Hornady superformance 53g factory same hornady reload?
- Thread starter Brianma65
- Start date
Not all factory Superformance ammo uses Superformance powder. Same goes for Leverevolution stuff. Most factory ammo uses powder not available to the public.
With proper load development and with probably only trying a couple different powders you can most likely exceed the performance of the best factory ammo with handloads. You know that bullet works well in your rifle so I would try a couple common .223 powders (4895 and Varget come to mind) and go through the normal load development processes to find one your rifle likes.
With proper load development and with probably only trying a couple different powders you can most likely exceed the performance of the best factory ammo with handloads. You know that bullet works well in your rifle so I would try a couple common .223 powders (4895 and Varget come to mind) and go through the normal load development processes to find one your rifle likes.
You want to keep the cases consistent. If you have mixed brands of cases in a batch they could have different internal volumes and thus different pressures with the same powder charges and different velocities. That will result in some pretty bad groups.
For regular ammo I just make sure each batch is the same headstamp.
For target ammo I weight sort but don't notice too much of a difference. There are those who say weight sorting is very important and others who say it's not important at all. My 308 "match" ammo for example is all sorted to be +/- 1gr from a standard weight. I'm using "Hornady 308 Win Match" headstamp and they all weigh 164-166gr. I don't really notice too much difference to unsorted brass though. An easier way is to make sure an entire "set" of brass is from the same lot number from the manufacturer. Buying bags of unprimed brass is the normal way to do this.
For regular ammo I just make sure each batch is the same headstamp.
For target ammo I weight sort but don't notice too much of a difference. There are those who say weight sorting is very important and others who say it's not important at all. My 308 "match" ammo for example is all sorted to be +/- 1gr from a standard weight. I'm using "Hornady 308 Win Match" headstamp and they all weigh 164-166gr. I don't really notice too much difference to unsorted brass though. An easier way is to make sure an entire "set" of brass is from the same lot number from the manufacturer. Buying bags of unprimed brass is the normal way to do this.
Thanks , I tryed 6 different types of factory ammo,5 were grouping 1 1/2 to 2 moa. The Superformance 53g were doing 1 moa, with a 2x7 scope and crappy led sled. I'd like to make he reloads as close as possible to those Superformance. I'm looking for the 53g projectiles now, ( not having much luck) I have a couple hundred hornady brass, have some cci primers on the way. And some cfe powder. By the way ,it'll be my first time reloading,hence all the questions.
Keep in mind that Hornady's Superformance powder used in their ammo is a special blend and not the same as the Hodgdon Superformance. Too bad Hodgdon stopped their 4oz Xperimental powder packs. Would have been a good way to try out a bunch of different powders to see which worked best without having to buy a full 1lb bottle.
Hodgdon made the Superformance powder for Hornady; Hornady doesn't produce their own powder.
The retail powder is supposed to be the same powder used in the factory ammo. However as I mentioned earlier not all Superformance ammo uses Superformance powder. I'm sure some of the factory Superformance ammo does but not all.
The ones they list on the Hodgdon date site might use it; those include 22-250, 243, and 300WSM. Superformance is a pretty slow powder close to H4831 which may be why it doesn't work in 223. The factory Superformance 223 ammo might have a blend including Superformance powder or none at all, no way to tell.
I'd try Varget as that is a pretty good go-to powder for 223 and 308. I use Benchmark personally for my 223 loads but that's because I have a pile of it.
The retail powder is supposed to be the same powder used in the factory ammo. However as I mentioned earlier not all Superformance ammo uses Superformance powder. I'm sure some of the factory Superformance ammo does but not all.
The ones they list on the Hodgdon date site might use it; those include 22-250, 243, and 300WSM. Superformance is a pretty slow powder close to H4831 which may be why it doesn't work in 223. The factory Superformance 223 ammo might have a blend including Superformance powder or none at all, no way to tell.
I'd try Varget as that is a pretty good go-to powder for 223 and 308. I use Benchmark personally for my 223 loads but that's because I have a pile of it.
what makes that factory cartridge work so well in my rifle,it would make sense that it's the 53 g projectile ,as no 55 g ,including the 55 g hornady ,placed as well as the 53, the 62 g did awe full also. Hornady zombie max 55, hornady Superformance ,have the same case,same powder?, so the only diff is the bullit weight.
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Some excellent advice here. I might ad that if you can find the same projectiles as your favorite superformance, try different overall length. The superformance load that shoots well has many variables...powder, primer, brass, projectile, and overall length. The distance off the lands for loads is one of the variables that has really affected accuracy for me in other rifles. One other point, the 223 has the capacity it has. No amount of powder choices are going to see it beat 220 Swift of 22-250. Find a sweet spot for accuracy, hopefully at the top end of velocity, but your rifle will tell you where you need to be...if your listening.
again thanks....Brian
Mount Sweetness
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Ontario
If the 53gr shoot well the 50gr will also and they may be easier to find
hometownhero
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toon Town, Sk
I just sold 1000 53gr vmax.
Cabelas usually has it. I used varget in one of my 223's 25.5gr 2.244" col. Was just over 3000 fps but worked great. I would try h335 I have had good luck with it in my cz 223.
Cabelas usually has it. I used varget in one of my 223's 25.5gr 2.244" col. Was just over 3000 fps but worked great. I would try h335 I have had good luck with it in my cz 223.
My goal is to repeat the accuracy I got out of these factory loads. I'll measure both the case and the overall lenght of cartridge , then take it apart and weigh the powder. Then try and replicate that as close as possible. These are some groups I got out of my new XCR-L .223 , at a 100 yards , using a2x7x33 VX1 and a led sled. As you can see the super dormancy did rally well. I'm gonna try these again , with a better scope. Hopefully it wasn't a fluke.
