Underwood Ammo

[Intercooler]

BVAC has had some issues. This was in relation to ammo at that level on the low end of 10mm. Their has been issues up and down the range. I'm into the thousands of Underwood Ammo rounds in every caliber from 9mm to .44 Magnum and haven't had my first issue in any platform, grain, bullet, powder, brass, primer. I'm just lucky or something. 

[pacapcop]

My latest order are 135's Underwood Nickel. Or I should say the latest order.

[Intercooler]

So what's your plan?

[RRMan03]

I must be the luckest guy on the planet as I use 2 Glocks a lot and I mean a lot and have never ever had a problem with Underwood ammo. I have more problems with that slow  garbage,Prvi,Federal,Remington and some others so much I will not even shoot them at the range. /cheap means nothing to me if it does not work. I will just take thechance of it going bang rather than going clink.Now in my new Ruger the 10mm is a piece of cake even loaded to bunker bursting levels. The Underwood recoils is heavy but I am not recoil conscious.I guess I just got a batch of 6 or 8 good Glocks as I got 3 G29's,3G20's and 2 G20's all 3rd Gen.I keep 2 as my shooters,carriers ,work guns.Trade one of the SF's am selling now on this forum a  G29 and a G20 and will still have a few left.And about 2000 3000rds ammo. Mostly Underwood.I am working on a new project and a few of my 10's had to move as 8 of them was plenty and I traded one of them for another 10 revolver.But the others are going for a couple of similar calibers but in SA revolvers. For one thing it slows down my ammo burn rate from 16 to 6 and the accuracy is much better with the 6.5 inch barrel.I am an Underwood believer until wounded by the ammo or gun blown up.I am sure if its gonna happen it will be me by the number of rounds I shoot. Now I do shoot the lighter 155 loads not the 200's. There could be the difference.The bigger bullets could be the blow up factor. A guy I respect on this forum who handloads told me he would not load what kevin does in his handloads but would also not be afraid to shoot them in an emergency and he was talking the big heavy ended stuff.

[REDLINE]

I do shoot the lighter 155 loads not the 200's. There could be the difference.The bigger bullets could be the blow up factor.

In this case there could be some truth to that.

[pacapcop]

Il shoot them up, indoor range.

[d762nato]

All these fregg'in post about Underwoods 200 grainers has kind of got me spooked because I recieved 300 rds of the stuff around 5-3-13. I'm some what new to the 10mm but both of my 10's are 1911's a DW-Cbob and a Nighthawk Falcon and both have fully supported barrels. I just don't want to blow up or damage either of the two guns listed. I purchased this ammo mainly for deer hunting so I'll be shooting it mostly in the fall I guess but not all, as I have to do some sighting in work to do with said ammo.

I blew up an HK-91 back in the early 90's with some bad ammo and really do not want to go down that road again. So the question I ask is should I be worried or is split brass the only worries I should have.

Thanks fella's you guys sure seem to know your stuff about the 10mm and thats why I'm here.

[RRMan03]

I do not think you will have any problem with eith of those. I know the Nighthawk is top quality and everybody that has one loves the DW. It seems to be the Glock with big bullets where all the action is at from what I have been catching on the posts.I might need updated there.

[The_Shadow]

You know a lot of people are speculating that whatever issues where caused (need proof) "THAT IT IS THE AMMO'S FAULT!"

Let's take a step back and consider this;
What condition is that gun in? New?/Used?
Was it cleaned and lubricated properly? This needs to include the barrel and bore.
Has the person made any changes or mods?
Was it properly put back together?
Has the gun had any previous issues?

Just having a split casing is not much of an issue.  I have seen many brass split on the first firing.
Having a blow-out is a different story.  Things that come to mind are over pressure, weak/defective brass, early unlock or out of battery ignition.

What about a fouled barrel?  Some of the jacketed & plated bullets can leave copper fouling.  We all know that lead and lead alloy can leave fouling and build up.  If this fouling is allowed to build up and is not cleaned, someone running high impulse ammo through a barrel in this condition, will lead to even higher pressures as a bullet is being forced through this condition.  Barrel obstruction is a very serious condition, something like a squib being a worst case comes to mind.

I always clean & inspect my barrel and bore then apply a light coat of oil with a patch after every use.  Some avoid oiling like it was the plague.  I don't understand that theory as I think thin coat oil would lessen the fouling.

Now this is a very real situation that can and does lead to over pressure problems...
Ammo that is placed out in the direct sunlight can be absorb heat.
Ammo that is dropped where it falls on the bullet, can push the bullet deeper.
Dented cases can decrease space inside the casing.
As ammo is feeding in the gun, the bullet (if it is a loose fit) can also be set back deeper. 
Ammo that is chambered many times over and over may have bullet setback.
This can have dramatic affect if this happens.  Reports have shown it to raise pressures drastically and in some instances catastrophically.  Contrary to this setback issue is this article...https://plus.google.com/+luckygunner/posts/CiVxdHvWjYS

Here is the rub...

manufacturers of commercial ammunition wisely test and select powders that are not as susceptible to changes in temperature or, obviously, bullet setback.

However the gun manufactures using quality steels and processes design and make their guns/barrels to withstand very harsh and extreme conditions.  So we do have to consider all of the "What If Conditions"

[DM1906]

You know a lot of people are speculating that whatever issues where caused (need proof) "THAT IT IS THE AMMO'S FAULT!"

Let's take a step back and consider this;
What condition is that gun in? New?/Used?
Was it cleaned and lubricated properly? This needs to include the barrel and bore.
Has the person made any changes or mods?
Was it properly put back together?
Has the gun had any previous issues?

Just having a split casing is not much of an issue.  I have seen many brass split on the first firing.
Having a blow-out is a different story.  Things that come to mind are over pressure, weak/defective brass, early unlock or out of battery ignition.

What about a fouled barrel?  Some of the jacketed & plated bullets can leave copper fouling.  We all know that lead and lead alloy can leave fouling and build up.  If this fouling is allowed to build up and is not cleaned, someone running high impulse ammo through a barrel in this condition, will lead to even higher pressures as a bullet is being forced through this condition.  Barrel obstruction is a very serious condition, something like a squib being a worst case comes to mind.

I always clean & inspect my barrel and bore then apply a light coat of oil with a patch after every use.  Some avoid oiling like it was the plague.  I don't understand that theory as I think thin coat oil would lessen the fouling.

Now this is a very real situation that can and does lead to over pressure problems...
Ammo that is placed out in the direct sunlight can be absorb heat.
Ammo that is dropped where it falls on the bullet, can push the bullet deeper.
Dented cases can decrease space inside the casing.
As ammo is feeding in the gun, the bullet (if it is a loose fit) can also be set back deeper. 
Ammo that is chambered many times over and over may have bullet setback.
This can have dramatic affect if this happens.  Reports have shown it to raise pressures drastically and in some instances catastrophically.  Contrary to this setback issue is this article...https://plus.google.com/+luckygunner/posts/CiVxdHvWjYS

Here is the rub...

manufacturers of commercial ammunition wisely test and select powders that are not as susceptible to changes in temperature or, obviously, bullet setback.

However the gun manufactures using quality steels and processes design and make their guns/barrels to withstand very harsh and extreme conditions.  So we do have to consider all of the "What If Conditions"

Good post, and I agree.  Mostly.

Dropping a cartridge onto the bullet is less likely to cause a setback, compared to dropping it on the case head.  Newton would agree.

Good article from Lucky Gunner.  His conclusions seem to be inline with my observations over the years.  While bullet setback can be an issue with some platforms, I've yet to see any indication of a catastrophic event caused by it.  While I believe it could be enough to push a marginally overpressure cartridge, over the edge, I've not seen it.  Bullet setback just doesn't happen, with properly loaded cartridges, fired in "normal" handguns (rifles are very different).  I've had bullet-shift issues over the years in big magnums, and the result was ALWAYS the same.  They NEVER set deeper.  Quite the opposite.  The bullets always pull longer, not shorter.  I had one incident with some .44M "moly" bullets, and after the first round fired (of 6 in the cylinder), the powder in the remaining 5 lit off.  If you think BD is flashy with just one 10mm out the muzzle, try this (NO, not really).  Looked like a turn-of-the-century photo session.  If your bullets are setting back from firing, chambering, or dropping, your reloading practice and/or components need to be closely examined.  If it's happening in a "factory" cartridge, something is REALLY wrong.

[The_Shadow]

DM1906 writes;

Dropping a cartridge onto the bullet is less likely to cause a setback, compared to dropping it on the case head.  Newton would agree.

I have to post things like that to see who is paying attention! LOL~    It also provides another point of view when we get good feed back!   

[REDLINE]

I always clean & inspect my barrel and bore then apply a light coat of oil with a patch after every use.  Some avoid oiling like it was the plague.  I don't understand that theory as I think thin coat oil would lessen the fouling.

In my experience oil (ultra thin coat and the lesser side of a medium film coat) always attracts fouling when there is fouling to be attracted, compared to seeing less overall fouling when no visible or felt film is left behind.  No doubt the amount of fouling ends up being varied depending on how efficiently or not the powder charge burned up.

That said, I do not avoid oiling like the plague.  I oil all metal every single place I can get oil to.  For me the variance between others is probably then limited to the extent I can get any residual oil wiped off, where I want it wiped off.  That's not to say I "clean" off the oil, as I don't.  I limit oil removal to what I can simply wipe off with a rag (patches inside the bore).

What the boils down to for me in a nutshell is leaving behind an ultra thin film of oil behind on most surfaces, leaving behind a medium-heavy film on working surfaces, and not leaving behind oil that can be seen or felt in the bore (including the chamber) and on the breech face (including inside the striker track).

The above is based on my Glocks only.  For revolvers I've had it gets more detailed.  For any steel framed semi-autos it gets more detailed too.

[RRMan03]

When talking ammo blow ups you have to consider a fowled gun of course and oh so many people use to much oil. Let me ask am oil fowling question. Back around the early 50's the was a compound invented called WD. Anybody know what that stands for. It is Water Dispersant. It was used on Nuclear Missles to prevent water build up and corrosion.Then the rest of the story the 40 is how many changes they made to get it to where the Air Force wanted it to be. All that being said.It being a very light lubircant and a very high water /moisture dispersant what would it not be one of the best things you could use on a gun.Its not oil,it is a synthetic compound made to remove water and barely lubricate and to prevent dirt and dust from accumulation on the parts. Now why do people not like it for use as a gun protector or to keep your barrel from fowling from grime/dirt/powder. Is there something I do not know about here.If it was made to protect nuclear weapons you think it could protect a 38 and its barrel.

[DM1906]

WD40 is fine as a surface protectant (it's intended/designed use).  However, it is also a very effective solvent, and will break the lubricating properties of heavier (gun) oil.  Gun oil, or light machine oil, is much heavier than WD40, and the viscosity is necessary for lubrication of internal gun parts (as they were designed).  Use it, if you want, to protect the bore and/or the external surfaces, or for storage, but keep it out of "the works" during operation.

[d762nato]

I do not think you will have any problem with eith of those. I know the Nighthawk is top quality and everybody that has one loves the DW. It seems to be the Glock with big bullets where all the action is at from what I have been catching on the posts.I might need updated there.

Thanks for the imfo and I've heard of the glocks being blown up just was'nt sure if other platforms have been blown up also.