ig-nant question from newbie shooter

[Guest bazookazilla]

I think I know the answer to this but I want to ask to be sure. I have been purchasing Tennessee Cartridge ammo at the two local ranges I go to. These are reloaded shells of all varieties(Remington, Federal, etc). I have read countless post about how shooting reloaded ammo is damaging to firearms. My question is, when talking about reloaded ammo, does that apply to "homemade" reloads, or does that apply to ammo such as those sold by Tennessee Cartidge. I would loike to continue to purchase ammo from the ranges I go to, but is it really a good idea to use these in my pistol? Or should I just look into buying something like WWB or Blazer at the range? I know these are available at other outlets such as Bass Pro Shops and Wal-Mart, but I would like to support a local business as opposed to a corporate giant. Until it gets ridiculous.

[TGO David]

GOOD reloads can be better than factory loads. It all depends on who did the loading, how meticulous they were, and whether they did everything right. The most common reason that reloads get a bad name is when someone goofs and uses too much powder or sets the projectile back too far into the case, resulting in a higher case pressure than the case was designed for, and the load catastrophically fails in the breach.

In a gun with a fully supported chamber, the damage is minimal or not even an issue. In a gun with a partially supported chamber (think Glock .40SW pistols) the damage is usually fatal to the gun itself and might injure the operator as well.

As for the other part of your question, I use Winchester White Box ammo mostly for my target shooting. BUT I am going to get into reloading sooner or later as it's the most cost efficient way for me to continue shooting .45acp and .223 Remington as often as I would like to shoot them.

[Guest Loaded247]

Tungsten is right, it all depends on the QUALITY of those reloads. Since gun manufacturers have no control over the quality of various reloads, the usage of such usually voids the warranties.

I've been reloading for over 25 years, and have won a match or two or three with my ammo, so I think that reloading can be a good thing. I've also seen some poor results by other folks, so I can appreciate where the factories are coming from.

In my carry guns, I use factory ammo...even for practice. Although Tennessee Cartridge ammo is reloaded ammo, I still consider it to be 'factory', and I use it for practice. I consider it to be very good quality stuff, and I've had NO issues with it.

[molonlabetn]

The simple fact that they are reloaded does not make them damaging...

A company or individual who properly inspects, trims, resizes, and primes their brass will have few, if any, problems...

The damage aspect comes into play when too much or too little gun-powder is loaded into the case... Too much can over-pressure the chamber (kB!), too little can cause a squib load, which may lodge a bullet in the barrel, causing a blockage. Both of those problems can just as likely happen in new ammo as reloaded ammo (since the same procedure is used, once the brass is reconditioned).

The big variable is the precision and qc of the entity who (re)loaded the ammo.

I've never had a gun blow up. (but, then again, I've never owned a Glock... )

[Guest bazookazilla]

that all makes a lot of sense. Does anyone familiar with Tennessee Cartridge think it's a bad idea to use them for target practice with my Sig?

[Guest db99wj]

I have no problem using them, but like any thing that I put in my XD, I do a quick visual inspection before I load it in the magazine. I just look for bulges, bends, missing primers, primers that are sideways, etc.

I bought 2 boxes of 250 count TN Cart. that come in the box loose and I will put rds in a 50 round box for easier transport and I also look for ones that are too short, or too tall or not the right size at all.

[Marswolf]

that all makes a lot of sense. Does anyone familiar with Tennessee Cartridge think it's a bad idea to use them for target practice with my Sig?

I wouldn't hesitate to use them in a SIG.