From: pafford@metis.rtp.dg.com (Randy Pafford)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: remanufactured ammo - a good deal
Date: 16 Nov 92 23:09:33 GMT
Organization: Data General Corp., Research Triangle Park, NC

In article <9211131816.AA15292@roadkill.nrl.navy.mil>, schuette@roadkill.nrl.navy.mil (Larry Schuette) writes:
|> hi,
|> 	I've been shooting remanufactured .45ACP ammo for
|> a while now.  I figured I should share the happiness :)
|> National Bullet Co.
|> East Lake, Ohio
|> (216) 951-1854 
|> 
|> This company sells remanufactured 9mm & .45ACP ammo.  I'm most
|> familar (another 1000 rounds arrived yesterday) with the .45ACP
|> 230 grain FMJ.  Ammo has performed flawlessly in both 1911A and
|> my Firestar (3000 rounds so far).  The best part about it is
|> the price.  Last shipment was $99.00 per 1000 rounds, I provided
|> him with 1000 rounds of brass.  Figuring in my shipping costs
|> it works out to around $6.50 per box of 50. (8 dollars for his 
|> shipping, 18 for mine)  It is very difficult to reload your own
|> brass for 13 cents each.  I find the rejection rate by his
|> checker is lowered by sending tumbled (cleaned) brass.  Figure a
|> 2% rejection rate (send extra brass, he will credit you for it) best
|> case.
|> 
|> Costs
|> 
|> $9.90 a box
|> 60 per 500
|> 99 per 1000 rounds
|> 
|> If you don't provide brass he charges an extra $50.00 per thousand.

I use NBC also, and in the most part I am pleased, especially at 
the price.  I buy their 200gr SWCL .45 load.  It functions well
in my guns,  although every once in a while I do get a round that is somewhat 
oversized and won't chamber in my (match-barrelled) guns.  Out of an 
accurized Gold Cup, the ammo shoots about 3 inches at 50 yards (Ransom rest).  
Which is solid performance at this price.

I do have one quarrel with them, however.  The load I buy they advertise
as something like 710 fps.  Out of my chronograph, the rounds are 
running right at 850 fps.  This is not very hot, but it is 
quite a substantial difference from the advertised velocity.  When I talked 
to them on the phone, they basically said they had changed reloading 
equipment, and never bothered to check velocities again.  850 is actually 
kind of an annoying velocity; it won't quite make IPSC major, but is a 
little hot for some types of paper punching.  My biggest concern was 
that they didn't seem to care that their published information was simply
wrong.  

I bought some 9mm ammunition from them, and it was about 100 fps _slower_
than advertised as well.  In fact, they changed the formulation of
some of their 9mm loads because they weren't cycling Glocks reliably
(not enough horsepower).

At any rate, I do like their product and continue to use it.  For practice
ammo it's very hard to beat.  I would recommend that people chronograph 
any remanufactored ammo they buy, if possible, as a quick check on one 
aspect of quality. I also like to compare their claim with what I get 
(ask what barrel length they used to get their velocities) as a check 
on their honesty/carefulness.

|> 
|> 
|> Ammo comes via UPS (all 47lbs of it) in 50 round boxes (paper).  It
|> is identified as remanufactured.  The only drawback is that he uses
|> a very "dirty" powder.  It tends to smoke a lot.  But, if you're going
|> to clean your gun anyway, what difference does it make?

It's dirty, but I run my guns 100s of rounds before cleaning, and 
it's not so bad they stop working.  Just throw on some more break-free
every now and again (I hate cleaning guns :-).

Randy