LAX 180gr FMJ Plated (1/31/15) Pull-Down

The_Shadow · January 31 2015 07:03:40 PM MST

Cartridge is from Ammo Manufacture: LAX 180gr FMJ Plated (Garrett 1/31/15)
Ballistics Information: 10mm Auto
Muzzle Velocity: 1040 fps (these would typically run 1200 to 1230 fps)
Muzzle Energy: 432 ft. lbs .
Brass Make/Headstamp: Star Line – Brass (New)
Bullet Make/Weight/Construction/Info; Length 0.5760"- 0.5785"- 0.5770"
Dia. 0.4000": Plated 180 FMJ (Concave base)
MEPLAT 0.2725"
Actual weight 180.0 / 180.4 / 179.8 grains Crimp squeezed bullet to 0.3990"
C.O.A.L.: 1.2530" / 1.2565" / 1.2570"
Primer: Large Pistol Brass color
Case: Diameter 0.4215"-0.4215" -0.4215" Crimp Diameter 0.4215" 0.4220" 0.4215"
(tight crimps) Case Length 0.9870" / 0.9875" / 0.9860"
Powder Description/Positive ID/Type/Charge Weight: Power Pistol 8.0-8.0-8.0 grains
Cartridge weights before pull-down 266.0 / 266.0 / 265.4 grains

Garrett suffered a case Blowout in his gun

Intercooler · January 31 2015 07:43:09 PM MST

New LAX with what looks like correct loads and it blew out? What do you think caused it?

The_Shadow · January 31 2015 08:22:07 PM MST

It has to be an over charge but is it just a double charge or was it a powder bridge event that dropped into the suspect cartridge I can only speculate...But today's modern loading machines can be used with what they call a Powder COP or check die, that should lock things up if there is an out of tolerance situation...

These three were as good as it gets as far as quality and precision goes.

I hope the guy gets his gun repaired and make him a happy customer...glad he wasn't hurt.

cwall64 · January 31 2015 10:26:00 PM MST

I just bought a 250 count of those - kind of scared to use them now!

The_Shadow · January 31 2015 10:39:19 PM MST

cwall64, If I had to base the quality of the ammo based on these 3 cartridges, I would have to give LAX an A+ as you can see the powder charges are exact, the COAL were where they should be, they used quality components and Star Line Brass to boot. This may have been a freak overcharge that got missed by the loading machine or process.

However their Remanufactured did show some issues with the used brass and that is also posted here in the pull-downs.

My advice would be to inspect all of the cartridges, looking for any bullets being seated too deeply, snagged or crushed casings. If you had a good scale you could measure their individual cartridge weights looking for any that show a drastic difference... ${$default_roll_eyes_smiley}$

Intercooler · February 01 2015 02:18:22 AM MST

I haven't tested or got my hands on the new brass LAX. It's always out of stock! The 8.0gr's is .4gr's more than was found in the reloaded LAX. Maybe they use slightly more Power Pistol in the new brass version?

Can someone send some to me for Chronograph testing? These events get me a little shaken too, but I always thought one day it more than likely will happen to me if I shoot enough.

4949shooter · February 01 2015 04:17:32 AM MST

Wow this is crazy.

Intercooler · February 01 2015 05:00:17 AM MST

I'm still trying to find the MFG that hasn't had a single issue. If I was a gambling man, it's best to go all in on that will never happen ${$default_shocked_smiley}$

Intercooler · February 01 2015 07:26:54 AM MST

I pulled out my bulk FMJ rounds and weighed them all.

My target weight ended up being 265grn's total +/- 4grn's. Anything 270+ was pulled out.

I found 0 out of range in the in the Georgia Arms, American Quality Ammo and Precision One. I had 9 out of the LAX reloads that were 270-271. I'm sending them to The Shadow to see if anything is there. Out of the 9, I found 5 of them were Federal (FC) headstamp. Do they use a heavier brass? The other 4 were split between Starline and Midway brass.

cwall64 · February 01 2015 07:59:02 AM MST

Quote from: Intercooler on February 01 2015 07:26:54 AM MST
I pulled out my bulk FMJ rounds and weighed them all.

My target weight ended up being 265grn's total +/- 4grn's. Anything 270+ was pulled out.

I found 0 out of range in the in the Georgia Arms, American Quality Ammo and Precision One. I had 9 out of the LAX reloads that were 270-271. I'm sending them to The Shadow to see if anything is there. Out of the 9, I found 5 of them were Federal (FC) headstamp. Do they use a heavier brass? The other 4 were split between Starline and Midway brass.

I like this idea, I think I'll do the same.

sean · February 01 2015 09:29:47 AM MST

Good luck guys on finding out what happened. .I like the Idea of the check die shadow talked about..I have never worked with power pistol so dont even know what is considered a nuke load of it..you don't see this even in the hottest ammo maker. .be safe guys

The_Shadow · February 01 2015 10:08:09 AM MST

The Power Pistol at 8.0 grains is a safe load and below some of the published Alliant data from 2006. I have shot 8.0 and 8.2 using 200 grain XTP's.

Another thought that crossed my mind is these plated bullets, this being a new gun, did the previous shots shave any of the plating at the forcing cone and build up a ring of bullet plating, if this happened, the next cartridge could be jammed into that build up of material could lead to a pressure event as well. Some have speculated that over crimping can also allow a cartridge that is tapered such to be jammed into freebore/forcing cone area to create a jammed bullet, but that would also need a lot of extractor hook wear or stretch to let a cartridge get that deep or the cartridge case would need to be too long.

Intercooler, those PPU brass that had the setback issues, were from LAX the ones I did an annealing of the cases to get them to hold the bullets. I sent 3 of them back to you, two were annealed and one reconditioned without being annealed.
I evened out the powder charges on those as well. I had been waiting for you to run those over the chrono to see how they performed being reconditioned then reloaded...

that pull-down is here;
http://10mm-firearms.com/factory-10mm-ammo-pull-downs/lax-180gr-fmj-plated-(ic-51714)-pull-down/

The_Shadow · February 01 2015 03:29:42 PM MST

I managed to get to the range today and tested the 3 rounds you sent after I reloaded them The LAX 180 gr over 8.0 grains of Power Pistol from the Glock 3.78" factory barrel in my Glock 29 using a 21lb spring set. 1040 fps

They would be higher numbers from the longer barrels...

cwall64 · February 01 2015 03:38:30 PM MST

Just finished weighing all of them and looks good, all between 264.8 and 270.2 with the majority falling in the 265.8 to 266.2 range. I set the 6 aside that were 270.0 to 270.2...

The_Shadow · February 01 2015 06:12:06 PM MST

Yea I just spoke with Intercooler even at 270 grains that's only 4 grains above the average, so they may still be OK.
As there can be 2.0 grains difference in bullets, some brass can vary as well...
But if you handload you can pull-them down and see what's inside.