulk rimfire rounds. Needless to say, I'm sticking to Federal from now on.

 

[biff44]

I remember reading a Bob Pease story years ago about an electronics company that had a contract that called for no less than 99% yield...

They would intentionally put one bad one in a box of 100

Glad you caught it - that sounds like a good rule...

OT: you know Pease shows up in Mass every once in a while to give free lectures. I saw him in Chelmsford around 3 years ago.

 

[firtree]

Is the suggestion here that someone in a store made the switch? That bothers
me more than the idea of a production line mistake.

I've seen too many people have multiple open boxes of ammo in a store to be ready to blame the manufacturer for one round of the wrong ammo in a box. I know I sometimes open a box of ammo to look at it but will not open a second box; unless I have replaced the ammo and closed it ahead of time. This is too serious to begin blaming the manufacturer before you eliminate people (aka "us") from the equation.

 

[Bill Nance]

My wife had a squib round the other day, which is the first time I've ever encountered one. I've been paranoid ever since.

 

[cekim]

OT: you know Pease shows up in Mass every once in a while to give free lectures. I saw him in Chelmsford around 3 years ago.

I'll have to keep an eye out... That sounds like nerd fun

 

[drgrant]

My wife had a squib round the other day, which is the first time I've ever encountered one. I've been paranoid ever since.

Was this in commercial ammo? If so, what brand and caliber?

-Mike

 

[Finalygotabeltfed]

Good advice.

I go one step further and guage any and all ammo that I'll be using in a machinegun, even if new in the box and most definitely my own reloads.

Another thing to watch out for is inexperienced persons loading your mags at the range, especially pistol mags.

 

[Underwhere]

Just thought I would give you all a heads up on a little incident that happened to me on Sunday. My gun club had a Centerfire Rifle Shoot on Sun. So i show up with my Savage in 22-250 and my Ruger in 7 x 57 . I use the Savage for one range and the Ruger for another. Anyways i was using Remington Factory Ammo in the 22-250, (which was all purchased recently) when all of a sudden i had a round that would not chamber. I tried several times to chamber it but thank god it wouldn't. So i put the round aside and continue shooting the rest of the target.

Well when i go back and look at the round i notice its just a tad bit bigger than all the others lengthwise. So i look at the markings and it says 250 savage with Remington case markings . So i check the rest of the Ammo and its all 22-250 so i ask if anyone is shooting 250 savage and no one is . I dont own a 250 savage and never did , also i dont know anyone who owns a 250 savage so theres no way i could have mixed them up . I had a perfect round count in all the boxes so there was no way i could have picked up a round somewhere.

So i call Remington Ammo on monday and explain and i get the jeez we really messed up line , we will send you a shipping label to send in the box of ammo in and give you some replacement ammo. Now im getting a little hot under the collar and i tell him i could have been killed and there like well it was manufactured in 2004 anyone could have put the round in the box. So i say yeah they just happened to open a box of remington 250 sav and swap just one round with a box of remington 22-250 . Anyways getting back to the point not only be carefull with reloads but also factory ammo.

I have a new Rule always check Headstamps on all ammunition factory or reloads.

My brother and I shoot Remington UMC that we get from Dick's Sporting goods.
For the amount that we shoot, this is really the least costly for us.
With all discounts applied we can get 500 rds for about 90 bucks. Sometimes less.

We found once or twice that the bullet had been seated into a case that looked like it had been rolled around in sandpaper. It was fairly easy to notice just picking it up. It was significantly shorter than the rest.

So yes. BE CAREFUL. Even with factory ammo.

 

[RIFLEMAN1000]

Just a follow up . After sending the remaining ammo back to Remington i get a letter stating that the mess up came from there end . The lot of ammo i had was the last batch of 22-250 before they changed the line over to 250-savage . That explains how it got into the box . Remington was also nice and gave me a free box of 22-250 , guess they felt bad for almost killing me . Now isnt that nice customer relations for you .

 

[gerrycaruso]

It was nice of Remington to send you more ammo but I don't think they almost killed you. As you found out, It's not possible to get a .250 Savage cartridge into a .22 250 chamber. The same thing happened to me with .243 and .308 Winchester. It's a good reminder not to trust your safety to others.

 

[Cabinetman]

Another "Attaboy" to Remington.

About 4 years ago, I had a semi-auto shotgun Kaboom on me during a duck hunt. It was so violet that the bolt welded itself back into the solid alloy billet receiver and the shell literally turned itself inside out! Fortunately, all I got was a mild stinger because I was wearing heavy gloves.

Long story short, I called Remington because I was shooting brand-new Remington heavi-shot. When I explained my situation to the customer service person, the first question he had was "are you all right?". I explained that I was but my shotgun wasn't. He arranged for me to ship it to their NY manufacturing facility along with the remaining ammo. I did. A few days later, I got a call telling me that it was their shell that "failed to peak" and too much pressure was sent via the gas system and destroyed the bolt.

They apologized and then a week later sent me a brandy new 1187 Premier 12gauge semiauto, a gift certificate for $75 of new shells and.....a hat. I wrote back to them and to the CEO telling them that they had a Remington fan forever, at least where shotguns are concerned. I've since purchased two more of different caliber.

Remington has customer service down right. I only wish other manufacturers took a page from their book.

Glad they treated you well but I'm not surprised.

Rome

 

[45collector]

I once found a candy corn in a box of 9mm... It didn't chamber too well.
j/k

I've never had the wrong cartridge in a box of ammo, but a few years ago I had a box of Magtech .45 ACP that was missing 6 rounds. I didn't notice it until I got to the range. Kinda pissed me off, .45 ain't cheap!

 

[RIFLEMAN1000]

Well i have to dissagree with Geryycaruso i might not have died but i would have been very badly hurt. The 250 Savage is the parent cartridge to the 22-250 that means only the bullet is different diameter 22 cal vs 25 cal. I could almost close the bolt on the 250 savage , had i forced it im sure it would have closed . Sending a 25 cal bullet down a 22 cal barrel at 4000fps would have been BAD . But the main point is dont ever take factory ammo for granted always check it fully it could save you a lot of pain and possibly your life.