I recently noticed some plastic cased ammo for sale locally.  It was packed loose in clear plastic bags of 250 rounds if I remember correctly.  The entire case, with the exception of the last 1/4", was made of plastic.  I know it is probably low quality and I do not plan to buy any but I was wondering if anyone else has come across this stuff.

Quoted: Look through the threads for PCA Spectrum ammo.  Plenty of threads.  Consensus is that it isn't ready for prime-time. -Troy

Thanks.  I could not remember the manufacturer but that name sounds familiar.  I saw it a couple of weeks ago and was told the owner was trying to purchase it in large amounts but was waiting to hear back from the company.  It was priced right but looked like a headache waiting to happen.

I bought 100 rounds of that stuff and the most rounds that I got off in succession was 3, it sucks. The gun I was using was the same rifle that I use for 3 gun, very reliable so it left a bad taste in my mouth, don't buy it for an autoloader.

I don't plan to.  I read up on it and I'd try the white "military" type with the stronger necks but not the grey stuff this shop was getting.  Last time I took the AR15 out (the first time actually) it warmed up real nice after going through about 60-70 rounds at a moderate pace.  The FSB was warm to the touch and I think some of the packing goo I didn't get under the handguards burned off because there was a little smoke.  I figure the chamber had to be hot enough to melt something like those plastic cases.  If I do try it out it will be the white and at a slow rate of fire.


For anyone who hasn't seen this ammo yet (and to prove I did my homework), it apparently had some problems early on with case separation at the neck.  Natec appeared to then fix the problem by beefing up the neck area and offerring the new design as a "military" version.  Early beta testers of this ammo were lucky to get refunds even though this was still basically an experimental product and Natec knew it was still in the developmental stages.  It is made to .223 spec, not 5.56, and apparently still suffers from case separation occasionally as well as a number of problems regarding polymer's reaction to extreme heat and pressure.  If you own a rifle chambered in .223 remington it is possible you will suffer very few cases of separation at the neck due to the better fit in the chamber.  If it is a semi-auto .223 and you are dumping ammo you may start to experience problems as well.  The original version had grey colored cases and the improved "military" version has white cases.  Both versions are thought to be noticably under powered.