Blown primer!

The fact that Remington called back and agreed to replace the ammo tells me something. Just out of curiosity, did you give them the lot number for that batch of ammo? Could it have been a lot that was recalled because of pressure problems. Many times, they say, "Pressure in some of the cartridges have been shown to be excessive." or something similar. Looking at the belt on that cartridge I'd guess whoever said pressure was probably 90,000 PSI was close to being spot on although I'm inclined to think it might be higher.
It sure is a graphic testimony to the strength of the M700 Remington though.
Dunno if you can do a google search for recalled ammo in the period 1989 to 1999 but it might be interestig to see if your ammo is listed, should you find such a listing.
If you can find a copy of "Principles and Practice of Loading Ammunition" by Earl C. Naramore, about the ffirst hald dof he book covers how factory ammo is loaded and the rest on loading ammo yourself. It is a bit dated but other than the process of cartridges being charged by an automated method, it would surpise me if it was all that much different. A lot of the reloading info is also dated but quite handy. I once said anyone who wanted to handload ammo should read that book. I haven't changed my mind. problem is finding a copy.
Paul B.
 
The bullet probably fuzed (bonded) to the case, and caused much higher pressures. That's why you see that black goo on military ammo, it is not just for lubrication. It is even more prevalent with reloads than factory ammo, be careful of that stuff you loaded 10 years ago...
 
This can not happen to anyone else, I was testing a rifle and ammo from an inheritance, I pulled the trigger, nothing but the ‘click’, about 10 seconds later, ‘BAM’, somewhere else it could have sounded like bang.

That would seem irresponsible to some but, I shook the case and could feel powder moving in the case before chambering. I then shook all of the cases and found some cases had loose powder and others didn’t.

I put all of that project away and started on other projects. When I returned home I pulled the ammo down, some of the powder was caked in the case head end, other cases had powder caked in the opposite end. The powder had to be chiseled out, again this could not have happened to the OP, but, had I chambered one of the cases with the powder caked behind the bullet and fired it, the rifle would have been rendered scrap.

I was told he owner of the rifle had his ammo loaded by a custom type reloader, I do not know what that had to do with the caked powder, I can only guess the primer was not sealed in the case head and the bullet did not seal the opposite end.

I can not see powder getting better as it gets older and begins to come apart.

F. Guffey
 
Remington sent me a letter and is replacing the ammunition, even though it is 2x as old as they guarantee (10 years on ammo, & this is 1990 vintage ammo, according to code on box). I'm pretty happy with Big Green! A Stand up Company! :D
I was just shooting my BDL yesterday (with newer ammo). Wow! What a tack driver!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing like squeezing off perfect shot after perfect shot! Remington 700 BDL .270 and a Nikon Buckmaster 3X9X40 BDC... what a Sweet combination!
 
You're really lucky there wasn't any damage to the rifle... I agree with others that this was probably a recalled lot or they wouldn't replace it. Could be wrong but it sure sounds likely...

I had an acquaintance that bought a box of Rem .270 about that time and one of the rounds had the brass pushed back almost to the shoulder on one side. Like it caught on the case mouth on the way into the crimp die. I was with him when we took them back to the store and we insisted that the only reason we were returning them was so that the box would be shipped back to Remington. I don't know if they did or not but they did give him a new box of ammo even though he had shot 4 or 5 rounds from that box.

Tony
 
I have had a similar instance with old 30-06 factory ammunition, In this case I fired several rounds out of the same box before I got to one that was bad. I got some smoke out the hole on the side of the receiver and the bolt was difficult to open, the case had a vertical split in it.

I disassembled the remaining rounds and found the inside of the cases were coated with a black residue, which I assumed was gunpowder that had somehow broken down.

Sureshot, I have almost the same setup, 700 BDL in .270, (with a snug chamber even). Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14x40 mildot scope, I like it!
 
People sitting on stacks of old ammunition live in denial that their hoard might not be perfect. They will come up with all sorts of wacky mental gymnastics to prove that ammunition lasts forever. Unfortunately it does not and old ammunition has its risks. As gunpowder deteriorates the burn rate becomes instable resulting in extreme pressure rises.

The fact that some two pack a day smokers lived to 100 does not prove that smoking is safe, nor does the fact that people shoot old ammunition and don’t have problems prove that old ammunition is safe. It just means, that both the smoker and the shooter got lucky.


Heat accelerates the deterioration/decomposition of powder and the rate is directly proportional to the Arrhenius equation.

ROLE OF DIPHENYLAMINE AS A STABILIZER IN PROPELLANTS; ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY OF DIPHENYLAMINE IN PROPELLANTS
Nitrocellulose-base propellants are essentially unstable materials that decompose on aging with the evolution of oxides of nitrogen. The decomposition is autocatalytic and can lead to failure of the ammunition or disastrous explosions.
Click to expand...

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/783499.pdf

Old gunpowder and old ammunition will blow up guns due to burn rate instability. This thread is proof of that, and this thread shows how old surplus Spanish pistol ammunition cracked a submachine gun upper

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=524007
 
Powder and ammunition can be stored for quite some time. It depends on the humidity and the temperature. It also depends on the condition of the powder when made, and when loaded.

Most of my ammo stores dont last more than 10 years. Even so, I make sure my components and loaded ammo are kept at a constant low temperature and humidity and everything is sealed. When reloading, I try to keep the temperature and humidity close to the conditions in which it is stored.

Surplus ammo is usually kept stored that way until it is sent to market or to the field.
 
I would just pull the bullets, dump the powder and reload with the appropriate powder.Not all a loss just a little powder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top