[Luckie]

Your Ammo Could Have Killed Me and My Family!

Shocking but true... I have a Remington 1100 tactical shotgun that I use for home defense. It’s been a very fine gun and I trust it with my defense. I have read a lot of reviews of HORNADY ammo and felt that would make a good choice for my home defense ammo, so I loaded 6 round in the tub and left the chamber empty. Put it in a safe place within reach if I ever needed it when things go bump in the night. I felt good about the shotgun and the ammo in it—UNTIL....

I needed to take the gun in for some work I wanted done on it and during the process of testing the gun again, I loaded the HORNADY buckshot - 2 3/4 - 70MM rounds that had been loaded in the gun for self-defense. This ammo was less that three months old! The gun is one year old. The “gun smith” and myself had a very eye opening experience — the HORNADY rounds did not fire–DID NOT FIRE, even though the primer was struck with enough force. Thinking well maybe there was something wrong with that round, we loaded another round and to our great surprise it also failed to fire– what???? There must be something wrong with my gun, although it worked fine with Remington, Federal, and Winchester ammo.

I put the same two rounds in another shotgun, they also failed to fire the 2nd time with another gun–the rounds were BAD.... Failure to Fire....

I trusted HORNADY with my home defense, and the rounds would not fire– If I had needed them in a life and death situation, (which is why I have the shotgun in the first place and HORNADY ammo), I would be DEAD..... D E A D!

HORNADY ammo cost more and I don’t mind paying for a better round, but this will be the last HORNADY ammo I buy and the gun club I belong to will all know my potential deadly situation I would have been in with HORNADY ammo.

Again, all the other ammo I tried in the gun worked just fine. Only HORNADY failed–Two Rounds - back to back!

I wanted to get HORNADY’s response before I put this on the internet, Ammo and Gun sites. I’m waiting....

Ps: I have pictures of the rounds if you would like then, also I have the rounds in my possession if you would to inspect them.

This Is Very Serious!

 

[redranger1]

Have you contacted Hornady?

-Nate

 

[Marcie]

Did you use that ammo before you loaded the gun and put it up? Always, ALWAYS good to test the ammo you buy. Everything will not work in every gun. If your gun was only a year old, why did you have to take it to the gunsmith?

 

[Kalifornia Guy]

Primers may be seated deeper than they should, have you fired any other brand to varify that it is the Hornady and not a firing pin thats not striking due to being gummed up?

 

[Luckie]

Yes all the other ammo worked fine. Yes I test all ammo I use for HD including this ammo. It was just 3 mths old and two FTFire back to back--a very bad situation.

Yes I have contacted HORNADY and at first they acted like "So" what do you want us to do...... Called again and complained somemore and this time they want ME to mail the shells back to them --AT MY EXPENSE ---

Sent a certified letter a few weeks ago and have not heard a single word from them at all.

Stay away from this ammo....

 

[Frugal1]

2 FTFs is very rare!

Is it possible you contaminated the primers while loading the ammo by maybe having some oil on your fingers when you loaded it?

Also, so we don't insult you with obvious questions--how long have you been shooting? I just want to make sure you're not a rank amateur and start asking alot of basic questions. If you're very experienced and know what you're doing, then it's possible you got some very defective ammo.

Did any other shells from the same boxes you used have any problems? I'm assuming you tested some.

 

[redranger1]

I highly doubt the primers where contaminated with oil. Ive fired pistol ammo that had been in the bottom of a bag with spilled gun oil for months and had no issues.

-Nate

 

[vicdotcom]

I am not trying to take anyone's side here.

But what I do know is that ammo companies do spot check their ammo as part of the manufacturing process.

When there is a problem, they usually ask for the batch numbers on the box to try to figure things out.

Having 2 shells back to back not work... did the others of the box work? Who knows... maybe they were damaged before you purchased them. To me, it sounds more to do with that particular box you purchased rather than the manufacturing because of the 2 rounds back to back.

I would mail them back, even if on your dime. Just to see for sure. If it is a problem with the manufacturing, then letting them investigate to see if the decide to issue a recall on a batch or something. If they do see a problem, I am sure they would reimburse.

 

[randkl]

Called again and complained somemore

So? What do you expect them to do? Go back in time and switch them? What exactly are you hoping for? A check for a thousand dollars? Tell someone once, that's the usual process. Tell them over and over and all you are is a troll trying to scam someone.

You've complained. Good for you. Now stop your bellyaching.

r

 

[shotgunbill]

I recently bought a nice, used, Marlin 336 in 30-30...Of course, I rushed out and bought Wal/Mart Remington ammo in 150 and 170 gr. along with a box of Fusion ammo.

Both the 150 and 170 gr. Remington failed to fire 50 percent. Primers are well and truly struck and dented, and in my experience, should have fired just fine.

So my first thought was, 'weak spring'. But to check, I went and bought a couple of boxes of Winchester ammo. They've all fired just fine. In fact, I'm more than a little surprised, for while I usually go with lever action guns open sighted, I added a Leupold VariX to the gun, and the groups were impressive from a rest.

A body needs to ascertain ASAP, which ammo will work best with the gun you're using, especially if there is a home or self defense component involved. But truth to tell, ven .22's can favor one particular gun or ammo over another.

And now, a personal note...I hate the way even gun and ammo manufacturers have climbed on the pop culture bandwagon. So long as I live, I WILL NOT buy ammo from anyone in which the word 'Zombie' is included.

Nor will I buy any gun that is equipped to add on, more than half a dozen accessories. I figure rails are better suited to trains...

And that's my final word on that subject...

 

[Luckie]

I take HD VERY SERIOUS and i do all i can to ensure all will work correctly when needed. I have been shooting all my life - 60 - years so I'm not new to guns or ammo. Oil will not cause this failure. I expected Hornady to be more caring and concerned and they were anything but caring. No one has even called to even talk with me or responded. I have always liked Hornady, but this is a big turn off and very dangerous to not take it serious. Im just passing info on so if others have their ammo in HD gun you should check. We all need to help each other went we can. Im not trolling or fishing or new or any other adjective you wish to use, lay off that and just comment about the issue..... This ammo was 3 months old, in perfect environment, there was no reason for it to fail and HORNADY NEEDS TO CARE......

 

[Frugal1]

I take HD VERY SERIOUS and i do all i can to ensure all will work correctly when needed. I have been shooting all my life - 60 - years so I'm not new to guns or ammo. Oil will not cause this failure. I expected Hornady to be more caring and concerned and they were anything but caring. No one has even called to even talk with me or responded. I have always liked Hornady, but this is a big turn off and very dangerous to not take it serious. Im just passing info on so if others have their ammo in HD gun you should check. We all need to help each other went we can. Im not trolling or fishing or new or any other adjective you wish to use, lay off that and just comment about the issue..... This ammo was 3 months old, in perfect environment, there was no reason for it to fail and HORNADY NEEDS TO CARE......

I'm with you.
So what about the other rounds in the box? Did you try them?
I guess you could send them to Hornady (the 2 FTFs) and see what they say. Oftentimes, companies will do what they can to make up for it, like give you a voucher for a future purchase. They want to keep people happy so negative posts about them don't circulate around the internet. First, you could try calling them again and hope to speak with someone different and hope for better results.

 

[Illini Warrior]

have an idea the company knows all about it .... they just are avoiding putting out a recall ....

 

[Frugal1]

have an idea the company knows all about it .... they just are avoiding putting out a recall ....

It happens.....

http://www.hornady.com/in-the-news/product-recalls

 

[smokinthelast1]

I would like to see a Picture and a close up of the primer if you can? (You should be practicing clearing bad rounds) Now you darn sure know why!

 

[Grotius]

"...I trusted HORNADY with my home defense, and the rounds would not fire– If I had needed them in a life and death situation, (which is why I have the shotgun in the first place and HORNADY ammo), I would be DEAD....."

So now you've learned a really important lesson:

Never just buy self defense ammunition, load it into a firearm, and assume you're good to go.

When you purchase a box of self-defense ammunition, shoot half the box at a range, so you can ensure it functions in the gun and - in the case of a shotgun - how it patterns at different distances.

Then you can load the other half of the box into your firearms and be satisfied that it will perform when you need it to.



P.S. I would have contacted Hornady first and given them a chance to at least refund the cost of the ammo before posting about the incident on the forum.

Just sayin'

 

[maine-marine]

Yes all the other ammo worked fine. Yes I test all ammo I use for HD including this ammo. It was just 3 mths old and two FTFire back to back--a very bad situation.

Yes I have contacted HORNADY and at first they acted like "So" what do you want us to do...... Called again and complained somemore and this time they want ME to mail the shells back to them --AT MY EXPENSE ---

Sent a certified letter a few weeks ago and have not heard a single word from them at all.

Stay away from this ammo....

I would ship them back.. it might cost you a dollar or two but ask them to refund or give you a coupon for the cost...

 

[ManyFeathers]

If you produce 5 million rounds per year with a reliability factor of .9995%, you will still have 2500 misfires

Chances are real good they will be in a consective order too.

I would say, most likely, that you have faulty primers. I'm not entirely sure but I don't think Hornady manufactures their own primers, in which case they were purchased from elsewhere.

I would call their Customer Service and be real nice (iffin you want anything) and let them know, they will most likely want the lot number, where purchased(reciept) and when.

Customer Service employees are just like anyone else, take an attitude and you may not walk away totally satisfied!

 

[Luckie]

Yes, as I have stated -- I called and mailed them WEEKS before I posted anything on the internet as stated in my original post.

Yes. I did shoot the rounds in my shotgun before I loaded them for HD, but I fail to see how that has anything to do with the reaction from HORNADY and that is the issue I have. It's not about the money and a refund -- It's about the failures and what could have happened and the response from HORNADY. Life and Death is very serious and needs to be understood as such. I'm not out at the range shooting paper targets. My life and more important my family depended on them and the company to make a quality shell, after all I spend more money for some level of security and dependability.

Yes, I know things go wrong and ammo does fail at times, but I just expected more from HORNADY and the response was poor at best.

Yes I know how to prepare a HD gun and selecting the ammo. HORNADY wants us all to feel like HORNADY is a better ammo, if not the best ammo you can buy and that is why so many of us buy and use HORNADY. If HORNADY acted like a top rated ammo company worthy of the additional expense I would not be writing this.

 

[Luckie]

If you produce 5 million rounds per year with a reliability factor of .9995%, you will still have 2500 misfires

Chances are real good they will be in a consective order too.

I would say, most likely, that you have faulty primers. I'm not entirely sure but I don't think Hornady manufactures their own primers, in which case they were purchased from elsewhere.

I would call their Customer Service and be real nice (iffin you want anything) and let them know, they will most likely want the lot number, where purchased(reciept) and when.

Customer Service employees are just like anyone else, take an attitude and you may not walk away totally satisfied!

No attitude here -- I have called customer service a number of times as stated in my original post. Yes attidude is very important, remember is goes both ways....