Sen. Tim Sheehy sues ammunition maker over alleged defective rounds
A .308 round from Freedom Munitions allegedly exploded in Tim Sheehy’s rifle chamber, sending fragments into his hand and face. The company says that lot may not meet specs.
Tim Sheehy has sued Freedom Munitions, LLC, alleging a .308 round from the Idaho ammunition maker malfunctioned twice while he was target shooting at his ranch in Meagher County and caused injuries that required medical treatment. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Montana as a diversity personal-injury and product-liability lawsuit and seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
The complaint alleges someone working for Sheehy bought 1,000 rounds of .308-caliber ammunition for him in June 2024. Sheehy alleges one round detonated inside the chamber, sending fragments into his hand and face. A second malfunction happened in September 2025 with a different rifle but the same ammunition, leading to more serious injuries that required stitches and bandaging.
Freedom Munitions’ safety center identifies the ammunition as Freedom 308 Win 150 gr FMJ Reman, item FM308F150R20, lot K240508122505, manufactured May 8, 2024. The powder charge in that lot may not meet its specifications, and customers should stop using it immediately. Its safety notices also include a separate recall for .38 Special ammunition manufactured Sept. 17, 2025.
The lawsuit was filed in Meagher County court and later moved to federal court because the parties are from different states. The federal docket lists the case number as 6:26-cv-00015, a preliminary pretrial conference order entered June 9, and a preliminary pretrial statement due Aug. 26.
Freedom Munitions is based in Lewiston, Idaho, and specializes in new and remanufactured pistol and rifle calibers. The company denied the allegations and disputed that its ammunition was defective or negligently designed or manufactured.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
