Blown out Primers on Factory XM193F

got a stoney point gauge? (and a caliper?).

take a fired case and test dimensions of that fired case. now take a fired case out of your brothers rifle. compare em.
I actually just found one of the popped cases. What am I measuring?


Might be time to start loading your own.
My press is set up for 9mm and though I have done 500rds before, it took so damn long to prep them all.

It's been hard enough finding time to shoot let alone sort, clean, prep, inspect and load rifle rounds. Pistol ammo is so much quicker and easier for me to find the time to do. One day if I get laid off, I can load a brazillion of them.



or buy an AK LOL
That's a given regardless of ammo issues.
 
Also XM is not reject ammo according to Federal :

That might be the case NOW, but it certainly wasn't a few years ago. A lot of lots were indeed "high grade" reject lots that had cosmetic defects, or annealing defects, or waterpoofing defects (the most common).

-Mike
 
I actually just found one of the popped cases. What am I measuring?



My press is set up for 9mm and though I have done 500rds before, it took so damn long to prep them all.

It's been hard enough finding time to shoot let alone sort, clean, prep, inspect and load rifle rounds. Pistol ammo is so much quicker and easier for me to find the time to do. One day if I get laid off, I can load a brazillion of them.




That's a given regardless of ammo issues.


Loading 223 is a PITA, much more time consuming than pistol. I do it in large batches, tumble clean a thousand cases or so and then measure and trim them when I have some free time. Case prep is the problem, the actual reloading takes very little time.

My solution to this problem is to do most of my practice with an AR I built with a 22 LR upper. This gun is pretty much identical to my 223 match gun and shoots about the same inside 100 yds. For longer distance practice I use the 223. The 22 rimfire AR I built wasn't cheap, but it has paid for itself over the years.
 
Loading 223 is a PITA, much more time consuming than pistol. I do it in large batches, tumble clean a thousand cases or so and then measure and trim them when I have some free time. Case prep is the problem, the actual reloading takes very little time.

My solution to this problem is to do most of my practice with an AR I built with a 22 LR upper. This gun is pretty much identical to my 223 match gun and shoots about the same inside 100 yds. For longer distance practice I use the 223. The 22 rimfire AR I built wasn't cheap, but it has paid for itself over the years.

I just picked up an M&P15-22 but can't justify spending the money on that rifle.

And just the thought of loading up more 223 is discouraging. I even have a few thousand cases already separated by headstamp and tumbled.
 
I emailed CMMG about this and this was their response:
Our chambers are 5.56 NATO.

XM193 in the last year or so has had issues blowing primers in a lot of guns(as in non CMMG rifles), I would try using an other 5.56 rated ammo to if the issue persists.
 
But don't your chambers have a longer leade to accommodate for the longer bullet?

nope. holliger's standard wylde is actually rather short. they do make a reamer with a much longer leade for the 90gr bullets, but no one uses them because they're so damned finicky. plus, they dont really outshoot the 80's inside of ~ 800yds.

FWIW, general rule is .223 is the tightest chamber, 5.56NATO is the most generous. wylde is sort of in between (with lots of variation, given than nearly every manf. out there has something with a wylde)

I actually just found one of the popped cases. What am I measuring?

only works if you have an RCBS precision mic / Mo's gauge. curious of where the shoulder is (compared to "0", IE, sammi-spec new brass).
 
Last edited:
XM193 is one of the only 5.56 rounds I won't run through my M4. I've always found it to be too hot with excessive spent gasses & muzzle flash.

All 5.56 NATO loads be it federal xm193, IMI, etc are going to be hotter than any civilian 223 loads. It's going to be even more apparent with a short barrel on an M4...you'll definitely be getting more muzzle blast.
 
Last edited:
I had a primer blow this weekend.

It happened in a different rifle, but the ammo (Winchester 55gr. Q3131) was from the same lot when this happened.

This time the gun locked up tight! I slammed the butt-stock on the ground while pulling down on the unlocked charging handle several times and barely got the bolt to move.

It took two people and a Leather-man to get the bolt carrier group out of the gun.

After getting the gun apart, the offending primer was located in the cam pin hole held in place by the cam pin.

P6152045.jpg


After getting the gun back together and conducting a function check, the rifle ran fine for the remainder of the weekend. All total, I fired over 1K rounds.

I've got ~500 rounds of this ammo left to shoot - we'll see if there are any more stoppages!
 
Shot 1000 rounds of AE 556 in the past 2 years.

One primer blocked the safety from switching.

Two other got caught in the chamber which prevented a new round from chambering.

This is a known issue of American Eagle 556.

I want a refund for the remaining rounds I have and will be calling the company. This ammo was bought in 2014 (I think) - I have to check my email receipts. I have records.

I actually saved one of the primers. It is smashed but not really worth posting a photo.


Edit:

UPDATE:

I talked to Federal who makes the ammo.

I gave them the lot numbers and no issues came up on their end.

Maybe this sort of thing just happens 1 out of 1000 rounds?

They offered to accept a few boxes to run tests. They said I would have to ship it to them through a UPS hub.

However, if no problems were found with what I would send them, I wound not be compensated.

They did say that if there was an issue (which should have come up by now in this 2014 ammo) they would replace all my remaining ammo.

That is pretty good customer service.

The ammo all came from Lake City, also, which is good stuff.

There could be technical issues with my rifle - something about a reamer or something.

Just too many variables.

I don't think I'll pursue this further.

Federal seems to be a stand up company and I am now pretty happy with their offer and products.
 
Last edited:
That might be the case NOW, but it certainly wasn't a few years ago. A lot of lots were indeed "high grade" reject lots that had cosmetic defects, or annealing defects, or waterpoofing defects (the most common).

-Mike
also the term "rejects" is used differently. Lets just say X lot did not meet a standard set by "the gov" .
it failed a accuracy or velocity spec they had set BUT theres nothing unsafe about the ammo. Its now sold to some one else that does not have a specific detail contracted out.

as far as "government" contracts i dont know whos getting M193 ? Now M855 is being phased out for the M885a1 eco friendly stuff.
Ok so i will say this. Wolf gold 55 grain 223 is cheaper than any of that M stuff and shoots better . Also Wolf will Refund you you money if your not happy with thier product. Yes they do ....used it 3 times now. 2 times with some wolf match 22lr that sucked and a case of x39 that had a mix of soft point , FMJ and some rusty cases.
 
Well.... as long as we're bringing stuff back from back from the dead....I would expect those primers to be all flattened out and cratered and stuff if it was a pressure issue.
 
7 years to think of that response?
huh?
I was just feeding off the "tight" chamber problems. I don't think it was the "chamber" or a head space issue vs a short tight lead.
Anyway its all good and I missed the old thread date also. I cant even see with my glasses on!
 
Back
Top Bottom