Problem with factory 123 grain AMAX

[Jerry8323]

I was shooting today and had one round with a pierced primer out of a new box Of 123 grain Hornady match ammo. Anyone else have this problem?

[parallax]

I hope not, as I have plans for some serious range time tomorrow and practicing for a match coming up next Saturday. I just got 5 fresh boxes from Midway Thursday. If I have a problem I'll be sure to post about it.
Thanks for the heads up.

[Jerry8323]

I've been shooting Hornady ammo for years and have never had it happen before. And it was only one round out of 20.

[davidj]

Last year I had two(2) instances of pierced primers with the Hornady 123 amax ammo. They were from different lots spaced a couple of months apart. I have since shot about 300 factory 123's and have had no problems..
Dave

After reading Post #13 I realize it was not last year at all. It was last April.

[Bwild97]

I haven't had any pierced primers, but I do get case head extrusions when firing Factory Hornady ammo.

[stokesrj]

I believe the Hornady 123 A-Max load is near max in a 6.5 Grendel chamber and over max in some variants. Is your rifle a 6.5 Grendel or other?
Also I've seen several AR's develop a tendency to pierce primers because the firing pin gets flame cut. This can be difficult to see, a magnifying glass should be used in good light to insure the firing pin tip is round and smooth.
Bob

[Rockdriller]

Last week I had a primer blow out of the pocket from the 123 factory rounds. Its the first time anything like that has ever happened to me. Lot #3112181 Its a 6.5 Grendel chamber. I've shot 200 other factory AMAX rounds without incident.

[LRRPF52]

OP, can you tell us what chamber you have, and where you got the barrel, whose barrel is it?

[djkilen]

I hope not, as I have plans for some serious range time tomorrow and practicing for a match coming up next Saturday. I just got 5 fresh boxes from Midway Thursday. If I have a problem I'll be sure to post about it.
Thanks for the heads up.

you ever shoot precision firearms 123 amax my group goes from .425 with factory hornady to .230 with the pf load best group I've had was .377 at 200 yards with this ammo..........worth a try if you want a little edge.......

[Jerry8323]

It is a ER Shaw I have fired 100 more round over the weekend with out any more problems

[parallax]

I fired 60 rounds yesterday with zero problems, all cases looked fine.

[Jerry8323]

This is what Hornady sent me when asked about the primer.
Thanks for contacting us with your issue. We have had no issues with 6.5 Grendel ammo of any kind; I'm suspecting that you maybe shooting this in an AR type platform. It is not uncommon to have a center pierce with these type of firearms due to the pip of the firing pin, which is fairly standard, that allows for a deeper primer penetration to strike the anvil of the primer for more positive ignition. If that particular primer cup had been a thousandth or two thinner than others in the lot this may be the reason for the pierce.

[Drifter]

I was shooting today and had one round with a pierced primer out of a new box Of 123 grain Hornady match ammo. Anyone else have this problem?

A few problems noted on this thread from this past spring:

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?2728-Factory-ammo-123-gr-A-MAX

Newer lots seem to be back to normal.