They just sent this to me today.

Said they are going to send me a box to try out.
Look forward to getting it and letting you know about it.


NATEC, Inc.

11 Arkansas Street

Plattsburgh, NY  12903

Web: www.natec-us.com

The Future of Ammunition…Today!

NATEC Polymer-Cased Ammunition (PCA)

PRODUCT INFORMATION

The Shotgun Shell evolved from Brass to Plastic, so why not Rifle and Pistol Ammunition?  NATEC, Inc. is now supplying the commercial market with the World’s First, Patented, High Pressure, Polymer-Cased Ammunition… PCA!

NATEC PCA – Spectrum Ammunition:
- Is Produced with an Exclusively Supplied, State-of-the-Art, Engineered Polymer from DuPont.
- Utilizes Standard, High Quality Projectiles, Primers, and Propellants Supplied by Established Manufacturers.
- Functions Safely in Weapons (without Modification) including Accessory Gear, e.g. Magazines, Clips, Links, etc.
- Is Produced on Modern, Manufacturing Equipment to Stringent ANSI /  Mil-Spec Quality Standards.
- Is Made in the U.S.A.


Have you ever been burned by a hot shell case from the shooter next to you?  With PCA – Spectrum Ammunition this is not a problem; the fired cases are immediately cool to the touch.

Polymer, as a natural insulator
• Increases the propellant burn rate yielding comparable ballistics with lower charge weights.
• Reduces the heat transference to the weapon.

Polymer, as a material
• Maintains “Dimensional Memory”, reducing required extraction forces and producing less recoil.
• Reduces the overall weight of the cartridge.  Without projectile and propellant the lightweight polymer case results in a weight reduction of:
o ~ 39% compared to a .223 REM brass case (~ 1 lb./200 rounds).
o ~ 35% compared to a .308 WIN brass case (~ 1.3 lbs./200 rounds).
o ~ 47% compared to a 50 cal brass case (~ 11.2 lbs./200 rounds).


PCA – Spectrum ammunition is produced through a streamlined manufacturing process on state-of-the-art, SPC-equipped machinery.  The modern production process is simpler than that of metal-cased products, and results in a superior product that is both accurate and reliable.


PCA – Spectrum Currently Available:
• .223 REM 55 gr. FMJBT
• .223 REM 55 gr. Sierra Blitzking
• .223 REM 69 gr. Sierra Matchking
• .223 REM 55 gr. PSP
• .223 REM 55 gr. Sierra HPBT
• .223 REM 55 gr. Tracer

PCA – Spectrum Coming in:

I was not impressed with the 500 rounds I used last year.  It seemed like it was barely powerful enough to cycle the action.  One out of every ten spent casings was missing the case neck.  My guess is that they separated from the case during firing and followed the bullet out of the bore.

if it's cheap, and it works, i'd use it...  *note-working = no jacking up my rifle, and being fairly accurate....

I sent 58 rounds of this stuff down range and it all worked well.  I kept one round for my personal collection, and one round was misformed where the polymer meets the brass base.  Still have that one sitting around here somewhere, but I never thought to report it to the company until long after I had thrown away all the boxes.

This is a mirror of a post I made in Shotar's thread here
_________________________


The first box of 500 I bought while en route to Hun's farm in May. Some of the guys there were asking about the strange sand colored "brass" that my RRA was spitting out like day old gum. I went through 500 rounds of it awful quick, and had zero malfunctions. Unfortunately I did not keep track of the lot number. I did find out later that the sand colored ones were the first 300,000 rounds they produced before they switched to gray for the 55 gr FMJ.

I ended up emailing Natec customer service because I couldn't find anyone around me selling it, and asked if they had any retailers around. They sent me two in my area.

My second lot of 500 was a different story. This was .223 rem 55 FMJBT lot # PCA04 DEC H (stamped inside the box end-flap). It proved to be a waste of my money. This one had the gray casing that is their most current. I took my dad out shooting on Father's Day, and he loaded up all the mags on the way to the range. I'm guessing I got through about 2 or 3 mags with no problem, and I wish I had a camera with me to photograph what did happen, but I'll explain.

After firing, and during the extraction, the polymer casing separated from the brass ass, as I'll call it. The extractor pulled the brass part back but since it was no longer connected to the polymer, it just fell loose in the chamber. I assume this is what happened because it didn't eject, but stayed there and jammed in the chamber lugs when the bolt came back forward. The next round of course comes up the ramp and finds the chamber still populated with the fired, empty polymer casing. Now we have a problem, because it's now jammed. Moreover, the bullet being jammed in the chamber, and the bolt closing on the not-seated round, bends the neck of the round and the casing. Anyways, long story short, I borrowed another shooter's cleaning rod to knock out the round, BUT the polymer stayed in the chamber. It took a while but eventually was able to get the polymer loose and free everything up. After a takedown/inspection, I fired a mag of UMC 55gr through it with no problems.

I tried another mag of the PCA about an hour later, and about a third of the way through it, I had the same exact thing happen.

Now, it was hot out, near 90 degrees, and we were in direct sun, as were the mags. However I don't think this should've been a problem, since the chamber gets much hotter than that. The problem might have been that the round sat in the chamber for too long a period of time from one shot to the next, rather than being rapid fired. The chamber could have heated up the polymer to the point it was too pliable to be reliable. I didn't shoot any more of that lot, and boxed it up.

Another email to NATEC to bring this to their attention was acted on quickly, to their credit. I had about 350-400 rounds left and told them I had absolutely zero faith in them and would not even fire them for plinking. They shipped me a replacement case, which I have not yet shot, but will be doing so on July 17, our next Illinois crew outing. (I WILL have a camera, I still have some of the bad lot, I will shoot some of it to see if the problem shows up again and will get photos if I can)

I'm withholding final judgment on whether or not I'll be willing to continue to use it for plinking or range, but I can absolutely, positively guarantee that I will NEVER use it when life is on the line.