First Look: Federal Premium Force X2 Splitting Buckshot

The new personal defense ammunition from Federal Premium augments your ability to defend what’s important to you with your shotgun. The Force X2 copper-plated 00 FX2 buckshot pellets inside these new shells are specially engineered to split into two equal-size pieces on impact, maximizing the already impressive firepower that a shotgun brings to the table. 

Force X2 utilizes nine splitting pellets that create up to 18 wound channels. This improves the transfer of energy from the payload to the target and minimizes the potential for over-penetration, which reduces the risk to bystanders. Force X2 shells are also loaded for more manageable recoil, allowing the shooter to stay on target for faster follow-up shots and better accuracy in a self-defense situation.

“Federal’s splitting buckshot is the first significant change to buckshot ammo in over a century. The expert ammunition engineers at Federal decided it was time for improvements in buckshot that would help in some Personal Defense situations,” said Federal Ammunition Shotshell Product Manager Dan Compton. “This new self-defense shotgun load is designed for tremendous energy transfer for a wider and larger amount of terminal damage.”

During testing by Federal engineers, Force X2 showed patterns of 4½ inches at 7 yards and 14 inches at 20 yards using an improved cylinder choke. Patterns of 4¼ inches at 7 yards and 12 inches at 20 yards were achieved with a modified choke. Tests using 10-percent ballistic gel were also conducted, with penetration depth of the shells varying from 5¼ to 14½ inches, with an average of 9½ inches. The average depth when pellets start segmenting is 4.5 inches after impact.

Personal Defense Shotshell Features

• 12-gauge 2¾-inch nine-pellet segmenting buckshot
• Nine FX2 copper-plated buckshot pellets designed to split in half on impact
• Manageable recoil
• The pattern and power of buckshot
• Double the wound channels
• Less collateral damage risk from over-penetration

More information on this new shotshell and other ammunition from Federal Premium is available at federalpremium.com.