Did you keep the cases? Just curious as to the quality of the brass in the UMC. I was wondering if they were worth buying for range reloads. If you get a chance, can you weigh and measure them? I am curious if the issue is poor powder measuring, or differences in the brass.
Rem-UMC quality....??
I found myself in need of replenishing my supply of .357 ammunition so I decided to try some of the Remington bulk packed ammo from Wal-Mart, 125gr. JHP's product number L357M1B. Upon firing It seemed as though some rounds had more recoil than others, a friend also said the sound level seemed inconsistent. I set up my Chrono and within just one cylinder load, found velocities to vary as much as 125fps! I assume this is the reason my groups were much bigger than usual. I opened the second box, this from a different lot, the same problem occured, was actually worse! If this is common with Remington ammunition, I have no idea but at better than $40 per 100, I seriously doubt I'll do any more R&D with Remington bulk packed ammunition. I'm fortunate that I only bought 200 rounds of this, I had planned on buying several boxes for future use. Since all ammunition sales are final-no refunds or exchanges, I'd have wasted a bit of cash. Looks like I'm going to end up paying about $40 per fifty rounds just to get some quality loads. Stocking ammunition in any quantity is getting very expensive!
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I buy the REM/UMC stuff in cases from Dick's for IDPA and I have always been please with its performance in 9, 38 and 45. I keep the cases and reload them. It is my opinion that all of the 'white box' bulk ammo is used for start up and shut down of the massive machines at Lanoka. But my chrono shows them all to be tolerably within spec. The SD was only about 10 last I checked.
I have experienced exactly the same issue of varying recoil, report, and accuracy with the white box stuff, but find the Remington bulk ammo (9mm) to be relatively reliable.
TM
TM
Though I didn't record case weight variations, across ten I weighed, the variations were no worse than Winchester or Federal. I can only guess either variations in powder charge weight, bad powder or primers caused my chrono to show this wild variation in velocity. Keegan1696, I've yet to have any problems with the WW stuff. Guess my time is coming!
The published muzzle velocity with 9mm Remington UMC and Remington Express are the same, but the UMC is substantially less expensive, at least in Sept 09. Is there that much difference in the quality of the UMC and Express to make the higher price worth it? The Rem Express JHP 115 grain will feed reasonably well in my 40 yo BHP. Any thoughts?
George, on this planet you get what you pay for! The REM-UMC bulk ammo can be a bit uneven in comparison to the higher quality REM premium ammo. It may be marginal and you may get the odd issue with it, but for most of us, the bulk buy ammo is good enough for who it is for. In my experience, the BHP-35 has always been a reliable feeding semiauto.
I have experience the odd failure with all of the bulk buy ammo (WIN from WM or CCI from the gun shops). Now, I do not carry the bulk stuff in my CCW guns. Nope. For that it is premium JHP stuff all the way.
I have experience the odd failure with all of the bulk buy ammo (WIN from WM or CCI from the gun shops). Now, I do not carry the bulk stuff in my CCW guns. Nope. For that it is premium JHP stuff all the way.
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