HSM ammo any good?

[JohnC76]

I ask because I just opened a box up I bought and it looks like nasty crap ammo.

Those are loaded with Hornady AMAX, so you'd think they would look nicer having a match bullet.

I hope this stuff shoots decent.


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[Maggot]

I had a bunch of their 50 caliber and it was fine. Send the photo to their corporate HQ and see what happens. Looks like the copper in the brass is beginning to oxidize. Im not so sure Id shoot it til I ask some questions.

 

[stingrayguy]

I have used it, shoots great out of my rifle. Those rounds look old?

 

[TNT]

I used HSM years ago. Did not look like that. Shot well but a bit high pressure in my 5r. As previously recommended, send that pic to their customer service. That is or at least was quite out of the ordinary.

 

[Cegorach]

I had a batch of 55 grain .223 from HSM that locked my AR in battery. Once I cleared the loaded round by mortaring I found that it, and the rest of the unfired rounds, would not fit into a cause gauge by a significant margin. I have not used any of their products since then.

 

[Redmanss]

Where did you get it, how long have you had it, and how was it stored? Those rounds got wet at some point in their life.

 

[JohnC76]

Where did you get it, how long have you had it, and how was it stored? Those rounds got wet at some point in their life.

I just bought it from my local gun shop yesterday in Franklin, TN.

It was up high behind their counter on the shelf.


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[JohnC76]

I had a bunch of their 50 caliber and it was fine. Send the photo to their corporate HQ and see what happens. Looks like the copper in the brass is beginning to oxidize. Im not so sure Id shoot it til I ask some questions.

Are they good about standing behind their products?




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[Redmanss]

I have a lot of HSM .260 and .308 ammo, and they all were in great condition. I would try taking it up with the shop. While most places cannot accept ammo returns, they might make it good for you or point you in the right direction to take the complaint up to HSM themselves. Something tells me the case it came from shows water damage.

Here's how you get a hold of them: http://www.thehuntingshack.com/contact.htm

 

[agbm]

Contact HSM they should send you a pickup from UPS and replace the ammo once checked out. They make Great ammo, you could contact MEL over at Sniper Central they sell tons of HSM ammo. The one thing I try unless it's a sealed box of ammo is always pop it open and look at the ammo.

 

[JohnC76]

Contact HSM they should send you a pickup from UPS and replace the ammo once checked out. They make Great ammo, you could contact MEL over at Sniper Central they sell tons of HSM ammo. The one thing I try unless it's a sealed box of ammo is always pop it open and look at the ammo.

Thanks. I'll shoot them a message and see what they can do.

 

[JohnC76]

I just sent them an email. Hope they make it right.

 

[blackblue]

Bet those rounds have had a lot of fingers on them during their time behind the shelf. Box looks to have been damp on the open side also.

 

[JohnC76]

Bet those rounds have had a lot of fingers on them during their time behind the shelf. Box looks to have been damp on the open side also.

It would've had to happen at HSM because this gun shop is nice and climate controlled, never been flooded, etc.

Plus, none of their other ammo look like this.

No guns were corroded or rusted either.

Ammo came from the top left of the shelf where the black boxes of ammo are. Up high...

And no, this box doesn't look or feel like it has been damp.

 

[JohnC76]

Looks like I'm not the only person who's got crap ammo from HSM:

corroded HSM ammo page

 

[Maggot]

Sounds like the company wont stand behind it. Id go back to the dealer and ask him to take it back. If he balks tell him if he wants any more of your, or your friends business, he had best take it back.

 

[cav has been]

Understand,HSM has no control after the ammo leaves their facility. I have done business with these guys over more than thirty years with no drama. They furnish ammo to some of the major PD's in this country as well as some of the letter agencies. While this likely means nothing to OP,they do in general have a decent quality control program. I would definitely take it up with them rather than the internet community. But then again, where is the entertainment value in that?

 

[JohnC76]

Understand,HSM has no control after the ammo leaves their facility. I have done business with these guys over more than thirty years with no drama. They furnish ammo to some of the major PD's in this country as well as some of the letter agencies. While this likely means nothing to OP,they do in general have a decent quality control program. I would definitely take it up with them rather than the internet community. But then again, where is the entertainment value in that?

I can understand your personal connection to HSM and wanting to defend HSM because you've done good business over the years with them.

But understand this, there is no entertainment gain in me getting a shitty box of ammo from HSM and having to waste my time on it when I should be at the range shooting this ammo.

That said, I posted this to get some feedback so I could figure out what to do.

I didn't want to get a shitty box of ammo, I wanted a good box of ammo because I have to qualify to shoot long range at my local gun range and they only allow AMAX bullets. This was the only in stock AMAX 50 BMG locally.

The gun shop isn't responsible for this ammo. They have no control over it. They do have a nice store with climate control and none of their other ammo I have bought has looked like this. And being I'm not the only person that has got HSM 50 BMG in bad condition, that leads me to believe HSM has issues with their 50 BMG ammo. No one else's 50 BMG that I've bought comes out of the box looking like this.

To the rest, thanks for the feedback. I've sent them an email and still not heard anything. I'll update as I find out more.

 

[LineofDeparture]

I've used a lot of their 338 lapua mag rounds with not one single issue and great accuracy.... No signs of pressure. Lapua brass, 300 grain smk's. Consistent in every aspect.


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[cav has been]

OP, pm sent.

 

[Yasherka]

Buddy of mine bought some HSM .338 brass. It was not properly annealed (if it was at all). On the first firing, two thirds of the rounds experienced split necks. HSM said they would replace the brass that split, but not any other brass from the six boxes he bought (all the same lot #). Oh yes, and he had to send the brass to them first.

Cured me of ever wanting to buy anything from them.

 

[JohnC76]

I just hope they stand behind this and replace it with good clean ammo. That's all I want.

 

[WildHareMS]

HSM ammo any good?

Interesting. Mine wasn't corroded but the necks expand so far when fired that I almost couldn't extract the brass at all. I had to fight getting it out of my 700.

 

[Cobracutter]

Whats a higher probability.......The ammo left the factory looking like that...........Or there was improper storage/handling buy the shipper/wholesaler/dist/gunstore?

 

[JohnC76]

Whats a higher probability.......The ammo left the factory looking like that...........Or there was improper storage/handling buy the shipper/wholesaler/dist/gunstore?

We can rule out my local gun shop. It is climate controlled and well kept. I've never had any other ammo from them whatsoever come out of the box looking like this HSM ammo.

So the problem seems to be between HSM, their storage, or whatever warehouses they ship to for distribution.

Seeing the corrosion looking like it is coming from between the bullet and the case, and seeing the other guys photos of the inside of the cases being corroded, I have to ask.

Could they have used unclean cases that had come from old corrosive rounds?

I've personally never in my life got a box of ammo that looked like this.

 

[Cobracutter]

Maybe it was trade in ammo or bad reloads they were trying to peddle.

ALL HSM match ammo I have bought came in styrofoam holders. Were those rounds lose in the box?

 

[smschulz]

HSM did not make it that way.
I used to buy quite a bit of it before I started reloading.
It was quite accurate and none looked anything close to those pictures.

 

[g2gjoe]

Shit!!! Now I have about 10 boxes to look through when I get home..
I bought them during the ammo shortage.

I've used their 308 ammo before, wasn't bad at all, not greatest accuracy, slightly less than BH out of both my rifles.

 

[briang7511]

I have had good luck with their 308 155 amax, produced half moa groups out of a box stock savage, and the 300 wm 190 sierra hpbt shot 1/4 to 1/2 moa out of a custom rig after I adjusted seating depth to .030 off. I haven't bought any 50 cal stuff, all other ammo was bought from snipercentral. very reasonably priced and has been very good quality ammo for me.

 

[Trespasser]

I had some 308 rounds with the 175 gr SMK stick in the chamber during unfired extraction whereas FGMM with the same bullets did not. It turned out to be a concentricity issue with the HSM ammo. I will not be buying their ammo anymore.

 

[LRShooter101]

I shot the HSM .50 BMG with the 750 AMAX in competition for 2 years, and never saw anything that looked like that.

Looking at that external link, that ammo also has internal corrosion, so it is a source issue, not anything after the factory.

If HSM tries to tell you it is a post factory issue, then you may want to tear some down and check the internal condition of the brass.

Hope they will take care of you.


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[GUNNER75]

Have ran several cases of the Reman 50gr V Max in 223 and 400 to 500 rounds of the 243 75gr V Max. The Reman 223 will show a dent or two from time to time, but zero other issues. Damn sure nothing that looks like your picture at all.