Vintage Federal Nyclad....some will remember this stuff

[fatdog]

I was cleaning out part of the ammo stash tonight and found some of this deep in the stack of boxes.

I am sure many of us old people remember the early '90's when the gun rags were proclaiming it to be the hot stuff. If I recall, once it got gelatin tested the 125gr version expanded well but was a major fail on penetration, but it sure was soft shooting stuff....no idea how the +P 158's worked in testing, but for a while there 3 decades ago you could not pick up one of the handgun oriented magazines without somebody pitching it.

I think NYPD issued the solid semi-wad cutter version for a while. There was a 9mm 124gr HP version produced if I remember correctly.

[BobM]

I think I still have some in the blue and white packaging that predated the Premium branding. I have the non plus P 125 grain hollow point that used to be recommended as a lower recoil carry load.

[GJM]

I think I still have some -- think it is the 158.

[5pins]

I remember them. They were originally developed by S&W as a way to reduce lead exposure at indoor ranges. It was later sold to Federal and then developed into a defensive round.

I think it was a good idea, a thin jacket around a soft lead bullet should have made it a good performer. The two rounds I tried into clear gel suggest otherwise.



https://general-cartridge.com/2017/1...-38spl-nyclad/

https://general-cartridge.com/2017/1...al-nyclad-9mm/

[HeavyDuty]

I still have some of the Chief’s Special 125g in the cabinet.

[vcdgrips]

I was able to source some of the 158 grain stuff for a revolver class @ Thunder Ranch w Clint Smith in 2004. It was accurate and recoil was manageable out of a K Framed Model 19.
Milt Sparks did me a solid with a PMK and beat their ship time by about 10 days. The gentleman on the phone said, "we want you to have a few days to break it in and maybe get one last live fire session under your belt before you go." I had told them I needed the holster by date x because I was going to Thunder Ranch. (They also did not bill the CC until the order shipped.)


This was my first sleep away class. While he knew a number of my classmates that I had caravanned with, he did not know me from Adam. Ergo, during that class he said all of 3 things to me.


1. "Cool, smurf bullets" during the gear inspection on the line
2. "MOVE" when we were shooting on the "charger" deck
3. "Nice job" when he was handing out certificates.

[farscott]

I still have a few boxes of the 158-grain round nose and some of the 12x JHP in the gold Federal boxes. I bought the last of it from a LGS more than fifteen years ago.

[Jim Watson]

I still have some of the Chief’s Special 125g in the cabinet.

I really tried to stretch out the Chief's Special to keep my Bodyguard loaded. I eventually used it up in occasional familiarization shooting.

I read in the day that Chief's Special was loaded with Bullseye, fast burning powder for short barrels. Cataloged 25 fps slower than the regular 125, but it had less bang and flash in the snubby.

[ccmdfd]

Got some 9mm somewhere around.

[Suvorov]

The 124gr in 9mm was my serious use ammo for most of the 1990s based on the Marshal Sanow books and the gun rags. I still have a couple boxes in my “Break Glass In Case of Zombies” stash.