Ammunition notes:
This from my good friend and colleague, Pete Pi Jr of Defiant Munitions:
“During last weekend’s training here in SD, some of our students were using 115gr 9mm hardball ammunition from an offshore (Eastern European) manufacturer. It was selected, because it is plentiful and relatively inexpensive.
During the class, one of our student’s G47s failed to fire and subsequently locked-up (slide forward), and we were unable to free-up the slide on the range. Back in the shop, we got the pistol apart and discovered the offending round (that had been stuck in the chamber) had no flash hole! The primer was dented and had ignited normally, but naturally the round had not discharged normally. The propellant powder was unburned, and the bullet itself was still attached to the case.
A case without a flash hole can lock-up the firearm so tightly (as it did in this case), that it cannot be quickly/easily remedied in the field. In a real fight, the shooter would be compelled to default to his back-up pistol, or quickly come-up with another plan!
When a manufacturer is making millions of copies of a product, such critical flaws are surely possible, and I’ve seen cases with no flash-hole before, albeit only a few times.
When you’re manufacturing ammunition upon which people’s lives will depend, you obviously must take such issues seriously. So, we have sensors on all our machines that ever catch such errors, without fail. All reputable manufacturers do likewise.
‘Cheap ammunition’ is everywhere, and it may be suitable for some range training, maybe recreational purposes. But, it must never be carried in serious guns, being used for serious purposes, for conspicuous reasons!
As noted, here at Defiant Munitions we employ sophisticated sensors that examine each and every round of ammunition we produce, at every stage of manufacture, absolutely ensuring flawless functionality. No defects ever slip through.
I won’t allow it!”
/John
