Rock River Arms KABOOM
RifleShooter had his Rock River Arms AR-15 go kaboom when he was shooting Ultramax remanufactured ammunition. RRA blamed the ammunition and replaced it at cost …
The bolt carrier appears to have split, you will notice it protruding into the magazine well. On the left side the upper was cracked and bulged, the bolt hold open sheared off. On the right, the upper bulged and the ejection port cover bent. The magazine was blown out of the rifle. Notice the how the bottom of the mag bulged from the pressure.
Thank fully no one was hurt. I think that is a testament to the design of the rifle and the quality of RRA.
According to the owner, RRA told him it was cased by the ammunition (Ultramax) and this is the second gun they had destroyed by it. The RRA mishap report, “Lower OK, bolt still in battery, lockup. Fired casing came apart at base, no bulges in barrel.” RRA replaced the upper at cost ($323.50) after he signed a release absolving them of any liability. They suggested contacting the ammunition manufacturer.
The moral of the story is you should not be surprised if your gun goes kaboom shooting remanufactured ammunition.
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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Look up colt you'll find the same problems with every ar brand I love it when people bash a brand
I've got a few issues with previous comments, but to keep it short:
Rifle functioned as it was supposed to by venting the excess energy out the magazine well while keeping the bolt locked into the extension. So the design is good.
Heavily over-pressure ammunition will KB! any firearm. Doesn't matter if it is an AK, FN-FAL, SCAR, or a G3. When pressure overwhelms the maximum survivable pressure of a firearm design KB! happens.
Hand-loading is far different from many re-manufacturing setups. Hand-loaders by majority shoot what they load so they take the necessary diligence to make sure the powder type and charge are correct. They do so to search for the perfect balance of functionality, performance in both exterior and terminal ballistics, and accuracy.
Quality of remanufacturers also come into play, I believe that any of you would shoot Black Hills Remanufactured and have no concerns.