Vern
Morethan1waytoskinacat
Problem is that UPS driver wont have the recall slip.
You will probably need to call Berger and have the pickup address changed.
OR
You can try leaving the box at the door of your house where they drop off you packages, problem is if hes tried 2 or 3 times he probably wont be back for the package.
You will probably need to call Berger and have the pickup address changed.
OR
You can try leaving the box at the door of your house where they drop off you packages, problem is if hes tried 2 or 3 times he probably wont be back for the package.
Eric Stecker
New member
Recall Update: The BR Column bullets will start shipping on June 25th. The first in line are those who are getting replacement bullets for lot 4192. Then we will go down the list in order by when the order was placed. To be clear, our resellers do not have priority status when it comes to shipments. We send out the oldest order first and then work our way to the newest. Frankly, when we start shipping bullets, all of the orders and replacements will be shipped within a week or so from the oldest to the newest.
If anyone has not been able to connect with the UPS driver who has the CALL Tag, please contact Teresa Collins at 714-447-5484 or call whomever you dealt with in getting your RMA number. It is my understanding that you can leave the box outside with a note that says "For UPS" and they will take the package. An alternative is to give us a work address or any address where someone will be available to give the package to the UPS driver. The address from which UPS picks up the bullets does not have to be the address to which the bullets were originally shipped. It can be any address.
Regarding the cause of the problem with lot 4192, once the bullet is made it is very difficult to clearly define what happened during the run. One of the indicators we found is that an area within the bullet that has a particular appearance when things are done properly did not look right. I am being purposely vague since this is something we believe has significant influence over precision performance. I can share that this situation is related to seating pressure. If this was the true root cause then it comes down to human failure during the set up.
Words can't describe how furious and disappointed I am over this situation. This is not how we do things and I can assure you that everyone on our production floor is aware of this situation and how pissed I am that it was likely handled improperly. We work very hard to make the highest quality bullets available. At the end of the day our final quality control check is in your rifle. If we do make a mistake we will learn about it and as we've demonstrated with this recall, we will stand behind our quality guarantee.
Regards,
Eric
If anyone has not been able to connect with the UPS driver who has the CALL Tag, please contact Teresa Collins at 714-447-5484 or call whomever you dealt with in getting your RMA number. It is my understanding that you can leave the box outside with a note that says "For UPS" and they will take the package. An alternative is to give us a work address or any address where someone will be available to give the package to the UPS driver. The address from which UPS picks up the bullets does not have to be the address to which the bullets were originally shipped. It can be any address.
Regarding the cause of the problem with lot 4192, once the bullet is made it is very difficult to clearly define what happened during the run. One of the indicators we found is that an area within the bullet that has a particular appearance when things are done properly did not look right. I am being purposely vague since this is something we believe has significant influence over precision performance. I can share that this situation is related to seating pressure. If this was the true root cause then it comes down to human failure during the set up.
Words can't describe how furious and disappointed I am over this situation. This is not how we do things and I can assure you that everyone on our production floor is aware of this situation and how pissed I am that it was likely handled improperly. We work very hard to make the highest quality bullets available. At the end of the day our final quality control check is in your rifle. If we do make a mistake we will learn about it and as we've demonstrated with this recall, we will stand behind our quality guarantee.
Regards,
Eric
Butch Lambert
Active member
I have known Eric for several years. He is very honest and will go to any extreme to produce the best bullets possible. Who else would have gone to these extremes to make things right?
Thank you Eric.
Thank you Eric.
Geronimo Jim
New member
Eric............everybody and every company makes mistakes. It is how you handle them that counts. I spent 30 years in a service intensive industry and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that
if you handle the screwup correctly, you will have a more loyal customer afterwards. I shoot you bullets (VLD's) in groundhog matches every week. I for one apprerciate you being here and how you
have handled this situation. In a world of serious customer no service you stand tall. Keep up the great work. Jim
if you handle the screwup correctly, you will have a more loyal customer afterwards. I shoot you bullets (VLD's) in groundhog matches every week. I for one apprerciate you being here and how you
have handled this situation. In a world of serious customer no service you stand tall. Keep up the great work. Jim
Wonder how inaccurate this lot of bullets was?
Maybe all major bullet mfg. ought to live fire test new lots of competition bullets, half hour of testing might save hundreds of hours of re-call effort and expense, wonder if Berger has a test range at their facility?
Gene Beggs
Active member
Eric, hang in there Buddy. During my 25+ years of involvement with benchrest, I have never met a more concientious, knowledgeable, and forthright individual than you. No one is perfect and in spite of our best efforts things don't always turn out perfect. As long as human beings are involved there will be mistakes. It's how you handle those mistakes that count and you are handling this one admirably! 
Warmest personal regards
Gene Beggs
Warmest personal regards
Gene Beggs
Eric Stecker
New member
Don,
Your suggestion is reasonable but in practice it is not proven as a generally effective quality control method. If a bullet is made badly during production and it is discovered at the range what do you change? What do you do with the bullets you've made? You have to control these things on the press. I understand that I'm saying this in a thread where we announced a recall but I'm also admitting that we messed up.
One of the top requirements to making good bullets is the details in the production process itself (another is using premium materials). We use the same production methods with all our bullets and the results have been mostly successful. There is another major brand that used to fire test every lot. I suspect that this practice hasn't done much to affect their production process because they stopped doing it. Let me be clear that I am not commenting on the quality of their product but rather am pointing out that their decision to stop fire testing every lot is understandable. The results on a target out of one gun aren’t definitive and therefore not useful in influencing production.
To answer your question about a testing facility on site, years ago, unfortunate circumstances moved Berger to California where ranges are hard to find and even harder to build inside city limits. Since our success is based on our process this is where we focus our attention. We do utilize a number of ranges and different shooters all over the country to test our bullets for various reasons. Lou Murdica has probably shot more Berger's in his tunnel than Walt has shot in his lifetime (and most of those were for the BR Column bullet test). Bryan Litz has both an above ground, indoor 100 yard range and an open air 600 yard and 1,000 yard range near his home office. These are our primary testing facilities but there are dozens of others who do lesser volumes of testing when needed.
Regards,
Eric
Your suggestion is reasonable but in practice it is not proven as a generally effective quality control method. If a bullet is made badly during production and it is discovered at the range what do you change? What do you do with the bullets you've made? You have to control these things on the press. I understand that I'm saying this in a thread where we announced a recall but I'm also admitting that we messed up.
One of the top requirements to making good bullets is the details in the production process itself (another is using premium materials). We use the same production methods with all our bullets and the results have been mostly successful. There is another major brand that used to fire test every lot. I suspect that this practice hasn't done much to affect their production process because they stopped doing it. Let me be clear that I am not commenting on the quality of their product but rather am pointing out that their decision to stop fire testing every lot is understandable. The results on a target out of one gun aren’t definitive and therefore not useful in influencing production.
To answer your question about a testing facility on site, years ago, unfortunate circumstances moved Berger to California where ranges are hard to find and even harder to build inside city limits. Since our success is based on our process this is where we focus our attention. We do utilize a number of ranges and different shooters all over the country to test our bullets for various reasons. Lou Murdica has probably shot more Berger's in his tunnel than Walt has shot in his lifetime (and most of those were for the BR Column bullet test). Bryan Litz has both an above ground, indoor 100 yard range and an open air 600 yard and 1,000 yard range near his home office. These are our primary testing facilities but there are dozens of others who do lesser volumes of testing when needed.
Regards,
Eric
Eric Stecker
New member
Recall Update: The 6mm BR Column bullets lot 4533 start shipping today. The weight is 64.2 grain which is the same as the weight of the lot 4192 that they will replace. As I've mentioned before we will start shipping the replacements for lot 4192 first and then go to our oldest orders and ship until all the orders are resolved. We are making enough to put bullets on the shelf so all the replacements and current orders should be shipped by the end of next week.
For those of you who are waiting for replacements outside the US, we will start contacting nearby, established resellers to arrange for the bullets to be received into your country and then passed along to you. This will take a bit more time but we will continue to pursue this situation until it is resolved.
Regards,
Eric
For those of you who are waiting for replacements outside the US, we will start contacting nearby, established resellers to arrange for the bullets to be received into your country and then passed along to you. This will take a bit more time but we will continue to pursue this situation until it is resolved.
Regards,
Eric
E
ehparis
Guest
Walt Berger was at the St. Louis "East-West" and mentioned he's anxious to get the new column bullets into as many hands as possible, the sooner the better, as he has high hopes for its success.
82boy
Patrick Kennedy
Well I must say that Berger is a top notch act. I recieved my bullets back yesterday 6/27/12, considering that the UPS man picked them up on 6/11/12, this is roughly an amazing 2 week turnaround. (A ton quicker than originaly thought.) Thank you Eric, and the rest of your crew, for getting this problems fixed in a expedant manner. I dont think any could ask for more. Thank you again you guys are awesome.
Gary Sinclair
New member
I would like to add my 2 cents worth about Eric and Berger bullets. A few months ago I ordered 2,000 of the column bullets when they first came out and could not wait to test them. Imagine my dissapointment when I could not get them to shoot after repeated tries! Wow, 2,000 fireform bullet! Just what I needed. But then I received a call from Berger saying that they were recalling them and at no cost to me. Man, thats great service! When was the last time a bullet maker recalled a lot of bullets on their own? Well I received a replacement and took them to the range the other day and all I can say is that they shot exceptionally well. As good as ANY other bullet I've ever shot! GREAT JOB Eric and Berger Bullets! You are well on your way to regaining your prominance in "Benchrest" bullets! Thanks Again! Gary Sinclair
E
ehparis
Guest
For those that have an interest in the new Berger bullet MidWAY USA now has them in stock:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/17..._Emails&cm_ite=ProductLink&cm_pla=ProdArrival
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/17..._Emails&cm_ite=ProductLink&cm_pla=ProdArrival
I got my hands on a few of the new replacements, that my buddy had and they shot pretty darn good!
I call my " full jam" the farthest out that i can seat a bullet before the barrel pushes the bullet back into the case. With that said, i found that these bullets shot best .006 back from my full jam. Anyone else care to share? Lee
I call my " full jam" the farthest out that i can seat a bullet before the barrel pushes the bullet back into the case. With that said, i found that these bullets shot best .006 back from my full jam. Anyone else care to share? Lee