Federal Premium Personal Defense ammo...where?

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pisces-guy

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I'm going to be lightening the hammer spring in a Ruger SP-101 .357, and I've read that Federal ammo has more sensitive primers that ignite easier with lighter strikes. So I'll be buying plenty of Federal .38 ammo and I was wondering if anyone knows who carries Federal Premium PD ammo in .357...preferably the 130 grain? I know SFRC carries it for 9mm and .40 S&W, but not in .357mag..
 
pisces-guy said:
I'm going to be lightening the hammer spring in a Ruger SP-101 .357, and I've read that Federal ammo has more sensitive primers that ignite easier with lighter strikes. So I'll be buying plenty of Federal .38 ammo and I was wondering if anyone knows who carries Federal Premium PD ammo in .357...preferably the 130 grain? I know SFRC carries it for 9mm and .40 S&W, but not in .357mag..
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Pretty expensive ammo for shooting at paper.
 
Not that it matters up here, but you really don't want a personal defense weapon that may have reliability issues. When you want to buy ammo because it MAY be more reliable in your gun speaks volumes.
 
EE can be good for this but you gotta keep a sharp eye because the good stuff moves fast. I picked up a bunch of Remington Golden Saber 147gr 9mm from EE just before Christmas, couldn't believe my luck. Haven't seen that for sale anywhere.

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devolut said:
EE can be good for this but you gotta keep a sharp eye because the good stuff moves fast. I picked up a bunch of Remington Golden Saber 147gr 9mm from EE just before Christmas, couldn't believe my luck. Haven't seen that for sale anywhere.

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I have a box of that....never shot any. Didt think it was that good. Interesting.
 
dogzilla said:
Not that it matters up here, but you really don't want a personal defense weapon that may have reliability issues. When you want to buy ammo because it MAY be more reliable in your gun speaks volumes.
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The home defence firearm is an 870 and 00 buckshot... quite proven. I've read on a few sites that Federal ammo's primers are more sensitive so I'm going to buy their .38 ammo for the range, and prove or disprove what I read about Federal primers working well with lighter hammer springs. If it's true and I can use the 9 pound Wolff spring in my SP-101 instead of the 10 or 12lb, provided I shoot Federal's American Eagle .38 ammo, then why not have a lighter trigger pull? I'd also like to pick up a box or two of Federal's PD .357mag ammo and test it's reliability...of course it's not going to be my regular target shooting ammo! :) Thanks Devolut, but it's the Federal/American Eagle line that supposedly has the easy-to-fire primers specifically. Thanks Aniest, I'll check out P&D. If anyone hears of the Federal PD ammo in .357, or that a dealer has ordered it, please let me know. Thanks!
 
Why not have the lighter trigger pull, you ask? Because a trigger that is smooth is better than one that is light. And a gun that ignites primers reliably is better than one that doesn't. I don't see any reason to eliminate the reliability of a revolver in the name of a lighter trigger. But if it works for you, do it.
 
With supplies as they are, you may have a long wait for that partic. ammo. I take it you don't handload... but even if you did, getting suitable bullets might be difficult. You might check with Custom Reloading Service in Maple Ridge and ask what primers they use in their HP defence ammo. (Their website has been under construction for a while but they still show a tel. # 604-463-2484 or "john@customreloadingservice.com")

FWIW, I agree with "WRH" that a smooth trigger is prob. more important than a light one. And on a gun ("theoretically" of course :evil:) intended for SD, the trigger pull will be pretty much irrelevant at any distance at which you'd likely be justified in using it. My S&W 14-3 has a very nice trigger but it's strong enough to ignite Winchester primers. Mind you, it was made c.1972 so who knows how many rounds have been put through it that have smoothed it out.

:) Stuart
 
Thanks guys, I completely agree that a smooth trigger pull trumps a light one, but a lighter pull is preferable for accurate shooting compared to a heavy one...provided the firearm remain accurate and it's light within reason for it's intended purpose. A hunting rifle's pull shouldn't be less that 2 lbs., really.
The Wolff kit comes with a lighter trigger return spring, which is great, and then a 9, 10, and 12 lb. spring. After I shim and polish the moving parts, I'll try the 9lb. spring with Federal/American Eagle ammo, and see if it's consistently reliable. If it suffers from light strikes, even with the Federal primers that are supposed to be easier to fire than other makes, then I'll switch to the 10 lb. spring. I'll test it again, and if that is the perfect hammer spring weight then I'll go with it. It's purpose is target shooting, and even in that primary role it needs to be reliable. Stuart, thanks for the tip.
 
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