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Tula Ammo = Light Primer Strikes

10K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Edmo01 
#1 ·
I just wanted to post an issue I had with my Springfield M1A standard and Tula Ammo 308 WIN 150 grain FMJ steel cased ammo. This is the new production ammo in the 20 round commercial black box with TULAMMO in red letters. The headstamp shows "Tulammo 308 WIN".

We had my M1A (new rifle - first range trip) and a PTR91 at the range. Running this ammo in my M1A resulted in 4 light primer strikes in only 20 rounds. The rounds would function if I reloaded them and tried a second primer hit. The PTR91 functioned with this ammo without any problems and wanted more.

I'm not sure why my M1A refused to function with this ammo. I would think the M1A would function with any 308/7.62 ammo out there. It did function fine with the two other types of ammo we had available (Winchester WB, Portuguese surplus). Since the PTR91 functioned fine with the Tula ammo it makes me think my M1A was the problem.

Has anyone else experienced light primer strikes with their M1A and a particular type or brand of ammo? Hopefully I didn't just spend over a grand on a "main battle rifle" which only likes certain brands of ammo. I don't want a "finicky cat" for a rifle.

Edmo
 
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#3 ·
Hopefully I didn't just spend over a grand on a "main battle rifle" which only likes certain brands of ammo. I don't want a "finicky cat" for a rifle. Edmo
Edmo,

I know that this list of manufactures and years work just fine through my NM M1A.DI5
 
#4 ·
If the rifle worked fine with two brands of ammo and not the third then it is most likely the third brand of ammo that's the problem not the rifle, that being the Tulammo.

This is one of those cute little shell company stories.

http://www.luckygunner.com/ammo-manufacturer/tula-ammo-review

Tulammo is actually Wolf ammo. They claim that they aren't the same but they are manufactured in Russia at the same plants. So legally they can claim that the ammo isn't Wolf because it's packaged under a different company's name (Tulammo) but they are made on the same assembly lines.
 
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#7 ·
Thanks for the complement.

I'm just a fairly good at browsing the Inet for information. I actually hadn't heard of Tulammo before this but now that I know the whole story I think I'll stay away from their .308 ammo.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for all the inputs...

I'm still a little disappointed that when I tried some of the ammo we brought out with one of the other rifles it would not run in a new M1A. I guess I expected too much out of this new rifle.

In the future it will get a mixed diet of my handloads and surplus, but apparently I need to keep any steel cased ammo in the rifles which can make it go boom.

Edmo
 
#10 ·
Something may also tell me that the PTR had a wider headspace than the SAI.

If the SAI has a tighter headspace and the ammo is on the upper end of the spectrum for headspace specs, then it may not have been chambering properly. If ths bolt was slightly out of battery, then the safety bridge would have prevented the firing pin from striking the round. Once you pull the trigger, it could be enough to rotate the bolt and lightly strike the firing pin against the primer.

If you happen to try it again, look before pulling the trigger to see if the bolt is rotated fully or give the op-rod a slight tap to see if it engages the bolt any farther.

I say this because this happened the very first time I shot my LRB and it only happened on the very first shot. I pulled the trigger and I felt the op-rod move just slightly. I looked and there was a light primer strke. I rechambered and it never happened again in over 1500 rounds.

Is this ammo laquer coated?

IIRC, PTR-91's have fluted chambers and are a bit looser. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

This can attribute to it working better than the SAI with this brand of ammo. You end up paying for it though in accuracy.
 
#11 ·
I took the three types of ammo I fired that day (WWB FMJ, Portuguese surplus, and the Tula ammo) and worked them over with a micrometer. After checking several examples of each round, all three types were well within published dimensions and came in very close to each other.

Obviously steel cases need some type of protective coating to prevent rust, however this ammo doesn't appear to have a lacquer coating. The cases are dark grey in color and will scrape to a shine if you rub a sharp edge on them. It almost looks like they have applied a metal treatment such as bluing to achieve the color. An internet search shows they use some type of "polymer" coating, but it is extremely thin.

After looking over the ammo I took my M1A and worked a magazine full of the Tula through the rifle. I didn't see any issue with the bolt stopping out of battery. I tried both letting the bolt fly and riding the bolt to see if cycling speed would make a difference and everything worked as advertised.

My Son's PTR, just like the HK91 it copies, has the roller locking bolt system and a fluted chamber. This rifle runs without the traditional gas system and came with the heavy barrel which is made for them by Thompson Center. I'm not sure of the tightness of the chamber, but it is a good shooter. With his Hensholdt 4X scope and good ammo it shoots much better than I.

Again, this was the first range outing with this M1A. We grabbed these three ammo types from our ammo bin as we headed out the door to get a feel for how the two rifles compared to each other and also to see how the M1A would shoot with a variety of ammo. Maybe the rifle needs some break in time before it can handle a variety of ammo types. I'll let you know if I run into any more glitches after the next outing.

Edmo
 
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