TexasCHLforum.com

Received a package in the mail yesterday from Remington. A full replacement box (250 round count) of UMC 40 S&W ammo. They also included a letter that said the following:

We have reviewed the 187 unfired rounds of Remington L40SW3A ammunition that you returned associated with your report of a bullet lodged in the barrel of your firearm. Our ballistic lab tested the ammunition for velocity and pressure and the rounds did meet our specifications. The lab could not confirm from their testing why the bullet lodged in the barrel of your firearm.
We do work hard to provide quality products to all of our customers. We actually test fire ammunition with both velocity and pressure test guns, and target type firearms every shift. We are sorry you had a problem with this ammunition and apologize for the inconvenience.
I have enclosed a fresh box of Remington L40SW3A ammunition to replace the rounds you returned. We appreciate you choosing Remington and thank you for allowing us to examine your ammunition.

I was not able to find the casing of the "squib" bullet due to being in a shooting range and there were countless casings on the ground. I wonder if they would have found anything had I been able to send that back in.

However, I am very happy that they replaced the entire box and made it correct. Good job to Remington.

fulano wrote:

rusty86 wrote:

fulano wrote: My ammo "yikes" moments have been with Winchester USA (aka white box). My 9mm chambered a round that wouldn't seat or eject. The bullet had been set at an angle before it was seated during manufacturing and bulged the brass so that it stuck in my chamber thus making extraction a hair raising event.

I assumed you are talking about the plain white box (FMJ). I picked up a box of .40S&W Winchester "Personal Protection" Hollow-point the other day - also in a white box. Has anybody shot any of that? I've shot about half of it with no problems but want to be real sure of it before I carry it...

Yes, I refer to the range ammo in the white box.

When I buy ammo, I buy the 100 per box Winchester FMJ manufactured for the range; I like the quality of the brass for reloading.

The main issue with personal protection ammo would be your gun's ability to feed it well. I'd worry less about it reliability. I dont shoot much of my PP ammo as it is very expensive. When I first buy a gun for carry, I make sure it feeds well with a box of 20, then I use range ammo after that....I am pretty cheap when it comes to shooting at the range.

I agree - I shoot the cheapest I can find when it comes to range ammo (to a certain extent)... For PP ammo, I just want to shoot it enough to make sure everything goes ok and build my confidence in it. It's too expensive to shoot too much. Hopefully I won't need it in a "real" situation, but if I do, I want it to go BANG.

fulano wrote: My ammo "yikes" moments have been with Winchester USA (aka white box). My 9mm chambered a round that wouldn't seat or eject. The bullet had been set at an angle before it was seated during manufacturing and bulged the brass so that it stuck in my chamber thus making extraction a hair raising event.

I assumed you are talking about the plain white box (FMJ). I picked up a box of .40S&W Winchester "Personal Protection" Hollow-point the other day - also in a white box. Has anybody shot any of that? I've shot about half of it with no problems but want to be real sure of it before I carry it...

Dropped the rest of the box in the mail on Friday with the prepaid label that Remington shipped me. According to the tracking, it arrived at Remington's factory today. They said they would perform some tests on the remainder and send me a letter explaining what they had found. With that letter is supposed to be either a brand new box (250 pack) of replacement ammo or a complete reimbursement. I expect this to take a few days or maybe even a couple of weeks.

Again, I'll post what happens when I hear from them.

Here's the full write-up for my review of the range in question, Top Gun, for those of you who are interested and didn't see it yet...

http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=48881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TDDude wrote:Not only would we like to know which range but that particular range owner needs to know what his staff is shoveling.

The range in question was Top Gun. I'll be writing a full review in the appropriate section sometime soon.

C-dub wrote:Anyone else have any problems with this UMC stuff? That's what I picked up the other day for my .45 and put 50 rounds through it without any problems.

I wouldn't worry about shooting it. I've gone through several boxes of .40 S&W and this has been my first and only problem. I know several other people who shoot it in various calibers (.40, .45, 9mm, etc) and problems are few and far between. I'm going to continue using it for range ammo.

Heartland Patriot wrote:

NcongruNt wrote:I had the same thing happen a couple years back with a 9mm round out of a 100-round bulk box of WWB.

Unlike Remington, Winchester provides no avenue for contact. I checked their site - no phone number, no contact form, no e-mail address, nothing. I think I was finally able to find a snail mail address, but that seemed pretty worthless. Nowadays, I suppose I could complain on their Facebook page or Twitter, but those are hardly proper avenues for initial contact regarding a malfunctioning/unsafe product. I haven't purchased Winchester handgun ammo since.

I initially doubted you...what modern company doesn't have contact info (even if the service isn't all that great)? Well, indeed, Winchester does NOT seem to have any decent contact information associated with their webpage. So, my apologies on doubting you. It won't stop me from buying their ammunition if I get a good deal...but if I have the choice and the price difference isn't much, I'll go with Remington or Federal if I'm buying quality (non-plinking) ammunition.

Out of curiosity, what do you use for "plinking" ammo?

Scott in Houston wrote:Dyin to know which range. I think it would be good to know for those of us in Houston.
It's not slander. You're stating fact.

I might write a review for that range in another post. This post was mainly about Remington's customer service.

Like I said, I have other complaints about this range so I might just write up a review with all my complaints!

I plan on sending in the olds this week and then I will wait to see what happens. I think they will do some tests and send me the results with a replacement box. I will keep those interested in the status as I hear it.

I was just starting my 3rd tray so I had shot a few over 100 when that happened. I would be surprised if there is anything wrong with any of the other ones, but I'm not risking it. I guess there is a chance there was a problem with an entire batch - plus, I understand they will send me a brand new box so I'll wait for a new one.

I have shot this brand quite a bit before and never had a problem. Like I said, I know no product is absolutely perfect so until it starts happening "too much" I will keep shooting it.

michael e wrote:At least you noticed that something wasn't right. Could have ended up alot worse. As for the range, I would have asked them to show me how a 45 will even fit in mag, much less chamber it.

They didn't have an answer for that. They said something like "Welllll, it might have..." and then trailed off. I stormed out briefly after that.

As you can tell, the range issue is still a hot-button for me. The moral of my story was how well Remington handled the situation and how pleasantly surprised I was to see them take responsibility and make it right.

speedsix wrote:... for a range to accuse you of putting a .45 slug into a .40 chamber speaks volumes about their professionalism and knowledge...I'd find another range...

Not to worry - I won't be returning. That wasn't my only complaint with that particular range - they are overpriced and have the attitude of "you need us more than we need you". Not the approach a business should take with customer service. But they are conveniently located and have AC so I put up with it. This was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Just wanted to give some info on a recent experience I had with a Squib round (my first experience with one). I was shooting Remington UMC .40 S&W, Value Pack box (250 rounds).

I was shooting my .40 at a range when I noticed a funny sounding round and then my slide wouldn't close all the way. I field stripped the gun (PX4, has to be one of the easiest guns to field-strip) and noticed there was a spent slug in the barrel about 3/4" from the chamber end. I took barrel out of the shooting room and asked the guys at the counter if they had seen that before. I won't mention what range it was in Houston but the guys were arrogant and blatantly told me I had loaded a .45 shell in my .40 and fired it and that's why it got stuck. I had a .45 with me that day as well and was shooting both so it would be feasible, but unlikely (I'm not perfect but I'm pretty attentive). But then I explained to them that my clip wouldn't hold a .45 and even if it would, a .40 pistol won't chamber a .45 bullet. I also showed them where the round had a flat nose as opposed to a round nose but they were convinced and implied I was wrong.

After some internet research (including this forum w/ others), I decided it was a squib. I called Remington, who was very apologetic and handled it well. They sent me a shipping label to send back what I haven't used of the ammo with a letter stating that I would get a replacement box once I mailed it back. I would also get an explanation of what they found after they tested the ammo. They even said to send a gunsmith receipt if my gun was damaged (I had it checked out for free at Gander Mountain - no damage). Remington handled it VERY PROFESSIONALLY.

I know that not all products are perfect and all companies are likely to make mistakes every once in a while. However, Remington did everything they should have done in that situation and made it right. I have yet to ship the old rounds back so I haven't received my replacement yet, but I do not expect to be stiffed at this point. I will keep this forum posted on the final outcome. I will keep buying Remington and hopefully won't run into any more squibs with these target rounds.