Anyone here familiar with Federal ammunition? I’ve been buying it lately because it’s what Walmart has been choosing to stock, and I do have to admit the price is attractive (~$13.00 US with sales tax for a box of fifty cartridges). But even to my untrained eye it seems to be very dirty ammo, producing lots of smoke and lots of fouling. What really has me worried is that after running cleaning patches through my barrel, I’m seeing tiny flecks of glitter that I don’t remember seeing after using any other brand of ammo. Is my bore being eroded? Or would any brand of ammunition made in the USA today still use perchlorate primer, leaving salt residue?
Some ammo is just dirtier is all. The “glitter” is jacket material. The powder fouling is a combination of soot from the burnt powder and graphite which is used to lubricate the powder granules during manufacture.
Neither one will hurt your gun. Nor does federal use corrosive priming.
What should matter to you here is whether you are getting acceptable performance for your money. Is the ammunition consistent? Does your particular gun cycle it reliably and shoot it accurately? If the answers are yes, then you must decide whether the savings in price balance out the extra clean up.
Thanks for restoring my ease of mind Scumpup. Yeh, the fouling is annoying to clean but I can put up with that when the price significantly affects how often I can afford to practice. Here’s the breakdown on what I’ve paid in the past year for .40 S&W ammo at Walmart (YMMV):
- Federal box of 50, plus tax = ~$13.25
- Remington economy box of 250, plus tax = $73.65 (~$14.75 per 50)
- Winchester box of 100, plus tax = $32.50 (~$16.25 per 50)
Compare with what my local gun range sells ammo for, (can’t think of the brand) plus tax = ~$24.00 per 50.
Glad you’re feeling better about things. Here’s something to consider: Get yourself a can of Ballistol. Dilute it with hot water as per instructions and just let it soak the powder fouling and other junk free from your gun. The gun will dry from residual heat and there will be a protective and lubricating layer left behind. It really is some remarkable stuff and it is basically all I use in caring for a pretty large collection of firearms. Further, it isn’t toxic like many of the spray solvents and doesn’t have an unpleasant smell.