Federal 45ACP from Walmart - Issues

[The Keymaster]

I happened to be at a gun show in Princeton Illinois with a friend recently. When we left the show we happened to drive past the local Walmart, so we decided to stop in to see what they had for ammo, and what the prices were. They happened to have Federal 45ACP 230gr JRN for $15.00 per box. These were the standard maroon and gray boxes, not the American Eagle. They had 6 boxes, so my friend bought all 6 boxes. They pulled them from the case, and bagged them. He paid for them, and we left. Yesterday he stopped in to see me. He brought in some sample rounds for me to look at. Of the 6 boxes he bought, 2 boxes were slightly different than the others. The 2 boxes were a little smaller, but other than that they were the same. Inside the smaller boxes were rounds loaded with small pistol primers. These boxes also had no lot number stamped on the outside of the box. Another interesting difference is the primers are a brass color. I have been reloading for years, and every Federal Primer I have ever used has been a silver color. I am going to pull down one of each of these rounds, compare the powders, and check the powder weights. Once I have done that I will update this thread. My friend will be contacting Federal to find out what he deal is.

Has anyone else noticed anything odd about Federal ammo lately?

 

[ReadnFool]

I had not noticed the primers but I have seen the box size difference on the .40 cal as well. I didn't notice any significant difference in performance or reliability when I used them in practice.

 

[SSGSAD]

Thanks, for the info, I did not know about Federal, my brother, bought some Win. brass, once fired, at the 1500, and when he started loading, he found out, that they were small primers.. They are marked, WIN NT, or something like that.....

 

[DHolder]

Are the small primer cases for the " green" lead free ammo?

 

[XtremeVel]

A few years back before raw materials went up, I bought 12,000 once fired Federal .357 sig cases from the Brass Shoppe in Wisconsin for a unbelievable price. I guess the fact they were marked NT made them hard for the guy to sell. I was told it met " non-toxic ". In that caliber, the primer pocket was correct sized, but had a much larger flash hole. The cases have held up very well. Now that I have a pretty stiff load worked up, I still get a good 8-10 loadings out of them.

 

[bk1330]

I had heard from some guys at the range I sometimes shoot at a couple of months back that alot of the ammunition companies were trying to catch back up after the crazy run on ammunition after the election and they were trying different things with there ammo. Like using small primers on certain assembly lines when they ran out of big primers. I also bought a box of winchester white box ammunition in .40 s&w a couple of weeks ago and it had the red stuff on its primers like seiller and bellot and wolf uses. The rounds fired fine but when I went back to the store and looked at the other 3 boxes they had the primers looked like normal. I just wonder if they are getting primers and materials in from over seas to catch up on orders. This is pure speculation.

 

[bk1330]

I forgot and as far as the box sizes getting smaller alot of companies are using smaller plastic holders for there ammo so it is cheaper and then the box can be smaller then that makes the cardboard and the ink on the box cheaper also. The only reason I know this is I work for a company that has quoted making some of the round holders cheaper to save the companies money.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I have noticed the same thing when buying 9mm and .40. I have not noticed any difference when firing either one though.

 

[Robert Richardson]

No difference in performance,they just used small pistol primers.You can reload them using the small primers,just make sure you don't mix the two as you run them through your progressive press.

 

[The Keymaster]

No difference in performance,they just used small pistol primers.You can reload them using the small primers,just make sure you don't mix the two as you run them through your progressive press.

I will eventually chronograph both cartridges. I guess I just don't understand why you change something that has been an industry standard for years. I am annoyed that I left them on my desk at work. I wanted to pull them down this weekend.

 

[Saiga223]

I just recently bought a box of 50 .40 caliber federal in the Maroon box and when I went to the range I had 1 out of 50 with a bad primer. When I ejected the shell, the firing pin had hit dead center with no bang. It was the first time ever in my S&W Sigma. The other 49 shot without issue, just lucky for me I was at the range and not in a bad situation!

 

[rfontes]

ive gone through 8 boxes of the federal champion 9mm in my xd, haven't had any problems. one thing i did notice when i compared the federal champion to the remington umc is the remington ammo produced excessive muzzle flash and a distinct odor kinna like strong attic dust.. the federal champion ammo burned cleaner with less build up, lower muzzle flash, and great price.

 

[ol' poke]

This really bites!

I bought some Blazer Brass .45ACP ammo in Ohio over Thanksgiving and just compared them to some Federals (r/gray box) I bought at WallyWorld in Brownsburg.

The Blazer box is smaller than the Federal due to the bullet holders - no big deal there. The BIG deal is that Federal primer pockets measured 5.43mm and the Blazers measured at 4.43mm. I thought everything over .38 used large pistol primers!?!

I don't reload .45ACP yet, but is this a common problem? I've been saving .45ACP brass for a year, now I have to sort it for LPP and SPP???

This is an accident waiting to happen!

later edit: Sorry for the rant everyone - just googled the problem - seems to be an old one. Still sucks though. Looks like I'll have to sort through my empties. Looks like a good task during "Bonanza" commedcial breaks. :-)


ol' poke.

 

[TheDude]

Bought some Fed .45 at Wal-mart yesterday and primers are siver with lot number. Had some .40 a while back that shot terrible though.

 

[Glocker1986]

A friend of mine gave me some similar brass 45 brass. thanks for the info

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

I am brand new to reloading and just loaded my first 200 rounds of 45 ACP this week.

Since I'm new, I'm probably being overly cautious (a good thing I guess). Part of the equipment I received for Christmas included a Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner. It has 2 ends, 1 for large primer pockets and one for small. After tumbling and decapping, I used this handy little tool to clean the gunk out of the primer pocket. I ran into 2 pieces of brass that had small primer pockets.

Here is my question and a potential issue. If I wasn't using that tool (I assume most people don't) or if I was using a progressive press, what would happen when you tried to insert the large primer into the small hole? Would it simply crush the primer? Cause it to explode?

I use a hand priming tool and caught this before I got to that point. What would happen with one of those?

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

Also, they are from different manufacturers. One is marked "FEDERAL NT 45 AUTO" and the other is marked "WIN NT 45 AUTO".

 

[kup]

be aware

Federal Ammunition being recalled. Apparently an incorrect powder was used during manufacture.


************************************************** *************

02/07/11

FEDERAL and AMERICAN EAGLE
45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING

Immediate Action Required
FEDERAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY • 900 BOB EHLEN DRIVE • ANOKA, MN 55303 • PHONE 763.323.2300 • Toll Free: 1-800-322-2342
Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible serious injury.

DO NOT USE PRODUCT FROM THE FOLLOWING LOTS:

38X628 through 38X765
38T401 through 38T414

If you have in your possession any 45 Auto with the following brand names and part numbers,
check to see if your ammunition package contains the above lots: American Eagle® (AE45A,AE45N1, or AE45A250), Champion™ (WM5233), GoldMedal® (GM45B), Hi-Shok® (45C, 45D)and Federal® Personal Defense® (C45C, C45D).

THIS WARNING APPLIES ONLY TO THE LOTS LISTED ABOVE.

If you possess ammunition from any of these lots, or have questions concerning this warning, please contact us at 1-800-831-0850 or 1-800-322-2342 and ask for Product Service.

Federal will provide replacement product and will cover the cost of returning the affected product.

 

[lon]

Federal Ammunition being recalled. Apparently an incorrect powder was used during manufacture.


************************************************** *************

02/07/11

FEDERAL and AMERICAN EAGLE
45 AUTO PRODUCT SAFETY WARNING

Immediate Action Required
FEDERAL CARTRIDGE COMPANY • 900 BOB EHLEN DRIVE • ANOKA, MN 55303 • PHONE 763.323.2300 • Toll Free: 1-800-322-2342
Certain lots of recently manufactured 45 Auto ammunition may contain an incorrect propellant charge. Use of product from these lots may result in firearm damage and possible serious injury.

Looks like a wrong charge weight, not an incorrect powder type. Same difference though...incorrect. Thanks for the warning.

 

[edsinger]

I checked, I bought mine about 6 months ago, my lots are 20X...whew.