As a hunter, few things are as important as the correct ammunition. Personal choices obviously exist but there are two criteria that are bound together for success – velocity and mass. Striking the right balance between these two points has been challenging since firearms were invented. While I can get a round flying at super high velocity, it has been with a lightweight bullet. When I use a heavier bullet, the velocity drops. Throw into that my desire to use a shorter suppressed rifle, and it gets tough. It seems we are always settling for “pretty good.” The team at Federal has thought long and hard about this conundrum. The engineers went to work and have now come up with a round that has incredible speed with the game-taking bullets. This is Federal’s 7mm Backcountry, and it just changed the entire ammunition industry.

Federal’s 7mm Backcountry – Ammunition Reinvented as We Know it

Federal’s 7mm Backcountry is an entirely new high-performance, all-range cartridge that reinvents ammunition as we know it. It not only provides superior ballistics and terminal performance, it does so through compact, shorter-barreled suppressed rifles. The 7mm Backcountry cartridge achieves all of this through its patented Peak Alloy case. Built of an advanced steel alloy that’s totally unlike the steel used in low-cost range ammunition, the next-generation, one-piece case design allows higher velocities over modern brass case ammunition. Now for my reloading friends sitting on the edge of the chairs saying, “But, but, but.” The answer is yes. You can reload with these cases. Federal has information covering this on their website.

Magnum Velocity out of Shorter Barrels

Because the cartridge is dimensionally smaller than its closest brass-case counterparts, 7mm Backcountry achieves these ballistic advantages through smaller rifles and an extra round in the magazine of most platforms. In developing 7mm Backcountry, Federal’s team of engineers set out to design a cartridge that answers a market need that seemed unsolvable—magnum velocity out of shorter barrels without increasing recoil. They did, but they produced true innovation, creating a new way to make rifle ammunition faster, flatter shooting, and more powerful. It gives us more power and does so out of the shorter rifles we want to carry on hunts.

A question that will undoubtedly arise is barrel wear and concerns about the rounds high-pressure effects. Federal’s rigorous internal testing has shown that 7mm Backcountry causes no excessive pressure wear beyond that caused by legacy ammunition. This includes the barrel/throat and extractors. As for barrel wear specifically, internal testing has shown that 7mm Backcountry causes comparable barrel wear to common cartridges.

A New Way of Designing Cartridges

Although 7mm Backcountry is a new cartridge, its true impact is further reaching than any cartridge or ammunition advancement in more than 120 years. Through developing 7mm Backcountry, Federal has pioneered a fundamentally new way of designing cartridges and building ammunition. The patented Peak Alloy case construction changes everything—much in the same way smokeless powder revolutionized ammunition more than a century ago. The physical limitations of brass cases that capped chamber pressures and stood in the path of meaningful performance gains are no longer an obstacle. Federal has unlocked the untapped energy of ammunition, and there’s no looking back. While 7mm is the current offering, Federal has got the genie out of the bottle. There are certain to be other rounds using this design down the road.

Patented Peak Alloy Case Technology

Patented Peak Alloy case technology is fundamentally different than brass cases. Created in response to U.S. military solicitations, it utilizes a proprietary steel alloy with other unique elements. This same alloy is used in manufacturing safes, nuclear reactors, and similar high-strength applications. Peak Alloy allows Federal to safely increase chamber pressures far beyond the limits of brass case ammunition, significantly increasing velocity and energy. With a stronger, more efficient case design in its arsenal of proprietary technologies, Federal can harness the untapped reservoir of energy in all ammunition, paving the way for a whole new family of high-performance cartridges.

Federal’s 7mm Backcountry – Suppressor Friendly

Suppressors are quickly gaining popularity within the hunting market. However, cartridges and rifles haven’t kept pace with this trend. Shooters installing an 8-inch suppressor on a 24-inch barrel results in an awkward and impractical platform. To counter this, many shooters are selecting rifles chambered in cartridges like 7mm PRC with 20-inch barrels to make room for their suppressor. However, they lose the magnum velocities, energy, and trajectories their cartridge originally supplied in the process. With the new 7mm Backcountry cartridge, hunters get back magnum velocities through 20-inch barrels. Federal is a proud partner of Silencer Central, and the company offers a variety of excellent suppressor choices for 7mm Backcountry. After visiting the good folks at Silencer Central, their suppressor of choice for this new round is their Banish Backcountry. It’s a nice lightweight can that works well with the new round.

Initial Bullet Offerings

To take full advantage of the velocity, energy, range, and trajectory advantages offered by 7mm Backcountry, Federal is launching the cartridge with some of the best all-range and long-range projectiles in the industry: Federal Premium Terminal Ascent, Barnes LRX, Berger Elite Hunter and Fusion Tipped. These 170-plus-grain-class, heavy-for-caliber bullets offer the optimal balance between sleekness and energy—including the 195-grain Berger Elite Hunter, which offers a G1 B.C. of .755.

Rifle Companies Onboard

A cartridge that changes the very nature of ammunition demands a rifle to match. That’s why Federal engaged with some of the industry’s top gun companies during the development of 7mm Backcountry. In total, more than 80 individual rifle models are available as of launch, with more coming soon.

At launch, the following gun companies will be introducing rifles in 7mm Backcountry:

• Christensen Arms
• Gunwerks
• Seekins Precision
• Fierce Arms
• AllTerra Arms
• Savage Arms
• Weatherby
• Geissele Automatics
• Proof Research
• Horizon Firearms
• Pure Precision

Federal’s 7mm Backcountry – Proven Performance

In summary, Federal has reinvented ammunition as we know it. I now have a hyper-fast, game-effective round that brings less recoil to the table. This is also more than mere speculation. I had a chance to test the new 7mm Backcountry on a Texas Mule Deer hunt. I shot a large buck at 460 yards uphill with absolute confidence in the round and rifle. For my number nerd friends, I only had to dial 1.4 miles to get the shot. It was a good shot, and he walked about 15 yards before dropping. There was no bullet to recover because it went through. While it may seem overly dramatic, Federal has changed the ammunition landscape and reinvented it as we know it.

For more information, visit:https://www.federalpremium.com/