Problems with .223 Tula Ammo from Wal-Mart

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Palmetto-Pride

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So a friend and I were on to the way to the range yesterday and stopped by Wal-Mart he bought some cheap .223 Tula Ammo, it was like $4.50 for a pack of 20. I dont usually fire steel cased ammo in my AR, but he said he has never had a problem with it so he got it anyway. Well on the first shot the case got stuck in the chamber pretty bad it took taking a cleaning rod and a pretty good bit of hammering to get it out. I have never seen a case get stuck that bad before. Of course he had to try some more and this time on like the 6 or 7 shot same thing happened well this time after we got it out he decided not to try it again, also he has no problem with brass or even Silverbear ammo and another guy who was there said he had the same problem with Tula Ammo in his AR.
 
I have no problems with Tula in my two ARs but everyone has a different story. Could be a tight chamber or dirty. Some ARs just don't like steel case but I see that as a problem with the rifle.
 
I've yet to get a handle on exactly where Tulammo is coming from. I assumed it was the same as Wolf Black Box (Tula Arsenal). It looks the same. But I've had more problems from 4 boxes of Tulammo than from several cases of Wolf BB.

Hard primers and stuck cases in .380 and two .223 rounds that blew primers (didn't have primer holes in the cases).
 
If you tell me the rifle was a "Bushmaster", I won't reply. Most times, the Bushmaster is the problem.

If it wasn't a bushmaster, then I would say that probably your rifle didn't like Tula. Just like my Savage 7mm mag doesn't like Winchester X ammo; and my walther ppk will NOT EVER shoot corbon. It's not the ammo and it's not the rifle. It's just the compatibility of the 2 combined.

That doesn't mean STEEL CASE AMMO; JUST Tula. "In this case". Not all steel case ammo is the same. Just like Winchester isn't the same as Federal or Remington. I'd suggest trying some MFS, Silver Bear, Brown Bear, Wolf, Tiger, herters, etc... Even certain ammo that's made at the same factory as another brand, doesn't mean they are identical. Just like ford, lincoln, mercury, are all the same company, but not exactly the same car. Try a different brand. Me personally; I haven't found ANY BRAND of ammo, Steel or Brass, that my M&P15 wouldn't shoot. Each rifle is different. I've probably shot more tula and herters than anything.

But again, if the gun is a Bushmaster, then realize that the #1 complaint with that weapon is that it doesn't like certain ammo. Not just steel; sometimes brass too.
 
Well thats some insight. I know a couple of brands of ammo that I won't be putting through my new AR! (When I get one :))
 
I buy this ammo from Walmart sometimes too, generally its the cheapest .223 at Walmart, sometimes its the only one in stock (or the only non premium .223) and I have a Bushmaster, so far it hasn't broken mine. I have read a lot of people saying it will ruin my Bushmaster etc. but I've been lucky.


But many other people type that my Bushmaster will make me lose my home to invasion by hajjis and have my pup no longer consider me his master and my car will start driving away from me simply for owning a Bushmaster, and as of yet it's still all good :)
 
I will add some more insight. I have the Smith & Wesson M&P15T and my rifle shot steel Silver Bear ammo with no problem for around the first 500rds then all of a sudden I had problems with it ejecting the spent case. What I found was that for some reason with the Silver Bear the bolt was not wanting to rotate and unlock from the barrel it was not the actual case getting stuck in the chamber. Also I can not express this enough I have never had a problem with my Smith & Wesson M&P15T firing any I mean any brass cased ammo!!!!!

Going back to my friend he has a Smith & Wesson M&P15OR and he has never had a problem with Silver Bear or any other ammo until the Tula steel cased ammo and it wasnt his bolt not wanting to unlock like mine, it was the case getting stuck in the chamber and let me tell you it was stuck good, we had to beat the hell out of a cleaning rod to get it out.
 
tight chambers can cause issues with steel cased ammo in ALL 223 rifles.

Further more, some rifles with primary extraction mechanisms do better than others.

ar15 do not have primary extraction. It also nice to have an ar15 with a proper 5.56mm NATO chamber and not a 223 chamber. Many of the garbage ar15 companies lie and say their rifles have a 5.56mm chamber but it's not true, they are 223.

223 chambers have a tighter throat and don't relieve pressure buildup upon firing as efficiently as a 5.56mm NATO chamber. This contributes greatly to whether steel casings get stuck often or less.
 
My primary AR is an M&P15-OR, and it will also shoot literally everything. I've shot tula, all 3 bear, MFS, Herters, Barnaul, Wolf, and even some surplus no name steel. I've also shot mil-spec surplus 5.56, PMC, UMC, American, Win, and SS109. I've only had the rifle for about 5 months, but I have a few thousand rounds through this rifle already. Probably about 4,000. Not one stuck case. All ejections are in a nice pile at the 3:00-4:00 position.

But each rifle is different. You have to find what works for your rifle. I've got a weapon that WON'T shoot Corbon. I have another that won't shoot winchester X without tight cases after firing. "Bolt action hunting rifle".
 
My Smith says 5.56 on the barrel but I still have problems with steel Silver Bear.
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Just because it says 5.56mm doesn't mean it's true. You'll have to check with a 5.56mm chamber gauge if you want to go that route.

The guys that have the least or no problem with steel cased ammo are those with chrome lined 5.56mm chambers. This is especially true if the extractor uses an o-ring or an upgraded spring.

What people must understand is that steel cased ammo from russia isn't always in spec. I throw away at least 1 round at about every 4-5 boxes of Tulammo because of obvious defects. But there's plenty of out-of-spec rounds that you can't immediately tell, until you shoot them.;)
 
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I have a BCM 14.5 mid-length, and I routinely have short stroking problems with Tula. Wolf and Brown Bear works fine.
 
Tula indigestion in my Bushie

I just got back from firing a couple of 20 round clips of Tula 62 grain hollowpoint through my carbon15 and for the first time experienced a misfeed. Never had a problem with any brass--but the reason I bought the Tula was because I thought I would get better results being a higher pressure/velocity round for the 1/9 barrel than the rem 55grain stuff I normally shoot (there was nothing else at the store at the time). I was also zeroing a new scope. My groupings were in fact better than with the rem 55--but one in three rounds would fail to chamber properly, usually ending up crooked in the chamber without sliding into the bore. A simple recharging in all cases enabled a proper firing.

I kept all the steel casings and upon examination every one of them had a long dimple that went down through the lacquer coat to the steel. I may be totally out of my mind--but I'm wondering if the heat in chamber, plus advancing the round in the clip causes the casing to hang on the edge of the magazine clip. imparting a spin/wobble of the round in the chamber and preventing the proper bore insertion. I'm a relative AR newbie--so be merciful in your thoughts/advice (i.e. "Bushies are crap"). :)
 
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