Thread: How about this for quality control??!!

Had an incident last year where a fellow turned up at the local range to sight in after getting a new suppressor. His 30/06 put the first three rounds a bit lower but not bad at 100m. He adjusted slightly and started getting 3 foot groups...he could not figure it out. I checked his set up and then checked the ammo. As I did not buy the ammo I checked the head stamp rather than the box thinking it may have been reloads and it was 270 ammo. Checked his box and he had three new boxes of 20/06 federal from the shop (purchased on the way to the range) and 17 rounds of 20 in one box were 270. Best guess was someone took them out for a look see in the shop and put the wrong ones back into the wrong box. A few choice words were exchanged and a scare shooter went to see if the 270 had done any damage to his treasured 30/06......I wont say which retailer as it could happen to any of them.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

Customers should not be handling ammo in boxes unless they own it - period.

I brought a matched set of 6 boxes - all that that shop had in that calibre and load - and opened one at home to find out that it had beautiful green lumpy fingerprints all the way up the case. Back 45mins each way and a very pissed off customer I can tell you!

I open and inspect everything that isn't sealed now.

In most cases, I am inclined to agree with you, but when customer is looking at a new rifle and is trying to decide on what calibre to get, it often helps to get a round out and show them the differences, especially if these are calibres that the customer is unfamiliar with. Not every customer is an old hand that is familiar with the differences. A lot of newer shooters can learn a lot by seeing and understanding the differences.

I normally try to use a single hand load dummy (Used primer and no powder) if possible or a a round from the odds ammo we use for test firing (usually shop stock part packets no longer for sale.) This is not always possible but we take a lot of care to make sure that any retail rounds go back into the correct packet that they came from. As for your case with the green fingerprints, I would have done the same as you did. It only takes a moment for the store staff to wipe the rounds down before putting them back and shows a degree of care that should have been taken and clearly was not done.

Unfortunately in today's world, there is no guarantee that it was a customer. The mistake itself would appear to be minor, someone probably removed three rounds from two packets for comparison side by side and returned the wrong three to each packet. The consequences however could be be very different. Dont get me wrong, please. It should NEVER happen, but it can. So even if the ammo is sealed I now check them before I use them.

Just because you are paranoid, it does not make you wrong..........

In the good old days most gun shops had ammo display boards my favourite shop had Norma Winchester and Remington display boards what ever happened to them,
no need to pull rounds from a fresh packet to show customers, only factory I buy is 12 gauge and 22LR had to mix them up.

Just picked up a box of 50 Norma-Sierra 6.5 x 55 144gn One of the projectiles is shoved way down inside the case.

I would say its the retailer not the customer putting shit back in the wrong box 99% of the time. And if it was the customer its the retailers fault for not checking.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

must've been a Monday morning job after heavy weekend of partying.

Or a Friday wanting to get out the gate

Originally Posted by Jexla

Haha, I will leave it at that on here

Why not? If others can learn from mistakes.....

Was present on a range when a guy fired his rifle (yes it actually fired) and then he couldn't open the bolt.
Had to take rifle to smith to get bolt out (maybe removed barrel) and found extractor blown out of bolt head plus other damage.
Had to get a replacement bolt.
Cause - primer in back the front.

Another incident a guy I know (I wasn't there this time which is just fine if these guys are going to be firing their rifles next to me with dodgy set ups) pulled the trigger and heard a muffled pop. Damage again to bolt head. Cannot remember if any drama opening bolt. Force of the humble primer actually drove the cartridge case fwd in the chamber.
Cause - cartridge without flash hole.

Had a box of 270 Corelokt come back with a live 30/06 in it.

Had a customer bring back his Rem 700 in .270 Win that wasn't shooting straight, best group was around 6" at 100m. Turns out it had a 7mm mag barrel with a 270 chamber

I thought 6" was pretty good shooting considering...

Originally Posted by 300_BLK

Had a box of 270 Corelokt come back with a live 30/06 in it.

Had a customer bring back his Rem 700 in .270 Win that wasn't shooting straight, best group was around 6" at 100m. Turns out it had a 7mm mag barrel with a 270 chamber

I thought 6" was pretty good shooting considering...

Wildcatting with amnesia

Originally Posted by Clint Ruin

Had a packet of ammo returned last year .It had a primer the wrong way around in one round .

I recently had a factory HSM 223 with the primer in backwards. Fortunately nothing happened when I pulled the trigger.

Have just been reloading .223 using bulk Hornady 55gr which come in a 6,000 projectile box and have pulled out 4-5 .45 caliber slugs from the box??