a while back i saw some master cartridge ammo for sale at the local gun store so i bought a couple boxes. on the box it says 9mm 147 grain jacketed hollow point. the rounds in the box have speer stamped on them. i wondered if they were reloads but all of them have speer on them so i was thinking and havent come up with a solution for this. does anyone know why this is like that?

Some smaller commercial ammunition manufacturers have been known to use other company's components, including brass. Small companies seldom have the capability of producing their own cases and having it custom made with their own headstamp can be expensive.

It's not limited to small manufacturers, either. Both Federal and Speer are now owned by the same parent company, and some Speer 223 Remington Gold Dot ammo I purchased recently was loaded in cases with the "FC" (Federal Cartridge) headstamp.

Random side note on Master Cartridge: our local SO uses Master Cartridges as their duty ammo. The Sheriff and his deputies swear by it. I think it is 185gr .45acp JHP (can't recall if it is +P or not but I think it is).