thefirearmsblog.com published the following message, which chronicles the events leading to the recall of Winchester 223 ammo. the official recall notification follow. What we don’t know, what we may never know: what went wrong at the factory that caused this problem.
the TTN: REQUEST FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST – FIREARMS HAZARD INFORMATION****** CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL BROADCAST SENT 2/25/11 *******Attention Law Enforcement Agencies, this Police Department is seeking any similar incidences with the .223/5.56 style rifles.
On 02/14/11 an officer was attending an M4/MP-5 class and during a shooting session, the .223 rifle (Stag Arms) experienced a catastrophic failure resulting in an upper receiver cracking and the bolt being pushed into the bolt assembley.
During a SWAT training day on 02/23/11, three more M4 style rifles experienced a catastrophic failure at the same time. all three rifles experienced the bolts being pushed into the bolt assembly, the upper receivers were cracked and / or broken apart, and the lower receivers were bowed outward. the ammunition we used in all the rifles were Winchester RA223R2 Ranger 64 gr. Power Point.
the Rifles were: 1-Colt, 2- Bushmasters and 1 – Stag Arms
Back in January, this teletype was making the rounds:
**ATTENTION ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES**OFFICER SAFETY INFORMATION**THE XXXXXXXX POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS EXPERIENCED THREE CATASTROPHIC FAILURES OF AR STYLE RIFLES/THE FAILURES INCLUDED THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE UPPER AND LOWERS OF THESE WEAPONS/THE THREE WEAPONS WERE WELL MAINTAINED WITH REGULAR DOCUMENTED MAINTENANCE PERFORMED BY a CERTIFIED ARMORER/THE THREE WEAPONS HAD BEEN IN SERVICE FROM 3 TO 10 YEARS/THE COMMON DENOMINATOR CONSIDERED WAS THE AMMUNITION USED DURING THE FAILURES/THE THREE RIFLES EXPERIENCING FAILURE WERE FIRING WINCHESTER RANGER RA223R2, 64GR POWER POINT, LOT NUMBER 065DK31/OTHER WEAPONS FIRING THE SAME AMMUNITION BEARING a DIFFERENT LOT NUMBER WERE NOT AFFECTED AND PERFORMED NORMALLY/IF YOU HAVE AMMUNITION BEARING THE LAST FOUR DIGITS DK31 IN THE LOT NUMBER IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU QUARANTINE THAT AMMUNITION AND CONTACT WINCHESTER**
OFFICIAL RECALL NOTICE
East Alton, IL – Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2). Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the lots of RANGER Law Enforcement ammunition listed below may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired. To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number . . .
If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition.
If you have any questions concerning this RANGER Law Enforcement ammunition recall please call toll-free 866-423-5224, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: RA223R2 Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.
The rush to buy guns and ammo has created a tremendous demand (and a slowly lightening shortage) in any firearm and all ammunition, but especially pistols and “gut guns.”One particular area of “boom” for my shop has been the sales to young people. We used to see 18 and 19 year olds as hunting season rolled around, but now it isn’t unusual at all for us to do 2-3 transactions each day to 18 year olds (you have to be 18 to buy a long rifle, 21 to buy a pistol).Do you think Obama’s administration has created a seller’s market in firearms and ammunition, and have you seen the effects of increased demand and decreased supply?Avail….We do see that, but this one is VERY different. Around October of last year, the rush was on. By December, all assault rifles, and particular 380 models (a small pistol, easily concealed in a pocket) were almost impossible to find. The assault rifles are letting up…a LITTLE….but the 380s, and ammunition are being hoarded and are still VERY hard to find. I have a standing order for 500 380s, 500 AR-15s, and 500 AK-47s….I’m lucky to get 5 of the ARs and AKs each month, and maybe 50 380s about once every 3 months.This run is different than the usual “they’re coming for our guns” run. My sales over the last 6 months are almost twice what I used to do in a year.One more thing….those standing orders I have….they’re all sold the minute they arrice. I have a waiting list on the 380s of over 240 names now, so if I get 250 in, I’ll only have 10 available to sell. The rest are already sold.Same with the AKs and ARs.Matty,Ammo is letting up, a little. I expect to see supply in ammo “back to normal” after hunting season this year (so January of 2010). I still expect 380, 45, 223, and 7.62 to be tough for a while, so I would buy all of that you see, and save enough for protection if you’re practicing with it.1000 round bulk .223 is starting to show up again, but it is still somewhat infrequent, and the price has jumped a little. Most of the increased prices right now is gouging though. Wholesale prices haven’t risen much at all.
