FYI and WARNING - MaxxTech Ammunition Issue

[Got Uzi]

There are some on the board that I have spoken with over an issue that happened to myself the TCA spring Thompson and machine gun weekend in regards to some MaxxTech 45 acp ammunition. There was a lot of ammunition that was sold at the TATA Show and the TCA Show and Shoot last year. It is lot/series number 1501...DO NOT USE IT IN ANYTHING OPEN BOLT OR WITH A FIXED FIRING PIN!!!! I experienced, rather my M3 Grease Gun experienced an out of battery detonation due to a case head separation caused by faulty brass. The gun fired, ripped the head off the case (leaving the case in the chamber) and then the next round basically head spaced on the back of the ripped case, causing it to fire out of battery. The gun is fine after preforming a dye penetrate test and preforming a small repair.

 

This is not the first time that this ammunition caused a case head separation and out of battery detonation. A month or so prior to this, an M1 Thompson experienced an out of battery but when looking at it, as there were several Thompson shooters and MGB members there, it appeared as if the gun had failed to eject the spent case as the ejector was broken, and this lead to the issue. That and it fired while not having a fixed firing pin.

 

The ammunition in question was sold as having a bad crimp and would be fine if ran through a resizing die (which is true, this does work) but upon seeing that there is another underlying issue of weak brass, DO NOT run the risk of shooting this ammunition in your open bolt gun. I would be fine in standard semi auto closed bolt firearms and or 45 acp revolvers. This is an FYI/Warning to fellow shooters so this does not happen again. I have not said anything about it for the past few weeks as I have been sick over the whole ordeal and feel embarrassed that it happened to myself. If you have any other questions, comments, concerns, PM or email me.

 

Thanks,

 

John

[StooperZero]

sounds like weak case head design no matter what you'd use it in.

 

 

 

take a few apart and measure the head inside.

[Got Uzi]

That is the plan. Also waiting for EDM time so I can split a few to have a cross section

[jim c 351]

John,

Thanks for providing a great public service.

It is ever so important to get he word out when unsafe ammunition is out there.

Jim

[Roland the Thompsongunner]

Had a similar experience with herters steel case 9mm. Two out of batterys with open bolt subgun. Switched ammo and hasnt happened since

[ron_brock]

John,

 

Most importantly glad you and any bystanders are safe. Secondly glad the guns are ok :-)

 

It is good to share this experience as it has been deliberated many times if fixed firing pins are a potential issue. It just goes to show that out of battery ignitions can happen with factory ammo.

 

Ron

[Junkhunter]

Sounds like it has two problems....being oversize and getting stuck in the chamber. And weak brass, I have seen plenty of chamber stuck brass in 20 years of competitive shooting where the extractor popped over the rim and it did not separate. The separations only happened when the brass was weak from 7 reloading or so.

[StooperZero]

a bunch of this Maxx ammo has been on sale as of late.

 

never bought any cause the box looked cheesy.

[giantpanda4]

Upon further discussions with Got Uzi, we tried to determine just what happened here.

First OOB incident was in a M1 Thompson. Not a fixed FP. After looking at it, they determined the FP was free (not stuck), but a ring of the case was in the barrel as well as the rear section of the case was stuck to the face of the bolt (just like a "coin" section of the cartridge case). This condition caused the OOB ignition, the coin section of the case was what struck the next round that would not fully chamber in the gun due to the other part of the case still in the chamber. Boom, just like an M1A1 OOB incident.

The second incident was with a M3, and that is a fixed FP gun. So no surprise there, the case ruptured and the next round was struck by the fixed "FP" in the bolt.

What fooled everyone with the M1 incident was that the ejector was broken as well as the extractor was moved back 1/4" roughly. It was determined at the time that maybe the ejector was to blame for the incident, not the ammo. But after the M3 incident, Got Uzi related the same ammo to both guns and the discussion continued.

I think I captured it well enough - please add if I messed it up, but at least the two incidents make more sense to me whereas I thought before that an M1 should not / could not fire OOB.

Of course that leaves the ammo as suspect - I will let Got Uzi explain about what happened there when he gets it sorted out a little better.

But for now, I would heed the advice and not use it in your open bolt guns.