It isn’t often a new player makes it to the top of a heavily entrenched industry. How many new car brands have you seen in the last 20 years? If a new company does manage to not only survive but also thrive, they are worth paying attention to. They either have a superior product, a non-standard means of making the same product economically viable or tenacity. Freedom Munitions rose from a small garage company to a major contender in a very short amount of time. See the video below as GunsAmerica traveled behind the scenes and got an unfiltered and in-depth look at their production.
Freedom Munitions has become a household name in the ammo business. The Idaho-based company has grown from a small-garage business to a large company in a short span of time. Photo Courtesy: Freedom Munitions
First Impressions
This Idaho-based company has continued to expand and their Hush line, which is specifically engineered for reliability in suppressed firearms. Photo Courtesy: Freedom Munitions
My first exposure to Freedom was a sponsor of USPSA and 3 Gun matches. To anyone new to these sports, you burn nearly a metric ton of ammunition simply in training, if you want to be any good. Freedom Munitions not only gave away a pile of bullets but set themselves apart as a fantastic choice for buying ammunition and reloading supplies. Starting with 9mm and 5.56, they rapidly expanded to include all major calibers. When ammo got scarce, Freedom was the first in the industry to institute a “brass credit program.” Shooters could mail in their once-fired brass and get store credit against new or remanufactured ammo. This helped encourage shooters to continue training as ammo prices started creeping up across the board in 2013. Freedom has now expanded their lines to offer big bore ammo, hunting bullets, and all manner of premium and plinking ammo. They have become a major contender in the ammunition market, and that is no small feat considering the older more established companies in the industry.
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The 4-1-1 on Remanufactured Ammo
One of the first to offer a brass buy back program, Freedom continued to produce high-quality ammunition when ammo was scarce. Photo Courtesy: Freedom Munitions
Remanufactured ammunition has probably been the biggest source of headaches for Freedom Munitions, mostly due to a misunderstanding of what it is. It seems to also be the easiest path to break into ammunition if you look at any of the small emerging companies. New ammunition means all of the components have been manufactured and never used before. Remanufactured means the cartridge gets a new primer, projectile, powder and is housed in a used case. Most people imagine this is a dude on a Dillon 650 in his garage, but this is far from the case. Remanufactured requires a few more steps than new as a labor process. Shocking to many shooters, the casing is the most expensive part of making ammunition. The balance general means, market forces dependent, that remanufactured ammunition can be purchased for 2 to 5 cents less per round than its new counterparts.
The labor of creating remanufactured goes something like this. First, a bulk supply of the desired caliber has to be purchased. Then it is sorted because strange things slip into large batches of cases. After the first sorting, it is sorted again to remove steel cases, odd looking cases and damaged cases. Then it has to be washed, dried and tumbled so it looks good as new. Once that process is complete, then and only then can you start the loading process. Freedom runs remanufactured and new brass through the exact same huge machines. They also employ the same quality control measures. Far from a garage set up, this is an industrial process. Freedom cranks out mountains of ammunition every day.
Future Projections
For those who reload, Freedom offers shooters the option to purchase primed or unprimed brass. Photo Courtesy: Freedom Munitions
Responding to a changing world, Freedom has also moved heavily into vertical integration. That is a $5 word that means they are bringing major parts of the supply chain in house. I worked for a smaller ammo company in 2013 and 2014, so I am familiar with the problems. The biggest problem for making bullets after Sandy Hook was being able to find all the components. One company might have a stack of primers and no cases, while another might have cases but no primers. Given the shortage in the market, no one wanted to give up the parts they had. We went so far as to look to Eastern Europe for untapped sources of gun powder at that time. Freedom survived this catastrophe that put many small manufacturers under and continues to moving forward to ensure it never happens to them. They are currently making their own brass, which is a huge move in this industry. Coupled with the fact that they have made projectiles in house from the beginning, and purchase so many primers as to be front of the line in any market, Freedom Munitions is positioned to be a survivor. This is great for the consumer as well. It helps keep prices down, and ensure that if you like Freedom ammo, it will be there for purchase in the event of more market volatility.
For information and to purchase ammo from Freedom Munitions, click Freedommunitions.com.
Over the last several years I’ve gone through a couple thousand rounds from Freedom Munitions in 9mm, 45ACP, 5.56/.223, and .308, both reman and new. Overall it’s been great, right on par with major brands.
As with any mass manufacturing process involving man and machine, particular one as precise as loading ammunition, mistakes can happen. It happens with the big brands and it has happened with FM. The only issue I’ve ever had was with a batch of 9mm 124gr XTP new ammo that appeared to be under-loaded. I bought 3 boxes on sale, and my brand new XD Mod.2 4″ Service wouldn’t lock back on the empty mag and the brass just dribbled out of the ejection port to land at my feet. My wife’s Glock 26 would also fail to lock back. Other ammo didn’t have this problem. I sent them an email, honestly not even trying to return it, just to let them know they had an anemic batch. They insisted I return what was left, sent me a prepaid shipping label, and replaced it with 147gr (which I agreed to, as they were out of stock of the 124gr). So great customer service in addition to quality ammo at a good price.
I’ve been buying their ammo in 9, 357 and 45 ACP. Great stuff.
I order Freedom Munitions pretty much exclusively, especially for range ammo. I’ve tried others (I won’t name them) and have been disappointed with their quality. But Freedom has never let me down. And with their brass credit program and their shipping specials they can’t be beat. My last order of 600 rds of reman 9mm cost me a final total of $36. That’s 6 cents a round for ammo that has been 100% reliable for me over many thousands of rounds I’ve shot through a wide range of 9mm and .45 ACP pistols and carbines.
I jumped on the Freedom bandwagon early and have purchased and shot thousands of 9mm rounds – both reman and regular. While competing at an indoor IDPA match last year, I pulled the trigger and had a round go off that was so loud and had such a large muzzle flash that two different safety officers yelled “stop” as they thought my gun blew up (as did I). No visible damage to the gun (S&W M&P) or the shooter fortunately. I figured it was a fluke and kept using their ammo until the same thing happened at an outdoor range a few months later. Needless to say I have a new supplier now.
Fantastic company, found them years ago and watched them grow over the years, a true American success story. The product gets no better, I use their brass buy back system which doesn’t save you much by the time you ship to them and you pay for shipping on a new order, but it does knock a few $ off your order and I don’t have to walk away from good brass at the range. Breaks my heart that I won’t be able to order anymore since I live in California, but I have a way around that after Jan 1st. take that Gov Brown! You can’t keep the people away from things they want, be that Alcohol, cig’s, Marijuana, guns, when will our hack elected public officials every learn this constant fact of life.
Many years ago I smelled the coffee and ran my kalif-native, rear-end out of kalif. At that time, kalif’s future with respect to firearm enthusiasts spelled disaster on the horizon. I was an enemy of the state over a few years of democrap rule.
Fleeing was the one of the best decisions (of few) that I made. Your comment regarding moonbeam et al, legislating and micro managing people’s lives is dead on! They’re chased by their failures. moonbeam and the gang must distract with feel good laws which are as you are painfully aware, smoke, mirrors, and BS! Prohibition should have opened politician’s eyes for decades but not on the left coast or the east coast. Bathtub gin, growing tobacco or marijuana, or making homemade guns……….the politician’s efforts will always be circumvented by the American spirit.
I’ve purchased and shot Freedom’s ammo for more then a year without a single problem. They have a good selection and their price is more then competitive. I can’t reload for less. Even HP ammo is reasonably priced. I could not recommend Freedom more!
My friend’s new pistol blew up when firing this company’s ammo. On the bright side, they were quick to replace the weapon though.
To be fair, this can happen with ANY commercial ammo. I’ve experienced squib rounds from factory Winchester and Federal, and I’ve heard more stories of blowups from factory ammo than I can count. So I don’t believe FA is any more susceptible to this than say Winchester or Federal, particularly with their high-volume range ammo production. I expect their premium SD and Match ammo tends to have higher QC.
THEY ARE THE BEST AND BACK IT UP WITH ACTIONS.
Well they may make very good ammo but I also remember other companies making good stuff. Ones like Super-Vel, S&W, Browning and of course Activ…They all flashed briefly and then they all kinda faded into the sunset. The ammunition business is a very tough one. I was a distributor for Activ and I told the company when they raised their prices to the same range as Fed Win and Rem they were making a mistake..But their costs were comparable to the big 3. The only reason the European makers are existing now is because they sell cheaper…mainly because it is made cheaper in many cases. Good luck to Freedom
Love Freedom Munitions. I’ve bought and shot 5000+ rounds of 9mm and .40cal and not a single FTF. Highly recommend.
I buy this ammo every month because my local dealer in Ft Worth doesn’t carry it. It’s better than Winchester or Federal ball ammo.
Very neat to see how they make this stuff. Thanks for sharing video!
– Javid
After seeing this video, I immediately placed and order. Quality production indeed!
I have been buying Freedom’s new and RM in 380, 9, 40, and 45, and it’s all great range ammo. Highly recommended. Their prices are hard to beat, especially at sale time around the holidays. Only issue is fulfillment and delivery. At sale time, it can take up to two weeks to receive an order, which if you can wait, is worth the savings. It can get a bit aggravating though, just a heads-up.
I’ve fired thousands of their remanufactured, and new ammunition, I have never had a problem.
For consistency if the score counts buy their new ammunition, for basic plinking or shooting steel you can’t beat the price of the remanufactured ammo.
I am a fan of Freedom Munitions, but as of January1, 2018, I will no longer be able to purchase from them unless I can find a licensed ammunition vendor to accept the order and process the required personal information and “background check” as will be required by an idiotic California law.
I have had almost no issues with the ammo, the only exception being their .45 Colt, where the necks were not as tight as they should be and half of the bullets regressed into the cases. They also sell something called Leadville cowboy action loads. The bullets are good, the cases are excellent, but again, I found that they really needed a crimp and the powder loading is what I would consider “lame.” (Yes, I know low power loads are the name of the game, but still…) The regular 9 mm and .45 cal have been flawless, new, reloaded, FMJ RN and their XTP defense loads, doesn’t matter, they all go bang. And best of all their prices for their own product are the best on the market. What’s not to like?
Think I’d find a way to move from that communist stronghold known as California. It’s only going to get worse there.
I’d move back east if it was me.