by Tom Givens | Chief Firearms Instructor, SAF-TD
Ammunition made in the US is of very high quality. American manufacturers, however, turn out tens of millions of rounds of ammunition each day. Any product that is made by the millions per day will suffer from defective, out of spec, or damaged specimens and these will find their way into the boxes shipped to your local dealer.
Handguns rely completely on quality, in-spec ammunition to function. Here are just a few of the things we see go wrong frequently:
High Primer—The primer should be seated just below flush in the base of the cartridge. A “high primer” is one that protrudes above the base of the cartridge. In revolvers this can bind against the breech face, preventing rotation of the cylinder. In autos, this can keep the cartridge from sliding up under the extractor, and keep the slide from going into battery.
Inverted Primer—Occasionally we find a cartridge in which the primer was inserted backward.
Damaged Rim—The extractor must grab the rim of the cartridge and pull it out of the chamber so it can be ejected. The rim should be uniform, and have no bends, tears, or burrs.
Damaged Case—The case may have a big dent in it, or the case mouth may have been caught by the bullet’s base when the bullet was seated in the case, tearing the case mouth. These will often go into a magazine, but not feed into the pistol’s chamber, causing a stoppage.
Bullets—We see bullets inserted backwards in the case, or loose in the case, or pushed back too deeply into the case.
We see a lot of ammo fired every year and we see these deficiencies in every brand and type of handgun ammunition. Before you trust your life to ammunition, inspect it carefully for the problems described above. I suggest the following for ammo you will actually be carrying:
- Visually inspect the primers carefully. Be sure every case has a primer, that the primer is seated fully, and the primer is not dented or damaged.
- Visually, and by feel, check the rim for damage or burrs.
- Visually check the case, especially the case mouth.
- Visually check the bullets, then with only finger pressure make sure they are not loose in the case. You should not be able to move the bullet at all with your fingers.
Without properly functioning ammunition, your defensive firearm is just a club. Take a few moments to ensure that your ammunition is up to the task.
This is the latest in TGM’s series of educational columns from the Second Amendment Foundation Training Division (SAF-TD). For information about the schedule and location of defense firearms training classes, or instructor programs, visit online at: SAFTD.com.
