Every so often, a piece of shooting gear arrives that feels less like a new SKU and more like a small evolutionary step. Federal’s new Master Class sporting-clays shotshells, unveiled at SHOT Show 2025 in Las Vegas, fit that mold. And like watching a carefully balanced bird take flight (forgive the Attenborough moment), you can sense the engineering choices working in concert.
Master Class is a classic straight-wall hull, two-piece assembly with a striated tube and an inserted base wad, different from the smoothbody integral design used in High Over All, Federal’s flagship sporting-clays shells. The hull’s semi-transparent blue body isn’t just for looks, but yes, it’s striking.
Inside is where the real tinkering happened. The Podium wad, originally designed for High Over All’s tapered hull, was modified to sit properly in this straight-wall platform. That fit matters: a snug interface helps manage recoil, protect the shot and maintain pattern integrity. In practice, recoil feels surprisingly soft, especially in the 1,235 fps HDCP loads.
Velocity for these competition-level shotshells ranges from 1,235 fps to 1,300 fps.
Federal is using 5% antimony lead shot, but thanks to alloy choices, they claim a hardness equivalent to 6% antimony. Harder shot resists deformation, which means tighter, more consistent patterns and more authoritative breaks on distant clay targets.
Master Class currently comes in six 2¾-inch 12-gauge offerings with No. 7.5 or No. 8 shot, covering 1-oz. and 1⅛-oz. payloads:
- 1 oz. @ 1,250 fps (7.5 & 8)
- 1⅛ oz. HDCP @ 1,235 fps (7.5 & 8)
- 1 oz. @ 1,300 fps (7.5 & 8)
MSRP lands at $15.99 per box of 25, though online prices dip to around $10.99, putting them well below many premium competition loads.
Unlike the reloader-friendly High Over All lineup, Master Class isn’t intended for reloading. By leaving out those components, Federal can pass the cost savings on to shooters.
ON THE RANGE
For my evaluation, I was shooting the 1⅛ oz, 1,235 fps, No. 7.5 Master Class load in a Fabarm Infinite RS side-by-side. Over roughly six boxes fired during two separate sporting clays outings, I saw crisp, predictable breaks and no malfunctions. The lower velocity HDCP load hit a sweet spot: plenty of energy with reduced felt recoil—aided, admittedly, by the Fabarm’s eight-plus-pound weight.
Pattern consistency is where Master Class stands apart from bargain-tier target loads. The harder shot and reimagined Podium wad system work together to keep pellets where they’re supposed to be. Clay targets that usually laugh off middling loads shattered with satisfying regularity.
BOTTOM LINE
Master Class sits below High Over All in price, but not in intent. These loads feel purpose-built for shooters who take sporting clays and FITASC seriously but don’t want to burn through premium-load pricing every weekend. As Federal’s Josh Vickers put it, Master Class is built to exceed expectations and, remarkably, it does so without fanfare or flash.
In a discipline where tiny variables determine whether a target turns to dust or sails away untouched, Federal’s new Master Class lineup earns its name. The components are thoughtful, the patterns are dependable and the recoil behavior is genuinely pleasant. Consider this a worthy upgrade from standard target loads—a load that, much like a well-thrown clay, rises gracefully above the rest.
Go to federalpremium.com to learn more.
