Ordered .223 bullets from Xtreme last week...Saturday I come home to not only a damaged box, but one of the boxes of bullets was split open. I noticed the postal truck at the end of the block and saw the postwoman walking over...I can see on her face that she was not happy bout having to deliver the package like that. So she comes over and is apologetic saying thats how she found the box in her truck. Then she goes on to saying "some gold pieces fell out when I picked it up, but I put them back inside." Emailed Xtreme along with pics, not all the bullets are accounted for...what a PITA.

 

Exactly how I found the delivery

 

 

 

After further review...

 

 

 

 

 

Wow I hope my micro desert eagle isn't shipped with the same treatment. That's crazy.

My order arrived just fine...

Also, IMO...Xtreme used to big a box to ship. There was some paper inside which took up a little space but not enough to stop the boxes from moving around inside...had a smaller box been used keeping the contents "tighter" it might of been able to take more abuse...who knows...see what xtreme says.

My order arrived just fine...

Don't you have a credit card to go cancel? haha

I know. POSTAL service does NOT ship ammo! sorry, not ammo.. Did you think it might have been opened for an inspection?

Tell me about reloading 223 once you get going with it... That is my next step...

Also, IMO...Xtreme used to big a box to ship. There was some paper inside which took up a little space but not enough to stop the boxes from moving around inside...had a smaller box been used keeping the contents "tighter" it might of been able to take more abuse...who knows...see what xtreme says.

 

If you have to use less than an ideal sized flat rate box, one of the best strategies I have seen is to put the internal boxes in the tyvek priority envelopes,  and glass tap the snot out of the outside box. IMO this is an issue with the packaging like you said. 

 

I know. POSTAL service does NOT ship ammo! sorry, not ammo.. Did you think it might have been opened for an inspection?

 

Nah, that looks very much like failure due to the small boxes within beating the heck out of the enclosing box. 

Just got off the phone with Xtreme, very nice to deal with...not only are they sending me the bullets that are missing, they're rounding up to the next 100 for my troubles...about 60 extra bullets. They'll be taking the pics and talking to USPS as well.

 

Big +1 to Xtreme

Tell me about reloading 223 once you get going with it... That is my next step...

.223 reloading is all about brass prep prior to any 'reloading'

Process goes like this:

Tumble dirty spent brass shiny clean (I use Flitz-treated corn cob for an overnight tumble)

Inspect for split necks and incipient head separation (most common brass problems in .223)

Lube, size and deprime (I use Imperial sizing wax and a single stage RockChucker)

Tumble to de-lube

Measure and trim/chamfer/deburr if necessary (I put every sized piece thru my Giraud trimmer)

Swage primer pocket if once-fired crimped brass (RCBS press mounted or Dillon bench mounted)

Primer pockets: make sure flash holes are clear, brush clean (RCBS in drill) or uniform primer pockets (for match grade)

Hand prime (to feel and separate loose primer pockets) (I use RCBS non-strip priming tool) and feel EVERY one for proper seating depth.

(High primers lead to slam-fires which can make for a bad day for someone with less-than-wonderful muzzle discipline)

NOW you're ready for powder and bullets. (Can be single stage or progressive)

My competition ammo gets handled more gingerly than general purpose ammo, so it does not get crimped.

Non-competition ammo always gets a Lee Factory crimp

Every piece gets guaged before it gets packaged (Failures are almost always a nicked rim that can be adjusted with a small file)