Is it my ar or the ammo

[Jbell]

Welcome everyone this is my first post
I took my chl class last Saturday and the chl instructor reccomended this page for the class to join
Well I will get on to my question
I have noticed when i shoot my ar i will get a horriable smell its so bad that it makes my eyes water to the point that i have to take breaks while shooting the ammo i have been using has been federal xm193
My question is what do yall think the problem is any advice is greatly appricated ive shot cheap ammo through my ak and shot guns for years and ive never had this happen

[rotor]

Google is your friend here. Lots of complaints about an ammonia smell. Never noticed it myself though.

[Pawpaw]

Welcome to the forum! Enjoy your time here.

Military ammo tends to smell like that.

[Jbell]

Thank you guys for the replys i wasnt sure if it was the gun or the lube or the ammo or what
Any ammo yall reccomend for it? I mostly just use it at the range i got it originally as a pig gun but i went a different route for a pig gun

[PBR]

i had a bushmaster that put out a bad smell no matter what ammo i shot out of it -- any kind of rapid fire and would have to sit the gun down and walk away -- never had any other ar do that -- i sold it when the ar craze hit

[Jbell]

Thats how this one is mines made my battle rifle company im thinking about selling it but im gonna try some different ammos first

[C-dub]

I've also noticed this smell with mine. I don't think all the different brands of ammo I have used have smelled like that, but I haven't paid enough attention to remember which ones didn't. It doesn't smell bad before it's fired, so I figure it's a little like complaining about Glocks being ugly. It still goes bang every time and if you have to shoot it, what does it matter what it looks or smells like?

[The Marshal]

Oh it's you! (j/k!)

Try shooting some Wolf (Rooskie) Ammo.
Best way I have heard it described is "Like the smell of a wet dead dog that has ripened in the sun for 5 days, and then set on fire."

Ha!

[ShootDontTalk]

Move to West Texas and shoot outdoors. The smell of money in the air will effectively mask everything else.

Seriously, some lots smell worse than others, particularly in ammo produced originally for the military. I have had others far more knowledgable than me say it is caused by a preservative added to the powder. Some lots of M193 probably go all the way back to the Vietnam era.

[txcharvel]

I've noticed this smell, more of a sulfur type to me. In particular on Monarch brand from Academy and PPU from Cabelas (both house brands but made in the same place...somewhere in Eastern Europe). I've notice this in .380, 9mm, .40SW, and .223. Never had any issues with the ammo, just stinky.

We already use hearing protection...how about some olfactory protection?

[PBR]

mine wasnt ammo related or at least I don't feel it was -- I had several ar's and would shoot the same ammo in them all and only the bushmaster would put out that smell -- and was very very strong smell, people in next lane over and even farther would wonder what the heck the smell was

[remington79]

The smell is nothing to worry about. I don't notice a smell when I'm using regular store ammo such as when I was shooting some American Eagle. There is a different smell when shooting M855 though.