Thanks for the info.
Quote:
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Where he says that he doesn't know if Starline is producing the brass -- that's not the answer I was looking for. I asked him if Starline was allowed to produce it, I want to know if Federal has some sort of exclusivity or patent on the brass that doesn't legally allow Starline to build it.
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It is, indeed, a licensing issue. I year or more ago,
Handloader (I believe) ran an article about one of the newer Federal cartridges. In it, the author described the ridiculous battle he had to go through, to get brass. During the process, he discovered the reason no one even
wants to produce brass for the Federal cartridges: Their licensing fees could be equated to those of the NFL, Disney, and Ford/GM/Chrysler (Ford and GM used to actually have their fee schedules published on their websites - I don't know if they still do. The cost to produce something that even
remotely resembles one of their products will blow your mind.)
I've heard through unofficial channels, that this is because ATK always wants to recoup their R&D costs, before any one else gets a chance to make some money off their idea. In my opinion, it's a stupid business move and bonehead idea for gaining faith from the public. Making the damn thing actually available to users would do more for them, than trying to rule the world one cartridge at a time. ATK did issue a statement about some of the Federal products a few years ago. It was pretty much, "We don't want our brand name being stamped on inferior products." (Yea.... it's not about the money; it's about the product.... That's why every other day, in this forum, we see complaints about Federal brass blowing primers... and my only experiences will radically dangerous head space with factory ammo were all Federal....
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