I had a bunch of Federal "Gold Medal" hulls that I got from a friend. Once-fired stuff that was in good shape. I thought I'd give them a shot at the reloading bench, but I'm finding that the primer pocket isn't seating any of the standard 209 primers worth a darn. I tried 5 shells and got the following results:
Shell 1: Primer partially pushed out at the wad-stuffing stage, was able to push back in too easy for my taste.
Shell 2: Primer fully unseated at crimping. Crimp was higher than top of shot despite following the proper formula and checking throw rates for both powder and shot. Using WAA-12 cup for 1-1/8oz load
Shell 3: Primer remained seated, but you could tell it was just there, crimp was absolute crap
Shell 4: Primer backed out partially again, messy crimp again
Shell 5: Primer fully unseated at wad-stuffing stage.
Needless to say, I pulled all 5 apart, saved the shot, cups, and powder and fired off the primers before trashing the rest of the shells.
I'm assuming Federal used a euro-style primer for these similar to Rio or Fiocchi which results in a larger diameter pocket? Even Federal primers didn't prevent backing out. The crimps were the real head-scratcher. There would be a pencil-eraser sized hole in the middle of the crimp with shot falling out easily, but when I opened the shells back up and examined the components, the wads were fine (no crushing, not deformation, etc) the shot came out to the proper throw, etc. etc.
I moved on to some Winchester Universals and Remington STS shells and they all came out perfect with the same components.
Anyone else have problems with Federal?
Shell 1: Primer partially pushed out at the wad-stuffing stage, was able to push back in too easy for my taste.
Shell 2: Primer fully unseated at crimping. Crimp was higher than top of shot despite following the proper formula and checking throw rates for both powder and shot. Using WAA-12 cup for 1-1/8oz load
Shell 3: Primer remained seated, but you could tell it was just there, crimp was absolute crap
Shell 4: Primer backed out partially again, messy crimp again
Shell 5: Primer fully unseated at wad-stuffing stage.
Needless to say, I pulled all 5 apart, saved the shot, cups, and powder and fired off the primers before trashing the rest of the shells.
I'm assuming Federal used a euro-style primer for these similar to Rio or Fiocchi which results in a larger diameter pocket? Even Federal primers didn't prevent backing out. The crimps were the real head-scratcher. There would be a pencil-eraser sized hole in the middle of the crimp with shot falling out easily, but when I opened the shells back up and examined the components, the wads were fine (no crushing, not deformation, etc) the shot came out to the proper throw, etc. etc.
I moved on to some Winchester Universals and Remington STS shells and they all came out perfect with the same components.
Anyone else have problems with Federal?