Guns are dangerous. Federal AE223BK Kaboom.

[Derek_Connor]

Was shooting yesterday at an indoor range. Upper was a 12.5bbl Noveske, with 10k+ rounds already through it. KAC FH, KAC Upper, KAC URX, PMAGs.

I was shooting unsuppressed, semi-auto, with recently purchased XM193 from Recob's Target Shop (found that ammo in the popular ammo finding thread).

I was on approximately round 20-23 of a full 30 round magazine, and I pulled the trigger and felt an extreme GUSH of air on my chest/abdomen/legs. The magazine was literally SHOT out of my magwell, and the bolt was stuck.

The Upper came off the lower with ease, we eventually were able to remove the BCG out of the upper, the case was stuck to the extractor. The most unfortunate part was that half of the case is still stuck in the chamber.

No injuries, no blood, just a little dirtier than usual From what I've been told, this will be an easy fix.

To Summarize, after the kaboom, this is what seems have survived:

Bolt Carrier
Upper
Lower
Pmag
Bolt

What didn't survive:
Extract has been bent
o-ring blown in half


Will be calling Federal on Monday to see how to handle the rest of the ammo.


Here are some shitty pictures, im no photographer:


Upper Used:







BCG Used:





Bolt:




You can still see half of the case stuck in the chamber:



Bent extractor:




Ruptured Case:

[CounTeR]

I'm now a little less happy about the 2000 rounds of XM193 I ordered last week. :x

I hope that this is one time thing, and that you're alright.

[SecretAgentMan]

Wow. Glad you're okay.

[The_War_Wagon]

Dittos on the "OK physically" part! Is that a recent batch of the 'black box' 193's? I've bought a few rounds of it recently, with the intentions of testing it. Now I'M not so sure...

[Iraqgunz]

Any ammo can malfunction and have problems. The issue is when it starts to happen with frequency.

[Molon]

Thanks for posting this. I'm glad that you weren't injured. Have you examined the length of the barrel for any abnormalities? Did the round before the kaboom display any difference in recoil/muzzle blast/function? That is, do you think it could have been a squib?

Any chance you have a friend with a better camera who could take some better close-up shots of the case head? Also, can you post the lot number of the XM193 involved?

Thanks,

Molon

[SeriousStudent]

Indeed, I am glad you were not harmed!

Are you planning on reusing the bolt? Relegating it to spare status? Or letting someone do NDI testing on it?

The geek in me would be very interested in having someone like Ned Christiansen look over the bolt and inspect the chamber.

[Derek_Connor]

Originally Posted by SeriousStudent

Indeed, I am glad you were not harmed!

Are you planning on reusing the bolt? Relegating it to spare status? Or letting someone do NDI testing on it?

The geek in me would be very interested in having someone like Ned Christiansen look over the bolt and inspect the chamber.

Yeah, I am feeling more lucky as the day goes on. That could have been alot worse.

Here is the ammo I was shooting:

(http://www.recobstargetshop.com/browse.cfm/4,2341.html)

I am going to send it to steve to get the case out. I was planning on scrapping the bolt, but now that you said it, having it sent out for testing would be interesting.

[Derek_Connor]

Originally Posted by Molon

Thanks for posting this. I'm glad that you weren't injured. Have you examined the length of the barrel for any abnormalities? Did the round before the kaboom display any difference in recoil/muzzle blast/function? That is, do you think it could have been a squib?

Any chance you have a friend with a better camera who could take some better close-up shots of the case head? Also, can you post the lot number of the XM193 involved?

Thanks,

Molon

Molon,

Good questions - I did no more than a bore scope after the incident, couldn't find anything "out of the norm"

Now that you ask, I do remember the couple of rounds before that having less recoil? But I also remember readjusting my feet as well for a wider stance (lanes are small in this range) so it could have been just myself feeling more stable? Hard to say with any certainty.

I'll get some better pictures of the ammo and case head..

[WesleyCE]

Can you post the lot number of the ammo?

[Todd.K]

Make sure the barrel extension is not cracked, it may not be obvious until you take the barrel out of the upper.

[RD62]

I've never felt the need to High Pressure test my own bolts! You really are a do-it-yourself kind of guy, huh?



Glad your OK! I'm interested to see how everything fares after inspection, and what Federal has to say!


-RD62

[RogerinTPA]

I'm glad things didn't go sideways and you're ok bro. Hope you can finagle a new upper out of this.

[Derek_Connor]

Sorry for the delay, after I went through this ammo, to my dismay, it does NOT have a Lake City stamp on the casing. I'll get some pictures here soon.

Something is fishy, as Recob's had informed me lastnight after I spoke to him that this was indeed, "XM193" and not "PD", etc..

And to be clear, Noveske didn't assemble this upper for me, so they have nothing to do w/this situation.

This barrel/upper receiver have a shit ton of rounds through it, all knowing that that little lip had existed. I doubt the receiver feedramps has anything to do w/this situation though based on the amount of rounds i've had through this combo. But ya never know..





Camera sucks, cannot get a good picture of the head stamp.

On the top it is ––––-" F C"

on the bottom it is ––––––" 223 o REM "

while im no ammo buff, that doesn't sound like real 193 to me.

[Iraqgunz]

FC is Federal Cartridge. There is a slight chance that you had a headspace issue since you have said that there are a shit ton of rounds through the upper and barrel. I would clean the weapon and see if you can get a headspace gage and check it.

That being said it is more than likely an ammo problem. Like I said ANY ammo can have issues. Military ammo gets reclassed quite frequently due to malfunctions or related issues.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

What usually happens in cases like this? Does the Ammo manufacturer pay to rebuild the upper? Do they send it off to a third party to determine what went wrong? Does it depend on manufacturer what kind of service you get?

[Derek_Connor]

Originally Posted by Iraqgunz

FC is Federal Cartridge. There is a slight chance that you had a headspace issue since you have said that there are a shit ton of rounds through the upper and barrel. I would clean the weapon and see if you can get a headspace gage and check it.

Roger, will report back on the results.

That being said it is more than likely an ammo problem. Like I said ANY ammo can have issues. Military ammo gets reclassed quite frequently due to malfunctions or related issues.

Agreed that any ammo can have issues, if I can come out of this with a still decently used barrel and just have to up the cost of a new bolt, i'll be extremely happy.

[Magsz]

Derek,

Glad you're alright brother.

Keep us updated on the status of everything.

Will be interesting to hear what the ammo manufacturer has to say.

[larry0071]

Lake City XM193 has the heat marking where the brass necks down, at least all the Federal XM193 and white box Lake City XM193 I have does. Why does that not have the typical heat discolor I'm used to seeing?

Just to admit, I do not know what the heat mark is from or why it is there, I just know I see it evertime I open my ammo. When I look at the picture a few posts up, I instantly noticed that the brass is a constant color and not the same as what I am used to holding/seeing.

Larry

[beaker1013]

Glad to hear you're okay and let's hope it's just the bolt that's screwed. Keep us posted.