[Vismin]

After inspecting a box of Federal Premium 9mm 124gr Hydra-Shok JHP, I noticed this pretty major defect.

My gun is a 24/7, and since the maximum recommended bullet weight is 124 gr...I would assume that would mean this defective bullet is heavier and would therefore be unsafe to shoot.

Any thoughts from those more knowledgeable than I?

 

[NYPD]

You could feel more at ease knowing you can safely use 147 grain loads in your 24/7.

 

[Ace]

It looks okay to shoot, since that much lead won't make a tremendous difference in weight. Just don't expect match grade accuracy. Since the density has changed from the original design, the bullet might destabilize and tumble, just mix it in with your practice ammo and it should be fine. Although if you contact federal and show them the picture of the defect they might send you a free box to make amends

 

[rwcreigh]

free ammo......would'nt that be sweet.hey its worth a shot

 

[Vismin]

Sent them an email last night (hope it was the right address). We'll see... I'll let y'all know!

 

[Dave85]

Just curious, have you weighed it against the other cartridges to see how much more it weighs?

 

[Vismin]

No, I haven't...I've been curious about that too, but I don't have a scale. I think Ace is probably right, it's more than likely not that much of a difference. But I can definitely feel the difference by hand.

 

[Taurus_9mm]

It looks okay to shoot, since that much lead won't make a tremendous difference in weight. Just don't expect match grade accuracy. Since the density has changed from the original design, the bullet might destabilize and tumble, just mix it in with your practice ammo and it should be fine. Although if you contact federal and show them the picture of the defect they might send you a free box to make amends

Ace beat me to it. But yes, they could very well send you a voucher for a free box or two to help ensure that you stay a satisfied customer who makes future purchases.

 

[DSB]

I noticed that the rounds aren't very uniform my first box of Hydrashok .45 230gr. The lead around the jacket varies in thickness from round to round...

 

[Ace]

It's part of the manufacturing process, and it's not a perfect system. Hydrashoks weren't designed to be match grade ammo, they were design to provide maximum expansion with minimum overpenetration. I ran a cylinder of hydrashoks through my m44 just to see what it it did on paper, the accuracy was horrible, on target but the spread was 5 inches. So don't expect to do any precision shooting with the stuff, it's meant to stop people not group well.

 

[Vismin]

Very true, you can't expect any product to be picture perfect all the time. I would have just hoped that a person in QC would have noticed a defect like this... I know it's probably not common, it's just a little disappointing when the very first box of ammo that I buy from this company has a 5% defect rate. All in all...it's not a big deal at all, though. :thumb:

Still haven't heard back from FP by the way... :-\

 

[Ace]

When you think about the sheer number of rounds federal or remington produce in a day, I'm actually surprised they don't have more defects showing up. Most of this stuff is produced by automation and maybe one or two workers will go over a batch of thousands of rounds before they are boxed up so a defect like this will not exactly pop out at them. Which is a reminder to everyone that it's okay to inspect ammunition before you buy it. As a general rule, if a retailer won't let you open the box up and look at the bullets, it's a retailer you shouldn't buy from. You cannot return ammo to the retailer under any circumstance anyway so you should be allowed to inspect the cartridges. Hydrashoks have a clear top so it's easy for you to inspect, but that's an exception to the old fashioned cardboard box.

 

[Vismin]

Well...I never hear back from Federal...

Oh well...I know defects happen. I'm not going to hold it against them.