More Tula .223Rem Fail

I was out shooting some more Tula .223 Remington steel-case ammo, and had a couple more failures.  This time it was a stuck case, one of the things I had been warned about with steel-case ammo.  The extractor would not hold onto the rim.  I had an AK-74 cleaning rod with me, but it wasn't long enough to knock the case out.  I have a Colt bolt with the gold extractor spring, black insert, and Crane o-ring installed in this rifle.  The extractor is still completely intact.  I only had 4 30-round magazines through a clean upper, with a clean chamber.  I have never had this problem with brass-case ammo.  I don't know what else to call it but an ammo failure.

I also experienced a fraction-of-a-second hang-fire.  The Geisselle trigger in the lower I was using was installed for shooting 5.45x39mm Russian surplus ammo, and gives the primers a good smack, so that should not have been an issue.  Again, I have to call ammo failure.

Would I buy any more?  Eh, I don't know.  It's about as cheap as you're going to get in this caliber, but it won't run in one of my rifles, and apparently cakes the chamber with carbon fouling.  I guess for shooting cheaper ammo, I will stick to 5.45x39mm, which at least has a tapered shell casing.  The Spike's 5.45x39mm upper has been running well, now that I have the magazines figured out.

At the moment, there is probably none in stock anywhere anyway.  What there is available is likely marked up so high, that you'd have to be a fool to buy it.  Black rifles, lowers, and "high-capacity" magazines have been selling like crazy over the last 7 days, and finding anything in stock at a reasonable price is getting nearly impossible.

Palmetto State Armory - 50rd Boxes of 9mm for $8.99 - SOLD OUT

Independence 115gr 9mm Luger ammo - $8.99 for 50 round box.

I've reloaded hundreds of pounds of 9mm ammo, but I'm thinking I'll probably take some kind of class in the future, and they don't like you bringing reloads.  When I take people out shooting, I don't let them shoot my reloads for liability reasons.  Although I just bought some Winchester 9mm from Natchez, the price was $1.50 more per box, and ammo isn't getting any cheaper.

I also ordered one of their 5.56mm Pigsticker comps to try out.

INDEPENDENCE 9MM AMMO SOLD OUT AT PSA

PSA never sent me an e-mail confirmation for the order. I got the shipping notification on the 30th, after I had already received several orders that I put in the same day, from different places.  Everything I ordered was supposed to be in stock at the time that I ordered.  They have some great prices, but customer service is somewhat lacking.

TulAmmo .223Rem Fail

Tula "White Box" 55 grain, and Tula "Black Box" 55 grain .223 Remington

I bought 5 boxes of 20 rounds of Tula "White Box" .223 Remington at a gun show a few months ago and shot them through my 16" LMT M4, tax stamp LMT 10.5", and Bushmaster ACR.  Those, I had no problems with.  So, I purchased a 500 round spam can of TulAmmo "Black Box" .223 Remington sealed up in a "spam can."  Working the coupons and deals for The Sportsmans's Guide, I got a pretty good price on the can.

Today I took a bagful of loaded mags, and the 10.5" LMT and the ACR, out to the indoor range.  I put a few mags through the ACR, including a couple mags of Tula, with no issues before switching over to the LMT shorty.  I loaded up the LMT with a Troy Battlemag full of Tula, dropped the bolt, and flipped off the safety.  BANG!  Dead trigger.  After the first round, the bolt came back and ejected the steel case, pushed the next round maybe a half inch, and stopped.  I thought that was weird, because I had no problem with the "White Box" ammo.  I haven't run the Troy mags much, so I grabbed a PMag full of Tula.  The exact same thing happened.  I pulled back the bolt, and let it fly, chambering a round.  BANG!  Dead trigger.  Short-stroking.

Fortunately, I had brought a couple mags full of PMC Bronze .223 to try, and I had a few mags of my almost 5.56mm NATO spec ammo to shoot through the LMT, and the ACR chewed through the mags full of Tula.  Although I keep a few different recoil buffers in the rifle bag, the one in the LMT 10.5" carbine was already a standard carbine buffer, and I don't have anything lighter, if there even is anything lighter.

I know the problem isn't the steel-cases.  They are Boxer-primed, and I've reloaded hundreds of Wolf and Tula steel-cases and run the reloads through the same LMT without issue.  My loads were approaching 5.56mm NATO pressures though.

So, the ACR is proving to be capable of digesting anything I can fit into the magazines.  But what does it say about the Tula ammo?  Did I get a "vodka special" batch?  The "White Box" ammo, and the "Black Box" ammo should be the same, but obviously what I got wasn't the same.  I suppose this would explain the mixed reviews on Tula ammo.  Luck of the draw?  You get what you pay for, perhaps?

White Box Manufactured: 07/09 (I'm not sure if that's European for September, 2007, or if it's July, 2009)
Lot: 7Q5 4

I think this is the lot for the Black Box ammo, but I don't know how to read it.

Ammo Shortage. Here We Go Again.

Even with our troops pulling out of Iraq and Afganistan, there seems to be shortages and price hikes on .223 Remington and 5.56mm ammo.  Aim Surplus still has PMC Bronze .223 Remington for $310/1000 (before shipping), but that's the cheapest I can find at the moment for brass-cased ammo.  Widener's upped the prices for IMI ammo, and they're sold out anyway.  PMC seems to be the cheapest that Natchez has, and they're pricing it quite a bit higher than Aim.  No great deals from Ammoman, and I would't buy from them unless you can pickup yourself in New Jersey, becuase their customer service sucks, and they have a pretty strict no returns policy.  No great deals at Luckygunner or Bulkammo.

I'm hearing that black rifles are also getting both hard to find, and expensive.  I see Ranier Arms has LMT M4s for $1273, but that seems like an aweful lot of money for an entry-level rifle from a decent company.  There are some lower-end rifles in the $700, but I don't see much from the top brands for less than the LMT.

Bravo Company is backordered on all complete rifles, although they do have some uppers, starting at $500 for 16" uppers without handguards, $420 for 11.5" uppers if you're allowed to build a short barreled rifle.

Palmetto State Armory has some rifle kits, starting at $580, but the cheapest AR complete rifle they have is $830 for an S&W with no sights, and 1 in 9" twist barrel.
I'm getting tired of this.  Every time there's a presidential election, prices go up, and inventory goes down.

Running Steel-Cased Ammo in an AR

There's a pretty good article on steel-case .233 Remington ammo on the Cheaper Than Dirt Blog.  I would just add that you probably want have a carbine buffer in the gun, as an "H" buffer or "H2" buffer may cause the action to run too sluggish with lower-powered ammo.

Sturmgewehre shoots a lot of Wolf ammo

Tula .223Rem Fail - TulAmmo steel-case ammo short-stroked one of my AR-15s

Bulkammo.com Grand Opening Coupon

If you're like me, the idea of buying ammo 20 or 50, or even 100 at a time is pretty laughable. When I buy ammo, it usually 500 or more rounds at a time.

Well, there's a new bulk ammo website, and they have some decent prices, and they are running a grand opening coupon promotion.

The website is bulkammo.com.

Use coupon code "GrandOpening" to get $25 off your first order over $200.

The have some decent prices on buckshot, slugs, Tula and Federal .223, and they Winchester Ranger hollowpoints in .40S&W and 9mm (115gr). There may be some other good deals, but those are just some of the items I've priced recently. They even have some oddball stuff like 158gr 9mm Subsonic, and lead-free ammo. If you want to try out a single box, you can do that too, it's not all 500 and 1000 round cases.

I'm seriously considering putting in an order for buckshot, slugs, and some .38Spl FMJ reloads. And maybe some Tula .223 to put away, and .22s, and . . .

Links

1911s
1911Forums
1911 Patriot C.O.P. Class - Online correspondence course. Build a 1911 carry gun.
Alan Eldridge's 1911 Build
Blindhogg's Gunsmithing Site - Good Stuff!
M1911.org - Tons of useful information, forums, blueprints, etc.
Hilton Yam's Technical Information - User's Guide, Choosing a 1911 for Duty Use, Parts and Mods, Magazines, Reliability
So You Want To Buy a 1911? A Basic Primer - Archangel's Blog

Airsoft
Airsoft Forum
Airsoft Retreat - News, forum, and more.
Arnie's Airsoft - Currently the best place to get news that I know of. The Forum is one of the biggest in English.

Ammo
Ammo Oracle - Information on military and civilian 5.56mm
Georgia Arms - Gold Dot ammo manufactured from new components, for much less than the Speer factory ammo.
Outdoor Marksman - Source for Miwall remanufactured ammo, as well as lots of other shooting stuff.

AR15s
224,ooo Rounds In 12 Days - Carbine class after action report
Ammo Oracle - Information on military and civilian 5.56mm
AR15.com Ammo Reviews
CMMG lies through their teeth. . . allegedly
Day in the life of a BM [Bushmaster] LE dealer
DIY Bolt Carrier Key Staking
Keep It Running - SWAT Magazine article by Pat Rogers on maintenance and lubrication of the AR-15
Larry Vickers on Lubrication
AR15 Lube Points
Maxicon AR-15 Scope Mount Article
So You Want To Buy An AR-15, Huh? - A primer on picking out an AR-15
What Parts Break In A Carbine Course - AR-15.com forum sticky, with commentary from Pat Rogers

Blogs
The Firearm Blog
Three Percenters
John Farnham's Quips
Mas Ayoob
PistolTraining

Competition
GSSF - Glock Shooting Sports Foundation
IDPA - International Defense Pistol Association - A little more realistic to those that want to practice self defense scenarios with normal carry guns and gear.
IPSC - International Practical Shooting Confederation - Fun, but usually unrealistic courses of fire. Divisions for race guns as well as stock pistols.
USPSA - United States Practical Shooting Association - U.S. branch of IPSC. The rules are a little different.

Glocks
25 Cent Trigger Job - and how to detail strip a Glock with pictures
Brian Enos Glock Technical Forum
Carver Scope Mounts - Probably the best source for Glock frame mounts. Online store has about everything you need for a Glock race gun.
Custom Glock Racing - Source for Heinie Race cut sights and other Glock race parts.
GlockTalk - Everything you wanted to know about Glocks, and way more.
GlockWorx - Source for all kinds of parts for Glock race guns, including a fully adjustable aluminum trigger.
How To Make A Glock Not Suck - Archangel's Blog - I don't like 3.5 connectors in otherwise stock pistols, but it's a decent article otherwise.
OMB Express - Glock Parts on the cheap.
Lone Wolf Distributors - Source for aftermarket stainless steel Glock slides, including some not offered by Glock. One of few sources for Taylor Seattle Slug Plugs.
Natchez Shooter's Supply - Usually a good place to get new Glock mags (and ammo, and lots of other stuff) at a good price.
SJC Custom - Glocksmith and supplier of race gun parts.
Taylor Freelance - Maker of mag extensions for Limited and Open Glocks, and the Seattle Slug Plugs.
Vanek Custom - Glock trigger kits. Check the links for details and picture of his Open gun package. I'm using his trigger bar and springs in my race gun.

Misc.
Righteous Warrior Temple - Slightly tongue in cheek. Some interesting articles on the site.
U.S. Military Field Manuals
PhotoBucket - Free online image hosting. Used for some pictures on this website. Has not been letting me upload recently

Other Polymer Pistols
M&P 50,000 round test - The pistol was sent strait from S&W, not pulled off a shelf, FWIW
Taylor Freelance - Source for M&P magazine extensions.
XD Talk Forum

Right To Keep And Bear Arms
40 Reasons For Gun Control - humorous, from Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed
National Rifle Association
Second Amendment Foundation

Shopping
Brownells - #1 source for gunsmithing tools. They also have a huge selection of gun parts and accessories. There is a library of gunsmithing articles on the website. Prices are generally good, but not great.
Chris' Winning Shooting Accessories (C.P.W.S.A.) - Grip tape, race gun parts
Midway USA - Just about everything you could possibly want. Prices are very good, if not the best.
Natchez Shooter's Supply - Good prices on ammo and other shooting stuff.
Outdoor Marksman - Source for Miwall remanufactured ammo, as well as lots of other shooting stuff.
Shooter's Connection - Holsters, very wide selection of 1911 and race gun parts. My only complaint is that the website doesn't tell you if the parts are in stock or not, so you don't know until after you put in the order. Okay, not the only complaint, the web store doesn't tell you the shipping prices. Shipping prices are a bit high, and you don't find out what they charge until you get the invoice with the order.

Miwall .45ACP 230gr TMJ Reloaded Ammo Review

The ammo is made with mixed brass, and is packed loose in the 30-caliber ammocan as shown in the picture on the Outdoor Marksman website.

The one cartridge that stuck in the barrel of my Glock was a bit unnerving, but it fired okay once I got it all the way in the chamber, and the brass extracted fine. No problems with the other 499 rounds. Accuracy is on par with Winchester white box and Remington UMC.

I would buy this ammo again if I hadn't gotten into reloading myself.

Miwall 115gr 9mm Luger Reloaded Ammunition Review

Pros:
Reusable ammo can
All 1000 rounds functioned perfectly

Cons:
Poor accuracy - 5" groups at 25 yards from a pistol easily capable of 2.5" at 25 yards, 1.5" on a good day.

I had 1 of 500 rounds of Miwall .45ACP jam in the chamber of my Glock 21, so I chamber checked all 1000 of this can of 9mm. I didn't have any loaded rounds jam, even in a KKM match barrel, although some had a bit of a bulge near the rim and fit tight. All 1000 rounds went bang and ejected properly.

The only downside to the low price, is less than great accuracy. If you were using it for a concealed carry class or rapid fire practice, it would probably not be a problem.