300BlkTalk

Hey all, I am new to the forum but wanted to get this information out.

Do NOT buy FEDARM bulk ammo. The ammo has several DANGEROUS problems. The charge weight varies by + or - 10 gns of powder. I had to weigh each one (500) to separate out the deviant loads. I did this after getting very common primer blow outs (when they would even chamber). Almost half of the cartridges need to have their bullets pulled and charges fixed.

The next problem (arguably even worse) I encountered was failure to fully chamber with the bolt getting stuck and and requiring taking a hammer to the charging handle
(I destroyed the one I had and marred my cerekote and have a new one on the way now) (I even broke my stock with it in the collapsed position trying to get it unstuck.)
And then the case would still be stuck hard in the chamber.
This required sacrificing a cheap cleaning rod to pound out the case.

I measured the dimensions of the cases and the shoulders are not at the correct depth and the case specs in general are either just barely at or exceeding SAMMI max specifications.

Looks like I have 500 tracers to pull, cases to resize, and charges to weigh.

I will never again order ammo from them regardless of the price. Or cheap ammo ever again for the matter. I don’t understand how this is even legal.

Sorry for ranting. I hope at very least this stops someone else from making the same mistake I did.

It’s rare that a first post draws a why in the hell would you expect that to work out kind of response, but this one does. I have never heard of this company, and they deserve special recognition for what they sell and how. But honestly why anyone would think buying what you did was a good idea, is beyond comprehension.

I will assume you have used at least 100 rounds of other ammo without a problem. If not then you should before ranting about remanufacturerd ammo.

Regardless there are a couple problems here, some are self inflicted. You knew there were problems with the ammo and you continued to try and use it. That’s about the dumbest thing you could have done.

I say “about the dumbest thing” because even dumber was buying the ammo in the first place. A quick search looks like this is what you bought and it comes with this description and disclaimer.

https://fedarm.com/product/300-blackout ... mmunition/

Description
300 AAC Blackout (300 BLK) 144 Grain FMJ Tracer / Ball “Range Grade” Ammunition
This “range grade” ammunition is manufactured in the USA on high end arsenal grade machines and undergoes a loose visual inspection before packing. This ammunition is loaded using .308 diameter M62 144 grain pull down military tracer projectiles.
Only once-fired military/police brass is used. It is acid washed and processed to SAAMI specifications and electromagnetically inspected to ensure safe internal tolerances.
In the loading process, only the top quality powders and primers are used. Powder is dropped to +/- 0.1 grain accuracy to ensure the highest performance. Cartridges are loaded with H110, A1680, or similar proper powder to cycle AR-15 actions.
Velocity/ Pressure: 2,100 FPS (out of a 16″ rifle barrel at SAAMI pressure specs).
What is “Range Grade Ammo”? This ammunition is visually inspected in bulk and packaged by weight. It differs from “FedArm” brand ammo in that it is not case gauged nor individually inspected by piece. A very small count of these rounds may deviate slightly from typical mil-spec specifications and may (or may not) contain slightly off-seated projectile or similar minor functional defects, all easily caught when loading your magazine. The inspection labor savings on these rounds is passed onto you! You will receive more rounds than ordered (as per the below) for the chance you find an unsatisfactory round.
Note: Range grade ammunition does not fall under the FedArm satisfaction guarantee & return policy. If you want piece counted mil-spec ammo, please buy the standard “FedArm” branded ammo instead.

When a company tells you up front, that you as a purchaser are responsible for quality control and safety inspection of explosives and things that can kill you, only a damn fool would buy from them.

Then there is this little gem of a description for their sub sonic ammo.

https://fedarm.com/product/300-blackout ... mmunition/

Note: These rounds have been tested and cycle properly with our AR-15 300 BLK rifles and pistols. These firearms have adjustable gas blocks and enlarged gas ports and suppressors. While most firearms will not need such modification, you may need similar modifications for your firearm to cycle reliably. Please be aware of this issue and that if you wish to return this ammo due to cycling problems, you must pay return shipping.

There are so many warning flags in the above statements that anybody buying this crap probably needs to give up shooting.

When a company tells you up front that “ our ammo shoots fine in our highly modified rifles, but probably won’t in a properly configured rifle, but you welcome to send it back on your dime if it won’t” don’t buy from them.

When a company tells you upfront, they do no to inspect their ammo, do not buy from them.

When a company tells you up front that if their ammo, you were supposed to inspect before firing, blows your face off, you can’t send it back, don’t buy from them.

When a company sells the exact same ammo in both “Match” and “Range” grade with the average price difference of 2 cents per round, and the only difference is whether there is an inspection for quality control and meeting specs, pay the 2 cents.

I won’t even go down the road of the stupidity of buy/selling/shooting tracers. Something that may or may not be legal.

Always sorry to hear someone had issues that could have been catastrophic, but buying from a company whose business model is basically “we sell cheap, because it may not work, it’s up to you to find out for yourself” is asking for trouble.

Thanks for sharing the experience, hopefully saves some others grief. Luckily your rifle only suffered minor damage, but from the sounds of things you continued with crap ammo a lot longer than you should have.

And welcome to the forum

Quote"The charge weight varies by + or - 10 gns of powder. I had to weigh each one (500) to separate out the deviant loads. I did this after getting very common primer blow outs (when they would even chamber). Almost half of the cartridges need to have their bullets pulled and charges fixed."
With the average charge weight of supersonic Blackout ammo and the propellants used, I find this hard to believe if not utter Bullshit.Hope you forgot a decimal point.

"electromagnetically inspected to ensure safe internal tolerances."

" The inspection labor savings on these rounds is passed onto you!"

Sounds like Engrish may not even be their first language. Maybe this ammunition came from Alibaba.

LOL....

Tracer ammo...from a vendor with the balls to describe the 'issues' that may be encountered....and the modified test platforms....

Maybe the OP would be wise to seek out the knowledge base of the hive before making a purchase...ain't that what we're here for?

Who in the blazes buys a quantity of tracers? It's not like you can use them in but a few possible circumstances.

I only put about maybe 10 rounds though my gun before I realized there were primer blowouts. The very next round caused the jam. I quit using them.

I read the warnings but even still I wouldn’t expect them to be this bad. One would expect they are just covering their butt legally if something happens. If a few every once in a while caused a problem I can live with that. But the fact that it’s literally most of them is kinda absurd. The “factory” loads they sell were not in stock. I bought them primarily as a source of brass to reload with and thought I’d at least have some fun blowing through them. I have good ammo and hand loads for serious range time but sometimes it’s just fun to blow through tons of ammo.

I’ve put at least a thousand rounds of federal 150gn supers through it without any issues.

I have seen charges as low as 1gn of powder and as high as 18gns. Unfortunately not a typo. At least a third of them has such issues. I’m glad I stopped and weighed them.

Where I live tracers are legal and we shoot them all the time. If you can’t use them than that’s too bad for you but don’t give someone else hell for it.

Just ignore the printed warnings. You'll probably be the lucky on who does not have problems. That works for me every time.

DesertEngineer wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:38 pm I have seen charges as low as 1gn of powder and as high as 18gns.

That's nuts.

What is the headstamp of the brass? Can you measure the neck diameter of a loaded round?

bangbangping wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:57 pm

DesertEngineer wrote: ↑Mon Feb 17, 2020 5:38 pm I have seen charges as low as 1gn of powder and as high as 18gns.

That's nuts.

What is the headstamp of the brass? Can you measure the neck diameter of a loaded round?

Yeah I was really surprised to see as far of deviation as I did.

The brass is random 223 and 556 stamped converted cases.
GFL, LCC, CBC, Aguila, GA, ICC etc.

neck diameter ranges from .333 to 338