Hornaday .357 125 grain FTX Critical Defense ammo problem

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spd67

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I recently tried out some of the Hornaday Critical Defense Ammo in .357 and experienced a very strange malfunction...I made a video about it so here it is.
was wondering if anyone can tell my why this happened.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/aikido10#p/a/u/0/Z9G0utG347M[/video]
 

spd67

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I also send Hornaday a email offering to send them the spent brass and the un-fired ammo I'll let you all know how it works out.
 

steelhorse

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I had similar problems from this ammo. shooting a Ruger Security Six. Out of the 2 shots that I fired: one was a FTF(tried to shoot 4-5 times with no results) the other that did fire left a raised pimple-like spot on the primer(I had a hard time opening the cylinder). I contacted Hornady, sent the box back(shipping on their dime), and around two months later they sent me a new box with softer primers. They said that the revolver that I was shooting may have had a weak spring but other ammo. worked fine, including Federal Hydra-Shocks, and Winchester white box. I was told that they tested the primers and they were with in tolerance but borderline.
 

steelhorse

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I don't think it is the gun...I saved the brass and it had strong primer hits..

I feel the same way. I did some research a few months ago and it turned out that they were having issues with some of their primers from one of their suppliers. The new ammo that they sent me worked just fine. I wish they would have sent me an extra box for my inconvenience but I didn't press the issue. I know that Hornady is a reputable company and will use thieir ammo in the future but at the same time I believe that if something says Critical Defense it should go BANG.
 

HMFIC

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Typically, backed out primers are a result of not enough recoil to force the primer into a reseated position after firing. The thing here that is an indicator also is that every single round was tight in the cylinder after firing. So tight that you had to knock them out with a hammer. To me, this is indicative of high pressures rather than the normal low pressure situation that backed out primers is related to. I'd say that especially with the one completely coming out that you either got a batch of ammo that was hot, OR more likely primers that were too hot given that one popped. OR... it could be the gun. If there is anything about that gun that would make pressure rise then it could be an issue. Look at the timing and make sure it's precise. Check out your forcing cone area and make sure it looks ok. Does this happen with any other ammo at all?

The thing that really blows me away is that the one primer came completely unseated... I wouldn't have thought there is enough room between the frame / firing pin and the case for this to happen.
 

HMFIC

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Update... A search did pull up one guy who had a similar issue and Hornady told him this:

A rep from Hornady called me earlier today and explained that they did actually find an issue.

He had explained that the brass casings were to soft because they were " over cooked " when heat treated, and that they would over expand when fired and not shrink back down after cooling to be extracted. He explained the problem was with a machine in their production line called " the needler ", which is the heat treater , and has since been replaced.

To me, that still doesn't explain the primer popping.
 

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