Giving up on Federal .22 ammo

[1KPerDay]

BTW I had a bunch of misfires, hangfires, and another squib with a different box of Federal 325 36 grain plated bulk pack. Ran fine in my rifle though. I'm thinking there's something hinky with my 22/45. I'm trying a new barrel/receiver for fun.

 

[1KPerDay]

After a thorough detail strip and clean, I installed the OEM trigger and sear, and OEM disconnector plunger and spring. Fired 10 mags of Fed 325 36 grain plated bulk, including the remainder of the aforementioned box and part of a new box from the same lot. 3 duds/misfires, several 'light rounds' and one hangfire. Immediately fired 10 mags of CCI SV from 2 different boxes/lots=no issues.

 

[1KPerDay]

Fired 100 rounds of this Federal ammo through my 1960s era Browing Challenger. Two duds which fired on restrike. No hangfires or soft rounds or squibs. Hmmmmm

 

[milemaker13]

I've been shooting bulk federal in my single shot and all have gone off fine... So far... I have not shoot much from that box yet.

 

[jrdolall]

I can't begin to count the boxes of bulk ammo I have run over the years. It seems that most manufacturers experience quality issues from time to time with Remington leading the way. I have had issues with Armscor but never with Federal. CCI ammo tends to be the best of the bunch for me with Blazer being the most affordable of their offerings (to my knowledge) but I don't see it a lot. I have been seeing Armscor for less than $.04 per round online recently.
I really don't expect perfection from bulk ammo as I tend to use it for S&G and mag dumps. I actually expect to have a few duds using any of the bulk items. I use "bulk" to indicate ammo that is loose packed in a container so something that is packed 10-50 count I expect to be a little better even though it may be the exact same ammo.

 

[1KPerDay]

Got the new OEM upper, tried it with the factory lower (minus the mag safety) and factory bolt. 60 rounds of this Federal 36 grain plated bulk, 4 soft rounds that wouldn't cycle the slide, 2 hangfires. Tried the same ammo with original upper, 10 rounds, 3 soft rounds including a stovepipe, one hangfire. Tried same ammo in Browning Challenger, 60 rounds, no soft rounds, no hangfires, one dud/misfire which fired on restrike.

Onward and upward, I guess? Going to try to find a parts kit to complete my new OEM Ruger upper and see how it works. Worst case I'll have another .22 pistol after all this.

 

[RavenTai]

I am still sitting on a few thousand rds of the federal 510 champion in 50 round trays from many years ago, it was cheap ($0.03 / round) reliable and accurate, sad to hear it is no longer the case.

 

[1KPerDay]

I'm still not sure it isn't.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

About 1/2 of my .22 cache is pre-panic.... You're making me consider taking some of the new stuff out for a spin to make sure it is useable.

About 1\2 of mine is pre 1980.

 

[milemaker13]

Still no misfires from my box, but they won't cycle the slide on my buckmark pistol. And i have also had a few rounds that felt "light" can compared to the rest. Still no problems at all with CCI.

 

[milemaker13]

That box was the blue one like yours. I just shot some federal red box bulk and it cycled fine. No misfires either.