Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What bullet does Federal use in their "blue box" ammo?

I'm thinking of buying some Federal blue box 150gr .308 ammo - does anyone know what bullet they use?

For some reason I'm thinking it's a Speer Hot-Cor, but I'm just not sure.

Always looked like Hornady to me..

I would suspect a Hot-cor or something similar. They work and shoot outstanding in my .30-06.

That bullet shoots well out of my LaRue. Performs well on whitetails. I’ve felt sor some time that federal blue box was highly underrated. It shoots well in everything I’ve tried. I’ve also assumed it was a Speer hot cor.

Never seen any blubox federal loaded with bullets having a secant ogive.

This is a sample of one (5 boxes) for the brass. I have bought very little factory ammo. Bought in 2008 for a new rifle purchase DURING deer season.

Labeled Speer Hot Cor





Jerry

They have also used non-cataloged Sierra bullets in at least one .30/06 load. I asked Sierra about them when on a plant tour, and they said they couldn't sell me any, as they were exclusive to Federal.

Ratsmacker,

Yep, as far as I've been able to tell they use a variety of cup-and-core bullets. This is partly due to pulling and sectioning some

2 of my 300's love the 180 grn blue box Federal. I've had great luck with them at close and long ranges on many Antelope, Whitetail, Mulies, and 1 escaped dairy cow. About 18 years ago I emailed them about load specifics. Granted, I believe they were under different ownership at that time, but they responded back with particulars on powder and the fact that the 180 was/is a Speer Hotcor. I'm sure I can find the load info if anyone is interested. I loaded a bunch through the years, but I still, at least up until lately, stock up on it whenever there's a sale and/or rebate going.

I have a bunch of the FC BB ammo for 308win and 30-06.. I've taken elk with the older black and silver box ammo listed as hydro shock bullets. Im still shooting those older loads, and have not actually fired any of the newer BB ammo yet. I've never even looked to see what the bullets are.

Not 308 ammo, but today I pulled apart some federal blue box 22-250 ammo.
This ammo shot so poorly that I figured that I would tear it down just for the cases
The box's are labeled 22-250 REM 55grain soft point...............

while pulling them apart I weighed the bullet and the powder charge. the powder was a stick powder that weighed between 36,2 grains to 37.3 gr.
the bullet's weighed between 55.2gr to 57.7gr...........to me Federal blue box is schit ammo. don't know who makes the bullets or the powder but that is for the most part why I roll my own most of the time

Oh Im sure its just awful stuff. I should probly dump it all in sack and use it as a boat anchor...
:-)

I got some and used it in my .308 (26” No. 1) a few years ago. I shot one deer with it an, if I ever use it again, I will stay off the shoulder...what a bomb! By contrast, I shot a very similar buck, same distance, same hit the previous year with that rifle using my handload of 150 grain BT over Varget and it worked well without all the mess. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a shoulder destroyed to the extent of that one shot with the Federal Blue Box. They did shoot very accurately in that rifle, however.

What bullet weight were you using? While not a tough bullet, I never had a complete blow up on deer with 180's at 300 win mag velocity. Some were pretty close.

+1 for Blue Box Federal. I can't beat it for .243 and .308. Its just rock solid stuff.

What bullet weight were you using in the .308?

While certainly not an overly tough bullet, I used the Speer 180's for crop damage control over the years, and we never had a complete blow up at 300 win mag velocity on deer. Some have been pretty close shots. They do open up easy enough though, and in addition to the great accuracy I experienced with them, it was one of the things I liked about the bullet as I felt comfortable with them expanding reliably at longer ranges.

Probably 165, maybe 150...don't remember but I know it would have been one of those. There may have been extenuating circumstances: I was shooting through a little bit of brush so possibly the bullet hit sideways or something, but the entire shoulder was destroyed...I shoot deer with a lot of calibers from .223 to .45-70, fast movers (.25-06 AI) to old and slow (.303 Savage) and I've never had damage like that. That deer was a tough old buck, too. Even the tenderloins were chewy, never had a WT like that before. My boys ended up turning the whole thing into sausage.

I emailed federal once to ask them if the 180 grain bullet in their 308 blue box was a hot cor. They replied that the bullet was their own.

WOW what a comedian :-) absolutely brilliant ,you should be on stage.........one is leaving in 15min !!!!!!!!!!

I thought they used their own soft points.