2013 ADI Reloading Guide

Australian Munitions is the largest supplier of explosive ordnance to the Australian Defence Force, with a successful track record delivering ammunition, propellants, explosives and related services. We are also a principal supplier of small arms ammunition to the New Zealand Defence Force. Australian Munitions also produces high quality propellant and ammunition for military and civilian domestic and international customers.

Australian Munitions can trace its ammunition heritage back to the late 19th century, through the establishment of the Colonial Ammunition Company in Victoria and played a key role restructuring the Australian munitions manufacturing industry landscape over the final decade of the 20th century.

Manufacturing is based at two main regional sites – Benalla in Victoria and Mulwala in New South Wales. Our Benalla site produces ammunition, explosive ordnance and other munitions, while the Mulwala site focuses on high quality propellants and explosives. The company possesses the management depth and expertise, know-how and resources strength necessary to manage Australia’s domestic munitions manufacturing with confidence and safety well into the future.

ADI Powders cater for the full range of burning rate requirements from the fast burning handgun and shotgun powders to the very slow large calibre rifle powders.

The shotgun powders are disc powders, double base in composition, covering a wide range of applications in 12, 20 and 28 gauge loads. All the shotgun powders are exceptionally clean burning.

ADI handgun powders are smaller diameter disc powders manufactured for uniform metering through powder loaders. The faster burning powders are double base in composition for increased energy. The slower burning powders are single base for use in heavy loads. All the handgun powders are exceptionally clean burning when loaded correctly.

The rifle powders are single perforated tubular propellants of single base composition. Australian Munitions’s experience in developing powders for the Australian Defence Force has shown that powders with these characteristics are suitable for use in extreme climatic conditions. Consequently, all the rifle powders have, as a feature, ballistic temperature independence; that is, velocities and pressures do not vary greatly with ambient temperature. This is a unique and major advantage over the performance of other manufacturer’s rifle powders. In addition, the ADI powders all have good loading characteristics with respect to bulk density and uniformity of metering through powder loaders. They are also very clean burning at normal loads.