doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Polywad issues

Guys,

I thought you might be interested in my recent experiences with Polywad. I've now made three attempts to contact Polywad to provide them feedback and I'll let the forum know if I get an acknowledgment.

In short, I had a mixed case of brand new ammunition with different lot numbers that was between 2-12 weeks old when fired out of numerous different guns. Amongst the ten boxes tested, I had 12 mis-fires due to what I believe to be lack of a powder charge in the shells. I even gave the employees at Polywad the lot numbers on the 2nd contact with them two months ago at which time they promised to call back with an explanation. (no reply received...boss was out of town and may not have even received the first two inquiries)

Each misfire resulted in a barrel obstruction since the only charge was that of the primer pushing the wad up to the point of the choke.

The lots in question were 2.5" Vintager 12 gauge shells in #6 shot and #7.5 shot respectively and were shipped from Polywad on 11/3/2010.

Some of the misfires even took me out of the hunting field and cost me shots on pheasants which only added to my frustrations.

Buyer beware unless Polywad comes forward with a reasonable hypothesis as to why all the failures occurred and a further assurance this was not a systemic failure that effected much greater numbers.

Wow, sounds like you really got hold of a bad batch! I don't think Polywad really loads their own shells (the ones I get from them seem to come in different colored cases within the same order, so I expect that they source their ammo from others to their specs).

I doubt there'll be a good explanation, but I would be surprised if Jay Menefee failed to respond and offer to replace your order. I'm sure he'd like to have the bad shells he sent you back in order to determine what went wrong.

My experience with Polywad has been very good. I am glad you had the presence of mind to check for obstructions before you blew a barrel or sustained an injury. I hope something good comes of your misfortune...Geo

When I spoke with Jay over six months ago the conversation was very positive and he took the time to explain a great many things about his product. (which makes my frustrations now so hard to swallow because I really want to like his product)

At that time, Jay explained the opposite was true compared to George's hypothesis. That being, that Polywad made ammunition for other firms (opposed to relabeling things themself) such as remington and bismuth no-tox (now defunct).

I've had nothing but great service from Polywad, however I've had misfires using Remington and Winchester shells also. No big deal, unless you're using a jam-O-matic. I just check my barrels see if there is something in there that shouldn't be if there is then I get a stick push the obstruction out and keep on going.

I bought a case of 20 bore shells from Polywad couple years ago. There were two to four shells in every box that were empty of lead pellets. Powder and wad in all them, no lead shot. Boxes were full of loose lead.

I called Jay, he listened, took my information, thanked me for the call and never got back about anything. I wouldn't hold your breath they will do anything right by you. Still have the case and they will sell cheap if someone is interested.

If you don't send them back what do you expect them to do ?

If you buy B&P cartridges in appropriate quantity they will ship it free to your door. These are made in Italy widely acknowledged to be the country where best cartridges are made today among many other things of course. Another very good cartridge I used is called Gamebore 'Traditional' with green paper case and felt wad but it was substantially more expensive to buy then B&P.

Hmmm... last summer I had a couple of misfires with Polywads. I have never had one with B&P which I shoot mostly. I didn't think, at the time, it was a Polywad systemic problem...

I was going t order some 20 ga from them but I guess not now.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

If your comment is directed to me Joe, thanks for asking. This is what I expect � my feelings have been formulated from forty years of self-employment and dealing with the public every day for my living � which is if my company meets or exceeds your expectations, I would like to be paid the amount we agreed upon. If you don�t feel you have been treated fairly, I will personally meet with you on your site to learn why not; we will make it right, period. That philosophy has served my family and my employees well.

I expected Polywad to tell me a prepaid return mailing label was in the mail for their bad product. A replacement case of shells is on the way and they regret any inconvenience.

What I got out of Jay was a �yawn� and the feeling I was bothering him. Polywad hasn�t a prayer of doing business in this household ever again.

I offered my experience with Polwad to the conversation as a matter of fact, not looking for any thing more.

Update:

In response to my letter to Mr. Menefee of Polywad I received an email this morning:
-------------------------------
Sir:

No--I was out of town the end of November, and did not see note to call you, or anything related to what you just wrote here. Very sorry. Wish you had e-mailed me a note then.

Please give me a call at your convenience .

I will be here all week.

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I appreciated the response although a phone number would have been handy to include or better yet, a phone call to me since I provided one in my note explaining the systemic problem across different lots.

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I just called Mr. Menefee via phone and he explained that this is the first he'd heard of my issue. I stated that I wasn't looking for anything from him other than assurance that he understands that a defect exists. He casually offered me some shells (didn't specify how many)to which I explained I did not expect any because I used the shells and therefore have nothing to return to him.

Final outcome was that Polywad has stated they are going to call the distributor for the lot numbers again (I gave them the lot numbers but don't have the info anymore and neither do they). The distributor still has the remaining shells I split with them on the shelf so the lot numbers can be obtained and their product can be pulled from the shelves for replacement. I then gave Polywad the phone number of Polywad's distributor and the owner's name so they could follow up directly if they wish to do so.

I'll follow up next time I'm in Trout & Grouse and see if they were taken care of in this situation.

If Polywad takes care of their distributor and replaces their shells, I'll be tempted to give them another try. I wish Polywad would have responded before the 3rd inquiry. I wish Polywad would have taken the bulls by the horn and sent me a brand new case in November when I had the first misfire and still had product to exchange. Nonetheless, some care from their part shows good will.

I'm wondering if a company has 12 shells absent powder in a mixed case of different lots that they might have 1 shell in a case with double powder!

I think I'm going to go with B&P for awhile and see if I get any misfires with competing options. I hate to speak badly of a small business owner but my feeling of Polywad's response is neutral at this point.