I'm pretty sure the concensus will be to not shoot it, but here's what happened:

Started to break in the SEBR AR10 today (thanks 5sub!!) with Black Hills red box moly 168 gr ammo.  One failure to feed in 60 rounds, after round 5 and before round 10.  The bullet got squished back into the case by 1/4" or so. I figured the smaller area inside the case would create greater pressure and that it wouldn't be a good idea to shoot the round, so I tucked it away for safekeeping.

Got home and looked at it.  Grabbed the trusty needlenose pliers and yanked on the bullet.  It wouldn't come out, but it did come back to its original position (as far as I can tell).  Now what? Is it safe to stick back in the gun and shoot, or should I just chuck it?

What about the brass?  Is there any value to keeping it if I don't reload.  Do any ammo sellers offer a trade in program, giving me a dime a case or something, or should I just find a local reloader to give it to?

Hello Tax Monster.

I'm not really sure if this is a inside joke or something since I am new here, but I noticed that no one replied to your post so I decided to give you my opinion.

Just throw it away. I know Ammo costs money, and every bit of savings count, especially when shooting a lot all the time, but the price of one loose fitting bullet shouldn't break your bank account.

On second tought, keep it as a lucky charm or something. Polish it with Blue Magic or Mothers metal polish whenever it gets tarnished. It'll make a shiny paper weight.

It is always worth the risk of injury to save $0.20 by shooting a questionable round!

I toss any round that does not feed correctly.  I have had rounds that did the same thing you described and I always toss them.  If you won't toss it for the sake of your rifle, do it for the sake of your face.

Get rid of it man.

Quoted: It is always worth the risk of injury to save $0.20 by shooting a questionable round!

Absolutley!  The entertainment value alone makes it worth the risk.  Should something happen besure to post pics - or at least have your next of kin do it.

That happened to me too.  I would listen to this guys and throw it away.  It's not worth the risk.

Be safe,
556man

Quoted: It is always worth the risk of injury to save $0.20 by shooting a questionable round!

Hey - this is Black Hills ammo.  I paid at _least_ 80 cents for this round!

Look, I'm not concerned about the money and I wasn't planning to shoot it anyway, but what I really want to know is WHY it's unsafe.  Such as:

1.  When the bullet got pushed in it compacted the powder, possibly causing overpressure if shot, or
2.  By pulling the bullet forward again it broke the seal between the bullet and case allowing gas to bypass the bullet if fired and creating underpressure, and possibly a squib load, or
3.  If you keep pulling on it you'll go blind

I'm a picky, technical detail kind of guy. I like to know these things.

Quoted: Quoted: It is always worth the risk of injury to save $0.20 by shooting a questionable round! Hey - this is Black Hills ammo.  I paid at _least_ 80 cents for this round!

I think your face is worth more than .80 cents,  but its up to you.

have someone take pics and post it when your shooting it

Not to hijack the thread, but the real question to ask is "would I trust this ammo/rifle combination with my life if SHTF ?". I would say, the answer should be NO. Fix whatever is broken on the rifle or switch ammo brands.

Oh, and dump the round. It would probably be OK, but who would be stupid enough to take the chance ?

Quoted: Not to hijack the thread, but the real question to ask is "would I trust this ammo/rifle combination with my life if SHTF ?". I would say, the answer should be NO. Fix whatever is broken on the rifle or switch ammo brands. Oh, and dump the round. It would probably be OK, but who would be stupid enough to take the chance ?

So, what does this have to do with anything?  Not to hijack your comment or anything, but should I wear my brown or black shoes today?

No, I would not shoot it.

The reason you don't want to shoot it is this;

The next time you chamber it in your Ar-10, the bullet will probably be set back into the case again.

OK, I'll bite.

Assuming you didn't badly bunger the head with the pliers, and assuming that you were able to reestablish normal cartridge overall length (you have others from the box, right?) you should be able to fire that round.

Here's why you might not want to do so:  neck tension is now very likely to be poor.  If you can very carefully single feed the round, negating any possiblity of having the bullet telescope again, you should be just fine.

For obvious reasons, I would not feed the round from the magazine.  

If you badly bungered the head even gentle insertion in the chamber may force the bullet back into the case.  Therefore, if you proceed you might want to chamber, then extract and examine to see if the bullet telescoped on chambering.

TM, you have received sound advice from everyone who has posted.  I'd toss the round, too.  

And you seem to have missed an excellent point raised by Stealthy:  there is a problem with this ammo/mag/gun combination.  You ought to care.

Oh, yeah, the questions:  no, you didn't likely damage the powder granules.  No, you'll not likely have a squib load due to loss of "seal".  As for your third question..........well, ask your father.

Sam

Finally, someone answers my actual question!

As far as stealthy's comment, no, I don't think I should care, at least not yet.  To recap:

1.  The gun was brand new, but well oiled
2.  The magazines were brand new.  Although I did use the ruler trick, I didn't disassemble them or do any other work on them (I'm trying to figure out how to get the baseplate off without bending it)
3.  I've never fired a .308 before, maybe I didn't push the mag all the way in
4.  I've never loaded these mags before, it's possible I didn't do it correctly
5.  I'm using the exact ammo recommended by Armalite
6.  It happened around shot #5, 6 or 7.  I shot 60 total with no subsequent failures.

So, would I trust my life to this rifle in a SHTF situation?  Of course not - I haven't shot it enough and am not familiar enough with it yet.  I don't think that one failure to feed on my first run out is an indication of anything, except maybe Stealthy's bias against the AR10.

I bought 200 rounds of the Black Hills moly ammo for break in.  I also bought some Winchester ammo (two different types) and will see how each brand shoots to find the best type for me.

Send that round to me I'll shoot it

take the bullet apart from the  case and light the powder by itself. then stick the empty case back into your rifle and shoot it to break the primer.. this way it'll be save to throw away better than throwing away the entire live cartrige.