Rant...Spartan 00 Buck 12 Gauge Shotgun Shells.

[ROGER4314]

I am a big fan of 12 gauge shotguns and especially slug and 00 Buck ammunition. I have shot virtually every conceivable item with 00 buck and know exactly what the stuff will do.

I keep over 300 rounds of 00 buck and slugs around the house for that predicted Zombie invasion and decided that I'd try out some new rounds. Academy carries Spartan low brass 12 gauge in 00 buck for $12.99 per box of 20. $5 per box of 5 is the usual price so I bought about 400 rounds.

One of the 00 buck rounds had a severe defect. 00 Buck is loaded in 3 rows of three balls for a total of 9. This round was loaded with 4 balls on the top row and had 4 very large bulges in the case located just below the crimp. The round won't chamber normally but since I shoot Remington 1100 semi autos a lot, my concern was that if the action tried to load that as a second round, it would jam or fail to let the bolt lock fully.

I called Kemen Ammunition in Round Rock, explained what had slipped through their QC inspection and they had ZERO interest in hearing about or correcting the dangerous and defective round.

At one point in the conversation, I said "I thought you might even say Thanks for bringing this problem to our attention."
Their concern about the junk round was zero! They suggested sending me a rebate for the ammo but to get it, I needed to supply them with the receipt as proof of purchase for ONE F ing shotgun shell. They demanded the receipt even though I agreed to send them a picture of the round! I was more concerned about the dangerous round and wanted some assurance that they would look into WHY that round was screwed up! To Hell with 54 cents for the single round!

I should not be the final inspector for their production QC!

At that point, I told them to forget it and hung up.

I'll reward good customer service but I need to question "Don't give a damn" customer service. This bunch is hopeless!

Supplier: Kemen Ammunition in Round Rock, Texas and Academy
Product: Spartan 12 gauge 00 buck box of 25

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[TreyG-20]

Always inspect your ammo before loading it. I have found all kinds of imperfections even in expensive defense ammo. Do you have a picture of it to upload here for us to see?

 

[ROGER4314]

OK, here's a scan of the round. There are 4 very large bulges spaced around the OD of the plastic case just below the crimp. The round will not chamber.

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[Blind Sniper]

Dayum, that's just bad... I'm curious to know how the hell that slipped through their QC, and why the person you talked to was apparently dis-interested in hearing about it.

 

[Younggun]

I find the lack of concern much more troubling than the fact that it slipped past QC.

 

[ROGER4314]

The supplier was insistent that I prove I had purchased the shells. My problem was that I didn't buy these all in one bunch. I bought several boxes each week so I wasn't sure which receipt covered it.

You are correct. There was NO concern on the part of the supplier about safety of that round.

To make this event turn even more strange, I took the round back to Academy and their only concern was that their policy is to allow NO RETURNS on ammunition! Remember, this was a 54 cent 00 buck shotgun shell and my focus was not on loss of the 50 cents! They did not and would not address the safety aspect of this defective round! They said I would need to contact the supplier. That's when I tracked down Kemen as the supplier. I called them, left a message and they called me back.

In summary, they sent a dangerous round out the door, sold it to an unsuspecting customer and expressed NO concern over what might have happened if that round had jammed up my autoloader.

Guys, All the bastards needed to say was "Wow, that sucks and it could have been dangerous! Let us check into it and thanks for calling it to our attention." They couldn't even manage that.

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[Shotgun Jeremy]

I can't hold Academy accountable for this. They have signs posted of their ammo policy and they have even told me about it at the register on several occasions. I WILL however avoid Spartan low brass for a while now and give them time to readjust their attitudes and policy.

 

[ROGER4314]

Academy sticking to their policy of "no returns on ammo" is one thing. Their lack of concern over selling me a dangerous round really galls me! Once again, a simple statement that they would check into the safety issue would have done wonders. None of the bastards could even manage that!

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[Younggun]

Yeah, gotta go with Jeremy on this one.

I wouldn't expect anything from academy, cabelas, Walmart, or any other store where I had purchased the ammo.

They won't touch returns of any kind with a ten foot pole for liability reasons. I've been told there are other legal reasons also but I figure it's mostly about liability.

Also, academy has absolutely no control over QC issues and independent manufacturer is having. If it becomes a constant problem they may drop them in their stores but right now it's one shell out of possibly hundreds of thousands.

 

[ROGER4314]

Once again, a simple statement that they would check into the safety issue would have done wonders. None of the bastards could even manage that!

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[Younggun]

Any response along those lines could be construed to indicate that they somehow take responsible for the quality of the ammunition. That would open them up to liability if someone were ever hurt because of a manufacturing defect.

The responsibility is on the manufacturer. There is nothing for Academy to look in to because it is not their responsibility and I'm sure their lawyers have made it very clear that they not get involved in these matters.

 

[Acera]

Any idea who is making the ammo for Spartan?? I think it's imported to the company in Round Rock, and wonder if they package it there or it comes from overseas that way. Might be helpful to compare it to other branded ammo from the same area to see if those have issues also.

 

[ROGER4314]

The box says "Made in the European Union and distributed by Spartan Ammunition, Round Rock, Texas." By researching Spartan Ammunition, Kemen Ammunition kept coming up. I called them and left a detailed account of my Spartan shotgun shell issue. They called me back and we talked for about 5 minutes. The rep had zero interest in the safety problems caused by this shell.

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[Younggun]

Sounds like a brand I will avoid.

Thanks for heads up.

 

[Designated]

Man I just got 4 boxes the other day too. Guess I'll give em a good once over.

 

[Angeleyes]

i went through a box of them and it stiffen the racking of the pump on my remmy ill just stick with the Winchester stuff

 

[swcc22]

Off topic and just for fyi cabelas will take ammo back

The only easy day was yesterday.

 

[ROGER4314]

The picture that I posted doesn't do justice to the appearance of this goofy shotgun shell so I decided to do some measuring.

Diameter of the shell at the base= .802"
Diameter over two of the "lumps" = .860"

Doing the math, the diameter over the "Lumps" is .058" oversize. 1/16" = .062" so the round was almost 1/16" oversize at the top. Could my auto loader cram that round into the chamber? I'm not sure but if it did, it's doubtful that the bolt would actually lockup. I had an auto loader go off with an unlocked bolt once. It was pretty ugly!

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[pvtsnowball82]

Sounds like 50 cents per 00 round is too good to be true. I'll keep paying a buck a round for good QC.

 

[ROGER4314]

The first clue should have been the low brass cases for 00 Buck. That is an oddity in itself! I loaded 00 Buck for many years and purchased it as well. I've never known of 00 Buck rounds loaded on low brass hulls before.

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