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Posted: 5/9/2008 9:53:32 AM EDT
I was recently shooting some Ultramax bulk .223 ammo and had a major case failure. The case broke in half allowing the rim half to lodge between the bolt and the gas tube while the neck half was ejected onto the ground. It seems as if the case was weak and simply broke during extraction. I have 450 rounds of this stuff Im afraid to shoot now, not to mention the horrible 6 inch groups at 100 yards.  
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I'm in no hurry to try it... too damn many stories going around.  and by stories, I mean bad experiences with posts and pics like yours.Duds (7 out of 50rds), kabooms, case failures, bullet setbacks, bad primers, no powder in it... At the end of the day, it's someone elses reloads. You know what they say about someone's else's reloads... |
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I've shot about 900 rounds of it with out any problems. (the 150 round value packs) Brass is all LC headstamped 03 through 07 actually. I have had good groups consistant fire. I have had no failures to feed or fire. No seperations or stuck cases. I'm shooting a simple Colt HBAR II with 16" barrel. No modifications. |
| I have emailed Cabelas and Ultramax. Im looking for a refund only at this point. It is as shame that a person must spend 50 cents to 1 dollar a round to get good ammo. I dont have a problem so much with the group size, but Id rather not tear my self or gun up using such ammo. |
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I've fired a few hundred rounds of it, was getting 5-6 inch groups at 100 yards with iron sights. This was softpoint but I don't think that should make a difference. Never had any problems with the ammo itself - the stuff I have is all loaded in 05 to 06 LC brass and now that I'm starting to reload myself, it's been added to my box of 2x fired brass. 
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www.ultramaxammunition.com/quality.phphas a 10 point QA process point 10 is 10. Finally, lot numbers are assigned to each production run to identify the following: date ammunition was loaded, person who loaded the ammunition, machine used to load the ammunition, powder type, primer type, bullet loaded and inspector who approved the ammunition. This lot number appears on each individual box of ammunition and the case pack. I (we ARFCOMmers) are glad you are not injured. Let us know what the QA Dept/Customer Service says. Send the the info on the box to facilitate the investigation. ETA Here is ~30 or so rounds iron sights from a bench rest at 100 yards with UltraMax 55gr FMJ (about 4.5 inch group)  |
I obviously had a bad batch because I could not get groups better than 6 inches with a 15X scope. I instantly stopped shooting the Ultramax after the case failure and switched to Black Hills which gave me a half inch group under the same conditions. |
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My dad and I have been shooting ultramax for the past 10 years in our prairie dog guns and we have never had any problems that I have seen described here. Accuracy depended on the gun/load combination. The remington 700 VLS loved 52gr HP shooting 1 inch groups at 100 yards yet the 55gr FMJ and 55gr SP would only do 3 inch groups. Granted all of these experiences are out of a bolt-action but still we have gone through A LOT of ultramax in those 10 years so if there was any inherent flaws I would have thought we would have encountered them. I will be heading out to SD in June with 2000 rounds of ultramax to run through my new RRA (yeah lots of dead prairie dogs after we are done) so I will be report back on how it performs. But I expect no problems as I have run 200 rounds through the RRA already. |
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i have shot a couple thousand rounds of 55gr ultramax fmj & SP. I've had zero problems and get decent groups. I've found better accuracy with the SP than fmj but both around 3" @ 50yds, 4" @ 100yds & 8" @ 300yds. UM is my blasting ammo plus the 04+ LC brass goes into the bucket-o-brass! |
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It isn't because it is "Ultramax" it is because it is reloaded brass. I saw the exact same thing from Black Hills on this forum a few months ago. Ultramax and Black Hills get brass from the military. That particular brass has probably been though a SAW. Don't worry about it, just keep shooting. And now you know you don't want reman for SHTF |
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It isn't because it is "Ultramax" it is because it is reloaded brass. I saw the exact same thing from Black Hills on this forum a few months ago. Ultramax and Black Hills get brass from the military. That particular brass has probably been though a SAW. Don't worry about it, just keep shooting. And now you know you don't want reman for SHTF |
It was Lake City brass. You should be busting their ball over this. |
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I've probably fired 20 cases of it all in all. It has been very good. So I get a little annoyed by those who tell what they "heard' about it but have never fired any. I'm certainly not saying it is the best. I prefer lots of ammo over Ultramax but will take it any day over Wolf and the like. A broken case from military fired brass is to be expected from time to time. machine guns are hard on brass. that is why many folks have a broken shell extractor in their bag. |
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