The secret of "light" magnums...

troutseeker said:
Please stick to standard ammunition for your own good.

Troutseeker

Well, that sure does not make any sense! If all of us stuck to standard we would still be in the stone ages. Many of us hand load to push the envelope. Why not try a company that claims to do it for us? Over the years Hornady has earned my respect. The 280s that I tried 139 molly SST,s grouped under and inch. The light and heavy mags have been on the market for several years now, and I have not heard of any safety problems.
 
Covey Ridge said:
Well, that sure does not make any sense!

I think it's pretty clear if you read the entire post by troutseeker that he wasn't serious, clearly more than just his username sounded fishy in this case. :D

Hornady has earned my respect as well.
 
I have shot some of the Hornady High Energy 180 grain 30-06 loads over my chronograph and they came up well short of their stated velocity. Not only that but at 2760 fps measured 10 ' in front of the muzzle they came up 50-60 fps slower than what I can safely achieve with hand-loads utilizing Reloder 22 in the same rifle.

For this particular loading I would say their "secret" is nothing more than marketing.
 
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[QUOTE='Boo]I have shot some of the Hornady High Energy 180 grain 30-06 loads over my chronograph and they came up well short of their stated velocity. Not only that but at 2760 fps measured 10 ' in front of the muzzle they came up 50-60 fps slower than what I can safely achieve with hand-loads utilizing Reloder 22 in the same rifle.

For this particular loading I would say their "secret" is nothing more than marketing.[/QUOTE]

Gosh, if you actually measured 2760 fps, this IS a significant improvement over what standard factory loads often chrono, and a definate improvement over maximum pressure loads listed in many loading manuals. Sounds not bad for an off the shelf factory load? Since you did not mention pressure signs or incident, it also sounds like a safe load?
 
Covey Ridge said:
Gosh, if you actually measured 2760 fps, this IS a significant improvement over what standard factory loads often chrono, and a definate improvement over maximum pressure loads listed in many loading manuals. Sounds not bad for an off the shelf factory load? Since you did not mention pressure signs or incident, it also sounds like a safe load?



I measured 2760 out of a 22" barrel. That is far short of the 2900 fps Hornady claims. I shot 10 rounds out of the box over the chrono and gave the remainder to a non-reloader friend. No signs of excessive pressure were evident in my rifle or his.


Nosler #5 lists 4 loads for a 180 grain bullet in a 30-06 that have the potential to do 2730 to 2780 fps. The Reloder 22 load I use actually shows 2872 fps as a maximum velocity out of a 24" barrel so the 2820 +/- I get with a 22" tube is in the ball park.

I do agree though that with the 30-06 the various "High Energy" loads do show a notable improvement over most factory loads which are kept fairly modest in deference to the thousands of 100 year old rifles chambered for the '06 that are still in service.
 
Covey Ridge said:
Gosh, if you actually measured 2760 fps, this IS a significant improvement over what standard factory loads often chrono, and a definate improvement over maximum pressure loads listed in many loading manuals. Sounds not bad for an off the shelf factory load? Since you did not mention pressure signs or incident, it also sounds like a safe load?

Winchester claims 180 gr. Supreme® AccuBond™ CT® can travel 2750 fps with 3022 ft/lbs of energy, that's pretty darn close to 7mm Remington Mag. territory IMHO. How much more magnum do we need from the '06. Has anybody chronyed these factory offerings? I may try some this spring. I've gotten 2709 fps. with Winchester bulk 180 sp using 56.5 gr. of IMR 4350. That's not too shabby. It was fired from my new Remington 700 with a 24" barrel. I believe with any of the light magnum loads, the key to velocity is barrel length. A 30-06 has a large case capacity as non-magnums go, and with modern slow burning powders, you need some barrel length to burn up that powder. I personally wouldn't recommend any 30-06 with a barrel under 24", all you are doing with a short barreled '06 is making a noisey 308 out of it. I would bet that most of these light magnum manufacturers use a 24" barrel or longer to base there loads on.
 
I imagine the blend of powders is designed to keep the pressure more even as the bullet travels the length of the barrel. A fast burning powder will reach max pressure early on, but will drop in pressure as the bullet gets farther down the tube. Slow burning powders take longer to reach max, causing slower acceleration early on but keep more pressure behind the bullet as it travels farther.

They may have found a way to safely (which the home reloader can not do) mix the two categories for an early rise to high pressure, and a longer travel period in the high pressure zone as the slower powders maintain the pressure later on.

I dunno, sounds reasonable as I finish my first cup of coffee, may not once I wake up. ;)
 
Hi-Standard said:
Winchester claims 180 gr. Supreme® AccuBond™ CT® can travel 2750 fps with 3022 ft/lbs of energy, that's pretty darn close to 7mm Remington Mag. territory IMHO. How much more magnum do we need from the '06.

When the 7 mm Rem Mag came out, one of its claim to fame was that its 175 grain bullet would match or better the killing power of the 180, 30-06! Both cartidges have always been close in this area, and the 30-06 has alway been in 7 r mag territory or the other way around.

In most cases actual fps will fall short of advertised/published specs, either on ammo boxes or reloading tables, for various reasons including a certain amount of market hype! Instead of comparing chrono specs to advertised specs, why not compare chrono spec fo lets say Hornady's Lt mags to chrono specs of standard factory loads with similar bullets but shot from the same rifle?

Just my observations, but Winchester Supreme many times clocks out to near advertised specs and sometimes a little more.
 
cariboo_kid said:
I think it's pretty clear if you read the entire post by troutseeker that he wasn't serious, clearly more than just his username sounded fishy in this case. :D

Hornady has earned my respect as well.

Hey troutseeker:
Sorry I jumped over your post:redface: It was the last words "for your own good" that got me bent! I am the sensative type:D
 
catnthehatt said:
Never liked them, tested a box in one of my 308's and although the velocity was higher
( about 30- 75FPS) the groups were AWFULL!!:puke:

Cat

I had the same experience in my 30-06 cat. They shot somewhat flatter, but terrible accuracy compared to other loads I tried. IIRC I got something like 2.5 - 3" groups at 100m
 
Or it is the opposite. Seating a bit less and closer to the lands = more pressure and more velocity?
 
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