Federal FireStick | ||||||||
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Type | Blank cartridge | |||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||
Production history | ||||||||
Designer | Federal Ammunition | |||||||
Designed | 2019 | |||||||
Manufacturer | Federal Ammunition | |||||||
Produced | 2020–present | |||||||
Variants | .50-100, .50-120 | |||||||
Specifications | ||||||||
Case type | Rimmed | |||||||
Bullet diameter | .50 conical (recommended) | |||||||
Primer type | 209 Shotgun | |||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||
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Test barrel length: 25 inches (64 cm) Source(s): [1] [2] |
The Federal FireStick is a proprietary polymer-hulled blank cartridge, introduced in 2020 for the Traditions NitroFire rifle. Containing 100 to 120 grains of Hodgdon 888 black-powder substitute and neither a primer nor a bullet, the round and the rifle designed for it were devised as a way of creating a gun that functions as closely to a modern rifle as possible whilst still being legal in muzzleloader hunting season. [3] [4]
Being supplied with neither a primer nor a projectile, the Federal FireStick blank round can be used as a live-fire cartridge by first inserting a primer manually into the rimmed base, then placing it into the breech of the Traditions NitroFire, much like a traditional shotshell in a break-action shotgun. Finally, a .50 calibre bullet is pushed down the barrel from the front using a ramrod, coming to rest at a narrowed neck that separates the slug from the charge and prevents the user from attempting to fire incompatible ammunition. [1] [3]