Federal Champion vs American Eagle?

[4given]

Is Federal Champion ammo the same thing ad/or the same quality as Federals American Eagle line of ammo?

I've been looking for AE .357 mag 158gr SPJ and have found some Federal Champion using what looks to be the same bullet and lists the same velocity numbers on the box. I'm guessing it might be exactly the same stuff in different packaging

[4given]

Is Federal Champion ammo the same thing ad/or the same quality as Federals American Eagle line of ammo?

I've been looking for AE .357 mag 158gr SPJ and have found some Federal Champion using what looks to be the same bullet and lists the same velocity numbers on the box. I'm guessing it might be exactly the same stuff in different packaging

And ... just like that ... it's gone ....

[awp_101]

Good question. I'm in to see the answer so we'll all know next time we see any.

[DocGKR]

Champion is essentially Blazer Brass (ie. cheap WWB quality), while AE is much better quality training ammo for LE and other serious pursuits.

[MVS]

Champion is essentially Blazer Brass (ie. cheap WWB quality), while AE is much better quality training ammo for LE and other serious pursuits.

I would agree. I have much better luck with AE out of any of my guns than the others. If it is available that is what I use for training and matches.

[4given]

Champion is essentially Blazer Brass (ie. cheap WWB quality), while AE is much better quality training ammo for LE and other serious pursuits.

Thanks Doc! That’s what I needed to know. Fortunately I wound up finding some AE357A so I am good for now.

[awp_101]

Champion is essentially Blazer Brass (ie. cheap WWB quality), while AE is much better quality training ammo for LE and other serious pursuits.
Does that hold true for their rimfire offerings as well? Somewhere along the way I got the impression AE was bad, but if it's near the level of CCI offerings I'll add it to my searches.

[OlongJohnson]

I've seen AE in .40 S&W that I would have believed was reloads if someone said so. Have seen rather poor accuracy from it in a couple different .45s. But have had good luck with it in 9mm, so...

[revchuck38]

Way back when, my 5" Gummint Model with a fitted GI NM barrel would happily put AE .45 hardball under 2" at 25 yards. I don't know if the current stuff maintains that level.

[45dotACP]

Way back when, my 5" Gummint Model with a fitted GI NM barrel would happily put AE .45 hardball under 2" at 25 yards. I don't know if the current stuff maintains that level.I'd be surprised if it didn't. I've put up some shockingly accurate groups with the 9mm loadings of American Eagle

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[Gary1911A1]

To me the Champions look like plated bullets and the American Eagle's bullets look like a copper jacket in 9MM anyway.

[JBP55]

American Eagle is what I use for range work.

[0ddl0t]

9mm Champions don't group as well and their rims aren't as thick which causes the rare extraction issue for me.

[spence]

To me the Champions look like plated bullets and the American Eagle's bullets look like a copper jacket in 9MM anyway.

I could see this being the case.

Just my subjective opinions on the subject having shot a fair bit of pretty much everything but American Eagle. I think AE might have a little higher QC, hence the generally higher price. The box muzzle velocities are higher, but when I actually chronographed the stuff, Champion ran significantly higher than what the box says. I got another 800 rounds of the stuff right before the panic hit and want to clock some more of it. I'd lump Champion and the black pack FC stuff in the same category, except I've never had extraction issues with Champion. Black Pack and Blazer Brass don't seem to like my M9.

If you can get it, and don't mind the occasional flub, shoot the heck out of it.

[einherjarvalk]

9mm Champions don't group as well and their rims aren't as thick which causes the rare extraction issue for me.

Any chance you can provide a photo or measurement of this? I had a failure to eject with Champion 115 in my MP5 clone and couldn't figure out why considering it eats just about every other quality ammo like a champ. This might explain what happened.

[rainman]

To me the Champions look like plated bullets and the American Eagle's bullets look like a copper jacket in 9MM anyway.


Very much agree with this.

I've shot a lot of WW 'white box' (100 rnd 115 FMJ bulk packs) and Federal AE 115 and 124 FMJ. Federal Champion is anemic compared to any of the others and doesn't shoot as accurately in my (mostly Glock) 9mm pistols; therefore I avoid this stuff and couldn't wait to shoot-up the case that I had. YMMV.



-Rainman

[Shoresy]

Does that hold true for their rimfire offerings as well? Somewhere along the way I got the impression AE was bad, but if it's near the level of CCI offerings I'll add it to my searches.

I don't know if this is true across the board (sample size is a couple bricks), but American Eagle 22 is neck and neck with CCI SV for reliability and accuracy out of my 22lr rifles.