Federal Premium Ammunition is just beginning to ship its newest product, the Edge TLR (some is already available at Brownells). This is a cartridge built specifically for long-range hunting with high BC projectiles that, according to Federal, not only expand at low velocity but perform well up-close, too. The entire run-down on Edge TLR’s features, benefits, and four current caliber offerings can be found in the following press release:
2017 NEW PRODUCTS: PREMIUM RIFLE
Edge TLR Hunting at long range requires an extremely accurate bullet that still expands, holds together and penetrates deep. That’s why Federal Premium® has developed the Edge TLR™. Unlike other so-called long-range projectiles that can fail to perform on impact at lower velocities, the Edge TLR uses the exclusive Slipstream™ polymer tip to initiate expansion at long range. At close range, the bullet’s copper shank and bonded lead core retain weight for consistent, lethal penetration. Its long, sleek profile offers an extremely high ballistic coefficient and AccuChannel™ groove technology improves accuracy and reduces drag.
Click to enlarge.
Features & Benefits
• Match-grade long-range accuracy in a bonded hunting bullet
• High-performance polymer tip material provides the industry’s highest heat resistance for the most consistent ballistics
• Extremely high ballistic coefficient
• Exclusive Slipstream tip helps flatten trajectories and initiate low-velocity expansion
• Less wind drift and drop
• AccuChannel groove technology minimizes drag
• Copper shank and bonded lead core retain weight for deep penetration at any range
• Demonstrated expansion at 900 yards
Federal Premium Edge TLR All-Range Hunting Ammunition
Choosing hunting ammunition traditionally involved selecting a round that would yield maximum performance at the range you expected to shoot. 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 has largely been a dream—until now.
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. There’s never been a hunting bullet that compares.
Terminal Long Range
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 fell 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 flawless 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 vast window, the round reliably 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 unmatched heat resistance gives shooters the extremely consistent ballistics needed to make accurate long-range shots.
Close-Quarters Coverage 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.”
Boosting BC 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 into the stratosphere, 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. 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.
Get In the Groove Like many of the most versatile bullets, Edge TLR also features grooving along the shank to improve accuracy across a range of rifles, while decreasing barrel wear and fouling. However, unlike conventional grooving, the AccuChannel technology used in Edge TLR accomplishes these goals with only a minimal increase in drag.
Standard grooving causes approximately a 5 percent drop in BC per groove, so Federal Premium engineers ran a series of tests on both the number and location of grooves to determine the best combination for accuracy and minimizing drag.
“That’s when we made a breakthrough,” Carbone said. “We learned that by strategically placing one groove we could achieve the same benefits and accuracy as multiple grooves.”
Still not satisfied, the engineers used fluid dynamics modeling to tweak the groove geometry itself to reduce drag even more.
“Your typical groove has steep, 90-degree walls,” Carbone said. “We gave AccuChannel grooving a sloped rear wall that lets air flow more easily in and out of the groove, decreases pressure on that portion of the bullet and reduces overall drag.”
The Only One In a marketplace filled with competitor loads that make tradeoffs—sacrificing short-range terminal performance for long-range expansion, or toughness for accuracy—Edge TLR stands alone. Designed from the ground up to meet every aspect of all-range performance, it removes all doubt.
The black-nickel finish on both the bullet and case delivers corrosion resistance as well as a sleek look that appeals to serious shooters. Look for new Edge TLR in four initial offerings: 175-grain 308 Win., 175-grain 30-06 Spring., 200-grain 300 Win. Mag. and 200-grain 300 Win. Short Mag. Learn more at www.federalpremium.com.
Visually those are some seriously intimidating looking rounds. Looks like something out of Halo or modern warfare.
Long range…um…hunting ammo. Yea, for hunting at long ranges. Probably not any good for anything else. Need teflon coated armor piercing…um…bullets for…um…long range game. Yea, that’s it.
Yeah, you’re a liberal, all right. “Teflon coated”? Not hardly. Scary because it’s black?
You should have a great career writing for CNN’s fake news. Large game like elk are often taken at long range, but a liberal “prepper” (subscribe to Mother Earth News?) wouldn’t know that.
That being said, when the progressives finally control all of our government (after seriously fraudulent elections via “mail-in” illegal alien votes, “same-day voting” – again by illegal aliens with driver’s licenses provide by Gov. Newsom and scum like him, vote harvesting, trashing the mailed-in votes of our military men and women, and not counting the votes of us “deplorables”) and move like ol’ Blackface in Virginia to take our guns, long range ammo such as this might very well satisfy _all_ of your fears. And then some.
Hope that helps, young fella. We old Boomers will be around for a bit longer, and so many of us served in the military, in law enforcement, and just generally enjoy plinkin’. “Plinkin’ at pink-os” could be more fun for us than “Grand Theft Auto” is for you folks. Keep that in mind.
meplat. ogive.
words.
Color me intrigued.
Cool, scary black ammo to go with some scary black rifles.
Maybe an AR-10 for the 308, but I don’t know many scary black 30-06s.
A blue M1 Garand with Smurf stickers is pretty scary.
How about ugly .30-06s? Ohio Ordnance HCAR, anyone?
The proper application of rattle can makes any gun an SBR… And *awesome* smelling if you fire it enough.
Noreen firearms makes ar platforms in .30-06, .300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua among others
Souvenirs from the Black Sabbath – Blue Oyster Cult tour?
BOC is coming to the House of Blues in Cleveland this Saturday, but I’ve already got plans. 🙁
I like how it’s black, so I can lose easier it if I drop a cartridge on the ground in low light.
It’s OK. The poly tip reflects energy in the near IR range extremely well. When your blacked out with your NOD/NVGs you’ll be able to find that round no problem.
I can’t remember where I read that.
They’re more like silver, if you look at some of the other photos on the site. Like a nickel plated case that’s slightly matte in finish.
No thanks… $50 or more for 20 rounds? Hell, I can shoot Federal M33 Ball at that price!
Store prices are much lower.
Im skeptical of the groove. Berger and hornady have higher, tested , bc’s and no groove. Price is high for a plastic tipped hp
Hmm.
Might need to try a box. See how accurate they are.
I’m a sucker for neat-looking gimmick ammo. I may buy a box of 300 Win Mag for my collection. I’d be really jazzed if they came out with 300 BLK, although I know long-range 300 BLK is an oxymoron.
Excellent! More of these long pointy tail heavy ultra high BC bullets that don’t properly stabilize in the twist rates provided in most factory rifles, and a Secant ogive that will make it nearly impossible to tune when loaded to SAMMI overal lengths in a factory chamber, and it’s expensive as shit what’s not to love?
Yeah it sucks they make you use these and there aren’t any other ammo choices on the market.
30-06, 300WM, and 300 WSM all use a 1-10″ twist standard, which will easily stabilize any 200 grain bullet. 1-12″ is the SAAMI twist rate for 308, but most manufacturers are using 1-10″ barrels these days. Even so, a 1-12″ will stabilize almost any 175 grain bullet, including high-BC variants.
That’s actually not entirely true, yes for traditional bullets with traditional non VLD form factors you are probably fine, and based on weight alone a 1:12 twist 308 will absolutely stabilize up to 185gr (this is based personal experience, my pet load for my 1:12 308 shoots .4″ 10shot groups with a 185gr Berger Tac bullet), and yes 1:10 should be fine for any current weigh assuming you keep the speed up. But some bullets, typically secant ogive and bullets that utilize polymer tips to extend length making the bullet longer without adding weight will not because they are extremely long for caliber/weight and inherently harder to stabilize. I want to be clear I’m not talking about stabilizing a bullet just enough to print tiny groups at 100yds, I am talking long range stability required to optimize BC. SG coefficient is the term used to quantify bullet stability and Brian Litz has written extensively about how bullets stabilized to an SG of less than 1.5 show a significant reduction in ballistic coefficient sometimes as much as 15-20% (.277 caliber 150gr Nosler ABLR for example gives up 18% when fired from a standard 1:10 twist barrel). He has a free calculator on the Berger website where you can plug in values and see for yourself.
You may be able to get them to shoot good groups at short range but a 1:12 twist 30cal won’t stabilize some of these new bullets in the 175gr class like the 175gr Berger VLD hunting (Litz recommends a 1:11 as minimum) the 178gr ELD-X (needs a 1:10 or faster) Or the Sierra 175gr TMK. Heck a 1:12 308 actually won’t even stabilize the new Sierra 168gr tipped match kings unless you are above 1000ft elevation or extremely high velocity. It gets worse when you move to other calibers like the 270, most of the high BC bullets in that caliber require 1:9 or even up to 1:7 twist to stabilize properly to an SG above 1.5.
All of this ignores the fact that long for caliber secant ogive bullets generally also need to be tuned to a specific rifle so it will be complete luck of the draw wether one loaded to a factory/SAMMI overall length shoots well in a factory chambered rifle.
The practical implication of all of this, given it is marketed as “hunting” ammunition, is that people will buy it, maybe shoot a few decent groups when they sight in the rifle at the range and then head off into the mountains with their free ballistics calculator they just downloaded and start shooting at live animals with potentially flawed trajectory information.
All good points. I’ve also read Litz extensively and have a fair amount of long range shooting experience with VLD type bullets. I wasn’t being argumentative, just making the point that twist rate alone doesn’t necessarily eliminate all VLD bullet options.
I doubt anyone will look back here at these 2020 comments, but they’re here if anyone is interested.
I have a 17.5″ HK91 (pre-1979 German, not a clone) that would shoot 3/4″ groups at 100 yards all day long with Spanish NATO 7.62×51 Santa Barbara bulk ammo. I’m not a sniper, nor Designated Marksman, either, but even with what were my 30 year old eyes (back in 1980 🙂 and a Leupold 3.5×10 AO scope I could keep that cheap (but well-made) stuff inside 8″ at 600 yards off a bench with the just the light bipod that came with the 91. I’m sure someone who knew what he was doing could have done a hell of a lot better. With ammo as accurate as this appears to be, and a good scope, I believe a guy could easily take an elk at over 800 yards. FWIW, I know a young lady here in Montana who took her elk at over 700 yards with her 7mm Rem Mag last year (yes, it _is_ a more powerful round).
Just slug your barrel and hand load the appropriate diameter XTP, so much cheaper and accurate to most practical hunting distances.
So, not unlike Hornady’s 178-grainer, but 4.5$ more per box. I wonder if all that claimed uberexpansive dropgamedead goodness is true and worth it.
I gotta look at getting some of these. Should do a number on Oregonian Blue Cats.
How about a little c4 in inner cavity with some kind of ignition device then energy transfer is multiplied along with wound cavity. Keep it at under 5 bucks per round and don’t tell the leftist.
This new bullet looks interesting to me. It would be nice to hear if someone has experience with new ammo.
Visually those are some seriously intimidating looking rounds. Looks like something out of Halo or modern warfare.
Long range…um…hunting ammo. Yea, for hunting at long ranges. Probably not any good for anything else. Need teflon coated armor piercing…um…bullets for…um…long range game. Yea, that’s it.
Yeah, you’re a liberal, all right. “Teflon coated”? Not hardly. Scary because it’s black?
You should have a great career writing for CNN’s fake news. Large game like elk are often taken at long range, but a liberal “prepper” (subscribe to Mother Earth News?) wouldn’t know that.
That being said, when the progressives finally control all of our government (after seriously fraudulent elections via “mail-in” illegal alien votes, “same-day voting” – again by illegal aliens with driver’s licenses provide by Gov. Newsom and scum like him, vote harvesting, trashing the mailed-in votes of our military men and women, and not counting the votes of us “deplorables”) and move like ol’ Blackface in Virginia to take our guns, long range ammo such as this might very well satisfy _all_ of your fears. And then some.
Hope that helps, young fella. We old Boomers will be around for a bit longer, and so many of us served in the military, in law enforcement, and just generally enjoy plinkin’. “Plinkin’ at pink-os” could be more fun for us than “Grand Theft Auto” is for you folks. Keep that in mind.
meplat. ogive.
words.
Color me intrigued.
Cool, scary black ammo to go with some scary black rifles.
Maybe an AR-10 for the 308, but I don’t know many scary black 30-06s.
A blue M1 Garand with Smurf stickers is pretty scary.
How about ugly .30-06s? Ohio Ordnance HCAR, anyone?
The proper application of rattle can makes any gun an SBR… And *awesome* smelling if you fire it enough.
http://onlylongrange.com/bn36-long-range-assassin-270-25-06-30-06/
Noreen firearms makes ar platforms in .30-06, .300 Win Mag and .338 Lapua among others
Souvenirs from the Black Sabbath – Blue Oyster Cult tour?
BOC is coming to the House of Blues in Cleveland this Saturday, but I’ve already got plans. 🙁
I like how it’s black, so I can lose easier it if I drop a cartridge on the ground in low light.
It’s OK. The poly tip reflects energy in the near IR range extremely well. When your blacked out with your NOD/NVGs you’ll be able to find that round no problem.
I can’t remember where I read that.
They’re more like silver, if you look at some of the other photos on the site. Like a nickel plated case that’s slightly matte in finish.
No thanks… $50 or more for 20 rounds? Hell, I can shoot Federal M33 Ball at that price!
Store prices are much lower.
Im skeptical of the groove. Berger and hornady have higher, tested , bc’s and no groove. Price is high for a plastic tipped hp
Hmm.
Might need to try a box. See how accurate they are.
I’m a sucker for neat-looking gimmick ammo. I may buy a box of 300 Win Mag for my collection. I’d be really jazzed if they came out with 300 BLK, although I know long-range 300 BLK is an oxymoron.
Excellent! More of these long pointy tail heavy ultra high BC bullets that don’t properly stabilize in the twist rates provided in most factory rifles, and a Secant ogive that will make it nearly impossible to tune when loaded to SAMMI overal lengths in a factory chamber, and it’s expensive as shit what’s not to love?
Yeah it sucks they make you use these and there aren’t any other ammo choices on the market.
30-06, 300WM, and 300 WSM all use a 1-10″ twist standard, which will easily stabilize any 200 grain bullet. 1-12″ is the SAAMI twist rate for 308, but most manufacturers are using 1-10″ barrels these days. Even so, a 1-12″ will stabilize almost any 175 grain bullet, including high-BC variants.
That’s actually not entirely true, yes for traditional bullets with traditional non VLD form factors you are probably fine, and based on weight alone a 1:12 twist 308 will absolutely stabilize up to 185gr (this is based personal experience, my pet load for my 1:12 308 shoots .4″ 10shot groups with a 185gr Berger Tac bullet), and yes 1:10 should be fine for any current weigh assuming you keep the speed up. But some bullets, typically secant ogive and bullets that utilize polymer tips to extend length making the bullet longer without adding weight will not because they are extremely long for caliber/weight and inherently harder to stabilize. I want to be clear I’m not talking about stabilizing a bullet just enough to print tiny groups at 100yds, I am talking long range stability required to optimize BC. SG coefficient is the term used to quantify bullet stability and Brian Litz has written extensively about how bullets stabilized to an SG of less than 1.5 show a significant reduction in ballistic coefficient sometimes as much as 15-20% (.277 caliber 150gr Nosler ABLR for example gives up 18% when fired from a standard 1:10 twist barrel). He has a free calculator on the Berger website where you can plug in values and see for yourself.
You may be able to get them to shoot good groups at short range but a 1:12 twist 30cal won’t stabilize some of these new bullets in the 175gr class like the 175gr Berger VLD hunting (Litz recommends a 1:11 as minimum) the 178gr ELD-X (needs a 1:10 or faster) Or the Sierra 175gr TMK. Heck a 1:12 308 actually won’t even stabilize the new Sierra 168gr tipped match kings unless you are above 1000ft elevation or extremely high velocity. It gets worse when you move to other calibers like the 270, most of the high BC bullets in that caliber require 1:9 or even up to 1:7 twist to stabilize properly to an SG above 1.5.
All of this ignores the fact that long for caliber secant ogive bullets generally also need to be tuned to a specific rifle so it will be complete luck of the draw wether one loaded to a factory/SAMMI overall length shoots well in a factory chambered rifle.
The practical implication of all of this, given it is marketed as “hunting” ammunition, is that people will buy it, maybe shoot a few decent groups when they sight in the rifle at the range and then head off into the mountains with their free ballistics calculator they just downloaded and start shooting at live animals with potentially flawed trajectory information.
All good points. I’ve also read Litz extensively and have a fair amount of long range shooting experience with VLD type bullets. I wasn’t being argumentative, just making the point that twist rate alone doesn’t necessarily eliminate all VLD bullet options.
I doubt anyone will look back here at these 2020 comments, but they’re here if anyone is interested.
My old, original Ruger M77 (“MK1″) is 1:10, and I believe it will shoot just fine with this ammo. A young fellow who I think knows what he is doing did just fine at 880 yards with this ammo, out of an 18” LaRue Tactical OBR. https://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/ammo-test-edge-tlr-federals-heavy-hitting-308/
I have a 17.5″ HK91 (pre-1979 German, not a clone) that would shoot 3/4″ groups at 100 yards all day long with Spanish NATO 7.62×51 Santa Barbara bulk ammo. I’m not a sniper, nor Designated Marksman, either, but even with what were my 30 year old eyes (back in 1980 🙂 and a Leupold 3.5×10 AO scope I could keep that cheap (but well-made) stuff inside 8″ at 600 yards off a bench with the just the light bipod that came with the 91. I’m sure someone who knew what he was doing could have done a hell of a lot better. With ammo as accurate as this appears to be, and a good scope, I believe a guy could easily take an elk at over 800 yards. FWIW, I know a young lady here in Montana who took her elk at over 700 yards with her 7mm Rem Mag last year (yes, it _is_ a more powerful round).
Just slug your barrel and hand load the appropriate diameter XTP, so much cheaper and accurate to most practical hunting distances.
So, not unlike Hornady’s 178-grainer, but 4.5$ more per box. I wonder if all that claimed uberexpansive dropgamedead goodness is true and worth it.
I gotta look at getting some of these. Should do a number on Oregonian Blue Cats.
How about a little c4 in inner cavity with some kind of ignition device then energy transfer is multiplied along with wound cavity. Keep it at under 5 bucks per round and don’t tell the leftist.
This new bullet looks interesting to me. It would be nice to hear if someone has experience with new ammo.
Comments are closed.