Bullet falling into case?

[firecop019]

I'm sorry if this is covered somewhere else, I tried a couple different searches and couldn't find what I was looking for.

2 nights ago one of my officers went to bring the patrol rifle inside from the trunk of the patrol car. He heard a clink sound from inside the rifle and when he pulled out the magazine he noticed gun powder came tumbling out. About 4 rounds into the mag they found a casing that apparently lost it's crimp and the bullet had fallen into the casing.

Has anyone had this happen before, the ammo is Federal TRU 55 gr. Now we have had some very extremely cold temps this winter and the rifles get taken into a warm building at the end of every shift as some officers have their own rifles. Could going from the cold to warm cause this?

[_Stormin_]

Never happened to me...

I would reach out to Federal about the issue with any info you have about the ammo (lot number would be best).

[SilverBullet432]

ive had it happen twice. thankfully I noticed it!

[MistWolf]

Cases do not "lose their crimp". The case in your officer's magazine lacked proper neck tension from when it left the factory, meaning it was improperly made. Contact Federal. You may have to pull that lot of ammo because other rounds might have low neck tension. When a case is slammed into the chamber of an AR, the case is stopped by shoulder. If the neck tension is low, momentum will push the bullet forward into the rifling which can cause a spike in pressure leading to a catastrophic kaboom. You officer was blessed he didn't have to fire that round

[Hank6046]

Cases do not "lose their crimp". The case in your officer's magazine lacked proper neck tension from when it left the factory, meaning it was improperly made. Contact Federal. You may have to pull that lot of ammo because other rounds might have low neck tension. When a case is slammed into the chamber of an AR, the case is stopped by shoulder. If the neck tension is low, momentum will push the bullet forward into the rifling which can cause a spike in pressure leading to a catastrophic kaboom. You officer was blessed he didn't have to fire that round

I've seen it before, from bulk Lake City. Contact the Ammo manufacturer is all you can do. How long were the rounds sitting in the magazine?

[T2C]

I would contact Federal ASAP. They will need the lot number for certain. Keep the case, powder and projectile from the cartridge that came apart. I would be ready to tell them how long the ammunition has been in service, if a round is chambered at the beginning of the shift, then cleared from the weapon at the end of the shift, etc. I would also have your officers inspect each and every round issued to them, including rounds loaded in duty magazines. If any appear to have loose or set back projectiles, I would collect them for Federal to inspect. If you have the resources, the best thing to do is issue all new ammunition to your officers and hold everything turned in to you for Federal.

I carried a carbine in temperatures ranging from -15 to 105 degrees and I have never seen temperature change alone cause this sort of malfunction. Please share what you learn from Federal.

[firecop019]

Thanks guys, I'll give Federal a call. I'm not sure if we have the lot numbers from those or not. We didn't shoot them up this year because we had such a hard time getting ammo. I think I'm just going to empty the mags and start with fresh.

[T2C]

Thanks guys, I'll give Federal a call. I'm not sure if we have the lot numbers from those or not. We didn't shoot them up this year because we had such a hard time getting ammo. I think I'm just going to empty the mags and start with fresh.

Hopefully, someone still has a box left over from when the ammunition was issued. The lot number should be on the flap.

[davidz71]

I've only seen it one time and it was with Federal TRU 55 gr. in one of our Ruger Mini-14 rifles during rifle qualification. The primer ignited the powder and the action remained closed. When the round was extracted the bullet was rattling in the case.

[markm]

I'd get rid of that ammo quick. Wow.

[Bimmer]

When a case is slammed into the chamber of an AR, the case is stopped by shoulder. If the neck tension is low, momentum will push the bullet forward into the rifling which can cause a spike in pressure leading to a catastrophic kaboom.

No, this sounds different. The bullets fell into the cases in the magazine, not in the chamber.

Like MarkM said, I would consign all that ammo to "training," and I wouldnt' shoot any of it until I had checked each round for neck tension... if you can push or pull the bullet in or out of the case with your fingers, then it's unsafe.

[Sierraeight]

Firecop019,
Just a thought on possible causes. T2C mentioned this briefly. Does that round show signs of being repeatedly chambered? Repeated chambering of a round can definitely cause this to happen, even when there is nothing wrong with the ammunition. Second possibility, does the nose of the projectile from that round show any sign of impact indicating stuffback from a rough feed? Jeff

[firecop019]

No it didn't look like it was repeatedly chambered. And it was 4-5 down in the mag. When they chamber a round and it doesn't get used they are supposed to pull it out of rotation and get a fresh round. Operative word there is "supposed" though. We are such a small agency that it's once in a blue moon that we chamber a round in them. I'll see if our rep has a contact at Federal and see what they can tell me.

[markm]

Remington UMC .223 suffered this flaw a few years back. I can remember buying a box and running it through my Factory Crimp Die before shooting it.