Two New Big Game Cartridges from Federal Premium

According to Federal Premium, they've combined the hottest cartridge in shooting with the proven Trophy Copper bullet to create one of the most effective hunting loads available.

Some history. The 6.5 Creedmoor started out as a target round, but hunters have quickly adopted it for its long-range accuracy, ample power and manageable recoil.

The Trophy Copper makes the most of the platform, thanks to a copper, polymer-tipped bullet that retains 99 percent of its weight, penetrates deep and expands consistently.

Its grooved shank increases accuracy across a wide range of firearms, and the nickel-plated case prevents corrosion and aids in easier, faster extraction. It's available in 20 additional loads from 243 Win. to 338 Win. Magnum.

Click through for more features and benefits . . .

Some features and benefits include:

1. 120-grain 6.5 Creedmoor load offers long-range accuracy, manageable recoil and ample power for medium and big game.
2. Copper construction provides up to 99 percent weight retention for the deepest penetration in an expanding bullet.
3. Tipped bullet cavity is optimized for expansion across a broad velocity range.
4. Grooved bullet shank for increased accuracy across a wide range of firearms.
5. Polymer tip and boat-tail design increase the ballistic coefficient for higher downrange velocity, energy and less bullet drop.

Go here for more on the 6.5 Creedmoor from Federal Premium.

Choosing hunting ammunition traditionally involved selecting a round that would yield maximum performance at the range you expected to shoot. It still does.

Some rounds were lethal up close, while others were designed for long-range accuracy. Finding a load capable of dropping game equally well at all distances is sometimes a challenge.

Federal Premium's new Edge TLR blends the features of top match bullet designs with the industry's best bonding technology and components to make true all-range performance a reality.

The loads offer match-grade, long-range accuracy and reliable expansion at low velocities. They also provide high weight retention, deep penetration and lethal terminal performance up close.

Deadly terminal performance is a result of the bullet's ability to penetrate straight through its target and unleash a knockout punch of energy along the way.

This requires the front of the bullet to expand uniformly when it hits the target, which increases stability. And that's where many so-called long-range bullets have traditionally fallen short. These projectiles can fail to expand at all, or they expand asymmetrically, causing the bullet to veer off course or tumble ‚ even exiting out the side of the target.

Federal Premium engineered the Edge TLR for expansion at a wide range of velocities, from blistering speeds at the muzzle all the way out to extreme ranges where velocity falls off. At all distances within this window, the round expands within the first couple inches of entering the target and punches straight through, dumping devastating amounts of energy in the process.

A carefully designed nose paired with a completely new polymer tip helps make this possible.

The Slipstream Tip features our patent-pending hollow-core technology, said Product Development Engineer Justin Carbone. A small cavity runs the length of the shank all the way up to just below the point itself. That point breaks free upon impact, allowing fluid to enter the hollow core, where it generates pressure and easy expansion, even at low velocities.

A large, hollow cavity in the bullet nose, along with exterior jacket skiving further aid expansion and penetration. Serrations allow petals to peel back on contact at velocities as low as 1,350 fps ‚ speeds typically seen 1,200 yards downrange in the 200-grain 30-caliber loads.

The Slipstream Tip's hollow core sets it apart from all other polymer tips on the market ‚ but it's also unique in its resistance to the elevated temperatures a bullet experiences during flight. This high-tech blue material is actually the same one Federal Premium has used for a decade in the popular Trophy Bonded Tip bullet. It has a glass transition temperature ‚ or softening point ‚ of 434 degrees Fahrenheit.

This heat resistance gives shooters the extremely consistent ballistics needed to make accurate long-range shots.

With the growing popularity of long-range big game hunting, it's not hard to find ammunition claimed to offer the accuracy and downrange terminal performance to do the job. However, to even come close to filling this tall order, these options are often built like varmint bullets, with thin jackets to encourage expansion at the low velocities experienced at longer ranges.

Unfortunately, when the bull or buck of a lifetime steps out of the brush at 20 yards, such single-purpose projectiles can completely blow apart under the high velocities of close-range impact, resulting in shallow penetration, low weight retention and poor terminal performance.

Edge TLR doesn't make such sacrifices, combining its extreme range-expansion capabilities and accuracy with the bonding and heavy-duty construction of the world's toughest hunting bullets.

You still get that bone-crushing bonded-core technology that's been proven for decades in our Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and Trophy Bonded Tip, Carbone said. The bullet's copper shank and bonded lead core retain weight for deep, reliable penetration ‚ even at high velocities.

Edge TLR doesn't just pack a punch. The new round is also incredibly sleek, allowing long-range surgical strikes that have historically been limited to handloaded match bullets.

The credit goes to its extremely high ballistic coefficient (BC), which is a measurement of how well the bullet cuts through the air on its way downrange. To boost BC, Federal Premium engineers gave the Edge TLR several important design features, including the small-diameter Slipstream polymer tip and a secant ogive.

A sleek, elongated boat-tail profile is another critical part of the performance package, and like the rest of the bullet's design, it didn't happen by accident. Longer boat-tails yield higher BCs. The tradeoff is lengthy tails can reduce stability. To conquer this, Federal Premium engineers determined the optimal boat-tail angle and extend the length as far as possible without taking a bite out of bullet stability.

To further boost BC, engineers selected bullet weights that are as heavy for caliber as possible while still maintaining stability through the different barrel twist rates common in today's wide array of hunting rifles.

As a result, Edge TLR boasts some of the highest BCs in the industry.

And catch this: Doppler radar was used to verify that the 175-grain 30 caliber has a BC of 0.536, while the 200-grain version hits 0.625. Those are big numbers for these bullet weights in anyone's book ‚ and they're achieved without compromising stability.

You get the flattest trajectories, the least amount of wind drift, and the highest confidence that you're going to make your shot, Carbone said.