I am talking factory remanufactured, like Freedom Munitions:

Remanufactured Ammo Facts

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Buy American
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Feel free to correct me if I'm off base here, but isn't remanufactured ammunition the same as reloaded ammunition? Tens of thousands of people reload their own ammunition, as a more cost effective means to shoot more or save money compared to buying factory ammunition. I would think that someone selling remanufactured ammunition would have more stringent quality control measures than the average reloader, so I would have no reservations about using commercially reloaded ammunition. Selling substandard ammunition would certainly bring unwanted scrutiny from the BATF, not to mention several ambulance chasing lawyers.

I look at it this way. The only difference is that remanufactured ammo uses, usually, once fired brass and new ammo uses "virgin" brass. Other than that, there is no difference.

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Have Canon, Will Travel

I once bought some unmarked bags of .357 at a gun show and the Forum advised me not to shoot it as it could have been non-professional reloads and a double shot of powder could ruin my gun and my day.

The factory remanufactrured would seem to be okay.

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The use of remanufactured/reloaded ammo depends upon just who did it and what QC standards they follow. Some remanufacturers, like Black Hills, have extremely strict practices-like individually checking used brass for defects-and follow SAAMI standards. Others are a guy or two in a garage with a progressive loader or three.

I prefer to load my own. I've seen boutique ammo maker destroy several weapons.

There are some companies that I would trust to use their remanufactured ammo: Miwall Corp., Black Hills and Georgia Arms. The only company that I Have bought remfg ammo from has been Miwall Corp. since they have been remanufacturing ammo for over 30 years and I've shot a lot of their 38Spl & 9mm ammo over the years without a single problem.

One thing I will never do is use any remfg from any company other than the above three I mentioned, and NEVER use ANY ammo made by any person selling "Fred's Ammo Lab" ammo at gun shows.

One thing you have to ask yourself about using ammo from all these new reloading companies is whether they are bonded and have several million in product liability insurance. Even then I wouldn't trust their ammo.

Precision Delta makes reloaded ammo used for practice by many police departments. I've used their .38WC with good reliability.
Mostly I use my own reloads using Precision Delta bullets.

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Science plus Art

I'm sure all re-manufacturers are not the same, but it's generally good quality and safe.

One of our local PD's uses re manufactured practice ammo and a Sheriff's Deputy friend of mine went through a lot of it before he bought several Dillon's.

I purchased a bunch of old re manufactured .38 Special a few years ago for $3 per box (50). I probably have 1,000 rounds left and I haven't had one dud yet. Shoot-O-Rama reloads rock!

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"I also cook."

Factory loaded ammo can have problems just like reloaded rounds, although its not common. I reload everything I shoot, except rimfire of course. I've never had a problem - I've had some loads that I didn't like, which I changed to my liking. One of my favorite guns is a Desert Eagle in 50 AE. I've run 3600 rounds through this gun without so much as a hiccup. Considering the cost of new ammo, I couldn't afford to shoot this gun without reloading it myself. Question: If you load ammo with new brass, does that mean it isn't a "reload"?

As long as it is high quality ammo it is no different than new Factory ammo other than the case being fired once before.

i call what i have done for the past 40+ years with new and used brass handloading not reloading, so i guess if you use new brass it would really be a handload not just reloaded....

As several others have stated here, It all depends on WHO did the reloading.

All I can say is from my experience, don't put anything through your gun you didn't make yourself or that is from a reputable major manufacturer. I recently ordered some remanufactured ammo from a company called Blok Tactical. The ammo was made from a company called Kinetic Range. I went out to shoot my sig p220 .45ACP on my birthday and the last round in my mag was apparently double charged because the gun pretty much blew up in my hand. I thankfully kept all my digits but it didn't feel great. I sent it back to Sig and they had to replace the entire upper including the barrel,the grips, and a 10 round magazine. I wasn't able to contact Kinetic Range so I contacted the people who sold it to me, Blok Tactical. To make a long story short, I never heard from Kinetic Range and Nick at Blok Tactical gave me the runaround. Pretty shameful nobody stepped up to their products errors. Unfortunately, this happens all to often in todays business environment. I didn't ask for anything from either Blok Tactical or Kinetic Range but to be refunded for the **** ammo that blew up my gun. Needless to say I will never use remanufactured ammo again and I would strongly encourage ya'll to spread the word about this **** ammo and **** companies.

I have two Sigs - a P226 and a P227, I have seven quality Smith and Wesson revolvers, and I have four nice 1911s.

I would never put a reload or hand load in any of them.

My P226 is West German, and 6 of my 7 Mith and Wessons are from the 70s or 80s. If they get blown up, they aren't getting replaced.

I am with you on this. I'll just buy less ammo and shoot less. I finally am at a point in my life where I can occasionally set aside a few dollars for a good gun, I want to shoot good factory ammo through them too.

Sorry about your P220, but I am glad you are OK.at is the main thing.

FockerRN, sorry you had such a bad and harrowing experience with some poorly remanufactured ammo. But don't assume that all ammo remanufacturers are all the same. The company the OP posted about in 2012 (Freedom Munitions) has been manufacturing reman and new ammo for quite a while with no problems as far as I know. I've bought ammo from them in 380 Auto and 223 in the past and it shot just fine. And I have a brother that has bought 223 and 44 Mag from them. BTW, I did buy the new ammo, not the reman when I ordered. The few dollars difference between the 2 was insignificant. As to other companies selling remanufactured ammo I don't have a clue on their quality though. But Freedom isn't some fly by night with 5 guys in the back room cranking out handloads on some Dillons.

@Tom_R, you go ahead and keep paying for your factory ammo; I'll just pick up your cases and reload them. I've been reloading since the mid 1960's and haven't blown up anything yet. And I can afford to shoot a lot more rounds since I control my ammo costs by reloading, plus I can tailor my ammo for the needs I want to put it to. And just because you buy factory ammo doesn't mean that you are safe. Back in the 80's I got a hold of some PMC 357 Mag ammo that was severely overpressured. I darn near had to take my boot off to pound the swollen cases out of the cylinder of my 27-2. I'm just glad my buddy, who was shooting a model 19 at the time didn't try running some of that nasty stuff through his pistol as it might have just busted his poor little K frame. And another factory ammo problem I personally saw a year ago was with some Winchester Ranger 45 Auto. My son-in-law was shooting up some year old duty issue ammo and he had a bad round that didn't fire. He reran it several times and never went bang, so I pocketed the bad round to do a post mortem on it. When I got home I popped it in my kinetic puller and popped out the bullet, saw it had powder, then ran the case through my decapping die to look at the primer. After decapping the primer I looked at it under a magnifier and saw that Winchester didn't put any priming compound in that primer. And that was LEO Ranger ammo and not your run of the mill white box stuff. So you see, things can happen even with factory ammo.

You're free to feel as you want, but there is zero danger in shooting handloads if you are the one who makes them AND you are meticulous in your reloading practice. I weigh every charge. I have lots of guns that I could not replace and I have no hesitation in shooting my reloads. Saving 50%-80% by hand loading is a big savings.

No I would never shoot somebody else's handloads. I use to buy Ultramax reloads and they were OK but I haven't bought them in years.

I"m considering ordering some ammo from Freedom
How do you actually know they are using "once" fired brass and not brass that has been used reloaded more then once?

I'm not familiar with reloading so maybe my question is showing my ignorance?

"once fired brass" is more of an industry term for a more broad definition of brass that can be reloaded!

mb

Thanks I thought they were only reloading the brass once

Overall, I have had decent experiences with some of the "remanufacturers" mentioned in previous posts.

I have, however, encountered problems in pistols with match chambers. Sometimes the reloaded rounds were enough out of spec to lock up the action.

As a result, I've quit using anything that isn't either new or reloaded by someone I know and trust.

Incidentally, I don't reload myself because I'm afraid my short attention span would lead to expensive problems!

I have been using the Freedom re-manufactured 38's for the last couple of months with no problems in my 686 or the wife's Chic Lady from Charter Arms. Compared to some Winchester and Federal the Freedom seems a little lighter on the powder charge both new and re-manufactured and seems easier to clean up afterwards. Between the two of us we go threw somewhere between 50 and a 100 rounds of 38's each trip to the range, which is at least once a week.

Every "kaboom" I have ever heard or read of was the result of a faulty reload, whether commercial or home. I will only shoot a reload if I reloaded it myself. I have good quality control and never vary the steps.

That said, there are millions of reloads fired every year without problems, but it just takes that one....

To echo what everyone else has said, I would only shoot my own loads or a reputable factory reload such as Georgia Arms etc. Anybody with a reputable reloading operation should have insurance and the appropriate FFL licensing to conduct their business. Fly-by-night operators selling cheap reloads at the gun show made by Bubba and his garage may be OK or maybe a complete cluster, I am not willing to play ammo roulette with very nice older guns.

I have had no problems with the 115 grain reman. ammo from Freedom Munitions. I believe they use a plated bullet so the velocity is not quite up there with FMJ but is good quality and well priced.

I buy the new vs Remanufactured in 9mm.115gr. The difference in price is only $.01 per rd. Why chance a defective cartridge case at that cost saving?

mb

Licensed, commercial reloaders are not in the same league as hobbyist reloaders. Years ago, I was friendly with the principals of M&D Reloading of Farmingdale NY and I got to see their operation may times.

As I recall, they used commercial machinery not practical or even available to the average reloader. Back in the wheel-gun days, M&D had contracts to supply ammo to many of the local police departments and some federal agencies and I never once heard of a gun blow-up with their ammo.

However, M&D did indeed suffer an explosion in one of their powder reservoirs which killed two employees. I don't think the investigative findings of exactly what caused the blast were ever publicly disclosed.

Never-the-less, I still have more than a thousand rounds of commercially reloaded .38 SPL. wadcutter ammo which I use from time to time.

I certainly hope so as myself along with quite a few local PD's have used re-man ammo from Ultramax for several years and with no complaints to my knowledge. Other than maybe an occasional but very limited FTF in literally over 100,000+ rounds but certainly no kabooms.

The only "remanufactured" ammo I will use is Black Hill's "Blue Box" in .223 Rem. I've shot a lot of it and so far it's been quality stuff.

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Stay safe people!

I agree wholeheartedly. I shoot my own reloads only. Ask yourself this, would you go into a gun shop and buy some reloaded ammo that they had if you didn't know who reloaded it? I wouldn't and neither I think would most anyone else. I once tested a gun for Charles Kelsey at Devel that blew up with the ammo they provided. I had a sore hand for a week but no serious injuries. Years before I was at the range when a friend blew up his Mark IV Series 70 .45ACP with the same result. He reloaded that ammo on a Star progressive that belonged to another friend that he didn't know much about operating and probably got a double charge through operator error.

As a chief range officer for my departments firearms program, we for quite a while used reloads that were commercially made. We had lots of problems although no overcharges or blow ups. Close to a 10% failure rate. We then switched to Blazer when it came out. While we had a few failures the ammo was better and we recycled the cases rather than having to turn them in.

If the reloading place has a name, location and a reputation, I'd shoot it. I bought some stuff many years ago that was touted as 'factory reloads'. I believe the 'factory' was someone in their garage with a progressive loader. I never knew whether I was going to get a 'pop' or a 'boom'. I prefer to make my own, but somebody like Freedom has a good reputation and I'd shoot it.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Freedom munitions reloaded ammo is better quality than the majority of new ammo you find on the shelf.

Burns cleaner than brands like Remington, PPU, etc. I would put it on par with Federal white box.

I've purchased 1000+ rounds from them and my friend has also. Out of that many rounds only one bad primer, the rest were great

I laugh when people pay $.40 a round for cheap 357 mag brands or $0.26 a round for 40S&W

Prices I've scored there:

40S&W for $0.19 a round
357 mag for $0.26 a round
38 special for $0.22 a round
9mm for $0.18 a round

I hate telling people about it for fear of driving prices up, but it's great!

On the other hand, I will not shoot other people's reloads. I have a bag of 357 mag reloads someone gave me with a 586 I purchased and they will sit in the bag until I get reloading equipment

Everybody makes mistakes. My lgs sold me some remanufactured ammo from a reputable large scale company for cheap. There was a recall on the batch. That's why I got it cheap, he sold it to me for reloading components only. I thought heck, my sig will digest anything, they're probably being paranoid. Nope. As I looked around for my extractor, pin, and spring at the range..... I wondered if anybody got some of this stuff that didn't know about the recall. It didn't seem any hotter than factory loads, but clearly the Sig knew it wasn't.

You buy a couple of boxes of reloads from fairly reliable Fred's ammo.
You go to the range and shoot most of them up. Then your revolver
locks up. You take it to your gunsmith and there goes whatever you
saved.

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In Omnia Paratus

I've used reman ammo from Black Hills and Scorpion. Black Hills is top notch and their ammo is great. Scorpion ammo is mediocre but okay for plinking. For SD use I wouldn't trust it.

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Jorge

A lot if not all Gun Manufacturers say the Warranty on Their Guns is Void if reloads (re-manufactured) Ammo are used and damage occurs.
I don't trust any reloads except My own.
I have had problems with new Factory Ammo so buying Factory reloads is out of the question for Me because cutting costs and doing things cheap are how They make Money and I just don't feel safe with that.

i've been happy with freedom.
no problems with their 38 spc.

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susie

I have shot less than 100 rounds of factory loaded ammo. I've shot enough reloads to "shoot out" the rifling in a 25-06 Shilen stainless steel barrel, 222 Remington barrels on a S&W 1500 rifle and a Thomson-Center Contender.

My handguns have used about 2,300 pounds of cast lead bullets over the last 41 years. So I guess I'll just keep on casting lead bullets and reloading all those brass cases. There will not be a Reloading Estate Sale at my house!

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S&WHF 366

You wouldn't trust Scorpion or you wouldn't trust reman for SD?

I've shot plenty of Freedom's remanufactured loads without a problem in both 9mm and 40S&W. No issues yet.

I never used re-man ammo before, but I few months ago I traded for a new 629-4 that came with a box of re-manufactured .44 magnum 240 grain loads. I shot one cylinder full. That was more than enough,some were hard to eject with flattened primers, some were very weak. All this in the first six rounds. I called the company after pulling apart 10 bullets. Powder ranged from 12 grains to 17.9 of this mystery powder, they gave me the runaround. I wound up pulling the heads and reusing the components. I personally won't use any more re-manufactured stuff in my weapons.I do however reload have been doing it for over 35 years and I rate my stuff right up there with factory fresh stuff. I did use all the components from the re-manufactured bullets including working up a good load for that powder, I had almost a 1/2 pound of it after pulling the heads.

The quality and safety of reloaded/remanufactured ammo has to do with not only the operator but the equipment used. A good friend owns and operates Precision Cartridge in Indiana. He produces over 2 million rounds per year. The Camdex equipment he has produces as high quality ammo as any of the major manufacturers. The reloading machines and attachments check (by fiber optics): case condition & length, powder charge and overall cartridge length. The powder droppers have an accuracy of +- 0.15 gr. I would be leery of any remanufacturing operator who isn't using Camdex equipment with all of the fiber optics attachments.

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Doug

I don't trust reman ammo for SD.

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Jorge

I had some reman 158 gr JHP 357 Magnum stuff the other day that varied from hot to way the bleep over SAMMI. I pulled apart the remainders for the components because I really didn't wish to spontaneously disassemble my Model 13.

The local DEA buys their ammo from Orr Tactical Orr Tactical - Home just down the road from us in Needville. Their ammo shoots cleaner than the Winchester I've used. Having personally spoke with the owners each time I or my wife has bought ammo, I'm not the least bit worried about QC.

That said, Freedom has a retail store up in Houston that I've bought ammo from previously. Other than being a little dirty, I've had no issues. Since Orr doesn't manufacture .38/.357 rounds (yet), I'd likely restock from Freedom.

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Get off my lawn!

I just can't believe we're having this discussion. Many of us only shoot reloads. Stuff we've made ourselves. I don't know anyone who's lost an eye or a hand. Course I'm new to this, only been reloading for over 50 years.

So no, I don't like anyone elses reloads. I've shot some, but only from people I trust.

And about 35 or so years ago we had a buddy who kept asking us to let him come shooting with us. He was kind of a jerk, but one time we let him. He brought his Taurus and a box of ammo he'd just bought. Most of it fired. Then he came begging for some of my ammo. Reloads, no less. And he had a few misfires, declared my ammo to be unsafe and junk. He proceeded to toss it and his empties in a garbage can and drove off. Another buddy who'd been shooting my reloads laughed. Then he dumpster dove after the ammo the guy tossed. It all fired just fine. But there after, my ammo was unsafe and junk. He never gave a thought to the Taurus being the source of his trouble. I didn't want to give him anymore ammo, so I kept quiet. Everyone else knew what the problem was. No, I don't reload for anyone but me, but my sons want me to.

I do see trouble on the horizon. With the ammo makers able to sell every caliber they make, they'll concentrate on the high volume big profit numbers. At some point, we just won't be able to buy less popular rounds. And that will force us to the aftermarket, or make them our selves. Through all this, people are still tossing out fired brass.

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Dick Burg

If you buy the Black Hills blue box ammo you are OK. Personally, I would never use any other ammunition reloaded by anyone other than myself.