9mm Federal 115gr AMMO Question

[1SOW]

This seemed the only place appropriate , so.....

I was practicing with two other USPSA shooters, and one was using Wal-Mart's 115gr Federal ammo (sort of purple-ish box).

He had been shooting Win fmj 115s and doing well with a M&P with very nice trigger work. He bought the FEDs fmj because they were less expensive than the WINs.

Some of his FEDs were actually going into the target "sideways" at "10" yards. His groups also opened up--a lot-- randomly.

A GM shooter tried the M&P pistol with the Federal ammo, and had the same type of results. He stated Federal 'range' ammo is some of the worst available, and the problem stems from the jacketing peeling back. I hadn't winessed this before as I reload my 9mm range/comp loads.

Has anyone else had this kind of experience with the less expensive Federal range ammunition?

 

[mdThanatos]

Was it the federal red box? I have some friends that use the .45 and haven't had that problem. I actually prefer Federal to Winchester.

 

[1SOW]

mdThantos: I guess it was red----sort of a dark red. Before I reloaded, I stuck with WIN White box, so no personal experience with Fed 9mm

P.S. Used to hunt jack rabbits on-the-run with a .22 rifle in "Big Spring". Where in West TX.?

 

[sigarms228]

I have shot quite a bit through my SIGs in 9MM and .40 and have not noticed anything unusual. I think it is pretty decent shooting ammo. I have not bought any for at least a year however and am using what I amassed before prices went up. It is about the lowest powered 9MM round that you can buy for what that is worth. I will pay more attention next time I use it though.

 

[Carter]

All of my wal-mart bought federal 9mm is performed great. I usually only get it when I need it last minute though.

 

[Apocalypse-Now]

A GM shooter tried the M&P pistol with the Federal ammo, and had the same type of results. He stated Federal 'range' ammo is some of the worst available, and the problem stems from the jacketing peeling back.

complete nonsense. champion's some of the best target ammo on the market, especially for the money. very clean burning and accurate.

 

[1SOW]

Mr. NOW

I didn't say Fed Champs. It's the cheapest 9mm target/range ammo from Wal-Mart that DID shoot like it was shot from a Daisy Red Rider with no oil. In targets I taped there were at least 4 holes on fresh cardboard IPSC targets, where it "looked" like the bullet tumbled or was coming apart when it hit. If The W.M. cheaper ammo IS FED Champ then I apologize for my ignorance of the Fed nomenclature.

Maybe it was a "bad" 'two boxes' of 50.

I don't sensationalize posts. I'm citing what occured Tuesday and curious if others have seen anything like this.

 

[Apocalypse-Now]

you described them as a dark red box. that's fed champ

 

[Steve C]

Some of his FEDs were actually going into the target "sideways" at "10" yards. His groups also opened up--a lot-- randomly.

You let your gun get too much barrel fouling from copper or lead and this kind of thing happens. I take it no one tested the Fed ammo in in an other gun to see if it was his gun or the ammo.

 

[Yarddog]

Heck I use to shoot it all the time as whit WWB. PS They shoot Great no problems I could tell ; ) As I use the brass for reloads now
Y/D

 

[MJ_ATL]

I never had any problems with the Federal, other than having to go to Walmart and then track down an employee to help me. I quit buying it as I can beat the Walmart price + tax by ordering cases of the S&B ammo online.

 

[mgmorden]

Haven't ever had any issues with it myself. It goes bang and is reasonably accurate. That said, since you mentioned USPSA specifically, there have been some reports of the 9mm Federal range ammo not making Minor PF out of a 4" barrel. WWB seems to have no issues there though.

By far though the best route anyone can take when doing large volume shooting like you do at matches is to take up reloading. You save money, get more consistent ammo, and can tailor you loads to exactly where you want them to be.

 

[Remllez]

I think it may have been caused by a leaded barrel as mentioned above. For some reason the slug isn't spinning right? Jackets peeling back like a banana before impact? Sounds kinda henky to me, I'm not convinced it's the ammo. I'd try a good cleaning with solvent and a little bore brush work.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

a bbl can foul right near the muzzle too. that really screws up groups.

 

[mdThanatos]

I'm in FAR West Texas, El Paso to be precise. Locally in order to get Federal ammo of any kind There are two options, Wal-Mart or Academy, I haven't checked the local shops but they charge way too much for anything so I don't even bother with them.

At Wal-Mart you can get either Federal Blue or Red, the Red box they sell isn't the Match stuff. Also Wal-Mart is the only place to get the bulk packs of WWB, the 100 round boxes. Academy does sell the Federal Match, to me and maybe this is just me, the match has more of an orange to the the color of the box, think of it as a a dark copperish red and it will say Match on it. The regular red box doesn't say match and is a more crimson color to it.

Anyway, the ammo in question is usually cheaper than WWB so it is possible that it could be a bad batch but double check the firearm as others have suggested, as in cleaning first before writing off the ammo.

If you still have any of that batch, I'd clean then shoot and test and if the problem still persists I'd contact Federal and let them know about it to see if other complaints have been made against that production batch. Some companies keep track of things like this.

 

[jonnyc]

I've fired thousands of rounds of that Walmart Fed. 9mm without a single issue. I've found it very reliable and pretty accurate.

 

[JoeMal]

Walmart Federal works great for me

 

[KurtC]

Federal make 2 different brands of generic ammo. Boxes are similar in color.

1. American Eagle - decent quality.

2. Champion - Made on Monday morning or Friday afternoon, possibly by drunkards. Several dollars less than American Eagle, but very inconsistent. One cartridge might be a squib, the next one +P.

 

[481]

Champion - Made on Monday morning or Friday afternoon, possibly by drunkards....

Kurt,

Judging from your cynicism, I am guessing here that you are not a 'fan' of the Champion ammo...

Rarely do things I read on the 'net make me burst out in laughter, but your insightful commentary was funny enough to do it.

Been a loooong day and I needed the laugh...

Thanks.

 

[Dogguy]

Never had a problem with Federal ammo no matter what the box color or model name. I generally prefer it to other US brands due to its quality and consistency. Federal Champion is their bargain line so you shouldn't expect it to perform on the same level as their premium ammo.

 

[1SOW]

re:

think it may have been caused by a leaded barrel as mentioned above. For some reason the slug isn't spinning right?

And other similar suggestions.

This is an almost new M&P. Win White box and Value-Pak shoots well.
He doesn't reload or shoot lead, just Wal-Mart 115gr FMJs. (I pick up all his WIN brass )

I personally use only Fed primers and some F.C. brass in my reloads and trust both.

 

[gym]

Just bought federal from wallmart today, never had a problem. Did with white box

 

[Onmilo]

The shooters pistol didn't like Federal.
Try something else.

 

[Ben86]

He stated Federal 'range' ammo is some of the worst available, and the problem stems from the jacketing peeling back.

Those don't have actual copper jackets. It is copper plating. I have had this peel back on me while shooting, spaying my target with flak (which is kind of cool, shotgun pistol) and leaving lead in the barrel. It did also cause a couple keyhole entries. This experience was out of a S&W M&P9C. It doesn't happen often and I still use this ammo for practice. Lately though it has been the same price as Winchester USA, so I'll probably go with that to get an actual jacketed bullet.

 

[1SOW]

Ben 86, Thanks for the confirmation of what my friend told me. Maybe it's just "some" batches of Federal.
I've never had any bad experiences with a LOT of Wal-Mart WIN ammo shot before I started reloading.