Use of reloads by US military

[bearhunter]

Ok guys I made a statement about a company in Canada that was reloading military cases for the US military in 5.56.

I don't remember the name of the company and I have been called on the US military useing reloaded ammunition in small arms for any purpose. The caller may be right, he's a very knowledgeable guy.

I have a memory block on the name of the reloader in question. They marketed the ammunition commercially in Canada and maybe the US under the name "Trooper". They came in two differnt colored boxes Blue with Red lettering and Red with white lettering.

They were loaded with the 55 grain fmj. 50 cartridges per box in styrofoam holders. The time period was in the mid seventies and early eighties.

Anyway, there was an issue with this ammunition as it supposedly caused some damage to the M16s it was used in.

The ammunition was supposed to be used for practice only.

Can anyone help me out here? If not, I will go back onto CGN and apologise for a statement I can't back up.

I do know that many other armies in the world, use reloaded ammunition for practise and field purposes. I even visited a reloading facility in Brazil, operated by Manesmann in Belohorizonte. They were reloading 7.62, 7x57, 5.56, 38 special and 50 cal at the facility. It even had military police guarding the gates, 24 hours per day.

I would appreciate any help I can get here.

Information

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[browningautorifle]

The only time I heard of reloading practices for military ammo is for the Krag rifle. Instructions were packed with the ammo to get you started. Canada produced M193 in 1971 I think for use in the continental US. From what I have heard it was actually cleaner than what they were using at the time because of different powders. I don't believe the military would use reloads. I know Canada wouldn't, why then would a power like the US? To compare with Brazil? Please.

[Bruce McAskill]

Once cartridge firing rifles and revolvers were used by the US army,reloading of fired cases became a standard thing for every fort the US army had. .45 Colt and .45-70 were reloaded with the powder that was used for the cannons.(one powder fit all.) This continued at least through the use of the Krag in .30-40 US. The only other reloaded ammo was for the .30-06 in the use of fired cases to make blanks out of and early on the gallery rounds used on indoor ranges with the powdered lead bullets. But once the US became a world power the use of reloaded ammo stopped except for artillery shells that were returned to the government armories and reloaded after the shell was inspected. There were and are several commercial companys that used USGI brass and reload these to spec. but these were only sold to the commercail market and not to the government. Many police departments have used this ammo for years. Black Hills is one and have been doing it for quite awhile now.

[bearhunter]

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the time and information. A member on CGN came up wth the company I was trying to remember. The name of the company was Centaur. They reloaded surplus cases to milspec standards with 55 grain FMJ. The cartridges were never sold to the US or any other nation's military forces that I know of. On the other hand, they also reloaded pistol ammunition and did sell it to security companies as well as police forces. Some of this stuff ended up on the surplus market and a few shops carried it. The 5.56x45 was supposedly loaded in the same pressure range and milspec, around 57,000psi.

Thanks again Bruce M, I hadn't realised that the powder used in the 54-70 and the 45 Colt was the same powder as that used in cannons of the period. It certainly makes sense though. Especially in the frontier areas.