Federal Cartridge

Federal Premium Ammunition is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliant Techsystems, located in Anoka, Minnesota. With a work force of nearly 1,500, Federal manufactures shotshell, centerfire, and rimfire ammunition and components.

History
On April 27, 1922, Charles L. Horn took control of a small plant in Anoka, Minnesota and refounded Federal Cartridge Corporation. Horn launched a distribution plan that involved merchandising Federal products in grocery stores, barbers shops, and filling stations. In 1941, Federal earned an $87 million contract from the U.S. government (approx. $1.3 billion in 2010) to build and operate the $30 million Twin City Ordnance Plant (TCOP). Federal ranked 59th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts.

Federal's TCOP plant was awarded Army-Navy "E" for excellence of production of war materials. Federal's production was said to have played a major role in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

After 55 years of service, Charles L. Horn retired from Federal Cartridge Corporation. William B. Horn, son of Charles, took control and expanded Federal's advertising and marketing programs, increasing the company's visibility. Federal was the first manufacturer to color code its shotshells by gauge in 1960. It converted from paper to plastic hull shotshells in 1965 and developed nontoxic shells. Federal was the first manufacturer to introduce a steel load in 1973.

In 1977, William B. Horn introduced Federal's Premium line of centerfire rifle and shotshell ammunition. Federal also owned Hoffman Engineering, a company that made electronic enclosures. In 1985, Federal was sold to a group of private investors including Kelso & Company, BancBoston Capital and members of the management team. The two companies were united under the name Federal-Hoffman, Inc and taken private during the sale. However, in 1988, Pentair Inc., a diversified manufacturer based in Minnesota, agreed to acquire FC Holdings Inc., the holding company for Federal-Hoffman Inc., for $175 million USD in cash and the assumption of debt. Federal-Hoffman have since split and Federal is currently owned by ATK. Federal Cartridge does business today as Federal Premium Ammunition.

Federal in sports
Federal's UltraMatch Rimfire ammunition helped American shooters win gold and silver medals in the 1992 Olympics Games. In the 1996 Olympic Games, shooters brought home gold, silver and bronze medals shooting Federal's Gold Medal International paper shells. Later that year, Federal was named "Ammunition of the Year" by the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence and "Manufacturer of the Year" by the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers.

Early in 2003, Federal ceased production of UltraMatch rimfire ammunition. Reasons cited by Federal employees included production difficulties and "lack of sales".

Defense Ammunition Types
The company makes defense ammunition: Hydrashok, Expanding Full Metal Jacket, and HST. Hydrashok has been popular among American law enforcement agencies for many years now while the newer HST ammunition has shown in testing to expand to more than twice the original bullet diameter. Alliant TechSystems (ATK), which owns Federal and Speer has conducted Wound Ballistic Workshops in police agencies around the country using Winchester SXT, Speer Gold Dot, and the HST. The Speer Gold Dot was the only "bonded" bullet used in several workshops.

EFMJ is marketed as an alternative to hollow point ammunition in locales where such ammunition is illegal for civilian carry. The State of New Jersey is one such locale.