I bought ten cans of .50 BMG from Target Sports, which was Federal Lake City M33 660 grain FMJ. These are big, heavy rounds, packaged 100 loose in an ammo can, with a little paper padding on the top of the rounds. They were shipped with each can individually boxed, with no additional padding around the can, and with the cans oriented such that every can was on sitting on its side, not on the bottom of the can. So every time the boxes were moved and placed (dropped) the tip of half the rounds hit/bounced off the side of the can.

The force was enough that the sides of the can are dented with sharp imprints from the bullet tips. I only opened two of the ten boxes, but they both exhibited this damage. I am pretty aggravated that it was shipped this way, thinking that the bullet tips could be deformed, or the bullets could be pushed back in the case slightly. I'm sure most of them are fine, but I don't feel like I should have to inspect every round. Even if it's not set back, it's just aggravating. I'm wondering if I'm overreacting, or if you would be perturbed as well. I doubt that there's any danger if the bullet is not visibly set back, and I know that these are not the most accurate rounds anyway. But they're damn expensive and this seems wrong. I've bought the same ammo from another vendor and it was shipped upright and arrived in perfect condition. What do y'all think?

Possibly, I'd take some measurements to be sure they are in spec.

They look like they are crimped fairly tight,but I would sample some of them with calipers to make sure they were not pushed into the case.

With large caliber ammunition like that whose cases are crimped into the bullet cannelure I believe it would be very easy to check them by eye to determine if any of the bullets had been set back to a significant degree. In just looking at your photo I don’t see anything I’d be concerned about. Military ammunition like that is designed to handle rough abuse.

But I agree that the ammunition should have been packed better.

Yes, packed for shipping poorly. From what I see the rounds seem very usable.

I’d be pissed, someone packing that should have loaded the ammo cans on the bottoms.

50cal ammo was always in a wire bound wooden box with two ammo cans per crate and was oriented handle up, so it didn’t need the cardboard inside.

I’d send pics to the company and advise them of the possible issues with setback, maybe ask for replacement if any have setback. And tell a manager that they guy in shipping is screwing up. The cans should be handle up.

I agree it was packed poorly, how hard would it have been to put thin cardboard on both sides on the inside of the ammo can?

A quick visual inspection of each round will probably be enough to set your mind at ease or let you know if bullet set-back has occurred to some of the bullets. Pain in the ass, yes.

I'm always pleasantly surprised when something is shipped with care, the product properly packed for shipment.
All too often that isn't the case.

You should call the retailer and explain why you believe this is unacceptable. The person answering the phone may not fully understand bullet setback, but their boss ought to.

Am I the only person that sees this and wants to hang out with the guy that buys 50 cal in ten-can quantities?

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
Am I the only person that sees this and wants to hang out with the guy that buys 50 cal in ten-can quantities?

I've seen him with my own eyeballs. He's a great guy

Must of dropped them from a 20 story building.
I can't imagine how hard they would've had to hit the floor in order to ping the ammo can!

FWIW, the rounds I can see look fine. All the bullet cannelures look even with the case mouths, not pushed in, nor do any cases look bent. This is not to say you won't dig down deeper and find some bad ones.

Agree, send those photos to the company you bought them from and go up the ladder so it doesn't get missed in the future.

Only solution really is to inspect them, if there are problem rounds, box them together and request a replacement box properly shipped.

quote:

I'm sure most of them are fine, but I don't feel like I should have to inspect every round.

These aren't cheap rounds and I'd guess around $4 or $5 a round so why wouldn't you inspect these closely even breaking out the micrometer?
Wouldn't bother me to do this but again I reload so I check, recheck and check again everything I make.

TSUSA defaults to shipping insurance, unless you unchecked the box, you should be able to file a claim. They tack on a buck or two per case for it.

PS if you are buying in that quantity, I hope you are a prime member. I think it's $80 per year for ~8-10% off normal price. Your order should have paid for entire membership and still left a discount.

If there's enough room in the can for them to move far enough to cause damage, seems to me there's enough room to slide in a piece of foam sheet to pad.

I would personally return them. That's not a cheap order, and to just toss them in the mail like that rubs me wrong. .50 BMG isn't the time to have an over pressurized round go off. Nothing is cheap or safe about what happens next.

Who's to say your source didn't receive them that way? Just pretend you are in WWII and they were air dropped from a C-47. You'd be grateful to have ammunition at all.

I would contact the vendor...that really isn't acceptable.