Can anyone identify this .22 ammo?

[bgokk]

A friend got this ammo at an estate sale. I have never seen anything like it. The plastic box has a Caldwell stick on label on the end of the cover. There is no head stamp or any identifying marks on the brass. The only thing outstanding is the round depression in the center of each round. We have not broken one down to weigh, but it appears to be a 40 grain bullet. The cartridges cycle in a 10/22.

I appreciate any info you can supply!

[M-Tecs]

I don't remember the brand I if I remember correctly the depression was to help with the priming compound.

[Maven]

Federal 900A & 900B (1,040 & 1,080 fps, resp.) .22 Match ammo had the dimpled case head.

[bgokk]

Federal 900A & 900B (1,040 & 1,080 fps, resp.) .22 Match ammo had the dimpled case head.

Do you know the era these were/are loaded?

Thanks!

[MakeMineLead]

Do you know the era these were/are loaded?

Thanks!

They were loaded from the early 80's until the early 90's. They were developed to have a world-class, US made match ammo.

The dimple's purpose is to aim the priming fire into the powder charge.

The tooling wore out, the margin was so small on this ammo, Federal elected to simply halt production.

[Mk42gunner]

I'll agree with the Federal Match ammo, but I seem to recall it was made in the 1990's to early 2000's.

It isn't bad ammo, but I never thought it equaled Eley Tenex in my guns. I can't see well enough to tell anymore, unless I have a good scope and a solid bench.

Robert

[Maven]

"I'll agree with the Federal Match ammo, but I seem to recall it was made in the 1990's to early 2000's."

That's correct Mk42g.... since I purchased my first boxes in '97 or '98. My rifle liked it, but I disliked the misfires (at least 1/50) during a match.

[Outpost75]

Russians loaded ammo of this configuration in the 1960s and '70s. Big deal was made of its magical properties. Mostly disinformation just toying with the minds of US and Brit team shooters. Lots of wasted effort trying to duplicate it.

Mythology and folklore...

Attachment 166278

[1Hawkeye]

Yep its Federal match ammo 40 gr lead bullet. Our olympic shooting team use to use that ammo I remember when that stuff came out it was more money for a box of 50 of those than a brick of any of the regular .22 ammo. I think it was called gold medal match.

[Maven]

"...I remember when that stuff came out it was more money for a box of 50 of those than a brick of any of the regular .22 ammo."

1Hi, My experience as well. E.g., the first two boxes of 900B cost me $7.00 ea. and the checkout lady (Kittery Trading Post) told me I could get a brick of [promotional] .22LR ammo for the same amount. I told her it was for a match, not casual shooting, but she was skeptical.

[GONRA]

GONRA sez looks like yer friends estate sale dimpled ammo is a collector item!

[MarkP]

I assumed they still made it, I have (2) bricks of it from about 96 or 97. 10 boxes came in a flatter box similar to 1,000 pack of WW primers. I remember it being expensive 7x to 10x of promo 22's in the day. It was less than the Eley and in my testing it shot better.

[Doc Highwall]

The dimple was made so that when the priming slurry was placed into the case as it was rotating, it would force the priming slurry evenly all around the rim making for a more consistent ignition. The dimple was made for 711B, 900B and 1000B or UM1B. They even made a high velocity version.

When CCI first bought out Federal the first thing they did was remove the dimple and repackage the ammo.

I have a case of the 711B and just over a case of the UM1B that has the dimple, I even have a brick of the high velocity.

The 711B with the dimple is definitely better then the 711B without the dimple, I proved this shooting at 200 yards myself with different guns. I used the 711B for 100 yard practice and the UM1B for matches.

[lefty o]

CCI has never and doesnt currently own Federal.

[Doc Highwall]

Blount who owns CCI bought Federal. Like I said as soon as they were bought the dimples were gone and the 711B ammo was packaged differently.

The quality control on the 711B went down hill and the 900 and UM1B were dropped from the line.

[NY_Treeguy]

Blount who owns CCI bought Federal. Like I said as soon as they were bought the dimples were gone and the 711B ammo was packaged differently.

The quality control on the 711B went down hill and the 900 and UM1B were dropped from the line.

Blount is Oregon Chainsaw Chains. Vista Outdoors is Federal, CCI, and many others.

Vista Brands

[wv109323]

S&B made ammo like that. The answer is Russian or Federal.
Federal gave out 2 boxes to each competitor at Camp Perry in the mid 1990's. I tried some of it in a Remington 37 rifle. I put 5 shots into a 5/16" hole at 100 yards with it.
Federal made the ammo so that a U.S. shooter could use U.S. Made ammo in the Olympics. A female rifle shooter won the gold medal with the ammo. That was probably 1992.

[lefty o]

blount bough a bunch of companies and ran them into the ground. as it is ATK owns them both, they now operate under the VISTA division which is ATK's sporting market. neither CCI, or Federal own one another, and never have. I probably dont know squat as i only worked at the big F for a few years. while the two companies do work together on some items, they are stand alone companies. things that are proprietary to one or the other still are, some things they do not share or divulge. dont know where people get these rumors from, but most of them arent factual. kinda like the one about the machinery for making the match 22lr's being worn out, the vast majority of machinery in the federal plant is WWII era equipment. its all been worn out and rebuilt many many times. real high quality match 22's take 10x as long to produce, and only generate 3x the profit per unit, making the standard ammo more lucrative to run. heck once upon a time winchester owned federal cartridge, but CCI never did.

[leebuilder]

As another has mentioned S&B makes similar ammo. It is standard velocity and very accurate in the right rifle. Got second in a 30m falling plates match last year with that ammo out of a 1918 No1mk3 22 trainer.
Be safe

[gnoahhh]

I have 2 full and one partial bricks of 1000B Gold Ultra Match and a brick of the 900B Gold Match that I guard with my life. The 1000B was the most consistently accurate match ammo I ever used. Certain lots of Tenex or R50 would equal it, but in my case it was a cr*p shoot with those two whether I got a good lot or not. I felt like I did when my dog died when I heard Federal discontinued it. My 52A will plop them into 1/4" and sometimes less at 50 yards (depending on my caffeine intake that day )