Can defective ammo cause a catastrophic failure to a Colt AR 6920 LE?!

[dieselpower]

Regarding the guessing of damaging from squib, there are following questions i can think of:

1. Was the barrel plugged with 2 bullets stack on each other that caused higher pressure? That is what happened here. One round was under-powdered (squib) and logged pass the throat of the chamber.

2. If the squib(without powder) that caused bullet stuck in the barrel, the next round won't even chamber, since the primer itself would not push the bullet further(This is my experience). A squib can be just the primer or not enough powder to push the bullet OUT of the barrel. In this case the bullet was far enough to allow the next round to chamber

3. Was that batch of 223 ammo loaded with fast burning powder(pistol, shotgun powder) that caused kaboom? If so, why only one round/incident? The pressure has to go somewhere..it can't push past the two stuck bullets...its going to push hard against the BCG. As you see in the picture the red arrows tell the tale of what gave way.

Its been awhile, but as I remember the situation, the shooter had a Failure to EJECT. He didn't think about the why ...the case didn't eject, he simply pulled the Charging Handle, saw the empty case eject, let the Charging handle go forward (This is called Immediate Action Malfunction drill) and pulled the trigger again...KABOOM!

[DasBoost]

I use their .40. I check every single case visually for bulges (very important with .40 reloads); haven't found anything yet. .45 is low pressure, so it's probably less likely to kaboom.

Before I developed that habit, I did find a 9mm round in one of their 1000 round 40 cases. I found it by the fact that it made a pop instead of a bang when I shot it (I usually load by feel). Scary. The case mouth blew up to .40 size and sealed the breech, so no harm was done.

I will be sure to; when I got home I poured out each can and just kind on skimmed over for anything major and then as I load it up for the range I will do a closer inspection. No issues with factory ammo and this is my first foray into factory reloads. *fingers crossed*

[zfields]

I will be sure to; when I got home I poured out each can and just kind on skimmed over for anything major and then as I load it up for the range I will do a closer inspection. No issues with factory ammo and this is my first foray into factory reloads. *fingers crossed*

Hopefully Load-X in Santa Rosa. They are pretty damn dependable.

[glock7]

Yes it's the ammo. Though you gotta love the opportunity that was presented to jump on colt. I did some research and found kabooms on del-ton, stag, dpms. Seriously....

[bohoki]

neat there is probably some salvagable parts like the forward assist

i dont know why the front sight is scrap the gas tube and pin looks fine

as does the barrel nut and delta ring assembly

i question the charging handle damage as well

i would proably salvage the barrel attach an extension and make a dedicated rimfire from it

i'm great at making lemonade

[Mamluke]

Yes it's the ammo. Though you gotta love the opportunity that was presented to jump on colt. I did some research and found kabooms on del-ton, stag, dpms. Seriously....

My intention was not to jump on Colt, and as others have stated, virtually any rifle can experience such a catastrophic malfunction due to defective ammo! To my surprise, I have to add!

In fact, the way I came across this was by random research on Colt rifles, as I was seriously considering an AR type platform for my next gun. I love the SIG 516 Patrol, and it was gonna be my first choice, but since Colts became available in Ca. and due to their namesake, I figured; why not an American made Colt... and there ... I was really shocked by the extremity of what bad ammo can cause, quite catastrophic! Yes; No child play, firearms that is!


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[RTE]

Arghh same here. I just bought 800 rounds of this on Saturday. How reassuring...

IF you have any questionable ammo
Put the ammo on a digital scale and check each and every one out for weight.

[maxima]

Its been awhile, but as I remember the situation, the shooter had a Failure to EJECT. He didn't think about the why ...the case didn't eject, he simply pulled the Charging Handle, saw the empty case eject, let the Charging handle go forward (This is called Immediate Action Malfunction drill) and pulled the trigger again...KABOOM!

Thank you for the explanation. I cannot find the detailed info in OP thus those questions. If it was just like what you described, then that is for sure ammo issue. Wish all ammo manufactures could learn something from this and treat quality control as top priority.

[Mamluke]

neat there is probably some salvagable parts like the forward assist

i dont know why the front sight is scrap the gas tube and pin looks fine

as does the barrel nut and delta ring assembly

i question the charging handle damage as well

i would proably salvage the barrel attach an extension and make a dedicated rimfire from it

i'm great at making lemonade

WTF ... ^^^^

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............ it's ALIVE!!! ...


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[RRichie09]

Since Colt ARs are now available in Cali and very much in demand as I contemplate my next rifle; the following is a bit unnerving!

I came across this incident, in which a Colt 6920 Law Enforcement experienced a catastrophic failure in a civilian training session, due to defective ammo (according to Colt) upon firing just the second round.

A- I find this hard to believe, but could the 'experts' chime in on this please?
B- Ammo can cause a 'failure' but not in extremes like this.

The owner of this Colt suffered minor injuries, ammo used was PRVI Partizan 5.56 M193.

A- I'm not expert.
B- Yes.

C- it doesn't matter if it was the 2nd round or the 1000th round. Shooting another round after a squib round has lodged itself in the barrel will cause this to happen. Colt makes an awesome AR but it ain't invincible.

D- I have seen a video where this is done on purpose on a revolver and it took it. No bulging or anything.

[Grumpyoldretiredcop]

neat there is probably some salvagable parts like the forward assist

i dont know why the front sight is scrap the gas tube and pin looks fine

as does the barrel nut and delta ring assembly

i question the charging handle damage as well

i would proably salvage the barrel attach an extension and make a dedicated rimfire from it

i'm great at making lemonade

Like jacking up the steering wheel on a wreck and sliding a new car under it?

[Merc1138]

Thank you for the explanation. I cannot find the detailed info in OP thus those questions. If it was just like what you described, then that is for sure ammo issue. Wish all ammo manufactures could learn something from this and treat quality control as top priority.

What people fail to understand is that ANY ammo manufacturer can have a bad round get past their QC, and that these situations are rare. Think about how many rounds are fired daily for every catastrophic failure you read about? Then there is the issue of people buying reloads and having things blow up. You probably have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than have this situation happen, however that doesn't mean you should get complacent. You need to know how your firearms operate, and be able to determine when something didn't "feel" right. That's all there is to it.