Yeah, I wouldn't do that. I'd never pass on junk to someone else without full disclosure.
Yea one also has to wonder if they change formulations (or maybe suppliers?) of priming compound and/or powders as time goes on. I havent shot thunderbolt for ages but back when I shot it many years ago it was not good. I have also heard reports that the newer thunderbolt is a lot better. I know I bought some rem golden bullets fairly recently and I expected it to be garbage but it wasn't that bad reliability wise. Very dirty ammo though imo.
![IMG_2874[1].jpg](https://data.northwestfirearms.com/attachments/991/991390-66e69cb14caaf88d5b84f703a873fda8.jpg "IMG_2874[1].jpg")
Yes the TX22 does pretty well with the worst of 22 ammo.My boys and I went out to the range again this afternoon, did some .22 shooting again. We shot some of this Federal ammo through a couple Ruger single action revolvers. I shot a few cylinder through a chronograph too. My velocity predictions were way off. Velocities were 700 to 1000 fps. About half were around 950fps, with others dipping down to 700, and one squib made a little "pop", and the bullets literally bounced off of the chronograph, nearly hit me (though it was so slow it wouldn't have hurt).
We shot a couple hundred rounds, and around one in twenty was a squib. In the short handgun barrel they didn't get stuck. I tried them through the Marlin 60 again, and the Ruger Standard, with poor results. I had some Winchester 333 ammo, and aside from no squibs it wasn't that much better.
I took along some of this too, the Black Pack 1600 round stuff from several years ago, and it's awesome. Zero malfunctions in either gun, shoots like a million bucks. It reminds me of Mini-Mags. I wish I'd bought more.
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Federal did email me back, asked for more info and how much I paid for it. Being honest, I told them (less than you can buy anything for now). They've offered to send a shipping label to mail it back to them, and a check for what I paid. I said I'd send it back, but preferred if they could simply replace it, as it's available on their site.
No big deal either way. It makes OK enough plinking ammo for revolvers, or I'll send it back.
I didn't try it in the TX22 pistol. I should have, because it seems to be a little more tolerant of junk ammo than the Ruger Standard. @Reno, has this been your experience? My old Standard has functioned very reliability for the last 35 or so years, with good ammo, but in recent years it's occasionally choked on bulk ammo. This 800rnd Federal ammo and Winchester 333 is some of the worst. I can't get through one magazine without a jam. I've been enjoying shooting revolvers more recently, so that's probably a good thing.
That was exactly my experience. The 1600 rd packs were great, so I bought the 1100 ones the next year, and it seemed like the priming was pretty spotty. Never had the big velocity variations y'all are seeing, but there were an awful lot of rounds that wouldn't go bang even with very strong ignition systems.
I have several guns that seem to prefer the thunderbolt over everything else. I know a lot of people hate the stuff, but it always seems to work for me.
This is a serious and hazardous safety issue. Along with Federal (which is just a brand name -- Vista Outdoor is the manufacturer) you should notify the Consumer Products Safety Commission (which in turn may redirect you to another agency since it's ammo).
Minus the fact that it often has spreads of up to 500 feet per second, the stuff can be extremely accurate if you get 10 in a row that are loaded similarly. I've punched 1 hole groups with the stuff before. Often times it will be 5-6 in one hole with a crazy flyer or two.
Why don't you notify the commission? I'm not even the OP on this thread.
Good to know. From your lot number it looks like yours might be older than mine. They've offered to either send me a check for what I paid, or replace it.
That, is why it is prudent to shoot a couple of hundred from any given batch.
I have found this to be true with cci blazer. The same ammo worked great originally. Then I tried it many years later and it was attrocious. Some of them sounded like a cap gun going off, wild variations in velocity, tons of duds, etc. They were two unopened bricks from the same batch as the ones that shot well when they were new. I'm not saying this is the issue with the federal ones in this thread, but 22 ammo does not age or take jostling around well IMO.
I like hearing about it when some Co stands behind the stuff they sell. Its always a bummer to get a bad anything but, it means a lot to me when I read that the Co makes the customer happy again. Too many seem to take the attitude of we got your money, go away. Glad they stood behind what they sold.
