AO Review: American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm

The chilling cold of winter has receded to warmer temps across most all of the country meaning more of us are shooting, training, hunting, and enjoying our firearms. As we venture into our gun safes to head to the range – both indoor and outdoor ranges – the ammunition you choose to deploy can matter more than you think. For the most passionate and driven among us, being exposed to high lead levels is an authentic concern when we shoot a lot. That is why the option of Lead Free ammunition from companies like Federal Premium is becoming increasingly popular and desirable. For all of those reasons, I was very excited to be able to shoot some Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammunition at a recent Safariland event in Florida. Today, I will share all of my experiences having shot this ammunition for the very first time, takeaways, and recommendations for anyone who has been contemplating it themselves. Let’s dive in!

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Specifications – Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain

The Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammunition has an MSRP of $31.99 (SKU: AE9LF1) for a standard box of 50 rounds. It is a slight departure from Federal’s red box packaging for American Eagle, but the green is a small nod to the fact that it is Lead Free – better for you and equally better for the environment. Some of the features you can come to expect for this ammunition are listed below as provided by Federal Premium:

Proven, clean-shooting Catalyst primer
Identical ballistics as conventional lead styphnate primers with the same reliability and shelf life
Lead-free projectiles engineered to be as safe—or safer—than conventional jacketed lead bullets when fired against hard targets
More reasonably priced than other lead-free options

This ammunition is significantly lighter than traditional 9mm loads (commonplace 9mm ammunition is a 115 Grain projectile), and that can be attributed to the fact that this ammo does not deploy a lead bullet. Conversely, the lead free bullets Federal uses occupy the same space yet are a 39.1% decrease in grain weight (dropping from 115 Grain to 70 Grain) allowing for a scintillating speed of 1,625 FPS (Feet per Second) as clocked at the muzzle.

Cartridge: 9mm Luger
Grain Weight: 70
Bullet Style: Lead Free IRT (Indoor Range Training)
Muzzle Velocity: 1,625 FPS (Feet per Second)
- Test Barrel Length: 4″
Muzzle Energy: 410 Foot-Lb

Range time has never been this clean. For years, American Eagle® Indoor Range Training (IRT) ammunition has helped shooters minimize lead at the firing line. Now we’ve made it even cleaner with the addition of the Federal® Catalyst™ lead-free primer. Unlike DDNP-based lead-free primers, the exclusive Catalyst formulation is non-hygroscopic, offering the same reliability, shelf life and ballistics of conventional lead styphnate primers. Matched with all-new lead-free bullets that produce similar splash-back as conventional jacketed lead on reactive targets, the loads provide unprecedented safety and training realism.

Field Use – Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain

As I alluded to earlier, my first opportunity to shoot this American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) ammunition came at a Safariland Media Event in Florida in the past week. Federal was gracious and generous enough to sponsor this event where we worked on weapon retention scenarios, and a bit of secret squirrel stuff that I may be able to talk about later. Our application for the American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) ammo was shooting at night under weapon-mounted lights at steel.

The targets we would be shooting at had varying distances of 3 – 50 yards approximately. So, some targets had splashback concerns while others did not. So, this frangible-style ammunition would create for a safer shooting environment with a lower likelihood of splashbacks on close steel targets, less lead in the air due to the Federal® Catalyst™ lead-free primers, and a generally cleaner shooting experience because of the cleaner propellant as selected by Federal.

After multiple safety briefs, instruction earlier in the day to get comfortable with our holster/weapon combinations (Walther PDP and a Safariland holster), and an introduction to the Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammo we would be using, we were off and running!

Immediately, I found the ammunition easy to load in our magazines. Federal does a terrific job in utilizing quality, polished brass which – on a positive note – is more slick and easy to plug into magazines. Lesser quality ammo companies have rough or unpolished brass that can bind at times – no bueno. Also, loading magazines in the dark or by flashlight is a more difficult task than one would imagine. So, every advantage helps.

The other element I immediately noticed about this ammunition is the amount of zip it has to it. We already discussed the scintillating velocity of 1,625 FPS and you could feel that in the recoil impulse. It had a similar felt recoil of .40 S&W and it was incredibly flat shooting. I made no adjustment in height even for shots at 50 yards. Anecdotally, I was impacting the same at 5 yards as I was at 50 yards which is really helpful when you’re, once again, engaging steel in the dark.

Finally, I did notice less smoke (unburnt powder, lead, etc) than traditional ammo. This is not only more healthy for the shooter, but it also means – that while shooting at night – you have less smoke obstructing your vision and flashlight. So, all in all the ammunition was a great help while shooting at night in the Florida marsh during Safariland’s most recent Media Event.

Final Thoughts – Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain

So, what are my final thoughts on the Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammunition after an extended night range session in Florida behind a Walther PDP?… Overall, it performs as advertised, if not substantially better. You get less lead exposure, it is less cloudy/smoky from the shooter’s perspective, the ammo has Federal’s quality touch poured over it as evident by the highly-polished brass, and its scorching speed reliably functioned/cycled for everyone attending the Safariland event with little to no discernable drop out to 50 yards. This ammo is more expensive at an MSRP of $31.99 per box, but if I knew I had a match or training event shooting steel close-quarters or exclusively indoors, it would be worth the investment.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Federal Premium for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammunition. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Federal American Eagle Indoor Range Training (IRT) Lead Free 9mm 70 Grain ammunition is something worth spending your money on? Would you deploy them at a club match? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about Federal Premium in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

Adam Scepaniak