Do you believe that remanufactured ammo, such as that sold by Freedom Munitions, performs on par with low-cost brands of factory ammo such as Fiocchi, PMC, S&B, Magtech, Blazer, and Armscor?

I must say I have my doubts. If one can afford it is there any reason not to buy factory ammo? The cost savings is not that great.

"If one can afford it is there any reason not to buy factory ammo? The cost savings is not that great."

I agree. I am opposed to someone reloading spent brass and selling it as, "Remanufactured". There are too many auto loaders with unsupported chambers that spit out bulged brass, especially in the 40 ACP's!
For the very slight difference in cost, I will always choose New!

Incidentally, Magtech is one of my favorites.

mb

Remanufactured (business term for reloaded) is for the most part on par with new ammo. The myth of factory ammo being "higher quality" will always carry on, despite the regular recalls announced in the gun magazine.

I reload, have since the early 1970s, and other than two dud primers from the same pack way back when, I've never had a faulty round for any reason. I'll stack that against new commercial ammo all day long.

And it's S&W .40, not 40 ACP.

IMHO re-manufactured ammo is something just to tide you over until you figure out that to shoot often you need to re-load yourself. I went that route myself, and quickly realized I might as well just get the equipment and do it myself.

Remanufactured ammo is usually loaded close to Factory spec. and I always wanted to load ammo to MY spec's. I see no reason at all to be shooting full power loads out of some of my prized vintage firearms just to punch holes in paper.

Re-manufactured loads are usually done with the most inexpensive components the manufacturer can buy - remember profit is the primary motive!

I have used ammo from two small manufactures here in town.
On different runs they would turn out new and re manufactured using the same components and equipment.
The only thing that was different was the brass - new or fired.
One guy had US Gov contracts, loading ammo for range use.
I Never had a problem with any ammo from either loader.

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

Same powder, same bullet, same primer. The singular difference is in the use of recycled cases.

I do not understand folk's hesitation and doubt.

The exact same process that Coca Cola used for decades.

I tend to avoid reman ammo, but because most warranties I've read are voided by "reloads", and I don't want the battle. Secondary reason is that brass is reused. I suspect that there is a valid life for a casing, and I don't know where someone else's reman / reload falls in that life-cycle.

Yes, I spend more money because of that choice, but I also shop for the best price I can find.

No, because of my housing situation, I can't reload, and with medical issues, would not want to even if I had the place.

And this differs from Federal how?

There is a legal difference between remanufactured and reloaded. And there is plenty of documented evidence that shows brass can be used dozens of times without any more failure than "virgin."

If folks do not want to buy remanufactured I am the last person who would object but there are a lot of misconceptions out there.

I don't know how to define .38Spl ammo loaded in virgin Federal cases from a company in the NW. It looked beautiful in these nickled cases with a FMJ flat point bullet. But too many bullets tumbled and went sideways through a target 5 yards away and two of them protruded from the muzzle, not making it out of the 4" barrel.

Once bitten, many times shy. Factory for me, please.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. blujax01, look for PM shortly.

I USE RELOADED AMMO, WITH RECYCLED BRASS, PURCHASED FROM MY LGS REGULARLY IN MY RANGE SESSIONS. THIS AMMO COSTS 1/2 OF FACTORY AMMO…..
I HAVE BEEN SHOOTING RELOADS FOR 40+ YEARS, AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT THE PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD NUMBER IN THE SINGLE DIGITS. BRASS THAT SPLIT WHEN I FIRED MY SHOT IS THE MOST FREQUENT. I HAVE HAD 1 OR 2 BULGED CASES THAT WOULD NOT CHAMBER, AND 1 SQUIB LOAD…..
FOR SD/HD OR HUNTING, I RELY ON PREMIER FACTORY AMMO--TO ELIMINATE ANY POSSIBLE LIABILITY ISSUES, AND ENSURE THE QUALITY OF THE NEW COMPONENTS USED IN IT'S MANUFACTURE…...

__________________
'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Its really a personal decision. I reload. I enjoy the reloading process and after several thousand rounds without any problems I can't see why I should pay two to three times as much for factory ammo. I use a quality powder, quality primers and quality bullets. The only difference I can see is the brass is reused. I suspect remanufactured ammo is much the same. By the way, the only dud I have ever had came years ago with Factory Winchester ammo, the bullet stuck in the barrel and had to be knocked out with a brass rod. I suspect there was no powder in there, just a primer shot. Confidence is a big part of shooting, if you don't feel safe with remanufactured ammo I would stick with factory.

I find that new ammo from Freedom Munitions gives me the best of both worlds. New brass, high quality and a low price especially on free shipping sales.

That being the case, will you save your once-fired brass and send it to me?

SMSgt,

I keep picking up the brass (.45/.38sp/9mm - sometimes I get others as well, lanes are close, probably more theirs than mine). Have had several ask, but then not follow up. There is a a grocery bag full in the garage.

"And it's S&W .40, not 40 ACP."

You are absolutely right! I stand corrected.

mb

Actually, it's ".40 S&W," if we're being pedantic.

Me, I don't buy reloads from anyone. While others may have a different experience, in the 30-odd years I've been shooting, I have noticed more reported problems from "factory reloads" than with major-maker factory-fresh ammo or with handloads by the individual doing the shooting. Again, YMMV, but for me it's either new from the factory or something I made myself. (I've shot my friends' handloads, of course, but for the most part only when trying their guns.)

__________________
Now go make God proud...

I can buy Sellier& Bellot 9mm 115gr. FMJ Brass case, Boxer primed
In Stock: (0.28¢ per round) 50 rds. for $12.99 * Free Shipping.
Why buy remanufactured?

mb

Why buy remanufactured? I have used a few thousand rounds of Freedom Munitions remanufactured 9 and .380 without a problem. Their 9 is j usually 19-20¢ per round. .380 about 28-30¢. They frequently offer free shippingor $5 shipping on weekends.

I've fired thousands of rounds of Freedom Munitions remanufactured ammo and have yet to to have experienced an issue.

I can't say the same thing about "factory fresh" Winchestor white box.

__________________
Molon Labe!

I shoot both, no problems with either.

^Same here.^


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Been shooting various rifle and handguns since 1980. Have seen an untold zillon of rounds down range, factory production as well as "remanufactured" and of course lots of handloads.

The only time I ever had a case head separation was with Winchester .30-06 Silver Tips. The only time I ever had a "M Split" was with some Yugoslavian 8mm ball. The only time I ever had a primer blow was w/ some Winchester 5.56mm (Q3131). The only time I ever had a rimfire round fail was w/ some Winchester 333 .22 LR ammo where the rim of a cartridge split open when fired in my pistol.

I've fired a tremendous amount of remanufactured ammo from various sources. Currently Ga. Arms produces excellent ammunition. I've not ever had a single issue at all with any remanufactured ammunition.

I've shot wheel barrow loads of .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .45 ACP as well as .30-06 and 7.62mm that I reloaded on single stage press and later on progressive presses. I've been careful. Some loads were more accurate than others. But, no load ever caused trouble in my handguns and rifles or in the those of anyone else.

Is "factory" ammunition good? Yes. In some cases it produces remarkably good results both on targets and in the field on game animals. But, it is not the gold standard. There are many of us who have bought and shot remanufactured ammunition in our handguns and rifles. We've seen the results obtained in actual usage. In every respect, remanufactured ammunition equals results obtained with equivalent factory products. And, when it comes to factory and remanufactured ammunition, one must consider handloaded ammunition. There are far to many men who have been reloading ammunition for far to many years, men who know what they are doing and who have produced handloaded ammunition in a plethora of calibers that not only is the equal of common factory ammunition but that exceeds anything they've obtained with factory ammunition.

__________________
<><

I routinely fire LAX Ammo remanufactured rounds through my M&P40 Pro and Hi-Point 995 TS. No issues that weren't attributable to the weapon (weak firing pin spring on the 995). Even factoring in s/h costs, it's still cheaper per round to buy these than "new" locally.

__________________
USAF 1981 - 2001

I hand load for all of my handguns but do not for all my rifles such as the 5.56 Nato/.233 Rem. The only reman ammo I do buy is from Black Hills, good stuff.

__________________
Stay safe people!

There may be a few people reading this who may not know that reloaders are always looking for a deal on once fired brass.

To those of you who intend to leave it on the ground - you can seriously help a brother out.

Reloaders - Offer to throw folks a Ten Spot to cover the USPS "If-It-Fits-It-Ships" box and gallon of gas, and I wonder how many here would be interested?

(Not for me though, I'm flush thanks)

Same story for me. In my M&P Pro 9mm I've fired a thousand rounds exactly of Freedom Munitons. 500 new, and 500 reloads. No issues.

I've shot 700 rounds of Winchester White Box and had three fail to fire.

It's a relatively small sample size, but it was a new gun purchased this year. I'll still buy wwb when it's the only thing available, but I'd rather stock up on Freedom Munitions when they have free shipping. As a side note, I didn't see a performance difference between new or reloads from them.

You mean as opposed to factory ammo where profit isn't the motive?

I still seriously question the quality of remanufactured ammo, but everyone is in this game for profit.

That's an exceedingly high failure to fire rate.

I first got into shooting in 2008. In that time I've found a grand total of 7 rounds of centerfire ammo that failed to fire on the first hit. 6 were in a rental gun (an S&W 629 that clearly needed spring replacement) and one reload that had a defective primer that fell out.

To have 3 failures to fire like that simply should not happen.

Magtech seems to work quite well. I fired over 300 rounds of it on Friday.

As for .40 S&W, that's one caliber I don't need to worry about, as I don't use it.

I can do better than that.

I bought Remington UMC 9mm 115gr FMJ with free delivery from Cabela's for $10.30 a box after tax.

Erich hit the nail on the head: it depends upon the "remanufacturer". Black Hills, for example, does excellent quality remanufactured ammo. They even do case inspections on each used case....which no one bothers to do on new cases.

I've been acquainted with boutique manufacturers of new ammo that went out of business after buying too many destroyed firearms.

Choose your ammo maker carefully. BTW, I saw a couple of mentions of things found unacceptable. We get ammo delivered by the truckload. This has given us the chance to see all sorts of interesting things: bullets & primers backwards, no powder, no flash hole, wrong caliber ammo in the box. The difference is that with quality manufacturers, the incidence is low. If you accumulate enough of the wonders, you can trade them for good ammo.