Hornady factory ammo faster than reloads

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swampdonkey338

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Looking at Hornady ballistics for the 30-06 180g light magnum, the muzzle velocity is quoted as 2900 ft/sec. The best load in the nosler 6 reloading guide is 2872 with a 114% compressed load density. The second fastest load is 2780, and the popular IMR4350 has a max velocity of 2758.


Has Hornady cooked up a special powder or come up with a new technique ie special glue to crimp, pressure reducing magic ????

How could this be??
One of the reason I got into reloading was to out perform factory loads.
Grant you, this ammo could shoot all over the target.
 
Before i got too concerned I would chronograph those factory loads, just to see their real velocity, not that a few fps make any dif. at all. I chronographed some Weatherby factory loads once and they were way slower then advertised.
 
Keep in mind the numbers that are produced for factory literature are done in a high pressure gun under labratory conditions. These are impossible to replicate unless you work in a research facility. In the past, I have chronoed the same round in 3 different rifles and each rifle gave different velocities. Each firearm has different idiocycracies that effect the performance of the cartridge. Take published data as a guideline only unless it came from your own rifle. It is not gospal.
 
I agree that you should chronograph the loads to see what they actually give for velocities, but...

I believe the whole point of the Light Magnum line is that Hornady uses custom powder lots and/or blends to create pressure curves that are much flatter than anything traditionally available. This type of practice means customizing each powder type and charge to each individual cartridge and bullet combination, and you should not expect to equal the performance with cannister powders.
 
i have tried light magnum loads in 308 and they have all chronyed very very close to advertised....
that being said i was able to load a much more accurate (but slower) load with same bullet using reloading manuals and store bought powder....
 
"...special glue to crimp..." Crimping isn't done with glue.
"...Light magnum...Has Hornady cooked up a special powder..." Yep. They call it "cooler burning" powder. You can't get any powder used in any factory ammo though.
"...out perform factory loads..." That's about consistent accuracy, not velocity. Reloading is about tailoring your ammo to your rifle. Factory ammo can regularly change from lot to lot. One lot may shoot extremely well out of your rifle while the next/another won't.
"...this ammo could shoot all over the target..." Exactly.
 
When the Light Magnums first came out, it was reported that the powder was a special blend, also the pressures were a bit higher too.

It was also stated that reloaders should not try to duplicate these loading because the powders are not availible to the market.
 
when the light magnums first came out, there was an article showing the pressure curve and duration for the powder, and this was key to the "better" performance-i beleive the conculsion was the powder blend they had burned both cooler and longer, increasing the velocity- however there were so many caveats with the stuff ( don't use this in automatics ,levers, etc) that i quickly became disinterested - and it wasn't that much more -only about 200 fps or so- the claim was to turn a 308 into a '06, an '06 into a 300 mag, etc- however , when you looked at the charts, you quickly realised that they were using the LOW end of the reloading chart,and there wasn't THAT much of an advantage
 
Because so many shooters have chronographs now, the factories - or magazine article writers - can't tweak their numbers the way they used to do.
 
They perform as advertised. They (most ammo manufacturers, actually) use non-canister-grade powders, so you likely won't be able to duplicate their results. Al least, not until the 'next gen' powders start becoming available to the reloader. Modern military powders have a lot of interesting features that aren't yet available to us - such as anti-fouling additives, additives to lower the burn temperature and extend barrel life, etc.

It's pretty certain that Hornady Light Mag loads are within SAAMI pressure specs (Hornady ios a SAMMI member, after all), so the peak pressure is within tolerance. However, the area under the pressure curve would then have to be bigger to significantly exceed 'conventional' ballistics. This is bad for semi auto's, because they have TWO pressure specs: peak pressure, and port pressure. It's possible to have a safe peak pressure that doesn't fall off as quickly, leading to an unsafe port pressure. But, you can do this yourself - load up some 308's with 200+ grain bullets and 4831, and run them through your M-14, for example. Peak chamber pressure will be safe, but you'll thrash your gas system unless you alter it to cope with the longer pressure curve, and higher port pressure.
 
I was told by another experienced loader that has a chrony that the factory tests their bullets in a rifle with a very long barrel-26 or 28in to get the pressure up and give these specs but even then they can be a little "optimistic". Keep in mind that they are trying to sell you something. Chrony test is a great idea. Besides, speed is only a small part of the equation. Dont matter how fast they are if your gun dont like them and they spray. My main aim in reloading is accuracy for MY rifle and the fastest bullet is often not the winner. My $0.02:)
 
bogie said:
I was told by another experienced loader that has a chrony that the factory tests their bullets in a rifle with a very long barrel-26 or 28in to get the pressure up and give these specs but even then they can be a little "optimistic". Keep in mind that they are trying to sell you something. Chrony test is a great idea. Besides, speed is only a small part of the equation. Dont matter how fast they are if your gun dont like them and they spray. My main aim in reloading is accuracy for MY rifle and the fastest bullet is often not the winner. My $0.02:)
Click to expand...

If you want to see what was used, just read the first page for the cartridge and it will tell which components, what gun or pressure barrel etc.
 
Hornady uses a 24" test barrel for cooking up these loads. Not a 26 or 28" barrel as some suggest. BUT, the majority of .30-06 rifles have 22 inch barrels, so most are still at a deficit when trying to achieve even the posted speeds of this ammo. And , as stated before, don't try to load up roll your owns hot to duplicate these numbers. It is just the illusion they want you believe you can attain using these rounds. They think , if you believe you go into the field with an advantage, I.E. flatter trajectory with faster loads, then you will believe the hype, and have more confidence in their product. Marketing is the same for any business. They aren't in the business of blending into anonymity, they want you to see them head and shoulders above the others , and buy their product.
I have crony'd their .30-06 HM through a crony and it was 110F/S slower than advertised. It was a 22" barrel. Also, distance to the rifling is different in each rifle, so the pressure curves will be different. The point the cartridge begins to build up pressure from the bullet entering the rifling is gonna change rifle to rifle.
 
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