Greetings. Just saw a pretty decent price (for these days) online for reman 38 special ammo. Just curious to know if you guys have experience with it. Would be shooting in my new S&W 586. I know S&W’s manuals recommend staying away from it and I’m not sure if their warranty would be voided if something happened while using it (if they could tell). Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the Forum

Just like any product, there are good re-manufacturers of ammunition and there are bad ones.

No one will be able to comment on this ammunition without knowing who made it

I have put many, many thousands of rounds of re-manufactured ammunition through my firearms, but I always knew the companies and their reputations

Unless you bought your 586 after 1989 and are the original owner of the firearm, there is no warranty on it. Manufacturers of Firearms often take care of issues even though the firearm is out of warranty or the owner purchased it used, but they do not have to

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"Acta non verba"

Remanufactured?

Are they handloads from an individual or a licensed ammunitions manufacture?

Rule #1. Never shoot someone else's handloads.

Any ammunitions licensed manufacture "reusing" already once used brass should not be any less reliable than new brass. However, it certainly depends on the companies reputation.

Hi from North Dakota Personally, If I'm not familiar with the loader/manufacturer, I don't buy.

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John

Like the previous poster said, it depends on who made it. I understand not wanting to spread the word and have others buy it up before you do but without knowing who you are talking about we cannot be of much help.

If it is a company like Georgia-Arms it should be fine.

If you are going to be shooting 38s out of a modern 357 revolver there is a big margin of error before an overpressure round could cause a problem. With low quality rounds I would worry more about squibs and duds. And I would never use remanufactured ammo for self defense.

Different caliber, but I've shot Freedom Munitions, Defender, LAX and Fenix remans in 9mm and 45 acp, probably one or 2 more.

Like others say, if it's a reputable company, should be good to go.

Reman is short for " remanufactured" ... the company uses "once fired brass " and reloads the once fired brass cases with new primer , powder and bullet .
How good the reload aka reman ammo is ... is dependant on the outfit doing the loading .
The best way to tell is customer feedback ... if the ammo sucks , someone will tell you .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I've used Freedom Munitions in both 9mm and 38 spl. with no problems what-so-ever. I also bought a case of 9mm from Grizzly Ammo, no problems.

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Kevin in Oregon

I have been shooting reloads for years. I have a friend who would rather load ammo than shoot it, so I give him by brass and he gives me good ammo for the cost of the components. This last year though he just cannot get primers. If you can find reliable reman ammo and save some money, I'd go for it.

My cousin started Black Hills Ammunition about 40 years ago.

They used to produce new ammunition packaged in red boxes as well as remanufactured ammo in blue boxes, and small amounts of factory second ammo in white boxes. The blue box ammo was exceptionally well made and shot tens of thousands of rounds of it over the years.

There isn’t any significant difference between a new case and a once fired case, but the potential issue is obtaining once fired brass that is really once fired. It’s one thing to get range brass from a police department or government range where only new ammo is shot. It something else to get it from a private range where handloads may be used.

Personally, if I’m taking ammo to a match or range where I won’t be getting my brass back, I’m taking the oldest, closest to end of life (but still usable and safe) brass I have. That brass finding it’s way into remanufacured ammo might not be a great thing.

In that regard how the company sources it’s brass is critical, as is their over all quality assurance and their competence in developing loads to very specific pressure and velocity parameters.

If they produce significant amounts they will be buying bulk powders rather than canister grade powders and they’ll be buying it in large lots as they need to develop their own data for each lot. That requires a competent a competent ballistician with a solid understanding of sampling and testing protocols.

They also need to be good at developing loads that function well and shoot accurately in a wide range of firearms.

It's likely that licensed ammunition re-manufacturers have a high level of quality control. They are required to in order to get liability insurance coverage.

Anyone in the business of remanufacturing ammo for sale to the public is going to have to adhere to safety standards, it's a liability issue. As to the quality, my guess is that if they use mixed brass, you probably won't see the ammo loaded to maximum safe levels. You might not see anywhere near maximum due to the potential for some brass producing higher pressures than other brass. That's just my guess based on my experience with reloading my own ammo.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Welcome to the Forum. Remember that opinions vary and you have to make up your own mind. I did it many years ago.

Let's take a look at what you said the gun manufacturer states: S&W manuals recommend staying away from remanufactured ammunition and is supported by some of the reasons listed above by members. That is good enough for me not to use it. In the shooting sports world, price should NEVER be the only reason to buy anything. Shooting is about at least couple things, protecting yourself from evil, and protecting yourself from inferior product failures. Buy new ammo and stop worrying about the second thing and avoid product failure when caught in the 1st situation.

There are always those who say they have done something for years without failure, but is that enough reason for everyone else to do the same thing? I trust two things when shooting new manufacture ammunition from recognized ammunition brands or my own reloads. First, knowing that all brass is newly made by the manufactures. How do these reman people know they are only loading once-fired cases? Second, ammunition failures that result in damage or injury should be covered by the manufacturers. What is the remanufacturers degree of liability? My guess is the answer to the second question is they do not have the resources of insurance to cover anything post-sales.

So what do you tell your gun manufacturer when they ask, was the reason for the damaged gun? After all, they told you not to use remanufactured ammo in the first place?

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Gary
SWCA 2515

No offense, but I have never liked the "don't shoot anyone else's handloads" comments.

I trust my friends, and they trust me.

Have shot HSM 38 Special Reman from Stevensville, MT.
Got it at Sportmans Warehouse.
When I saw 158 Grain Semi-Wadcutter on the end of the box,
Had to have some!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

How do you know what you are getting from the Factory ammo mfg'rs?
Do they always mfgr their own brass,,bullets, powder, primer.

Ever get a 'factory round' with no flash hole,,or a primer seated inverted,,or a bullet seated on an angle?

Is 'Factory once fired brass' somewhat akin to being proof fired?

Remanufacturers often get their common caliber once fired brass from the gun mfg's. The mfg's fire tons of rounds of factory rounds in their ranges in function and targeting of the guns they mfg.
The brass is simply swept and bulk barreled and sold or recycled.
They have no use for it.

There have been Factory rounds which have damaged guns (and shooters). There have likely been the same from re-manufactured rounds from businesses loading them as well.
There certainly have been from a few of us know it alls doing our own
reloading.

There are lots of variables, many outside the control of the reloader. Doesn't matter if a Factory, Re-manufacturer or just you or I.
We don't make powder or primers or brass,,sometimes we make bullets.

Ever see any factory recalls for ammo,,
Do Not Shoot this Stuff!....Return to Retailer or Factory...
Remember that they already made that ammo and shipped it out to be sold to you and used in your prize guns.
Then they discover a problem. How do you think they discoved those problems..
They were told about them by unlucky users with graphic pictures.

There are no guarentees. Some are just better than others like everything else.

Choose what you want, trust who you wish to including yourself.
For now we still have choices, that's a good thing.

Recently bought some Herter’s 9mm from Cabela's.
Then got a recall notice email announcing a Recall.
Winchester recall.
Mine was not recalled but I was impressed by Cabela’s fast response.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Never had a problem with Freedom Munitions currently.

Never had a problem with Maine Cartridge Co. BITD.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

Like quikdraw above, I have never had a problem with Freedom Munitions. I agree 100% that I use remanufactured ammo, but only from large brand name type companies. Never from anybody where nobody else has ever heard of them.