Sold Reloads?? Should I say something?

Chirocat46

Chirocat46

Member
Hey all,

Question concerning a case of shells I purchased before last season.

Purchased a box of Winchester Super X 5 shot in 20g from a store online. Used a few boxes last year no issue. Go back to them this season and noticed a fair number of shells looked worn (hardly any lettering on casing, very smooth, some of the shells not completely crimped and other appear cracked) hell some shells fit only halfway into gun barrel and I haven’t had this issue before.

has anyone seen this come out of a factory new case? Thinking I have been sold some reloads. Shells also pattern terribly compared to stuff I had bought off the shelves at local stores. Been over a year and I believe ammo sales are final from this store like many… worth contacting the store? Or just move on? Not super happy about it (pictures you see are out of 1 box) most boxes have 2-4 shells with any number of these issues
 

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They sure look like reloads. Did the box look new? I reloaded 20ga for many years, hunting and skeet. Maybe have one like that if I used a questionable AA case (too many times reloaded). Someone pulled a swap.
 
Wind River said:
They sure look like reloads. Did the box look new? I reloaded 20ga for many years, hunting and skeet. Maybe have one like that if I used a questionable AA case (too many times reloaded). Someone pulled a swap.
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Boxes look new and the card board case looked new as well. Definitely going to contact them.
 
Chirocat46 said:
Boxes look new and the card board case looked new as well. Definitely going to contact them.
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Had some Win 12 ga shells that the crimp was tenting right out the box. While at a clay birds shoot there was a Win rep there. She looked at the shells and agreed they were not proper and Win would make it right. She took all the info from the box. SKU, batch # etc and asked when and where they were purchased. When told bought from WallyWorld she said Win would not warranty them since they were a special run for WallyWorld. Apparently they will make shells to retailers wishes and adjust mfg to have the shells to the price point WW wants. So if a box is normally $6 and WW wants a $4 box they adjust with sub standard components?
 
It sucks that you got stuck with shells like that. BUT, I have a feeling you are SOL due to the timing factor. Going to be difficult for a retailer or manufacturer to believe your story a year later. I'd toss the defective shells, buy some new ones and move on.
 
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I've had several NIB 20ga Winchester Super-Target shells come right out of the sealed box looking like that. I had one factory sealed box that had probably a half an ounce of 8s rolling around in it when I opened it. I have also noticed hulls with little to no "ink" on them indicating the load.

I think there's just some poor quality control going on out there. I believe most of my Super-Targets were WallyWorld purchases. Some weren't but I didn't keep track of which was which. I'm only busting clay with them for practices and shooting them out of an O/U so....I just shoot them if possible or toss them if not.
 
You might try Winchester. If you purchased them a year ago, I wouldn't bother the retailer now. They look like some of my old 20 gauge reloads after they sat a year or 2, that sucks.
 
Depending on where you bought them I might resort to the power of the pen. Purchased at Wallyworld, probably not going to have an effect, but purchased at a reputable business trying to maintain a reputation it might work but you need to give them an opportunity to make it right first.
 
I have been thinking about this. If these came out of a "factory seal case", this is a manufacture's issue. And then, as you likely imagined, I will say they don't reload fired hulls there at the Winchester plant. I am guessing you maybe have bought some shells at an auction, estate sale or from an individual and these boxes got in with the case you had purchased. So they likely didn't originate from that factory case. Could that be the case and explain this?? I guess we are looking for an explanation for the unexplainable.
 
Airmedic1 & Remy3424:
Purchased the case online, from an actual store out of Stuttgart, AR. Still haven't said anything, really feel like I'm SOL on the whole deal. Poor timing on my part being over a year since purchase.

Went back and looked on their website and they still have the same shells up, appear to be selling as new?
 
Is the case box an actual "Winchester" logo and printed box or just a generic card board box?? Those shells in the pics have to be reloads with the printing worn off the case. As said, I have never seen a factory crimp relax and open like those, but I have seen my own reloads (20 gauge) do exactly that. I could see a factory crimp closed case open, if the machinery got out of spec some way, but not the wear on the cases like you show. Maybe call the retailer and ask if they have sold reloads before...if you can find someone that has worked there for at least a year. Heck, maybe they did and still do sell reloads and you did get the wrong thing.
 
I'd tell them just to protect their stock and reputation, and perhaps to get some consideration on your purchase.

Your call.
 
Those aren't even good reloads!...in fact the person that put them together doesn't even know how to adjust his reloader for crimp depth or taper. I would absolutely send pics of these to the seller. I would be furious and I've got to figure there is a legal issue at play here. God knows what powder was used, weight of shot charge loaded into these hulls. These could be a REAL safety issue. I'd demand that this be made right. No questions. I'd make sure the seller understands this and (if you have to) a photo to the ATF would certainly not be in his interest...current administration notwithstanding.

I'm positive these did not come from the manufacturer this way...I've never seen anything like it. I can only guess the case was doctored at the vendor/seller...someone swapping crap for factory shells...case still weighs what it should. I'm still stunned...again...never seen anything even close to this.
 
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That's what I wondered. Someone at the store did the old switch Aru on you. If so, said person probably got caught doing something else and is now unemployed! So there's a chance they already know and will make it right. Natsy's right call them and let them know.
 
"I'd demand that this be made right. No questions"...yeah, that won't go well. Those are the folks that they will refer to as the little brown spot in the center of your butt. I might try a different approach. Post a pic of the box they came in, was it a glued-shut (not packing tape) factory box, are the individual boxes "new" looking? As I said before, find out if that retailer sold reloads, that is one of the few explanations that might seem possible to explain this. The individual boxes might have production info or manufacture dates pressed/stamped into them, if so do those match? If there are only some in a box or 2, is it possible you acquire some of these from somewhere other that a retailer and added them into that case of shells for storage? I just am have a hard time thinking someone would go through the effort to add a few reloads into boxes of shells, it just makes about zero sense. Pretty sure the factory didn't do it. I would ask if they (do or have) worked with (buy ammo from) a reloader/remanufacturer, now or recently...if so, I am guessing those are all reloads, not just the ones that you can tell at a glance. If they do or did, sell reloads, and they have record of you only purchasing that case (and charged for new ones) from them, they might take care of it. Good luck.

I know you can buy remanufactured handgun ammo, but have never seen shot shells sold by a retailer that were reloads/remanufactured, so this might be a stretch. The only place I have seen reloaded shot shell sell, has been at estate auctions.
 
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