Federal Premium 12 GA Shorty 00 Buck "Force X2"

[oss117]

I saw these on the shelf at a local big box store. I'd not heard of them before, so I picked up a box to test out. There isn't much information about them out there so I thought I would share what I learned.

Federal is marketing the rounds for defensive use. The idea of a 00 buck round with reduced recoil, blast, and less penetration through walls while allowing a few more rounds in the magazine tube could make sense for some people. The only shotguns I know of that will run them reliably are the Mossberg pumps (Maverick 88, 500, 590) with an OPSOL adapter. Mossberg recently introduced the 590S, including 590S Shockwave, to run them without an adapter. They're a 6 pellet 00 Buck load with an advertised velocity of 1245 fps. Overall length is 1 3/4". They use Federal's "Force X2" split buck shot that is supposed to break into two parts upon impact. I had no way to test that, but other tests online appear to show it working.

I cut one of the shells open:



It contained 6 copper plated pellets cut most of the way in half, buffer material, and a simple disk shaped wad.

I fired 3 shells at 10 yards. The shotgun used was a Mossberg 500 with a 20" barrel and interchangeable choke tubes. I fired one round each with full, modified, and improved cylinder chokes.



The patterns obviously aren't "Flite Control" tight. It's worth noting that it does respond well to some choke. Improved cylinder gave the largest pattern with a flyer. It measured 4 3/4" w/o the flyer and 8" with. Modified was similar, 4 3/4", but without any flyers. Full choke gave the tightest pattern measuring just over 3 3/4".

[spyderco monkey]

It's a very cool concept.

I'd like to see a modern manufacturer develop something like the Mag-7, which leveraged shorter shotgun shells to create a magazine in grip pump action PDW. Sort of like a 12 gauge MP7/UZI.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAG-7

[167]

Are the pellets stacked in two rows of three?