Federal Premium Ultra Steel: Standard Payloads, Or Mix It Up

Duck season is just around the corner, and the product development team at Federal has a new option you might want to check out before the festivities begin this fall.

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Built for performance

Federal’s new shotgun shells use the FLITECONTROL FLEX wad, which opens from the rear, to throw better patterns. The FLITECONTROL FLEX wad in itself is nothing new; Federal brought that wad out around 2017. The new shells combine it with a payload of zinc-plated steel shot (remember, these are non-toxic loads for waterfowl hunting, as required by federal law). The shells can be had with either uniform-sized pellets or a mixed-up load containing pellets of different sizes. The idea behind those double-stack loads is that hunters can get the best of both worlds—a full, uniform pattern from the smaller pellets, with the larger pellets delivering hard-hitting knockdown power.

It’s an interesting idea, and one that Remington tried before with hunting cartridges and trap loads decades ago. Hevi-Shot sells hunting shotshells that mix up both tungsten and steel pellets as well, and hand-loaders have been playing with this idea for a long time too. Migra also makes shotshells built this way.

Whether it works well or not is another question; some users report they find better success with the design, but others feel it’s a gimmick—like just about any other piece of hunting equipment.

Federal’s PR says the new Ultra Steel loads will offer better patterns, as well as versatility to waterfowlers encountering more than one species on their hunt: “Our spherical, zinc-plated steel shot creates denser core patterns; the results in the core 15-inch circle are quite impressive,” Federal Shotshell Product Manager Josh Vickers said in the product’s release. “The new double stack payloads make it great for multispecies hunts, such as using BB & 2 blends on field hunts when either honkers or mallards could be coming in at any time.”

That’s certainly a benefit worth considering, even for early-season duck shoots where small teal could be mixed in with big-bodied mallards in some regions. But if you’re not interested, remember that you can buy the shells with a load of a single size of pellets as well.

Federal’s new Ultra Steel loads come in boxes of 25 shells, available in 20 gauge ($38.99 a box) or 12 gauge ($42.99 a box). Both gauges are only available in 3-inch shells; no 2.75-inch or 3.5-inch offerings, for now. For more info, check out FederalPremium.com.