Opinions on Federal Classic LE Hi-Shok JHP's

W

wnycollector

New member
I have both a .40S&W pistol (CZ-40B) and rifle (Keltec sub2k) and go through lots of .40 ammo! I shot the last of my 155gr JHP ammo (magtech) recently. I went to order some more and found the price had really risen ($18 vs $21) on the stuff! I found some 155gr Federal LE Hi-Shok JHP's at ammunitiontogo for $17/50 ( http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalo...low-point-ammo ) and want to try it. Before I buy any opinions? Does anyone have any or chrono data on it, the federal website dosent even list the classic line on its website!
 
I bought 500 rounds of Federal Classic 158 grain semiwadcutter lead .357 rounds because I got a great deal on it.It is accurate enough,but emits almost as much smoke as black powder.Someone at the range asked me what I was shooting that was so dirty,and when I showed him he almost fell over.
I've used a lot of Federal ammo and this was the only time it happened.
 
I bought 2000 rounds of the stuff both on line and from dealers at gun shows. I thought I had struck the mother lode, as I have 7 .40's to feed.

Chronographing it against 155 Win, Speer and Rem loads, the Federal only get about 1132 fps from my g22, as opposed to 1212 fps for the Win and 1181 for the Rem.

Usually when a large quantity of certain ammo is available out there, it was either rejected by some large agency, or a large agency switched to something else. I suspect this is the case here.

I use the Federal for practice, and carry something else. I do a lot more practicing than actually gunfighting:), and this allows me to practice with hollow points in my carry pistols.
 
Here's chrono results for 155 JHPs from my .40's. All done on the same day. Temp was in the 80's. chronograph was a ProChrono.

Sorry for the formatting. I have it all lined up in my post, it just doesn't show up that way.


Win Ranger Rem Express Fed Classic

Browning (.40) High Power .40 1221 516 1186 487 1150 458
S&W (.40) M&P .40 1221 516 1185 486 1131 443
Glock (.40) 22 .40 1212 508 1181 483 1132 443
Beretta (.40) PX4 .40 1198 497 1154 461 1118 432
Walther (.40) P99 .40 1197 496 1165 470 1132 443
Kahr (.40) CW40 .40 1175 478 1149 457 1117 432
Kahr (.40) K40 .40 1168 472 1127 439 1108 425
 
weldonjr2001 great post! Thanks for a data! When I finally get my order from ammunitiontogo I will post some fiocchi, federal, magtech and doubletap 155gr and 165gr data from my CZ and sub2k.
 
I shoot the 180 Grain "Classic" load in my 40. I didn't own a 40, but finally broke down and had to get one.

The reason I use it, yes there is better stuff out there but the "Classic" is still pretty darn good IMO, is because I can find it easily. In my 9mm I load the 115 Grain +P+ load. That's the "hot" load of the 9BP "Classic" load, with the Hi-Shok bullet.

Technology changes but I tend to be "old fashioned". If the Hi-Shok bullet worked a few years ago, I see no reason to think it won't work now. Yes, we could spend all our time trying to find the "best" bullet, but after a certain point I think it becomes foolish. First off, any new to me ammo has to be tested with a minimum of 200 malfunction free rounds in the gun I'm going to carry it in. Since I have to buy my own ammo for off duty carry with a personal gun, that gets exspensive real fast.

The "Classic" line may not be the "newest and best" but I can afford it. Heck, I still load the Remington 125 Grain SJHP in my .357 Magnums. That's the load that gave the .357 Magnum it's moniker as the "King of the Street". Yes, there are lighter recoiling loads that probably work just as well, but I KNOW the Remington load I use will work if I do my part.

The good thing about using some older bullet lines is that it's usually cheaper than the "newest and greatest". That means I can buy more to practice with, because I still have to do my part and put the bullets where they need to go.

Biker
 
The Federal BPLE 115gr 9mm +P+ loaded to 1300fps is the ammo that is recommended for my Kahr MK9 Elite 98.
That's what I carry in it.
 
"The Federal BPLE 115gr 9mm +P+ loaded to 1300fps is the ammo that is recommended for my Kahr MK9 Elite 98.
That's what I carry in it."

Just like the Federal Classic 155 grain .40, there is a lot of the BPLE out there at prices substantially less than other maker's 115 grain +P+, and I suspect for the same reason, it doesn't meet their claims.

Here are some chrono results from my 9mm. Again, I apologize for the format. It looks great before I submit.

The Winchester Ranger and Speer Gold Dot 115 grain +P+ far outperform (at least in velocity) the Federal (middle) load.

Win Rngr 115 +P+ Fed BPLE 115 +P+ Speer GD 115 +P+
Glock (9mm) 17 1363 477 1267 412 1373 484
Beretta (9mm) 90 two 1355 471 1271 415 1379 488
Sig (9mm) 2022 1313 443 1236 392 1315 444
Beretta (9mm) PX4 1305 437 1231 389 1299 433

If it doesn't make 1300 fps in a Glock 17, it isn't going to make it in any handgun.

In my PX4 and Sig 2022, it only barely clears 1230, and they both have longer barrels than your Kahr.

I'm not here to bash Federal, but I will never believe a Federal ballistics table again.

Their 55 grain .223 load sold at Walmart only makes 2900 fps out of my Mini-14, while the Winchster Q3131 makes an honest 3100 fps, and the UMC from Walmart makes 3000.
 
I don't do a bunch of shooting at paper targets, but I do kill a lot of milk jugs, watermelons and beer cans with Winchester white box FMJ target ammo. Hopefully in a SD situation my Federal .40 caliber JHP will be accurate enough and deadly enough. If not I'll see if my backup .380 will finish the job. I do appreciate all of your ammo comments and I do consider your comments when I buy ammo.
______________________________________
God Bless America and protect our troops at war
 
"Looking at the chrono data, the federal classic is spot on w/ its stated ballistics from federal. Federal has it at 1150fps and you got 1150fps from you hipower...not to shabby!"

Since you took the trouble to look up the ballistics table, you might as well note the fact that they claim that from a 4" test barrel, while my Browning has a 4 3/4" barrel.

In my 4" barreled P99, it only makes 1118 fps. Still OK, but not on a par with the Win or Rem.
 
"The "Classic" line may not be the "newest and best" but I can afford it. Heck, I still load the Remington 125 Grain SJHP in my .357 Magnums. That's the load that gave the .357 Magnum it's moniker as the "King of the Street". Yes, there are lighter recoiling loads that probably work just as well, but I KNOW the Remington load I use will work if I do my part."

I agree on that Remington 125 grain .357 magnum. I love it as well. It does an honest 1450+ fps out of my 4" GP100.
 
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