The Firearm Blog

I have been remiss in not discussing Hornady's new Superformance Ammunition before now. The Superformance loads attain a 100-200 fps increase in muzzle velocity at standard SAAMI pressures (ie. they are not hot loads). Hornady’s chief ballistics scientist told American Hunter ...

“Until now, center-fire ammunition performance has been based on the IMR-series propellants developed in the 1930s and ’40s,” he said.

They achieve this by developing a set of new powders and blending these powders specifically for each cartridge so that all the powders burns completely inside the barrel. This allows maximum power transferred to the cartridge but also lower muzzle blast, thereby reducing recoil.

Graphs from the Superformance White Paper ...

So why have handloaders not attempted this before? I am sure some have, but blending powders is dangerous because the pressure curve cannot be predicted. You cannot create a load made up of 50% of Powder A and 50% of Powder B and assume max pressure will equal (Amax+Bmax)/2 or when the maximum pressure will occur.

Currently Hornady is offering Superformance loads in .243 Win, .257 Roberts, .25-06 Rem., 6.5mm Creedmoor, , 7mm Rem Mag, .270 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., .300 Win. Mag, .300 RCM, .308 Win. .308 Win., 30-06 Springfield, .338 Win Mag, .338 RCM, .375 H&H , .375 Ruger and .458 Win.

It is interesting to note that Hornady is not offering any intermediate/varmint cartridges. A Superformance 5.56mm round tuned for the M4 (but fully compatible with other 5.56mm systems) would be very useful.

Hornady 7.62×39mm and 5.45×39mm Double Tap self defense ammunition loaded with VMAX (polymer tipped) bullets will be on sale soon.

Polymer tipped v-max bullets.

TacticalGunFan has reviewed pre-production samples and they are in fact using steel cases, presumably to save money. He was impressed with the ammunition, although he incorrectly states that this is the first 7.62×39mm self-defense load. There are many hunting and self-defense rounds to choose from.

For the first time American shooters will be able to buy a modern expanding load designed for self-protection in this caliber. It’ll also be the first time a quality projectile will be available in this diameter to enhance the accuracy potential of this military cartridge.

So, American shooters will finally have a domestically produced 5.45×39mm load that combines accuracy and terminal performance.

Midway lists the price as $23.99 for a box of 20 rounds loaded with 123 Grain bullets.

Ruger and Hornady have teamed up to produce the new .416 Ruger cartridge which will be available next year (2009).

The round is basically a necked up .375 Ruger and offers performance comparable to the classic .416 Rigby in a standard length cartridge. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye bolt action will be available chambered in this cartridge.

Hornady claim on their website that the 416 Ruger offers the same performance in the compact 20″ barreled Ruger M77 Hawkeye Alaskan as the .416 Rugby in a full length rifle.

416 Ruger cartridge delivers the same performance as the fabled 416 Rigby, but does it in a shorter 20″ barreled Ruger Hawkeye rifle that is extremely compact and easy to carry.

I am skeptical about this claim. It will be interesting to see what results firearm magazine writers get when they test the ammunition.

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Alaskan (20″ Barrel)

Ballistic infomation:

Click to expand.

Product Video (there are a couple of video snippets at the start of charging elephants being shot. Really crazy stuff!):

The .375 Ruger has proved to be popular and I think so could the .416 Ruger. The standard length action is a compelling reason to choose this cartridge over the .416 Rigby and .416 Rem. Mag.

More info at Hornady.

I saw over at Guns Holsters and Gear that Hornady will be selling a new line of ammunition next year (2009) that is specifically designed for civilian self defense and for use in common carry handguns.

The line is called “Critical Defense” and will be available in .380 ACP, .38 Special, .38 Special + P and 9mm Parabellum.

A Critical Defense round

A common argument against hollow points is that when they are fired through heavy clothing the hollow point can clog up with fabrics and then act as a FMJ round. The Critical Defense bullets feature a hollow point with a rubber insert (same material as the Flex Tip used on the Hornady LEVERevolution ammunition) which prevents the bullet clogging up with fabric and allow controlled reliable expansion.

The idea of putting something in a hollow point to prevent it being clogged up with fabric or, in the case of hunting ammunition, fur, is not a new idea. It will be interesting to see if the Flex Tip material improves on this idea.

Another useful feature of this line is decrease muzzle flash.

For each type of cartridge and load the bullet has been individually designed for maximum performance.

Product video:

More info at Guns Holsters and Gear and Hornady.

Hornady’s new products for 2008:

• 300 RCM & 338 RCM
• Dangerous Game Series
• 357 MAG / 44 MAG LEVERevolution
• 32 WIN Special LEVERevolution
• 22 WMR Rimfire
• 6.5 Creedmoor
• FPBâ„¢ Muzzleloading Bullets
• SST-ML High Speed Low Dragâ„¢ Sabots
• 450 Nitro Express 3 1/4″
• One-Shotâ„¢ Muzzleloader Products

Ruger Compact Magnums

More info here.

Graf & Sons and Hornady are now offering high quality ammo for military surplus rifles.

Calibers they offer:

• 6.5×52 Carcano
• 6.5×50 Japanese
• 7×64 Brenneke
• 7×57R Mauser
• .303 British
• 7.5×55 Swiss
• 7.65×53 Argentine
• 7.7×58 Japanese
• 7.92×33 Kurz
• 8×56 Hungarian.

More info here.