Warning! Bay Area: Reloaded Ammo Not to Buy

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Sprout

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I couple of months ago I bought 550 rounds of 38 wadcutters from a gun show in San Jose. Since then I've shot about 300, and I am beyond disappointed.

4 rounds wouldn't even chamber because the cases has been crushed outward or the bulets were maformed.

The loading is inconsistant, and with it the accuracy. A number of bullets were in upside down as well.

And worst of all, the last time I was at the range there was a squib! I was shooting and heard a "pop" rather than a bang. I stopped shooting, tilted the gun up about 45 degrees, and saw half of a bullet sticking out of the barrell.

I don't know if I am being reasonable, but I don't feel comfortable shooting the rest of the batch. I can't imagine that pulling a bullet out of your barrell is good for the gun, and I'm sure it would be very bad if I were to not notice and try to shoot another round through the gun. I'm rather fond of my fingers--can't count without them.

If anybody is interested, the place I bought them from was:

Richard Davis
Modesto, CA 95350
209-526-4059

PS: What is the proper way to dispose of ammo that you don't feel safe putting through a gun?

PPS: Anybody have any experience with the Jackson Arms reloads?

Thanks everybody

Sprout
 
As I read your post I was going to respond exactly as Mike did.
That ammo is junk at the best and unsafe as well.

Since you know who made it, return it and demand satisfaction.
In this case I'd want my money back.

Joe
 
I can't imagine that pulling a bullet out of your barrell is good for the gun...
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's not worse for the barrel than shooting a bullet through it.

That saidâ„¢, I'd contact the manufacturer ASAP, and if he gave me even a little trouble, I'd take him to small claims court PDQ. There's no justification for loading shoddy ammunition.
 
An acquaintance bought some 44Mag reloads from one of the reloaders at the SJ show a while back. He was having problems with cases splitting and asked my opinion. I checked the ammo and found, despite the plastic baggie stating they were 44Mag, the headstamp said 41Mag. Now, people make mistakes, but why on earth did it take 25+ rounds for this guy to figure out there was a problem? I know, thread shift, but this story has been banging around in my little head since summer and it was time to get it out. :barf:

Anyhoo, buy reloads from parties unknown and take your chances. Buy from Ike at Bullets Bullets Bullets in Fremont and you'll be fine. See http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54851

For disposal, give it to your rangemaster: they can take care of it for you. (They'll soak it in light oil for a while to deactivate the powder and primers, then give to the scrap guys who take the brass and lead)
 
Thanks everybody.

As for a refund/small claims, it's only about $25 worth of ammo. At $5 for 50, even throwing away half, it works out to about $8. Not really worth the hassle.

Right now I'll just throw away the old stuff, and pick up some new stuff. I just wanted to make sure that nobody makes the same mistake that I did.
 
If you reload, you might be able to salvage the bullets and cases. Dispose of the powder because you can't tell what it is. Shoot the primers. Since it's such a small amount of ammo, you're probably right to chuck it all. This sort of thing is why I don't trust anybody's reloads but mine.
 
I appreciate such information, especially as to what to stay away from. I've had good results with reloads from Load X, and I believe they are usually at the San Jose show. I've bought a few thousand rounds (from 9mm to .45) from them, and have no complaints.
 
I shoot Jackson reloads whenever I'm there and have had only one one round that was bad (.357 mag with slightly deformed brass.) Never any squibs.
 
FWIW, when it comes to reloads, I shoot only my own.

That way, when something goes wrong, I not only know the name of the SOB who messed up, I know where he lives.

Jim
 
Sprout,

I know the reloader at Jackson Arms, since I used to be a manager there, and I can say that he does careful work. But remember, any mass produced ammo WILL turn up a bad one once in a while. Murphy's Law. I also have run into bad FACTORY ammo (different brands) with no primers, primers backwards, primers sideways, bullets seated with the base up, squib loads and so on. Because of this, every round that I have for in-house use is checked individually. I also do not shoot anyone's reloads except my own.
 
Good idea about HD ammo,Oldman. Think I'll start weighing my HD and carry ammo. If there's a squib load (no powder) that should find it.
 
Differences in case and bullet weight may negate or offset the few grain difference between heavy or light powder charges, making finding these problems with a scale difficult and inconsistant. For example how do you know you have a problems when you encounter a cartridge made with a heavy case and heavy bullet loaded with a light charge, or an overcharged light bullet/case combo? If in doubt, take it apart, don't shoot it.
 
Another vote of confidence for the reloads from Two Guns Press, co-located with Jackson Arms. I've used about seven thousand of his 9mms and small batches of several other calibers. Never had a serious problem with them, and the last two thousand were 100% perfect. I've also been extremely happy with his gunsmithing work. As a bonus, (like most of the folks at Jackson) he's friendly and knowledgeable. A good deal all around!
 
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