Custom Rifle Ammo
Make precision personal with our wide selection of custom rifle loads.
30 Super Carry
Hits like a 9mm Luger. Carries like a 380 Auto. Designed exclusively for defense.
High Over All
More reloads and better patterns for the most elite trap, skeet and sporting clays shooters.
Varmint & Predator
Get the most of rimfire with loads that offer both accuracy and violent expansion on impact.
FireStick
There’s never been a muzzleloading system like this. See all the benefits that set FireStick apart to provide the most convenient, safe and consistent performance ever.
Hydra-Shok® Component Bullets
The bullet that’s defined self-defense for a generation is now available as a component.
Federal X Stone Glacier
Two great brands have finally come together. Don't miss your chance to own exclusive Federal-branded Stone Glacier apparel.
Model 2020 Waypoint Special Edition
We worked with engineers from Springfield Armory to create Custom Shop loads specifically designed for the utmost performance from the new Model 2020 Waypoint rifle.
You might expect the central figure in documenting Federal history to be a longtime employee, but the man who had the most encyclopedic knowledge of the company and its ammo never actually worked there.
At an early age, David “Doc” Frederickson, of St. Cloud, Minn., was an aspiring collector of baseball cards, firecrackers, BB guns, and medicine bottles. As he grew, his father introduced him to the outdoors and shooting sports, and his collections began reflecting a new passion: ammunition. When he and his dad would go hunting or target shooting, he would pick up all the spent cases he could find, paying close attention to the older objects—items he felt had a history. It was during this time that he became fascinated with Federal and its story.
Doc went on to accomplish great things in every aspect of life. An Air Force Vietnam veteran, he would ultimately become a trauma surgeon, county coroner, and even a deputy sheriff for a time. After his return from Vietnam, he began adding to his collection and asked Federal if he could receive flat, empty boxes to keep it up to date. He then politely asked for more every year.
In 1968, he caught the attention of Federal’s CEO, William Horn, who personally sent him packaging samples and a letter. Then in 1972, Doc, at the age of 31, met with the company’s President Charles Horn and received permission to document the company’s historical information and packaging.
Frederickson’s collection grew to take up whole rooms, stored on the walls and in shallow drawers. He didn’t confine himself to boxes, collecting wooden crates and other ephemera.
As a Minnesotan and waterfowler, Doc’s passion for collecting naturally gravitated to Federal shotshells, putting together this impressive display for the 1972 Chicago cartridge collectors show.
Today, visitors to the Federal plant are greeted by a historical ammo display, courtesy of Doc Frederickson.
Over the next nearly 50 years, Doc accumulated rooms full of ammunition packaging, thousands upon thousands of boxes, as well as advertising and company records. He wrote books chronicling these historical assets and meticulously captured nearly all the company’s landmark achievements with a collection of memorabilia spanning this rich history. He even traveled to vintage ammunition collector shows where he would showcase his award-winning displays.
Frederickson died August 13, 2021, at the age of 80 and as a fixture of Federal Ammunition’s heritage. Rather than parcel off bits and pieces of his vast collection, he had long sought to keep it intact so people could remember Federal’s history. That goal was achieved in early 2021, before his passing, when President Jason Vanderbrink and Federal’s executive team took ownership of Doc’s massive collection.
Although management donated portions of the collection to museums to be displayed and enjoyed by the public, they also built large displays featuring Doc’s collection throughout Federal’s factory buildings. These remind all employees who walk past them just how rich in history and steeped in tradition the products they manufacture are to Federal’s loyal customers.
Without Doc, many elements of that history would have been lost to time. For all these incredible contributions, Federal Ammunition is truly grateful. Thank you, Dr. Frederickson.
Get to know the late David “Doc” Frederickson and get a glimpse of his vast collection of Federal packaging, signs, products and more in this exclusive video.