I bought one box, thankfully, of this ammo. It looks like the bullets are seated out too far. They are within spec. My manuals show 1.160 MAX OAL. These measured 1.159. But the bearing surface of the bullet extends out past the case about the thickness of a nickel. My PT92 didn't want to go fully into battery with some of these loads. I ejected a round that hung up. It showed rifling marks on the bullet bearing surface. Glad I didn't buy more. I have 15 rounds left from the box. The problem didn't show up till I'd shot over half the box.
Problem with Armscor 115 grain 9mm ammo
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I have run into certain brands where the bullet ogive did not work well in some of my guns. I have a .380 that has a barrel throat on the small side of spec range and bullets on the large size of the spec range will not chamber. After figuring this out I just learned to avoid certain ammunition and bullets for reloading for that gun. Luckily I have another .380 that consumes what I had just fine.
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I have shot hundreds if not thousands of rounds of Armscor Ammunition, never had a problem with it.
Perhaps you should contact Armscor and they may want the partial box back so they can look in to it?
They would likely give you another box for your troubles.
Perhaps you should contact Armscor and they may want the partial box back so they can look in to it?
They would likely give you another box for your troubles.
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3,379 Posts
If over all length is within spec the problem is short throat in chamber. The ogive, radius of bullet is in contact with throat before case mouth reaches chamber headspace lip. You have two choices, you can have a reamer ran in and throat opened or avoid ammo with bullets that have the more rounded ogive. For me if it is a carry gun I would have chamber brought into specs. Many hollow point bullets run a more rounded ogive, they will also fail to chamber. As barrels are being run in factories the chamber reamers wear. The throating section of the reamer starts the cut and wears first. The amount of wear needed to cause this problem is only a few thou. Getting it fixed is not rocket science, with barrel out it can be done by hand in a few minutes. Getting factory to do it will depend on the company. Ruger, Smith and some other companies run small throats in revolvers. Most headspace off rim instead of case mouth. For them if you want correct throats it usually falls on you.
Maybe someone could measure an Armscor 115 grain round and see if it compares to what I'm getting with mine?
Remington 124 grain FMJ measures 1.110 OAL. That's .050 difference with a heavier bullet.
It just looks to me like a lot of bearing surface is sticking out of the case. And I haven't had problems with any other ammo. Even with reloads.
Remington 124 grain FMJ measures 1.110 OAL. That's .050 difference with a heavier bullet.
It just looks to me like a lot of bearing surface is sticking out of the case. And I haven't had problems with any other ammo. Even with reloads.
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This illustrates perfectly why I don't believe in buying cheap ammo, not even for practice. If you want to save money on shooting, then get into reloading, and even then you buy only high quality materials.
Ammunition manufacturing requires a level of precision which just doesn't lend itself well to cost saving measures, so companies who manufacture bottom dollar ammo typically have issues with quality assurance, and as a result, their ammo lacks consistency not only in terms of reliability, but often times safety as well. ARMSCOR is unfortunately one such company, as I have read numerous reports of case blowouts with their ammo, and that's a shame considering that one of their subsidiaries is Rock Island Armory, which has a fantastic reputation for manufacturing quality firearms offered at relatively low prices.
You can save money by purchasing value-priced firearms and loading your own ammo at home without sacrificing reliability, but buying el cheapo brand ammunition begets diminishing returns, which considering the vital importance of ammo reliability, (not to mention safety) just isn't worth skimping on.
The absolute cheapest ammo that I'll buy is Winchester White Box, and only as a last resort. Folks can talk all they want about how their bargain basement ammo by Aguila, ARMSCOR, Tula, etc has never given them any trouble, and maybe it never will, but personally I would rather minimize the possibility of evoking Murphy's Law by selecting cheap ammo for training/self-defense.
You all know me, I'm no snob when it comes to firearms, nor do I have tons of disposable income to spend on expensive premium brand ammo, (I've still got a S&W Sigma SW40VE on Layaway at my LGS because I couldn't afford the astronomical upfront cost of $199 + Tax) so this isn't me being your typical repugnant rich-boy elitist who buys a new $1000+ firearm every week then posts pretentious pics of it sitting on the desk of his study besides a bottle of brandy and a steak dinner, (not that there's any one like that here of a places) it's just my personal opinion based on observation.
Ammunition manufacturing requires a level of precision which just doesn't lend itself well to cost saving measures, so companies who manufacture bottom dollar ammo typically have issues with quality assurance, and as a result, their ammo lacks consistency not only in terms of reliability, but often times safety as well. ARMSCOR is unfortunately one such company, as I have read numerous reports of case blowouts with their ammo, and that's a shame considering that one of their subsidiaries is Rock Island Armory, which has a fantastic reputation for manufacturing quality firearms offered at relatively low prices.
You can save money by purchasing value-priced firearms and loading your own ammo at home without sacrificing reliability, but buying el cheapo brand ammunition begets diminishing returns, which considering the vital importance of ammo reliability, (not to mention safety) just isn't worth skimping on.
The absolute cheapest ammo that I'll buy is Winchester White Box, and only as a last resort. Folks can talk all they want about how their bargain basement ammo by Aguila, ARMSCOR, Tula, etc has never given them any trouble, and maybe it never will, but personally I would rather minimize the possibility of evoking Murphy's Law by selecting cheap ammo for training/self-defense.
You all know me, I'm no snob when it comes to firearms, nor do I have tons of disposable income to spend on expensive premium brand ammo, (I've still got a S&W Sigma SW40VE on Layaway at my LGS because I couldn't afford the astronomical upfront cost of $199 + Tax) so this isn't me being your typical repugnant rich-boy elitist who buys a new $1000+ firearm every week then posts pretentious pics of it sitting on the desk of his study besides a bottle of brandy and a steak dinner, (not that there's any one like that here of a places) it's just my personal opinion based on observation.
Even before shooting any - The first thing I noticed was it looked like the bullets were seated out too far.
If no one can provide a measurement of their own Armscor ammo - I'm going to have to take my calipers to the store and measure some on the shelf.
I don't want to have to do that.
But I am curious.
If no one can provide a measurement of their own Armscor ammo - I'm going to have to take my calipers to the store and measure some on the shelf.
I don't want to have to do that.
But I am curious.
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You stated in your initial post that they were within the length specified for the ammo.
Someone specifically mentioned that if the bullets were within length specifications and were still hitting your chamber then your chamber is likely out of specifications.
I understand you are wanting to blame this ammo but you have already answered your own question.
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Not to argue about brand name or bargain ammo quality, as to one Always being better. Have shot factory and handloads for 60 plus years, the things that have sold by the brand name companies over the years in handgun, rifle and shotgun ammo is not always perfect. I let a cartridge collector have a 44 mag round with no primer pocket cut in case, solid bottom. Multiple recalls have been issued over the years from different companies. Some of the best and worst ammo I have shot came from the brand name companies. Same with the bargain ammo. Aguila at one time shot with the premium ammo. Armscor has also had some excellent ammo. Usually the rimfire ammo a company builds says a lot about how well the quality control is maintained. Some total junk ammo has been sold in this country by both brand name and bargain ammo companies. In this case the OP will probably run into hollow point ammo that is under max over all length with large ogive bullets that do not chamber right. Hopefully not in a self defense situation. Ammo loaded to just under max over all length is not uncommon, never has been. Military guns were always spec loose to allow for them to operate in extreme conditions. Match guns to tight spec for extreme accuracy. I have match guns that take custom handloads before a round will chamber. I have some guns that will run with any thing. If you don't like a brand don't shoot it. If it doesnt run in your gun don't buy it. Find something it runs with and shoot that.
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I have no calipers to do a precise measurement.
And, unless they were from the same lot number, would it even be relevant?
Have you contacted Armscor and told them your issue? They would likely want the suspect ammo that was left back and would likely refund your money or send you another box.
And, more importantly, have you had a gunsmith check your chamber dimensions as someone else recommended?
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