Product developers at Federal Premium took inspiration from the past to come up with a new shotshell line—the Gold Medal Grand—that promises to deliver an edge in today’s highly competitive clay-target world. By updating a long-discontinued two-piece wad with new Soft-Cell technology, a momentary setback occurs—the wad compresses, slightly—as the shot is fired. Doing so lessens shot deformation, and the result is rounder pellets that produce consistent, dense patterns. The cushioning effect also reduces felt recoil, noticeably so when compared with the company’s traditional paper-hull tournament loads.
Gold Medal Grand loads also benefit from being the first shotshells loaded with Federal’s proprietary Catalyst primer, which contains no lead styphnate, but instead incorporates an aluminum component that produces a hotter firing temperature, which in turns helps to ensure that the powder charge burns more thoroughly and more consistently. Primer performance is also maximized by the new PrimerLock head that holds the 209s rigidly, thus improving sensitivity to the hammer strike.
Available in a total of 10 No. 7½ and No. 8 loadings, the white-hulled Gold Medal Grands promise to become a fixture on trap, skeet and sporting clays winner’s circles.
