Federal Premium: Doing More For The American Shooter

by
posted on October 27, 2021
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **

As American shooters experience supply shortages and inflated prices on ammunition, many are questioning exactly what manufacturers are doing to alleviate the problem. Jason Vanderbrink, president of Federal Premium Ammunition, took a few minutes to share some updates on the company's increased manufacturing capacity. Vanderbrink is also president of the Remington ammunition factory in Lonoke, Ark., and he provides an updated outlook in the video above on the facility's renewed capabilities since the acquisition by Vista Outdoor.

"It's important to point out that, since the surge started, we have made about 40 percent more in ammunition at Federal, CCI and Speer," Vanderbrink said. "That's a lot of ammunition that's come new into this market. When you add Remington into that, it's substantially more ammunition."

Additionally, Vanderbrink highlighted the growth in staffing at Vista's ammunition plants. Since the surge in demand began, the company has added about 1,500 new employees inside of 18 months. Some of the production highlights from Federal Premium include a 40-percent increase in handgun ammunition production, a 15-percent increase in shotshell production and "hundreds of millions" more primers for sale on the commercial market. All this increase happened in the midst of material shortages, a point Vanderbrink dovetailed into his answer to people asking whether or not Federal Premium can build new factories.

"As every other business in America and around the world is facing, we're facing supply chain shortages," Vanderbrink said. "We're no different. Brass, powder, resin. All of this affects our factories and all of this affects output. It wouldn't be financially feasible to built a new factory if you don't have enough raw materials to keep the four factories we have going today."

Vanderbrink also touched on government ammunition sales, as well as support for law enforcement and the Second Amendment. To listen to his full statement, watch the video above.

Latest

Ithaca Model 87 Ultra Special 1
Ithaca Model 87 Ultra Special 1

The Model 87 Ultra Special: A Rare Survivor of Ithaca's Final Gamble

In the spring of 1990, an 18-year-old received a shotgun he didn't order. The Ithaca Model 87 Ultra Special he got instead was the last gasp of one of America's most iconic shotgun makers.

As Gun Sales Stay High, Violent Crime Hits a Historic Low

According to a recent report from the FBI on national crime statistics, violent crime has decreased 9.3 percent from 2024, marking the largest year-to-year drop since the 1930s.

Five Million Friends

From one room of friends in Missouri to a nationwide movement, Friends of NRA celebrates more than five million lives touched through community, volunteerism, and a shared commitment to the future of the shooting sports.

Federal to Provide Rifle Ammunition to Top Nordic Police Agencies

The Nordic Police, comprised of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, recently selected two Federal Ammunition rifle loads for duty and training use.

New For 2026: Beretta APX A1 Ported

Beretta first entered the polymer-frame, striker-fired pistol market in 2017 with its APX, and nearly 10 years later, the company has added the APX A1 Ported to the lineup.

CDC Restores Basic Armed Citizen Data

As of Aug. 24, 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s webpage is again providing defensive-gun-use data.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.