Incidentally, the .243 will be out of service for awhile because I fired 15 rounds of what turned out to be rather old Rem. 100gr. PSP factory loads in it the other day. One primer blew completely, the other leaked badly: gas vented throughout the action. Even the bottom of the scope had powder residue on it. Both pitted the breech face enough to make me send the entire rifle back to Ruger. When I pulled the remaining 5 rounds, I found caked powder and bullets essentially oxidized onto the case necks. Bummer!

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Maven,
That is intersting about the old Remington ammo. My wife's nephew had the exact same thing happen with a 7mm Magnum. He too was shooting old Remington ammo. I pulled one the the bullets from one of the factory rounds and the powder was caked and slightly clumpy, and the bullet was green where it was in contact with the brass. He doesn't have the $$$ to send the rifle back to Winchester (Model 70). Remington indicated it wasn't their problem. I have shoot plenty of old ammo and never had a problem like that. Anybody have any thoughts on these two incidents of old Remington ammo? BCB

Wow!! both you And Ricochet have had a bad week. Tommorrow I'll be at the range. roger

All, The bases and sides (i.e., the portions that were in the case) of the five bullets which I pulled were all oxidized (darker than an old penny). The powder, i.e., that which didn't fall freely from the cases wasn't fresh enough to save either. And of course, the primers were covered with verdigris as well. The rifle is still operable, but the gas cutting/scoring in a circular pattern on the breech face (around the firing pin, naturally) doesn't inspire confidence in its longevity. On the other hand, the good news is that I was unhurt: Ruger's reputation for building strong firearms is certainly justified. As for substituting mag. primers for standard ones, I guess the rule of thumb is not to unless circumstances dictate it. ...Maven