Close call with Buffalo Brand Ammo

I spent some time today inside handling the BFR .45-70 and re-locating the scope, moving it way forward so as to have a more relaxed, natural hold on the weapon with my long arms. I had picked up some Buffalo Brand Outlaw ammo, their light cowboy action stuff that is 350grn LRFN at 1350fps in order to spend some time on the bench without punishing myself. I pulled the trigger on the first shot, and it shot beautifully. I then pulled the trigger on the second shot ... nothing. I thought I heard a faint "poof"through the earmuffs, but wasn't sure. I went to pull back on the hammer again, and the gun was locked up. I finally got the cylinder turned by hand enough to see that the primer was bulged (hence the lock-up) and had a dimple in the middle. I dropped the cartridge out ... no bullet. So not a hang fire. I carefully unloaded the rest of the live rounds, took the revolver back inside, removed the cylinder, and unburned powder fell out on my kitchen table. I looked down the barrel from the cylinder end and there was the bullet about 1 inch up inside the barrel.

I have a call in to Buffalo ammo (Not Buffalo Bore), but they are closed for the day. They are in Ohio. I left a message. I have to go find a gunsmith now to get the bullet out, I don't have a brass punch that long.

How in the world does a primer fire enough to shove a 350grn lead slug an inch into a barrel, but the gun powder does not ignite?! I'm a little shook, realizing that if that primer had not hung up the cylinder, I might have foolishly just considered it a misfire, pulled back the hammer and touched off the next round, to disastrous results.

Is anyone familiar with this ammo company? Is this probably just one of those freak one-offs? Not too happy, I'm some 25 miles of snowy, moose-infested road from a gunsmith. Not to mention my shooting time for today was reduced to one shot. It took me longer to get my Alaska gear on to go shoot in the cold than it did to actually shoot!

Ugh, lucky. How about a wooden dowel or copper pipe?

Might be able to find a dowel, I'll go down to the basement and dig around.

Its probably not in there that good you might even be able to lightly tap it with a cleaning rod with a jag or something to protect the threads and have it fall out maybe even a stick from outside since there is some forcing cone there it will come out easier than it might otherwise

I just got it out. Thanks, guys.

This is what I was going to suggest.

I've seen this type of thing happen a lot.

Generally it happens when a cartridge is loaded without powder. In those cases you get a muffled poof and generally find the projectile lodged in the forcing cone. If your lucky, there's enough bullet hanging back to stop the cylinder turning, if not a follow up round will lead to a bulged barrel or worse.

The other time it happens is when the powder is contaminated by either moisture or oil and doesn't ignite properly. I suspect this is what happened in your case. Unburnt powder and the projectile lodged some distance up the barrel.

Any time you feel something isn't right, or you only hear a faint poof rather than a bang, STOP unload and inspect. Much better than a ruined barrel or worse. In semi-autos, there's rarely enough force to cycle the slide which is a give away that something is wrong.

The problem is common enough that many competition shooters carry a brass rod to remove projectile without having to leave the range.

That does makes me feel better. So I guess I will just go ahead and keep shooting the rest of the ammo.

Poof or pop are never good when you are expecting bang.It is good that you did not assume but checked it out.Glad you were able to get it out . Its a good lesson for all of us to never assume but check first when in doubt.

Id shoot the rest too now you'll be ready if it happens again

Dwayne. You need some of my reloads you know where I am.....

Thanks, Charlie. I might just take you up on that soon.

10-4......Let me know brother.

How did the powder look? Did it clump together like it had been wet at one point?

From the beginning of the barrel to the base of the bullet was full of powder all unburnt and in a clump. I assume the clump was due to it being forced into the barrel up against the bullet by the ignition of the primer. Several loose grains, what wouldn't fit in the bbl, fell out and scattered on the table.

I would not shoot anymore until I talked with Buffalo. They may want the ammo back to check it out and see if the problem can be corrected.

lf you return the ammo keep a couple unfired rds for yourself.. Also, take pics, scan the box and all its markings. l would weigh each unfired and record them. F
For bore obstructions l carry a 3/8'' x 15'' nylon dowel rod in my range bag.. Nylon is tough enough to be hit with a hammer. Wont swell or scar the bore either

This.

BH, I have never experienced this firsthand, I've only read/heard about it from others. My only comment is that if and when it happens to me I hope that I have my head in the game like you did and not yank the hammer back and send another one down the barrel! Glad to hear that the only harm that came to you was a wasted range trip! Please let us know what you find out.

Thank goodness you're ok and this is a good reminder for all of us to fully examine the situation should we have a similar occurance.

I appreciate all of the advice. I have not heard back from Buffalo Ammo yet, but I'm sure they are closed over the weekend. Should hear something tomorrow. I'll wait to do anything until I talk to them.

It's not all bad, I learned a couple of things, especially about safety with misfires. I experienced a new experience on the range involving explosive materials and walked away with both myself and my fairly expensive firearm unharmed. That's always good!

WIN, WIN, you learned something new and kept all your digits and eyes intact. Not to make light of the incident it should be a wake up call for all of us. When something seems [not right] [out of kilter] take the time to check, NEVER ASSUME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Glad your ok. I second the advice you have been given. I just had a detective special brought to me with 3 bullets stuck in the barrel. The owner didn't head the warning of a strange sound on the first two. Fortunately his hand and the gun survived.

I wanted to give an update on the situation with Buffalo Brand ammo. I got ahold of the head loading guy there in Ohio, and I couldnt have asked for a more helpful, nicer fella to deal with. We went over everything over the phone, and could not come up with a reason for the problem. He said he was foing to send me some new ammo to replace what I had bought, and was going to send me a shipping label to return the unused portion to him so that he could take them apart and find the problem. I had shot two rounds from one box, I had bought two boxes, and they were from the same batch number. He asked me for my most favorite, preferred round and velocity, and he was going to go load them custom for me. I was impressed. In the mean time, I loaded another cylinder full, went outside and shot again. Same results. One good shot and then one squib.

I called him back and told him, and he was very concerned. However, his shipping office had just gotten back with him and had told him that they could not ship ammo to Alaska, nor could I ship to them. Which is correct.

We mulled it around and around, and since I am going to be reloading again, we finally decided that I would keep the unshot ammo and pull it apart, keeping the lead and brass (It's Starline brass) and load them with new primers and powder. On top of that, he asked for my preferred bullet for 45-70, and I said 405grn hardcast. So he's sending me another 500 bullets made by SNS casting. All-in-all, I'm happy with the results, and in spite of the initial misfire, this company is really good to do business with. 500 of these bullets purchased from SNS is over $100.00.

briar....,

I keep a few brass brazing rods of various diameters and lengths for the exact problem you have been having. The rods are generally available, certainly cheap, and won't damage the gun.

Doc

Glad they are being a standup company about this.What does the powder look like from the squibs? Is it clumpy ,does it look like its contaminated with oil or some other substance? Will it burn if lit with a match? Could your FFL dealer ship it back to him,or just the powder you pull from the cases? The 500 bullets was a standup gesture on his part.