Winchester 9mm ammo problem

[Alllen Bundy]

Now you'all have triggered my OCD! I have already been checking every cartridge for over-all length and weeding out the outliers.

Checking the shell case lengths may not be so important for range ammo, but it's critical that your self defense ammo is as close to 100% reliable as possible.

It's easy enough to pull the barrel from my pistol, drop a round into the combustion chamber and measure the overall all length and separate the excessively long shell cases. You could probably just eyeball the way the cartridge sits inside the combustion chamber and call it good.

This is what podcasts are for.

 

[Hartkopf]

Contact Winchester and they'll usually take the bad ammo back and give you a refund.

 

[InTheSwamp]

Checking the shell case lengths may not be so important for range ammo, but it's critical that your self defense ammo is as close to 100% reliable as possible.

"Winchester" makes top of the line SD Ammo. The WWB is a practice ammo, sold in the millions. Bad batches are unavoidable.

 

[Shanvanvocht]

The WWB is a practice ammo, sold in the millions. Bad batches are unavoidable.

High volume is not an excuse for poor quality, especially when it is not appreciably less costly than the competition.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

"Winchester" makes top of the line SD Ammo. The WWB is a practice ammo, sold in the millions. Bad batches are unavoidable.

Today we have the capability to produce products that are nearly perfect nearly every time. Much of the measurement and testing can be automated. It's all a matter of cost. I've worked in manufacturing since 1974 and have seen nearly every kind of screw up possible. More often than not it's a poor process that allows the defect in the first place and a poor process that allows that defective part to be used in a product that leaves the factory. When you use better processes you can eliminate most problems before they ever become problems.

The same applies to how you handle your firearms. Eliminate processes that are confusing and use the same good process every time and you greatly reduce the chance of a negligent discharge and you will likely shoot more accurately.

 

[elktrout]

I just received my chamber gauge and checked a full box of 2022 WWB 115 grainers. Four did not sit flush as they should.

 

[elktrout]

UPDATE: I checked more 2022 WWB 115 grainers today. In one of the boxes, I found this deformed round. Note the exposed edges of the primer. WWB will never cross the door of my house again. I have never seen anything this bad. NOTE: I ONLY USED THE CHAMBER GUAGE TO HOLD IT FOR THE PHOTO.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

I don't have a chamber gauge, but I removed the barrel from my pistol and tested the last 37 rounds of 9 mm WWB that I have by dropping each round into the firing chamber. None of the shell cases protruded beyond the tangs on the barrel, and none of the rounds fit tightly, so it appears that I didn't get any bad cartridges. I also checked 100 rounds of Sig 9 mm FMJ without any apparently defective shell cases. I will eventually test all of my cartridges this way. It might seem like a lot of extra unnecessary work, but it gives me something to do while I listed to 2A related podcasts. Better safe than sorry.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Had some bulk WWB 115s, probably left over from the WalMart days of 100 rounds @ $13. They ran okay, but I noticed they seemed 'rappier' in the 365. They ran just a little faster (1140) than Blazer Brass/my handloads...1100'sec.
But they ran okay, and the difference wouldn't have been noticeable in a heavier pistol.
Moon

 

[Barmcd]

I think some calibers of that white box ammo, those used by the military, are made by Winchester in the government's Lake City plant. Its a convoluted relationship and I forget the exact details.

 

[Shanvanvocht]

I think some calibers of that white box ammo, those used by the military, are made by Winchester in the government's Lake City plant. Its a convoluted relationship and I forget the exact details.

Short version; Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a government-owned facility operated by civilian contractors. Remington ran it until 1985 and there have been a number of others since, with Winchester taking over in 2020. The contract provides that the operator may sell production that exceeds military requirementss.

 

[Barmcd]

Short version; Lake City Army Ammunition Plant is a government-owned facility operated by civilian contractors. Remington ran it until 1985 and there have been a number of others since, with Winchester taking over in 2020. The contract provides that the operator may sell production that exceeds military requirementss.

Thanks for the info, I knew I'd read that somewhere. Some people were complaining on line about Winchester white box ammo, but said the ammo labeled "Lake City" was okay. It didn't make sense to me.

 

[hemiram]

I usually roll 9mm cartridges on a flat surface before I put them into the mags. I started doing that after I got a box of 380 a long time ago, and my almost new Browning BDA crushed a round when it went into battery, and I got a nick on my arm from the case coming apart. Didn't hurt the gun at all, but it got my attention. I seem to just feel when .45ACP has problems without rolling them.

 

[shafter]

When I'm shooting cheap ammo I pretty much expect I'm going to have some issues with a round or two and chalk it up to random malfunction drill practice. Cheap ammo is going to have some issues sometimes.