Are these reloads or am I just paranoid?

[ObsceneJesster]

So i recently did a trade with someone local. I gave him some mags and he gave me some ammo. He told me the ammo was factory M855. It was loose ammo and not in boxes. It was only 100 rounds so I figured I'd inspect them all. I never usually inspect ammo when purchased from the store or through a reputable online dealer but being that these were acquired through a local trade I'd figure I would inspect them.

I don't know if this is how these rounds usually come or if these are reloads but I found some inconsistencies and a few other issues. Below are some photos. Could someone who reloads or knows this ammo pretty well let me know exactly what I have.



Picture of most of them lined up


Picture of one of the brass cases


Picture of the other brass case. Most of them were in this brass.


Primers that look like they were already striked. Do you think so?


Dent on one of the cases


Bullet seating appears to be at different depths


More bullet seating at varying depths


The jacket on the bullets looks a little funky


Last but certainly not least. A popped primer.

 

[GLShooter]

My guess those are reloads. The bullets look like they have mechanical pull marks. I have not seen that much variation in bullet case mouth/cannelure interface on the stuff I shoot.

I could be all wet but that is my opinion.

Greg

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Okay cool. Thanks for your opinion. I'll wait on some more opinions before I jump the gun and contact the person I got them from.

 

[Sweet Agony]

If those are 'factory new' round, I would never buy from that manufacturer!! Far too many inconsistencies in the rounds, if these were not in boxes the primer dents could be from tip of the bullet head hitting the primer. I think I would pay him a visit.

 

[BYJO4]

I also think they are reloads.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

I'll vote handloads.

 

[cowtownup]

My vote is that those are reloads.. I suspect the brass was not trimmed, hence the variation in seating depth... Just my .02....

 

[ole farmerbuck]

It looks like they over beveled the primer crimp ring.

 

[Beentown]

Yep, not seeing a crimp...M855 would have one.

 

[Walkalong]

The first looks like factory. The rest are definitely reloads. The primer pockets on some were way over reamed. The cannelures being in different spots may be OK. Some 55 Gr FMJ bullets have cannelures all over the place, like these Winchesters.

 

[oneounceload]

mixed brass, no military crimp, poor reloads is what I vote for

 

[wgaynor]

I wouldn't shoot them and would get my money back.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

My initial thoughts were the same as Walkalong. First I saw factory loads, some dings from handling. Then the quality went south. If you got a good deal on the trade consider pulling some of the ones that are visually defective and compare the powder charges. If there is too much deviation go back and renegotiate. If the charges are consistent, try shooting a few and go from there.

 

[medalguy]

Absolutely reloads. Mine look a whole lot better. Ejection marks on the cases, no annealing on the case necks, bullet cannelure inconsistencies (GI is very consistent i"ve found), definitely pulled bullets, cases look like Lee FCD crimps, primer seated sideways (!!) need I go on? I'd return them and ask for my money back. I sure wouldn't shoot them.

 

[exbrit49]

Reload!

Reloads for sure and poor ones at that! Either loaded by an amateur or someone not knowing the basics of reloading.
I would pull the entire lot and then reload them with a known good powder load. If they look that bad, who knows what's on the inside? Scares me!

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Any factory M855 will have a painted green tip. You can buy the bullets without paint on them but not loaded ammo. The tips aren't painted until after they're loaded at the factory. They could be remanufactured ammo using unpainted 855 bullets but if those were factory remanufactured, someone needs to get a refund. I've seen flipped primers before, 1 or 2 that I loaded, but never a sideways primer...... that's irresponsible.

 

[BullfrogKen]

That stuff, reloaded or not, is terrible quality ammo.

Different lots for sure.

And the primers with the dimples look a lot like how primers look when they are seated with a little bit of gunk or bit of powder that has gotten onto the primer seating stem.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Have the guy you got them from shoot some (with his gun) to show you that they're safe.

 

[higgite]

Have the guy you got them from shoot some (with his gun) to show you that they're safe.

Yeah, especially the one with the primer in sideways. Go get your mags back.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

The chamfered primer pockets....definitely a sign of reloads. I just about guarantee that any commercial ammo remanufacturer swages primer pockets. Swaging gives better and more consistent results and also tends to be faster, especially when reloaded on a press like a Dillon 1050 where it can be done on the press rather than as a seperate step. As higgite said, get your mags back, unless you like taking a chance that the person that reloaded them knew what they were doing. Which from the photos, it doesn't look like they did.

 

[gamestalker]

I wouldn't personally shoot those. Even if the guy who you acquired them from were to shoot several out of his gun first, no way. In general I won't shoot someones reloads, and definitely not loads that look as poorly built as those do.
Go back to that guy and insist he make things right, as in swap back, or provide factory replacement rounds from a known reliable source.

GS

 

[herrwalther]

If it were just the dinged brass, I would think factory. But different seating depths and mixed headstamps are usually a big clue of reloads. And a popped primer is like getting hit the face with a book titled "Reloads."

 

[shibbykins]

They are obvious reloads by the primer pocket and the primer issue. Stepping over to the cannelure issue easy way is just pull out a caliper and measure the OAL of the loaded round. Of all the .mil pills I have loaded the cannelures vary in all the batch's since they all come from the lowest bidder and varying mfgs

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree the first one looks factory but the rest, they are reloads and they are extremely poorly made reloads at that. Way too much brass remover from the primer pockets for sure. Those reloads are so poorly made I would not trust them at all. If they were sold as factory new take them back and demand a refund and an apology.

BTW, in the last picture that is a sideways seated primer, not a "popped" primer. Terrible work...

 

[ObsceneJesster]

I really appreciate all of the responses. Thank you for confirming my suspicion. I contacted the person who gave these to me and he is meeting with me tomorrow to give me my mags back.

He told me that he didn't know they were reloads and was told they weren't reloads however, after I showed him a few pictures and explained to him what was going on, he now understands he has reloads and not factory ammo. He said he will call the person who he bought them from. Hopefully he can get his money back. I told him that there's no way I'd shoot this stuff nor would I recommend anyone shoot them.

Thanks again guys

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