[DoggieDaddy]

Have been shooting 12 ga. shells from and Italian manufacturer lately. Found out that the shells I purchased are from a new plant they opened in the US recently.

Yesterday I had a shell I had to really push into my o/u; it was swollen. When I fired it, it sounded like a 348 Mag. and had the recoil, too. Had to get a rod to ram it out and the remaining shell was ripped in half; just about 1/2 in. of jagged plastic left. I've had hot shells show up it the past, but nothing like this. I hesitate to name the company; really don't want to bad mouth them, yet.

I won't fire a swollen shell ever again.

Anyone had this experience?

 

[slugster81]

Any shell that is bulged or swollen that you have to force into the chamber I wouldn't use. Its not worth it!!!

 

[liljake82]

Any shell that is bulged or swollen that you have to force into the chamber I wouldn't use. Its not worth it!!!

+1

 

[lossking]

Why won't you name the maker? The truth is just that, the truth.

 

[DoggieDaddy]

I'm not revealing the name because I think it's great the Italians are coming over here to make something and providing us some jobs...something that our legislators are not enabeling us to do very well with all their proposed new taxes and control over us. I'll give them a break until they get the bugs worked out. Think of it...Italians creating jobs in the US!!!

BRAVO !!!

 

[RandyWakeman]

Yesterday I had a shell I had to really push into my o/u; it was swollen.

You likely won't like my comment. A bad shell or cartridge happens; considered the number of rounds that are fired per year. These shells are loaded on very high-speed equipment.

Over the years, I can't think of one manufacturer that has not had a bad round. Personally, I've had visibly defective product from Federal, Remington, and others.

If you attempt to fire a visibly or noticeably deformed round, it is all your fault. You either know better, or really should know better. We have to be smarter than the things we operate.

I've had cartridges that have have had no externally noticeable defects that have blown extractors and disabled guns. A latent defect is another matter. There is no major ammo maker that can claim they have never shipped a bad round-- none of them, notta, xero, zilch.

It is rare, exceedingly rare though-- and if we aren't smart enough to disable or discard or return a swollen or deformed shell: shame on us. We observed the problem, but we were dumb enough to ignore it.

 

[DoggieDaddy]

Hey Randy,

I agree 100%. Won't do it again.

Thanks!!

 

[Pumpster]

I'm not revealing the name because I think it's great the Italians are coming over here to make something and providing us some jobs...something that our legislators are not enabeling us to do very well with all their proposed new taxes and control over us. I'll give them a break until they get the bugs worked out. Think of it...Italians creating jobs in the US!!!

BRAVO !!!

Yes, I agree it's a good thing, but keep in mind that the Italian company will be subject to all the same rules, taxes and regulations in this country that any American company would.

And our taxes are lower and our rules and regs are far fewer than they are in any European country!

This is one instance where bashing America doesn't make sense.

 

[gold40]

What is the purpose or value of this posting?

 

[liljake82]

Value = $.02

 

[lossking]

Not even 2 cents, more like zero. Its absolutely worthless without the brand name.

 

[liljake82]

Not even 2 cents, more like zero. Its absolutely worthless without the brand name.

As randy eluded too a bad shell slips by all manufacturers and Doggiedaddy is right to withold the name so as not to send everyone into kneejerk reactions jepordizing the companies reputation over 1 bum shell. If more people have problems then the name should be given. The moral of the story is "don't jam shells into your gun that won't fit", not "don't trust brand X".

 

[mrsongs]

I still have the Winchester AA that is so mangled beyond belief straight from the factory. I'm surprised they missed it but it was probably one of the .001% they do.

 

[RandyWakeman]

What is the purpose or value of this posting?

For starters, there is no cover charge. It is worth far more than you paid for it.

As one who has had many birthdays and personally made many mistakes, the "value" that has eluded you is this:

It is very easy to ASSUME that everything is always as marked, always what we think it is. That won't get us into trouble very often, but sometimes it will. Anything made by humans is subject to error. In commercial aircraft, apparently that may mean airspeed indicators.

The old reloaders motto is "when in doubt, throw it out." With any product, if it doesn't look right or smell right or fit right-- it may not be right. It you buy a gallon of milk and it smells sour-- it likely is. Just because its expiration date is another week away does not make it any less sour.

So, it is very, very easy to assume that things are what they are. Most of the time, they are. But, if there is any doubt, to use it is unnecessary risk.

If a shell looks or feels funny, don't use it. Reminding ourselves that anything made by humans is subject to human error is a good thing.

To the extent that this posting reminds all of us not to assume, but to be aware of the potential for a bad component or shell-- it is a very good thing.

 

[lossking]

I agree that the original poster should not have fired the shell given the difficulty he had in chambering it, but the title of this thread suggests that the shells may be dangerous. If that is the case, then he is doing us a disservice by concealing the manufacturer's identity.

 

[Cold Bore]

The moral of the story is "don't jam shells into your gun that won't fit", not "don't trust brand X".

Nicely said.

I can't get over how quick others are to call for blood. One isolated incident is not enough cause to smear a company's name.

Agreed, the title could maybe have been different, but even if he does name the company, I won't boycott them based on this one example.

If I get ANY swollen or abnormal shell from ANY manufacturer, I just wouldn't use that particular shell, thereby greatly reducing the "dangerous shell" probability. If I start getting multiple examples of bad shells, I might start thinking twice.

Or, if the shell had looked normal, and then blown the end off for no apparent reason, it might be cause for concern. But when you have an obvious warning signal, and continue to chamber that round, you're starting to shift the burden on to your own shoulders....

 

[gold40]

I don't see any point or value in a posting that says:

"I ONCE encountered a bad shotshell from an un-named company."

BIG DEAL....OR NON-EVENT?

1. Any company's machinery might occaisionally produce ONE bad shotshell.

2. The poster was STUPID to force the faulty shotshell into his gun.

3. If XYZ company regularly sold substandard shotshells, that might be worth posting. And then the company should be named.

gold40

 

[RandyWakeman]

If you refer to the title of this thread, you will find that it is a question-- not a proclamation.

A fair reading of the question would be, "Hey guys, I had a swollen shell from Fiocchi. I shoved it into my gun and fired it-- it seemed like a hot shell. Should I be concerned?"

The answer is, no. An estimated 1.5 billion shotshells are fired each and every year in the U.S. All major manufacturers use high-speed equipment, while considered state of the art and conforming to ISO and other standards in most cases-- the process is not infallible. Fiocchi USA has been around for 26 years by now, using primarily Alliant propellants in the revamped Activ plant. The shells they load here are just as good as any others; as good as the best and better than the rest.

Federal has shipped hot loads, so has Olin-Winchester, Remington, and virtually every major brand. It is rare, though, exceeding rare, and not worthy of any special alarm.

However, regardless of brand, if a shell is distorted, bent, swollen, or otherwise visually out-of-spec, it should not be fired. End of story.

 

[Dean In Calif]

Yesterday I had a shell I had to really push into my o/u; it was swollen.

You likely won't like my comment. A bad shell or cartridge happens; considered the number of rounds that are fired per year. These shells are loaded on very high-speed equipment.

Over the years, I can't think of one manufacturer that has not had a bad round. Personally, I've had visibly defective product from Federal, Remington, and others.

If you attempt to fire a visibly or noticeably deformed round, it is all your fault. You either know better, or really should know better. We have to be smarter than the things we operate.

I've had cartridges that have have had no externally noticeable defects that have blown extractors and disabled guns. A latent defect is another matter. There is no major ammo maker that can claim they have never shipped a bad round-- none of them, notta, xero, zilch.

It is rare, exceedingly rare though-- and if we aren't smart enough to disable or discard or return a swollen or deformed shell: shame on us. We observed the problem, but we were dumb enough to ignore it.

+1 For this post as we are heading into the "shotgunning season" to remind us that we can make rookie errors and remind us what we should know all along. Mistakes happen and reminders are all to welcome. Even in industry there are posters and banners and messages everywere work safe, no hands here..... so on and so forth. Accidents still happen, Nice to see the reminder on SGW as well. Instead of kicking his a$$ and being opiniated +1 to Doggiedaddy for posting his error. Made me think about it coming into the fast and furious dove season.