Interesting info. I don’t shoot a lot of factory ammo, so never really inspected it and looked for differences. I picked up some 357Mag ammo on the way to the range when I first bought my Winchester....all they had was Sig Sauer 125g Elite V-Crown...chronographed 5 rounds and got a low single digit SD...was the best factory stuff I shot with my limited experience. 👍
That’s interesting factory ammunition these days not worth buying especially for the price they are asking for that’s why I stopped buying ammo years ago I stick to my reloads
ocean374 yes sir me to I really don’t purchase factory ammo I was going to get a bunch of the Winchester 350 Legend but after what kenny went threw No way am I going to Waste my money on that crap ammo
Ever since Federal took over the Lake City ammunition plant in 1969 their quality has suffered tremendously. Like all Con-tractors they are out to make Money as cheaply as possible by cutting corners and wider tolerances on their machines. They produce Match ammo for the Military, However, ask yourself this, why does the Army marksmanship Unit use crafted ammo they make themselves for competition use? because Federal can't cut the mustard. -Dave.
Thor's Axe .. The sad thing is that it was a let down to me. I finally got a decent dedicated scope to do some longer distances on my Thompson compass rifles and expected to get decent performance as I did growing up. I have 4000 maybe 6000 rounds of Federal American Eagle .223 55gr. I’m going to have to inspect it, sort it etc.. no knows what I’ll do. Well short of shooting my own ammo.
MCK each one of those variations makes a huge difference when shooting long distance. The further the distance the more they effect the trajectory, speed. That along with the variance in crimping and bullet depth seating make for some bad long distance shooting. Again at 25 to 50 yard it shoot fairly decent. I may pull the ammo apart and reseat the bullets etc. just don’t know yet.
Wow that’s crazy !!!! This is why I love only shoring my reloads thank you for showing use this crap!!!!!!! I would call the manufacture and let them know what you found out even though they’re not gonna care maybe they will give you a refund
Willie Bulletman you know what I just got the phone with Federal. I got some answers and to be honest I was blown away with what I was told at first but then it makes sense. 01. Federal said this is low end plinking only ammo to be used in an AR and they don’t recommend a bolt action rifle not because accuracy but because of bolt movement detonation. (Not an issue currently for me) 02. Federal said that the primer glue is sometimes transparent and not a dark purplish blue so that while it doesn’t look like it those primers are glued in. 03. Federal said that the seating depth above, below, high, medium and low on the cannelure is in spec for this grade of ammo. 04. Federal also stated that while they do not publish accuracy specs for this round they expect 4 MOA at 200 yards. They in closing said that they do not make better ammo at that grade or price point they stated you would have to switch to premium match grade ammo for better accuracy. I was unable to get them to provide me with accuracy information on their line of .223 ammo.
pony_47 I myself was blown away if you read my comments in the comments below with willie bullet man.. you can review my discussion I had with an ammo engineer at Federal. They are even more alarming. Read that and comment I bet your head will spin. Btw I will be reviewing other ammo. PMC was amazing it was 1 MOA or less on their plinking ammo.
Make sure to check out thereloadersnetwork.com. Please subscribe as I could use more subscribers. Thanks UPDATE.. Response from Federal Ammo Engineer on phone. I just got the phone with Federal. I got some answers and to be honest I was blown away with what I was told at first but then it makes sense. 01. Federal said this is low end plinking only ammo to be used in an AR and they don’t recommend a bolt action rifle not because accuracy but because of bolt movement detonation. (Not an issue currently for me) 02. Federal said that the primer glue is sometimes transparent and not a dark purplish blue so that while it doesn’t look like it those primers are glued in. 03. Federal said that the seating depth above, below, high, medium and low on the cannelure is in spec for this grade of ammo. 04. Federal also stated that while they do not publish accuracy specs for this round they expect 4 MOA at 200 yards. They in closing said that they do not make better ammo at that grade or price point they stated you would have to switch to premium match grade ammo for better accuracy. I was unable to get them to provide me with accuracy information on their line of .223 ammo.
looks like they were loaded on a Lee pro 1000 with a loose base plate - LOL
Interesting info. I don’t shoot a lot of factory ammo, so never really inspected it and looked for differences. I picked up some 357Mag ammo on the way to the range when I first bought my Winchester....all they had was Sig Sauer 125g Elite V-Crown...chronographed 5 rounds and got a low single digit SD...was the best factory stuff I shot with my limited experience. 👍
I see why a lot of people buy ammo just to get the brass !!
Thank You Sir! The variations are discouraging.
There is no doubt that home made is better stuff .
That’s interesting factory ammunition these days not worth buying especially for the price they are asking for that’s why I stopped buying ammo years ago I stick to my reloads
ocean374 yes sir me to I really don’t purchase factory ammo I was going to get a bunch of the Winchester 350 Legend but after what kenny went threw No way am I going to Waste my money on that crap ammo
I know there was no need for Kenny to go threw all that headache that’s crazy
Ever since Federal took over the Lake City ammunition plant in 1969 their quality has suffered tremendously. Like all Con-tractors they are out to make Money as cheaply as possible by cutting corners and wider tolerances on their machines. They produce Match ammo for the Military, However, ask yourself this, why does the Army marksmanship Unit use crafted ammo they make themselves for competition use? because Federal can't cut the mustard. -Dave.
Thor's Axe .. The sad thing is that it was a let down to me. I finally got a decent dedicated scope to do some longer distances on my Thompson compass rifles and expected to get decent performance as I did growing up. I have 4000 maybe 6000 rounds of Federal American Eagle .223 55gr. I’m going to have to inspect it, sort it etc.. no knows what I’ll do. Well short of shooting my own ammo.
Thank You Sir! Now I know the background. After reading your comments, I imagine the factory as a chaotic collection of worn loading machines.
Wow even without the reloader's eye for quality and detail that's alot of variables, definitely for being within a batch number
MCK each one of those variations makes a huge difference when shooting long distance. The further the distance the more they effect the trajectory, speed. That along with the variance in crimping and bullet depth seating make for some bad long distance shooting. Again at 25 to 50 yard it shoot fairly decent. I may pull the ammo apart and reseat the bullets etc. just don’t know yet.
👍🏼👍🏼
Wow that’s crazy !!!! This is why I love only shoring my reloads thank you for showing use this crap!!!!!!! I would call the manufacture and let them know what you found out even though they’re not gonna care maybe they will give you a refund
Willie Bulletman you know what I just got the phone with Federal. I got some answers and to be honest I was blown away with what I was told at first but then it makes sense.
01. Federal said this is low end plinking only ammo to be used in an AR and they don’t recommend a bolt action rifle not because accuracy but because of bolt movement detonation. (Not an issue currently for me)
02. Federal said that the primer glue is sometimes transparent and not a dark purplish blue so that while it doesn’t look like it those primers are glued in.
03. Federal said that the seating depth above, below, high, medium and low on the cannelure is in spec for this grade of ammo.
04. Federal also stated that while they do not publish accuracy specs for this round they expect 4 MOA at 200 yards.
They in closing said that they do not make better ammo at that grade or price point they stated you would have to switch to premium match grade ammo for better accuracy. I was unable to get them to provide me with accuracy information on their line of .223 ammo.
Thank you for calling me. I think you might want to bring this up on the next hat chat
That's shocking !! Good catch , I don't normally check my factory ammo , I will now .
pony_47 I myself was blown away if you read my comments in the comments below with willie bullet man.. you can review my discussion I had with an ammo engineer at Federal. They are even more alarming. Read that and comment I bet your head will spin. Btw I will be reviewing other ammo. PMC was amazing it was 1 MOA or less on their plinking ammo.
Make sure to check out thereloadersnetwork.com.
Please subscribe as I could use more subscribers. Thanks
UPDATE.. Response from Federal Ammo Engineer on phone.
I just got the phone with Federal. I got some answers and to be honest I was blown away with what I was told at first but then it makes sense.
01. Federal said this is low end plinking only ammo to be used in an AR and they don’t recommend a bolt action rifle not because accuracy but because of bolt movement detonation. (Not an issue currently for me)
02. Federal said that the primer glue is sometimes transparent and not a dark purplish blue so that while it doesn’t look like it those primers are glued in.
03. Federal said that the seating depth above, below, high, medium and low on the cannelure is in spec for this grade of ammo.
04. Federal also stated that while they do not publish accuracy specs for this round they expect 4 MOA at 200 yards.
They in closing said that they do not make better ammo at that grade or price point they stated you would have to switch to premium match grade ammo for better accuracy. I was unable to get them to provide me with accuracy information on their line of .223 ammo.