(main questions in bold below)

Hey,

I'm new to the forums and AR's in general. Love my new bushy carbine though.

I've been reading up on a lot of topics and since I was looking for bulk and cheap ammo I've been checking the ammo forum a lot. Checked out the FAQ's, The Oracle(good stuff in there), the ammo reviews, and checked all the ammo sites for best prices, etc.

It seemed at the current time the best prices are some WalMart Remington, Widener's 55GR Federal (189 for 1000), and the AIMsurplus Gautamalen (246 for 1440). Figured I'd get the Widener's, but I ended up hitting a gun show and picking up 1000 of Lake City (not PD).

Looking at the Oracle it seems I've got the standard Lake City, not so pretty ammo. Generally good condition, just not the shiny bling stuff.

However, when reading the reviews on ammo I saw this under one of the PD ammo reviews.

Hopefully that clears up any confusion you might have. For those who have purchased "PD" ammo, make sure you hand-sort it first, and cull out any bad rounds. Also, be prepared for a squib load or any other unusual behavior, and make sure you know what to do when and if something occurs.

After all that babble, on to the questions that I could not find in any of the pinned topics, the oracle, or pages of this forum. Even though it's not PD ammo I want to know:

How should I inspect the ammo?
What constitutes bad ammo specifically? (I see some rounds with tiny dents, how big is too big)
What to look for? Such as, dents, dirt, primer, color, sealant?
How about the bullet itself as opposed to the casing? What to look for on the bullet?

Be specific please.

And then, after I've weeded out the bad ammo, what about when I'm actually shooting:

What kind of problems can go wrong and how do I react?
What to look for? Such as, no fire, lower recoil, etc.?
How to safely react to each event? Which events constitute not firing anymore for the day? Fully inspecting the rifle? Leaving the rifle and waiting 5 minutes? Or just removing the round and continue on?

List all possibilities, what it's called, what it means, how it's identified, how to react, and be specific please. I'm a specific kind of guy.

I would like answers to these questions also. I have 1000rds of PD I've been sorting through with many bent and damaged rounds.

If your on the bench and hear no boom, pull the carrier and check your barrel for obstructions.  I learned the hardway

I really like the xm855PD. First I check for visual problems, dents in neck or shoulder, cracks in the neck, cracks or stetch marks on the case head, primer seat, any huge dents that may crease or tear when pressurized. If I question it, I toss it in the reject ziplock. I check bullet to see it is seated tightly in the cannalure, NOT BACKWARDS!!!. give it a good push and pull. This is where blisters are made!!! The more you do it the quicker it goes. Like anything else IF you don't know, maybe post pics and we can get a general concensus, on what the group thinks is OK and what is questionable.

Quoted: If your on the bench and hear no boom, pull the carrier and check your barrel for obstructions.  I learned the hardway

Just had a "no boom" today. Didn't pay attention to wether it was the Lake City I just bought, because I also have other ammo. Either way, I ejected the round and checked it. Bullet was still fully intact so I knew it wouldn't be lodged in the barrel, but I checked the barrel anyway. The primer was struck, but it seemed to have some dirt on it. Perhaps my pin was just a little dirty and it didn't get a full blow, or probably just bad round.


I've been checking all the rounds. Most are in good condition. Some have tiny dents. Others have small, but bigger dents so I'm setting them aside until I learn more about what is safe. I'll take pictures when I can.


Not too many people chiming in on these questions. Seems maybe we all need a lesson? It would be nice to have a thorough explanation to these questions and even pics. Such as a pic of what might be questionable, but in all actuality is safe...Or what looks safe, but in all actuality is a toss away.

there are tons of posts like these over in the archive:

archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=239220

archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=218579

archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=217143

from the link above

I've inspected 500 rounds by hand. Approximately 10% of the bulk-packed XM193PD displayed atleast one of these issues: -Bullet setback into casing beyond the cannelure, sometimes dangerously beyond. -Case neck binded or torn significantly. -Bullet significantly deformed or damaged. -Round lacks a crimp. -Round not seated fully (cannelure fully exposed).

also see (!)
archive.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=16&t=238962


ar-jedi