Winchester RANGER 223 Ammo Recall Explained. Almost.

thefirearmsblog.com published the following message, which chronicles the events leading to the recall of Winchester 223 ammo. The official recall notification follow. What we don’t know, what we may never know: what went wrong at the factory that caused this problem.

The TTN: REQUEST FOR NATIONAL BROADCAST – FIREARMS HAZARD INFORMATION
****** CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL BROADCAST SENT 2/25/11 *******
Attention Law Enforcement Agencies, this Police Department is seeking any similar incidences with the .223/5.56 style rifles.

On 02/14/11 an officer was attending an M4/MP-5 class and during a shooting session, the .223 rifle (Stag Arms) experienced a catastrophic failure resulting in an upper receiver cracking and the bolt being pushed into the bolt assembley.

During a SWAT training day on 02/23/11, three more M4 style rifles experienced a catastrophic failure at the same time. All three rifles experienced the bolts being pushed into the bolt assembly, the upper receivers were cracked and / or broken apart, and the lower receivers were bowed outward. The ammunition we used in all the rifles were Winchester RA223R2 Ranger 64 gr. Power Point.

The Rifles were: 1-Colt, 2- Bushmasters and 1 – Stag Arms

Back in January, this teletype was making the rounds:

**ATTENTION ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES**OFFICER SAFETY INFORMATION**THE XXXXXXXX POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS EXPERIENCED THREE CATASTROPHIC FAILURES OF AR STYLE RIFLES/THE FAILURES INCLUDED THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF THE UPPER AND LOWERS OF THESE WEAPONS/THE THREE WEAPONS WERE WELL MAINTAINED WITH REGULAR DOCUMENTED MAINTENANCE PERFORMED BY A CERTIFIED ARMORER/THE THREE WEAPONS HAD BEEN IN SERVICE FROM 3 TO 10 YEARS/THE COMMON DENOMINATOR CONSIDERED WAS THE AMMUNITION USED DURING THE FAILURES/THE THREE RIFLES EXPERIENCING FAILURE WERE FIRING WINCHESTER RANGER RA223R2, 64GR POWER POINT, LOT NUMBER 065DK31/OTHER WEAPONS FIRING THE SAME AMMUNITION BEARING A DIFFERENT LOT NUMBER WERE NOT AFFECTED AND PERFORMED NORMALLY/IF YOU HAVE AMMUNITION BEARING THE LAST FOUR DIGITS DK31 IN THE LOT NUMBER IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU QUARANTINE THAT AMMUNITION AND CONTACT WINCHESTER**

OFFICIAL RECALL NOTICE

East Alton, IL – Olin Corporation, through its Winchester Division, is recalling six (6) lots of its RANGER 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-Point (PP) centerfire rifle ammunition (Symbol Number RA223R2). Through extensive evaluation Winchester has determined the lots of RANGER Law Enforcement ammunition listed below may contain incorrect propellant. Incorrect propellant in this ammunition may cause firearm damage, rendering the firearm inoperable, and subject the shooter or bystanders to a risk of serious personal injury when fired. To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number . . .

If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41 or DK51 immediately discontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition.

If you have any questions concerning this RANGER Law Enforcement ammunition recall please call toll-free 866-423-5224, write to Winchester (600 Powder Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024 Attn: RA223R2 Recall), or visit our website at www.winchester.com.