The NRA is helping Federal Ammunition kick off its centennial year with a 100th Celebration Sweepstakes. Enthusiasts can enter here for a chance at winning more than 54,000 rounds of Federal ammo. Total value of the prize package is $28,437.25 and it includes 12 gauge, 9 mm, .223 Rem. and .22 LR. There is no purchase necessary, you must be 21 or older at the time of entry and all local and federal laws and regulation apply. Hurry, though, the sweepstakes end June 15.
Federal is also continuing its centennial celebration with fresh content uploaded throughout 2022 on its 100-year-anniversary website. Last month it highlighted some of its founding personalities and the different private label names it has produced.
The nostalgic packaging is worth a look, but many of the early executive stories speak volumes about industry’s recognition of hard work. Bob Ehlen, for example, was still in high school when he joined Federal as groundskeeper. “Ehlen was a motivated, diligent worker, and shortly after he was hired, Ehlen could operate every machine in the factory,” the Founding Fathers story explains. “While still in his early 20s, Ehlen had proven himself to be an employee capable of mastering new tasks in short order. In 1929, just six years after he started work at Federal, the 23-year-old Ehlen was promoted to plant manager…In 1940, Ehlen was named vice president and general manager. Shortly, Federal secured the contract to construct and operate the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant, the second largest ammunition plant in the world at the time.” He started behind a rake, outside the factory walls and worked his way up to chairman of the board.
The article “Federal Under Another Name” chronicles the different labels that Federal Ammunition was made under. At the beginning of the 20th century, users could acquire firearms and ammunition at a variety of retailers from hardware stores, barbers, doctors, grocery stores, and catalog dealers like Sears, Roebuck & Co. While most of these dealers sold ammunition under the Federal name, many dealers preferred a private label approach provided by Federal.
