Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review

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10 years 5 months ago #40530 by jtallen83
Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review was created by jtallen83
I got a chance to compare 4 different re-manufactured 308 win. loads from Freedom Munitions. This is by no means a scientific test, I seemed to be shooting very poorly that morning no matter what I shot! I used my basic AR-10 flat top with a 20 inch barrel off a set of Caldwell AR shooting bags with targets at 200 yards. There was no wind so I can't blame conditions, I just flat blew several shots! :blush:
Here are the loads;

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I went with 5 shot groups and started with FGMM 168 gr. to foul the barrel and have a base comparison although my rifle has never done its best with that load.

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Here are the 155 HPBT;

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Next is 155 gr A-MAX;

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These are 168 gr A-MAX;

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See the next post for what appeared to work best, the 175 gr HPBT MATCH;

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10 years 5 months ago #40531 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
175 gr HPBT MATCH;

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I did not mess with the zero on my Bushnell Elite 4200 2.3x10 scope. It is zeroed for surplus FN NATO M80 ball ammo.
The only load that didn't use Lake City head stamped brass was the 155 gr HPBT. I don't know if freedom is consistent on what brass they use for what loads so it may have been a fluke.
All the loads functioned without issue, I saw and felt no difference in recoil. The 175 match was the last I shot so I may have been settling in better but it did appear to be the best of the loads for my rifle.
I was not impressed with the shooting bags so I'll bring the lead sled out and try again soon but taking the flyers into account I think I'll order a large batch of the 175 match when they have it in stock again. I only have access to a 200 yard range but odds are this will be the best performer past that. :usa:
The following user(s) said Thank You: Siscowet, Libertarian623, NightForce

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10 years 5 months ago #40533 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
Thanks for the review JT. One question: is your AR10 the "T" or the standard rifle? as they have different barrel twists

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10 years 5 months ago - 10 years 5 months ago #40545 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
It's a standard AR-10 A4 with 1:11.25 twist rate. ArmaLite says it should like 150-175 grain stuff so I stay in that neighborhood. The last group of 175 match was on its way to being my best ever( pictures are out of order) but I threw the last shot high :angry:
It still puzzles me why I get the windage differences between loads, elevation changes make sense but the windage changes as much or more :huh: Odd that the 175's stayed with the FN surplus windage when bullets with closer weights were way out of the box.
Last edit: 10 years 5 months ago by jtallen83.

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10 years 5 months ago #40549 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
Different effects of centrifugal force on different mass bullets and different spin rates of different rifling twists.

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10 years 5 months ago #40574 by Libertarian623
Replied by Libertarian623 on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
Affirmative Sisco its called spin drift and should be accommodated for when shooting long range. I get the dope for spin drift, seems every rifle and round are different on this.

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10 years 5 months ago #40581 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
I had heard of spin drift dope for long range shooting but I didn't expect such a difference at 200 yards :huh:
I guess If I can get some decent groups I can write down the dope for each load......
I've been eating into my M80 ball stash more than I care to, want to keep it for longer term storage. Looks like I better settle on another load and buy a bunch, Freedom has a pretty good price for match ammo when it is in stock;

www.freedommunitions.com/308-Win-175-gr-...fm308h175r-c0480.htm

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10 years 5 months ago #40591 by Siscowet
Replied by Siscowet on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
My plan is to shoot up my M80 and BVAC reloads and to reload them into custom loads for both my AR10's and store them in ammo boxes with dessiccant.

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10 years 5 months ago #40623 by Lizardette
Replied by Lizardette on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
Looks like good performance for budget ammo. BTW My opinion changed greatly when I learned the groups were shot at 200 yards. I have that site bookmarked. Thanks for the review. :)
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9 years 1 month ago #46296 by jtallen83
Replied by jtallen83 on topic Freedom Munitions 308 Remanufactured Ammo Review
The last batch of Freedom 175 gr. match has not performed all that well. Accuracy has been way off and ended up with stuck case issues in my Matrix build.I ran the almost 4 boxes I had left of 308 remanufactured 175 gr. match through a case gauge, 1 out of 5 were either proud of the gauge or fell in to far with the neck sticking out the other end. On one case the whole rim stood proud. Freedom has obviously lost their quality control standards.

I heard back from Freedom munitions on the issues I have had with their ammo;

"Dear Jim,

We are very sorry for the issues you have experienced with our ammunition. We stand behind our ammunition and would like to make it right by you. I would like to bring the ammunition back and test it. I can either replace it or refund it which-ever you prefer.

Here is the information I will need.

How much ammunition is left over

Date of incident

Order #

Lot # (will be on a sticker on the end of the box the bottom row of numbers)

The head stamp information

What type of ammunition (ex. 9mm 115 gr)

New or remanufactured

For the weapon used I will need the following:

What type of weapon

Any pictures or video you have or can take will be very helpful.

Thank you

Brenda A"

They didn't ask what the temperature was when I shot it anyway.............
Got things somewhat squared away with Freedom Munitions. I shipped back 66 rounds, the "refund' only included the rounds I shipped back and not the 120 in the order, they were unclear about that until they had the ammo in hand then sent me a credit of $49.69 from a $89.99 order. They had a miscommunication on their end so along with the credit they shipped me 80 rounds of the same ammo which I received today. I just gauged it all and everything passed, some were at the limits both upper and lower but all passed. I inspected each round closely, no cracks but some small defects on the rims, maybe 1 out of 20 like that. I for sure won't reload any of the brass, half of it is from the 60's so I have a little concern about age hardening. The bullet tips were in much better shape than the last order, only a few with slight damage.

I used the credit to order 140 rounds of Fiocchi 223 69 gr. match and shipped them 39 pounds of Berdan primed brass for credit on the rest, they mention no cracked or dented brass but say nothing about Berdan primed so they can have it. They only give $1.80 a pound in credit so they should make it back in scrap.........
Shot 8, 5 round groups of the stuff and 4, 5 round groups of 7.62 FGMM as a control, all at 100 yards and alternating between brands after the first two. The best FGMM was just a hair under 1.2 MOA with the worst at 2 MOA. The best F.M. group was 1.45 MOA, next best was 2 MOA with the rest around 3 MOA. Freedom wasn't near as consistent as the FGMM at the same price per round when I originally bought them. Think I'm done messing with Freedom Munitions til I see reports of improvement.
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