Federal Auto Match Ammo

Just Tripp

Just Tripp

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I bought two 325 rd packs of 40gr Federal Auto Match from Wally World a month or so ago while skipping past the sporting goods section. Honestly, given the state of things I was shocked to see .22LR on the shelf at all. I’ve taken this ammo to the range with me my last two visits, and in that time I’ve probably shot about 150 rounds from the box. I usually warm up to centerfire with 50-75 rds of rimfire ammo that I shoot through my Smith model 617. Out of that 150 rounds or so, I’ve had at least five rounds that were noticeably weak in report and recoil (for what little there is with .22). So much so that in each case I stopped to see if I had a squib. In all instances the bullet did clear the barrel, but it couldn’t have gone far and didn’t hit the target. Had this been in an auto I doubt it would have cycled the slide. My usual fodder for this gun is Federal 36gr copper washed hp in the 550 rd box. I realize I’m not shooting match ammo, not by a big stretch, but the gun likes that stuff and it’s clean shooting. I may have one or two failures to light the primer out of a 550 rd box. I’m just curious if anyone has had similar experience with this stuff or if maybe I just got a bad lot. Anybody?
 
Some people are saying the “panic period” ammo has not had the QC of pre-panic stuff. Short staffed manufacturing plants running balls to the wall 24/7 have had things from crimp problems, improper COAL, casing material problems, etc slip thru inspection. Rimfire is even worse from the rim priming problems to poor crimping all of which seems to more easily effect FTF’s in rimfire more often.
 
NCFubar said:
Some people are saying the “panic period” ammo has not had the QC of pre-panic stuff. Short staffed manufacturing plants running balls to the wall 24/7 have had things from crimp problems, improper COAL, casing material problems, etc slip thru inspection. Rimfire is even worse from the rim priming problems to poor crimping all of which seems to more easily effect FTF’s in rimfire more often.
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Hmmmm. That sounds plausible. In all the bulk ammo I’ve shot I’ve never experienced failures like these in that they seemed way under charged. Thanks!
 
I’ve just about gotten my stash of 22lr down to CCI mini mags, cci suppressor and eley target. That’s just what I’ve found works 99.99% of the time.
 
I have a good bit of it and haven't had any failure issues but I do have to clean my guns alot more when I run it. There's a sticky/oily substance on the bullet itself that jams up my actions alot faster than other bulk rimfire.
 
I've had a problem with them way back before I just started just shooting CCI Mini Mags only. I had taken my wife to the range and as I was standing behind her she fired her S & W 22C and it had a strange sound. We had just got there and it was the first round she fired at the target. I grabbed her shoulder from behind to stop her from firing again since I thought it was a squib. I dropped the magazine and checked the barrel and the round had cleared it. When I pulled the target in there was just a small dent in the target and it had never gone all the way through.
 
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Sounds like the Federal Auto Match is have similar squib problems to the Federal 800 rd bulk packs, part number 729B800 as posted on other forums. Per the Federal website, the Federal Auto Match and the Federal bulk 720B800 have identical ballistic data.

Personally, I bought two of the 800 round federal bulk packs and so far I’ve shot 160 rounds with no issues. I guess time will tell.
 
I’ve never had issues with it but I generally only shoot it in rifles. I’ve actually weight sorted it and got really good results out of my FVSR. Considering the price and performance, it’s one type that I stocked up on years ago.
 
I’ve had good luck with it, very reliable in my autos and haven’t experienced a squib or anything similar - I have only shot about 200 rds of pandemic manyfactured though… have about three new boxes sitting around and I’ll report back if I have any of those issues
 
I've had about 98% reliability with it. I usually have 10 or less rounds in a box that needed a second strike to set it off. It's incredibly dirty compared to 550 packs of the yesteryears.
 
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