American Ammunition - Dangerous?

S

Skorzeny

New member
Some time ago, I purchased a case each of 9mm Parabellum and .40 S&W FMJ cartridges from "American Ammuniton" (not to be confused with American Eagle). These came in transparent plastic packages.

I have had a few feeding problems and one 9mm that wouldn't chamber for some reason (I think that the case was slighly longer than should be), but so far no other problems.

Recently, I received a notification from Greg Monte of Jersey City Armory that he is suspending the sale of "American Ammunition" because a handful of his customers blew their guns and injured themselves with American Ammunition in .45 ACP. According to Mr. Monte, despite his request, American Ammunition has not done anything about it. So he is suspending the sales of this ammo until the matter is resolved. When queried, he told me that he hasn't heard from other customers about any problems in 9mm or 40.

My question to you all is: has anyone had problems (minor or serious) with American Ammunition in 9mm or 40?

Also, should I not use the remaining stock of the ammunition or am I just being a worry-wart?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
Skorzeny,

I bought a case of 9mm, half case of .40, and half case of .38 special. I've found all the ammo to be lightly loaded, very inaccurate, and dirty. The bullets are copper "coated", not FMJ. This has caused severe lead fouling in my .40 Cougar.

I also heard from Greg about the .45 ACP. I have one box that I had gotten from Cascade to try, but haven't shot any yet. I don't know if it is dangerous, but I won't buy it again, as it is just "bad" ammo.

David
 
My only experience with them are 2 boxes of .45ACP I bought some time back. They were loaded VERY HOT and produced lousy accuracy. I`m glad I only bought 2 boxes. The smith at Ruger told me they`ve had a lot of problems with guns damaged by American Ammo Co. ammo. He suggested after firing 2 boxes of it in my then new P-97 that he`d suggest I send it in for a free checkup to make sure it was alright. I checked it out myself and it`s fine but I won`t buy that junk again. Marcus
 
I bought a couple of boxes of this stuff in .40 S&W two weeks ago at a gun show. Now I'm wondering if I should bother to use it; I'd hate like hell to mess up my Kahr MK40.

When will I ever learn not to skimp on ammo?
DAL

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Reading "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," by Ayn Rand, should be required of every politician and in every high school.
GOA, JPFO, PPFC, CSSA, LP, NRA
 
I don't know if American Ammunition is dangerous but based on past experience I'm never going to buy it again. I'd rather pay a little more for a reputable brand than take the risks associated with shooting low quality ammo.
 
There have been a number of posts on this and other boards about just how horrible American Ammo is. I can't believe that they're still in business. They're the ASA of the ammo world.
 
So, any thoughts on whether I should continue to use the remaining stock of American Ammunition in 9mm Parabellum (350 rounds) and .40S&W (550 rounds) in terms of safety (to me and to the pistols)?

Also, I was under the impression that copper-coated bullets would NOT cause leading like FMJ bullets. Is that not true?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
I had never used American Ammo prior to last weekend. I bought two boxes of .45 ACP for use in my USP on a four day hunting trip close to Laredo, Texas. The stuff caused malfunctions (failure to close to battery) with about every other round in an extremely reliable pistol. No damage to the firearm luckily. I will not make the same mistake twice.

Skyhawk
 
Skorzeny,
I'm no expert but my brother-in-law is. We discussed this very issue a couple of days ago. He said that FMJ rounds will not cause leading of the barrel but worse, if they are too hot they can deposit copper in the barrel. Copper is much harder to remove. You'd need to use a harsh chemical and lots of patience. Lead bullets will leave some residue in the barrel but it is easier to remove and won't build up if you clean regularly after every use. If you use a miniature light and look in the barrel, you might even see traces of copper skid marks laid in the barrel. They should be removed.
Rome
 
By the way, has anyone else used American Ammunition in 9mm Parabellum or .40S&W in large quantities (more than a few boxes)?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
Skorzeny,
I've shot 450 rounds of 9 mm through my Taurus PT-92 and 100 rounds of .40 through my Walter P-99 with no major problems. I've shot 300 rounds of .40 through my Beretta Cougar which developed severe lead fouling. My brother has shot 500 rounds of 38 special through S&W and Ruger revolvers, and 500 rounds of 9 mm through his Beretta Cougar with no major problems. Even though the only gun that really had problems was my .40 Cougar, I still consider this stuff a poor excuse for real ammo, and would never use it again. Surprisingly, we did not have a single jamb, or failure to feed. That said, I will still probably not shoot what I have left.

David
 
I tried a few boxes of it in 9mm and it worked well in my G17 and S&W 5906.So I bought 2 cases of it.

Halfway through the second case I had jams, feeding problems, and a few failures to go in battery on both guns. I had heard about the problems, but it was working well until the last 500 rounds.

I guess QC is not consistant, and I won`t buy it again.

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My wife said either I stop buying shooting stuff or she`ll leave me.

Boy, I`m sure gonna miss her!
 
Volky:

Just out of curiosity, will you discontinue the use of the remaining stock of the ammo in light of what we discussed here?

Skorzeny

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For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence. Sun Tzu
 
I shot 350 rounds of the AA .45 ACP ball at LFI-1 last week. One failure to fully chamber and one failure the eject, the second may have been my fault. Accuracy was fair, I shot a perfect qualifying score that would have been about 575/600 in competition. I didn't notice any inconsistent recoil or ejection patterns.
 
I bought one box of 50, 9mm about a year ago. I had three misfeeds. I couldn't wait to get rid of that stuff.
 
A few months ago I was contemplating purchasing a used 1911 from a local gunshop. The owner allowed me to take the gun to the range and fire it. He gave me a box of the American .45acp ammo to run through it.

I experienced several malfunctions with the ammo and accuracy was so-so at best. I saved the cases for reloading. On attempting to reload the cases I found them to be undersized. They were very difficult to run through the press and the primer pockets were too small. I went through all of my .45 brass and discarded the American cases.

I passed on the 1911 and from now on I'll pass on the American ammo too.
 
Skorzeny--

This all happened around November last year.

There was a thread about this ammo last year, June maybe? I shot the remaining 500 rounds.

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My wife said either I stop buying shooting stuff or she`ll leave me.

Boy, I`m sure gonna miss her!
 
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