[WinterWizard]

Went to range today to put 100 rounds of Federal Champion .45 acp FMJ ammo through my Ruger SR1911.

Well, I had two failure to feeds. Upon clearing the gun, I noticed the projectiles in both instances were pushed in noticeably, one was pushed in AND crooked, nearly seizing in the chamber. Funny, because I was watching the "SR1911" video by Hikock45 on YouTube and he had the same problem with the same gun, with the same ammo!

In short, I believe this to be super crappy ammo. Pretty dirty and inconsistent pressures, too. It's also always scratched and dinged up while other ammo I've used is not. Maybe I got a bad batch, who knows. I bought it for $17.99 a box at Cabela's because it was cheap. Mistake.

I just wanted put it out there that this ammo seems to be crap. I won't be buying it ever again. :-x

One the plus side, it seems to be accurate for range ammo. I put 5 rounds into 3 holes for a 1.5" grouping at 10 yards – that was my best of the day.

It did ruin my range visit, though. When a gun jams, even if it's the fault of the ammo, there is that brief feeling of rage and disgust, accompanied with a fantasy of throwing the gun off a bridge into a deep river. :evil:

 

[RamRod]

Sorry to hear your visit to the range was ruined by some shoddy ammunition, at least it wasn't your Ruger. I hope you're not stuck with too many crap rounds left over!

 

[vash_241987]

FC 9mm works well for me, never used their .45 since buying 100rds of WWB is cheaper. Thanks for the heads up though!

 

[agould27]

Used it a few times with no problems. Also sounds like you may have a anger problem there bud.

 

[WinterWizard]

Used it a few times with no problems. Also sounds like you may have a anger problem there bud.

I've been told this. Short temper for sure...

In any event, some people seem to have no problems with this ammo and some haven't, like me. All it takes is a few problems for me to never use a product again.

Perhaps I will give the Federal American Eagle ammo a shot. It's about $104 for 250 rounds around here. A few more ducats, but probably worth it.

 

[ScubaSteveXdm]

Im kinda shocked, champion is all i ever use anymore with over a 1k rnds of 9mm with no problems.

 

[Nacho Man]

i would give the FC another shot, probably just a bad batch. my xd & milspec love <3 the FC.

 

[kirk22287]

I use fc all the time as well in both 9mm and 45acp, never had any problems with either caliber that I can remember anyway

 

[ChaoP]

I've put 600ish rounds of 9mm federal champion through my xdm. Never had any problem with it, it's actually my favorite "cheap" ammo

 

[Clarion81xd40]

FC is all I use in my RIA 1911 and my SIG P220,...never had a problem. I also use it in my .22 and used to use when I had 9mm's. No problems here.

 

[xPredator86x]

Over 2000 rounds of their 9mm and several hundred .45 through my Rock Island 1911. Maybe your gun is just picky.

 

[Buffman]

All i use is federal champion unless I can't find it. Never an issue, but QC issues can happen anywhere. I had a box of LEO GD in .45ACP that had two rounds with the bullets pushed all the way flush with the case. **** happens.

 

[Dirty Rod]

I'm about halfway through a lot of about 6k rounds of .45. My guns seem to like it as well as any other FMJ I've purchased.

 

[SebZE835]

Federal has always done well by me. I have shot thousands and thousands of rounds of Federal ranging in calibers from .22 to .45


Sounds like maybe just a bad batch?

 

[WinterWizard]

Over 2000 rounds of their 9mm and several hundred .45 through my Rock Island 1911. Maybe your gun is just picky.

Nope, my gun is not picky. The two rounds were pushed back, and one of the two was pushed back and slightly crooked.

In any event, I have 200 more rounds. We'll see what happens. Needless to say, I will be inspecting every round that gets loaded.

 

[Dirty Rod]

Shoot long enough and you will find a bad batch of just about every brand. I had WWB that had glue and other crap all over them, AE with a missing primer and powder, HVAC .45 rounds that had an OAL as long as 1.3, dented Remington rounds, one Federal that was missing powder, and a batch of BH .308 match rounds that wouldn't hold a 3" group in a 1/2" rifle.

If you see it with with your other boxes then get rid of them and pick up another brand but eventually you will see a bad batch from another manufacturer.

Edit: Also make sure you know who you are buying from if you buy in bulk. Federal sells bulk factory seconds and its the responsibility of the buyer to do a QA check. Got that directly from Federal.

 

[john_bud]

When a gun jams, even if it's the fault of the ammo, there is that brief feeling of rage and disgust, accompanied with a fantasy of throwing the gun off a bridge into a deep river. :evil:

You should reset and instead look forward to a jam or fail to fire so you can practice your gun clearing skills. Getting mad, disgusted and traveling to fantasy land will leave you dead or dying in the gutter if/when it happens in real life and you NEED that gun to fire.

Literally, you should be clearing that weapon by second nature so fast there is hardly a pause. If you can't do that now, start sprinkling in snap caps and do the drills at every range visit.

Pick up the duds and when you get home write a nice letter on paper listing the product, serial number and the type and number of failures you experienced. If they fail to make it better (sending boxes of ammo etc) then get that feeling of rage and disgust!

 

[WinterWizard]

Thanks, John. The first jam I was able to clear really easily. I racked the slide back and held it there while tipping the gun, letting the round fall out, then released the slide, chambering a new round. The second jam was a pain. The slide was hot as hell, almost too hot to touch, and the round nearly seized halfway in the chamber. I had to drop the magazine, lock back the slide, and jab at the round with my thumb for about 15 seconds before I got it to slide out.

John, are you on ArmedBadger.com forums yet? Things are starting to get pick up over there.