What you may find in factory ammo, watch for this

[Hummer70]

Factory ammo made on high speed machines can cause all kinds of damage and leave flaws in cases. This will give you a idea of what to look for when you open a new box of ammo.

This comes from MIL STD 636 which you can do a search for on line and download for your later use.

Hit the scroll bar on bottom to view the remainder of the picture.

Note: the K, L and M areas with flaws in this area can be catastrophic when the case fails here.

[James K]

Those rounds may well be "factory ammo", but I very much doubt it is fresh factory ammo. I have seen that type of cracking many times, and it is usually due to season cracking in old cases (today,usually WWII vintage or older). The second from the viewer's left seems to be a case with a split neck that was fed into a rifle, possibly an M1, and the split neck caught on the edge of the chamber.

If ammo is found with that type of case cracking, it should be either pulled down or kept for a collection, not fired. The cracks themselves at the neck or shoulder will not cause any problem, but they indicate deterioration of the ammo in general, rendering it unserviceable.

Regardless of those particular rounds, all ammo, factory or reloads, should be inspected before firing. Not all defects can be caught by a visual inspection, but many can, and a round that hangs up a police or defense firearm can have serious consequences.

Jim

[StukaJU87]

Just a few surprises that were waiting in a 1,000 round bulk case of Remington UMC. On the plus side, Remington's CS was outstanding. I sent them the bad rounds and in less then a week, I received another full 1,000 round case for my troubles.

Mistakes happen in mass production, that's why it's always a good idea to inspect your ammo.

[Gbro]

Jim,
I was thinking the same thing about the cracks at the shoulder or neck but then, with a neck crack a bullet could become stuck in the chamber and even Clint's Tap-Rack ,Salt & Pepper, Hamburger & French fry's will not get the gun back in order.

[TailGator]

I had several rounds with mashed case mouths in a box of 9 mm WWB. It seems almost inevitable that QC is going to be a bit lower on mass-market plinking ammo. I have not seen visible defects in ammo marketed for SD. Both should be inspected, though.

I only reload for pistol, and I don't have a wealth of experience even for that, but over-worked brass was my first thought when I saw those pictures, as well. I am glad to have my suspicion confirmed by more a more knowledgeable person.

[briandg]

Stump, that is outright crazy. Whether it's electronic examination or eye work, that just should not have happened. It could have happened anywhere from final formong of the brass to sorting them for shipping.

If I can buy 100 pounds of dried pinto beans and not find a rock, how many top level inspections did those things go through? The components and completed ammo are run from step to step in one ton bins, but that final check for packing is done individually as it goes over tables.

I'm guessing that the last line of inspection was either asleep or had a blown circuit breaker.

[Skans]

I have to say that I have never found these kinds of defects in factory ammo or reloads I've purchased...ever. However, the last 2 rounds in that first picture looks like some 22-250 I personally reloaded years ago, except the shoulder on my cases was a bit more bulged.

[F. Guffey]

Factory ammo made on high speed machines can cause all kinds of damage and leave flaws in cases.

I do not believe a high speed machine can cause the problems illustrated in post one.

And then; there is K, L and M; by design a high speed machine can upset the case in area K, L and M but a machine is not going to crack and or split the case below the shoulder.

I have turned cases into bellows that would take on the appearance of an according looking case; I know it may come as a surprise to a few but; I to, experiment.

Again; I received a call, seems there was a complaint about R-P ammo. I explained to the group that was complaining the phone number was on the box, both boxes; call R-P. The rifle was new, factory out of the box complete with instructions and Ruger’s phone number. Did they call R-P? Did they call Ruger Firearms? No and No.

F. Guffey

[Double Naught Spy]

What you may find in factory ammo, watch for this
Factory ammo made on high speed machines can cause all kinds of damage and leave flaws in cases. This will give you a idea of what to look for when you open a new box of ammo.

This comes from MIL STD 636 which you can do a search for on line and download for your later use.

Interesting, MIL STD 636 does not discuss causes for the defects and does not attribute the images in the OP to be due to ammo made on high speed machines. F. Guffey suggested this and so it is interesting that MIL STD 636 does not actually support the OP's premise.

[NoSecondBest]

In almost sixty years of shooting, and I shoot a lot, I've probably found a couple of defective .22lr shells and no centerfire rounds. I'm sure there are some out there but I don't think the sky's falling in.

[NateKirk]

Those pictures look like my surplus 8mm from WW2 with the cracks in the cases.

[James K]

I am not sure who puts it out, LEAA maybe, but there is a much better poster for police showing actual handgun rounds that were caught and rejected at an ammunition factory. Some could never have been chambered, and would have jammed the gun; others could not even have inserted into a magazine without excessive force. Some would have chambered but, like rounds with no primers or with an upside down primer, would have been misfires.

There is no doubt that those defects were the result of high speed production and the inability of the factory to closely inspect each round. But what is the alternative? We all want inexpensive ammo, which means mass production, not a worker with a Lee Loader. We do need to inspect each round, less so for the range, more so for a SD/HD firearm.

Jim

[Win73]

The closest thing to a "factory" defect I have found in a centerfire cartridge was a .38 special round from a reloading factory with the primer seated backwards.