#Federal

Exactly one week ago, on October 6th, Federal Premium laid off 200 more employees. Employees were notified of this through group meetings that were held on Thursday, October 5th and Friday, October 6th. The layoffs affect 190 hourly workers from the factory floor and 10 jobs from Federal Premium’s human resources, IT and legal departments who were on salary. All the affected employees were offered severance packages and outplacement assistance.

We shoot Federal 9mm 150gr HST jacketed hollow point ammunition from a Smith & Wesson Shield with a 3″ barrel into Clearballistics ballistic gel to measure velocity, penetration, expansion/fragmentation, and retained weight. Buy it at Ventura Munitions.

Some firearms, while very fun to shoot, do not command a lot of interest or attention at the range.  The new Henry lever action shotguns in .410, however, not only are a blast to bust clays with, but I had more people coming up and asking questions than with any other shotgun I’ve ever brought to the range.  While shattering multiple clays out of the sky while working a lever was a new experience for me, it became a whole lot of fun.  In fact, the Henry H018-410 has become my favorite gun to take to long afternoons of busting clays.

The current US administration is looking to release many of the restrictions on weapons exports, according to a recent article at Reuters. Currently, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) limit the ability for US arms companies to sell weapons overseas. However, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to change the jurisdiction for most arms exports from the State Department to the Commerce Department, which would likely make such exports substantially easier. The State Department’s focus is primarily on security and stability, which means they generally err on the side of less exports rather than more, but the Commerce Department is primarily focused on facilitating international trade. This strongly suggests that arms exports as handled by the Commerce Department would be facilitated by the agency, rather than obstructed, as the trend has been under the State Department.

Orbital ATK, the defense contractor who manages and operates the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, will soon be bought by defense giant Northrop Grumman, according to an article released on Reuters. The purchase price is expected to be close to $8 billion USD. From Reuters:

Within the last few weeks Federal has announced a couple different varieties of bullets they are selling as reloading components. This is a first for them and has surprised a lot of us since they normally stick to loaded ammunition, primers and brass. It is definitely not something outside the scope of their abilities as an ammunition manufacturer. It is simply something that they have not attempted to dabble in before.

Federal makes a lot of ammunition for firearm enthusiasts. Like, A LOT. Whether you are a target shooter, weekend brass burner, serious hunter, or lover of all the shooting sports, Federal makes some ammo tailored to your endeavors. Most recently and more specifically, Federal has developed a new line of ammunition for the whitetail deer hunter. Aptly named Non-Typical Whitetail, this series of ammo utilizes a soft point tip in common and popular deer hunting calibers.

When it comes to hunting elk, mule deer, antelope or any game you wish to connect on from a different zip code there are obstacles to overcome. For one, you need the accuracy to hit your mark. Second, you need enough energy to humanely put down your game once you do connect. Federal Premium believes they have an answer to this dilemma. With Edge TLR ammunition, Federal Premium serves up accuracy, effective expansion and high weight retention. Currently, this new line of ammunition is available in four different calibers.

Federal Ammunition has produced a lot of great ammo over the years. Some of it utilizes other brand’s bullets creating optimal performance while on some occasions it is a bullet from Federal’s own handiwork. Federal Premium’s Trophy Bonded Bear Claw ammunition using a Trophy Bonded Tip definitely fits that definition. Reloaders everywhere will have something new to try because Federal is now offering that tip as a reloading component.

Federal introduced in mid-2016 a hybrid series of their staple Power-Shok featuring all copper bullets aptly named  Power-Shok Copper. Its initial release debuted 4 standard hunting cartridges: .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield. Now Federal has added some heavy hitters with the .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 Winchester Short Magnum.

It would seem that the sky is falling pricing on ammunition was not quite low enough for one Robert Foley of Ramsey, Minnesota. According to WCCO of Minneapolis, Foley has been charged with the theft of a significant amount of ammunition from his former employer Federal Ammunition, based in Anoka, Minnesota. Foley worked in the shipping department.

If you are of the select group of people that still loves a good 28-Gauge shotgun, there is some good news on the horizon. Federal is offering more 28-Gauge loads through their Game-Shok line of ammunition. What you shall soon be seeing available at brick ‘n mortar stores are loads in #5, #6 and #7.5 shot.

Federal just announced they will be offering their Fusion MSR line of ammo in 6.5 Grendel and .300 Blk.

Long-time readers know that I have a distinct love for non 5.56 calibers for the AR-15. I do cede that the 5.56 and its .223 Remington cousin are excellent calibers, but one can always long for a slight bit more range and “oompf”. To that desire, both 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel were created to provide the extra reach. Unfortunately, the 6.8 SPC has seemed to have lost some steam in the last couple of years compared to the slowly growing 6.5 Grendel, but both received a boost when Federal Ammunition announced their latest new loads.

The post-election gun industry downturn has hit Federal Premium Ammunition, which laid off a significant number of its employees earlier this month. 110 of the roughly 1400 workers at the company were let go from the company’s Anoka, Minnesota plant, the company confirmed. This announcement surprised Minnesota state officials, who had before the end of last year granted the company set of grants and loads worth $1.15 million to expand. Federal informed the state that these grants would no longer be necessary, and that they were cancelling them. Although the expansion is expected to continue, the hiring goals that were conditions of the grants are no longer achievable, Federal said.