In Re: PRECISION ONE Ammunition.
Yes, this does appear to be a Zombie thread. But when one Zombie repeatedly rises from the grave, it's usually not a good thing.
In 2014 my daughter (a student at USC, Columbia, SC,) attended a gun show where Precision One maintained a booth for the purpose of selling ammunition. She had recently purchased her first handgun and was trying to find more .40 S&W FMJ for range / practice use. Admittedly, at the time she was a novice gun owner as well as an uninformed consumer. Additionally, the friend she was with wasn't much wiser. Unfortunately, their focus was on "cheap prices" as opposed to "quality products at fair prices."
Ultimately, she purchased two 50 count boxes of what she believed to be "new" Precision One .40 S&W 165 grain FMJ ammunition. This ammo was packaged in the manufacturer's full color lithographed boxes with a white printed label on one flap identifying the caliber, weight, and bullet type. Also, the price "$16.99" was printed on a second peel-n-stick label. The boxes were high quality lithographed cartons comparable to established nationally marketed ammunition brands.
Now, fast forward six months and she has purchased another handgun which she likes more than the .40 S&W; but can't afford to keep both. So, like a good Daddy I bought the S&W .40 and all the ammo from her with the intent of reselling it. Having no experience with 'Precision One Ammunition' I tried to find their ballistics stats online. Guess what... Nothing to be found. {{{YELLOW FLAG.}}} So, I called their office in Charleston, SC.
The young woman who answered Precision One's phone was pleasant and very professional. However, in response to my questions concerning muzzle velocity and energy produced by this round out of a 4" barrel, she stated "We don't advertise that information." {{{ORANGE FLAG!}}} When I asked if someone was available to answer my questions, she said: "No, but I'll ask the owner if he calls in, and I'll call you back." To my surprise, an hour later she called back with half an answer: 1030 fps.
At this, I asked if the price on the box "$16.99" was retail, or the show price? Her answer: "If they are reloads, that's the correct retail price." {{{RED FLAG!!}}} So, I looked on both boxes and found nothing to indicate this was reloaded ammunition. Then, I opened the boxes and found, to my chagrin, these were in fact reloaded rounds. When I asked why the boxes or labels did not state "Reloaded" or "Remanufactured" ammunition, her response was simply: "If the word "NEW" isn't on the label, all their ammo is reloaded." {{{BLACK FLAG!!!}}}
Yes, it's my daughter's fault for not asking. Plus, my fault for not teaching her to be more inquisitive. But, as we now live 500 miles apart, I can't be there to warn her of such things. However, in the +forty-two years that I have been purchasing ammunition, this is my first experience where reloads were NOT clearly identified as such.
So, "CAVEAT EMPTOR!" when dealing with PRECISION ONE Ammunition.
Follow up 5-26-2015: PRECISION ONE'S owner, Jeff Oneal, called late this afternoon. He explained that as a relatively new, small ammunition manufacturer, he has not had the time to post all ammo specifications on their website. Also, as they presently use a two line product label, there's not enough room to state "Remanufactured Ammunition" on this label with the caliber, weight and bullet type. However, they will be changing this in the future. Jeff was polite and informative. As such, I'll accept his explanation, and will be watching for improvements to his product specifications and labeling.
