"Know Thy Gun"

Alan Garbers, writing at Guns Magazine, warns readers to "Know Thy Gun". The issue is to look for and be aware of potential safety issues with a firearm and its ammunition. Avoid questionable ammunition. Carefully inspect used firearms which you are purchasing. Garbers gives a couple examples where things went wrong. 

    One of them involved the purchaser of a reproduction M1 Garand--named "Mr. Smith" in the article-- who, when he went to pick it up from the gun store, decided to get some ammunition for the Garand.  Garbers relates:

    While receiving the gun, the gun shop owner stated he had some remanufactured ammunition for the M1 Garand. Along with the transfer fees, Mr. Smith purchased 20 rounds of the remanufactured 30-06 Springfield ammunition.

    A few days later, the rifle was cleaned, inspected and loaded with eight of the remanufactured rounds.

    The very first shot caused total destruction of the gun! The rifle exploded with such force broken and twisted parts were scattered in a 36-foot radius. Luckily, Mr. Smith only suffered minor injuries to his hands and ears.

    The stock and internal parts were destroyed. The receiver and barrel remained intact.

Smith contacted the gun store to warn him about the ammunition, but "[t]he gun shop owner became belligerent, stating all his ammunition was remanufactured in-house and safe. The gun store owner went on to boast an M1 Garand was strong enough to handle any load in it."

    So, a couple points here. First, owners of M1 Garands are frequently reminded in loading manuals, articles about the M1, and books, that the Garand cannot handle most modern .30-06 loads intended for hunting rifles because it can result in a bent operating rod. The photograph of some of the ammunition shows lead tip ammunition intended for hunting, which was a clear sign that the ammo probably was not suitable for use in the M1 Garand. If "Mr. Smith" had educated himself about the Garand, he would have known this. The gun store owner would have also known this if he was at all familiar with the Garand. In other words, if either had "known their gun" they would have been wary about using any off-the-shelf .30-06 ammunition with a Garand, let alone the remanufactured cartridges in this case, because of the risk of bending the operating rod ... or worse. 

    Second, this is a good example on why you should not trust the advice of gun store owners and employees; or, at a minimum, trust but verify. Some know their stuff. Some will be honest with you. But all of them are trying to sell you something.

    Back to the article, it relates that the manufacturer conducted an investigation and discovered that the ammunition purchased by "Mr. Smith" used "three different powders, two different bullet weights and three brands of primers."

    Further investigation found the gun shop owner did not have the proper Type 06 FFL, bonding and insurance for manufacturing ammunition. Shockingly, the shop owner admitted he received all of his remanufactured ammunition from private, unlicensed individuals and provided them with store credit.

    When the results came back, they further pointed at the faulty ammunition:

• The headstamp of the case was left on the bolt face, which is a sign of excessive pressure.

• The remaining kernels of unburned powder could not be matched up to any known gun powder.

• The cartridge at the time of the failure was fully chambered, and the bolt fully closed, which ruled out a slam fire.

• The pressure was so excessive it swaged the brass case into the unsupported area around the bolt face.

    The root cause of the accident was determined to be unstable powder, most likely due to age and improper storage.

There are some companies that produce remanufactured ammunition of high quality. If I remember correctly, Black Hills started out remanufacturing ammunition. But I generally avoid remanufactured ammunition from unknown companies. I also avoid handloads, unless they are my own handloads.