Federal Ammunition and it’s parent company Vista Outdoors became the first mainstream ammunition manufacturer to enter the newest trend in e-commerce, direct to consumer subscription services.

With the massive increase in new gun owners along with continued purchasing and stockpiling by existing gun owners, ammunition had become scarce, particularly for commonly used calibers such as 9mm, 223 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor and others. An ammunition subscription service is certainly a welcomed innovation, particularly for new gun owners who are not accustomed to searching online, may not know their local dealers and had certainly not seen the light and started stockpiling ammo for these unforeseen demand spikes.

Federal is entering the market with 3 different offerings, aimed at the most commonly used centerfire handgun cartridges.

Gun owner can purchase and subscribe to receive 5 boxes monthly of either American Eagle 9mm, 40 S&W or 45 ACP target ammunition.

The prices are a bit on the high side, especially before considering sales taxes, however shipping is included.

A 5 box monthly subscription of 9mm is currently priced at $139.99 per month, $151.99 for 40 S&W and $169.99 per month for 45 ACP.

Gun owners with a subscription will receive priority handling and fulfillment over regular purchasers however they are locking themselves in for a 12 month period, akin to a cell phone contract or gym memberships prior to the current month to month trends.

Purchasers are able to cancel the subscription however that comes with a hefty $300 cancellation charge.

Overall, while an ammunition subscription service is a welcome innovation to the way gun owners purchase ammunition, it feels quite a bit one sided towards Federal and more of a money grab than a value for gun owners.

Is this catered towards “stupid newbies” then?

Perhaps. Federal has traditionally gone through a two step distribution model, selling to distributors who in turn sell to dealers, therefore I am sure there is some pressure on them not to depress the prices.

For most gun owners, this is a very tough service to recommend due to the above market prices and one sided terms that primarily benefit the company, and not the consumer.

For more on this new service and to continue the discussion, take a look at the video done by Slav Guns.