# Ammo Question



## Jimdawgfan1955 (Dec 31, 2015)

I was at the range today. I was shooting Federal Aluminum 9mm. I had one that failed to extract.
When I got home I looked at the casing. There is what appears to be some kind of fluid inside the casing at the bottom.

Is this normal? What would cause this? Thanks


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Failure to extract, and fluid in the fired case: Maybe not related. But maybe they are.
Was it raining? Was the guy next to you on the line chewing tobacco?
(Sorry: The Devil made me write that.)

Failure to extract might be caused by a less-powerful-than-normal powder charge.
But that wouldn't necessarily leave a fluid trace behind.

Would deteriorating or deteriorated powder leave a fluid trace?
Does anybody here know?


----------



## Jimdawgfan1955 (Dec 31, 2015)

I was at an indoor range. Ammo went straight from the box to the mag. Also had some 124 gr. Remington in the mag as well.


----------



## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

Weak load or bad power would not leave fluid in casing with modern power. Improper storage could but will usually be more than just 1 casing


----------



## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

I learned not to blame any malfunction on the gun when shooting aluminum-cased ammo. I had an Uzi that went over 26,000 rounds without a malfunction. But it wouldn't fire five rounds of Blazer Aluminum case without double feeds, failures to extract, crushed cases etc. Maybe the heavy bolt & blowback action wasn't designed for aluminum cases. My Marlin 1894 carbine's manual says not to use aluminum cases. I did fire 300 rounds of Blazer Aluminum in my Glock Mod. 22 without any problems.


----------



## Blackhawkman (Apr 9, 2014)

I NEVER use Aluminum or steel cased ammunition. Too many issues. jmo fwiw


----------



## win231 (Aug 5, 2015)

Blackhawkman said:


> I NEVER use Aluminum or steel cased ammunition. Too many issues. jmo fwiw


With aluminum cases, reliability would be an issue. But steel cases are hard on the extractor & ejector. I'd never use them in a house gun or defensive gun. You don't get to choose when an extractor or ejector breaks, causing a malfunction.


----------



## OldManMontgomery (Nov 2, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Failure to extract, and fluid in the fired case: Maybe not related. But maybe they are.
> 
> Failure to extract might be caused by a less-powerful-than-normal powder charge.


Or some other factor. insufficient lubrication between the slide and receiver and the ever popular 'weak wrist'. 


Steve M1911A1 said:


> But that wouldn't necessarily leave a fluid trace behind.


No, it wouldn't necessarily.



Steve M1911A1 said:


> Would deteriorating or deteriorated powder leave a fluid trace?
> Does anybody here know?


Yes I do. No, it won't. There are no components in smokeless gunpowder that are fluids that might condense out, nor are there any elements which would combine to make a fluid to my knowledge.

Perhaps a border line effective extractor? Works when all is perfect and then just a minor bobble will cause it to fail. (One probably cannot tell by visual inspection, unless the part is seriously wrong.)

The other factor I can imagine is the aluminum managed to 'cling' to the chamber walls in some fashion. I suggest shooting some 'basic' ammo in brass cases and see if they fare differently.


----------

