Challenger Shotshells

I

ianthomson

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Lincoln, NB
https://imgur.com/a/B52buE2

Was out on the weekend, had multiple failures. Complete Hull separation. It made for some great stoppages in a semi, and a pump gun. I emailed Challenger for a little SA, and was shocked at their reply. I have enclosed it. I now need a new source for ammo. Spread the word.

From: arnaud.cry@seclibec.com <arnaud.cry@seclibec.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 5:28:08 PM
To: 'Ian Thomson' <IanThomson2@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Challenger Ammunition


Hi,



After to have check everything about this lot number we don’t find something wrong about it. The only thing that we can said about this problem it’s that the hull and the brass are not very strong together . We can have this problem sometimes with gas operated shotgun and shell with low brass .



Best Regards /Cordialement



Arnaud CRY

___________________________________

Shotshell Ammunition

___________________________________

3250 Montée de la Station, BP 120 ,

Sainte Justine de Newton, QC JOP 1T0
 
Interesting. I have shot plenty of Challenger slugs from both pump and semi, and never had an issue. Some Challenger 00 had problems with feeding/ejecting, because they were a bit deformed. Never anything like this.
 
I ordered 2 -3 boxes of Challenger slugs a while back ... when i opened the first box ... there was powder all over ... and I found this ...

The bulge was so pronounced ... that I wasn't even able to chamber that round ....


challenger.jpg
 
0faustus0 said:
I ordered 2 -3 boxes of Challenger slugs a while back ... when i opened the first box ... there was powder all over ... and I found this ...

challenger.jpg
Click to expand...

My buddy had a very similar experience with some target loads from them. You could literally hold the shell upside down and shake it and watch the powder fall out from the middle of the crimp
 
ianthomson said:
https://imgur.com/a/B52buE2

Was out on the weekend, had multiple failures. Complete Hull separation. It made for some great stoppages in a semi, and a pump gun. I emailed Challenger for a little SA, and was shocked at their reply. I have enclosed it. I now need a new source for ammo. Spread the word.

From: arnaud.cry@seclibec.com <arnaud.cry@seclibec.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2020 5:28:08 PM
To: 'Ian Thomson' <IanThomson2@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Challenger Ammunition


Hi,



After to have check everything about this lot number we don’t find something wrong about it. The only thing that we can said about this problem it’s that the hull and the brass are not very strong together . We can have this problem sometimes with gas operated shotgun and shell with low brass .



Best Regards /Cordialement



Arnaud CRY

___________________________________

Shotshell Ammunition

___________________________________

3250 Montée de la Station, BP 120 ,

Sainte Justine de Newton, QC JOP 1T0
Click to expand...

20ga, I assume. What's the lot number?
 
I have had some bad lots of challenger steel. Wads stuck in the barrel, roman candle type rounds ect. The newer stuff seems better. The person who emailed you needs some grammar lessons.
 
0faustus0 said:
I ordered 2 -3 boxes of Challenger slugs a while back ... when i opened the first box ... there was powder all over ... and I found this ...

The bulge was so pronounced ... that I wasn't even able to chamber that round ....


challenger.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s not right lol.

I’ve been lucky with my boxes of those slugs, nothing out of the ordinary. Have had a hard time finding them locally so I switched over to Black Goose slugs. Pretty much the same specs and made in B.C.
 
Interesting, I shoot a lot of there target loads since it comes on sale quite often. Probably shoot close to 1000 rounds a year and haven’t had a problem. Not saying it can’t happen. I appreciate the heads up, I’ll keep a closer watch from now on.
 
Ive had alot of Pierced primers with challenger loads yet i believe theyre cheddite primers and thats all i use for reloads and never had an issue with any reload
Challenger shells often sound very hollow in the cold and they sre the most likely to dud on the range. I have a box of challenger shells that wouldnt fire in multiple guns that ive picked up from the range
 
Have had no end of trouble cycling Challenger Target in my 20 ga pump. Remington Target at same price point seems to be better quality and have few issues. Passed on the Challenger Target to a friend who has an over and under who has had no issues so far. I have been told by several gun stores that the challenger target has low on brass.
 
I shoot probably 5000 challenger rounds a year in various guns, pump, semi and high end over under, never an issue..... did have a couple of boxes that were missing a shell or two, called the dealer I have dealt with for years and he just replaced the box no questions asked....
Good to know however...... thanks....
 
I've had a lot more problems with Federal and Winchester Super Target than I've ever had with Challenger. They've always cycled in any semi-auto I've tried them in and always went bang. Our local range sells a heck of a lot of Challenger clay target loads and rarely have I ever seen a defective one.

When you make ammunition in commercial amounts, even a 2% error rate translates into a heck of a lot ..................
 
Check your chamber: if it is at all rusty or a bit rough, the drag on the plastic hull when being ejected might be enough to have the brass pull off. Polish the chamber with some steel wool on a cleaning brush chucked in an electric drill and see if that cures the issue.
 
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