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Hornady Superformance?

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mlv2k5 View Drop Down
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    Posted: March/29/2011 at 20:15
So I have a new rifle and I am trying to determine a proper diet for it. I'm stuck with factory options as I am not handloading currently, and I would like to know if anyone has used Hornady Superformance and how it worked for you? I could care less about the extra speed as I know you don't need a cannon to put down a whitetail. However, what I do care about is accuracy, I want to know my shots are going to go precisely where I intend them to with very little deviation.

So does anyone have any experience with these to share...?
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LRSMike Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/29/2011 at 22:06
You don’t know what you don’t know.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 07:17
The only way to truly know is to try it for yourself, every rifle is different and yours may love it or hate it. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 07:28
Originally posted by lucytuma lucytuma wrote:

The only way to truly know is to try it for yourself, every rifle is different and yours may love it or hate it. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 08:31
i dont use factory stuff, but from what ive heard, its like any other factory ammo. hit or miss in one rifle  to the next.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 09:14
Sounds about like I expected. Aside from accuracy considerations I was also curious if anyone could substantiate or deny hornady's claim of increased velocity without any additional recoil, pressure and muzzle blast...that part always seemed to defy conventional wisdom to me but I suppose its possible.
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 09:15
yeah you get some increase, but as far as i know its pretty hard to not increase recoil if your increasing  speed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 09:18
That's what I assumed as well, but certainly not what hornady is advertising 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote pyro6999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 09:19
i dont know first hand, but to me they are defying the laws of physics if they can do that.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote EchoWhiskeyOne Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 11:54
Originally posted by mlv2k5 mlv2k5 wrote:

Sounds about like I expected. Aside from accuracy considerations I was also curious if anyone could substantiate or deny hornady's claim of increased velocity without any additional recoil, pressure and muzzle blast...that part always seemed to defy conventional wisdom to me but I suppose its possible.
 
Accuracy wise, I had HORRIBLE results with the Superformance in my .270...like the fella above, I was getting groups just smaller than a soccer ball out of it!  They were 140gr SST Interlocks, FWIW.
 
As far as Hornady's claim of no added pressure or recoil, in my experience, that's a total FLOP!  My .270, with that Superformance crap in it, was kicking dang near as hard as my .300 WSM with standard ammo pumping through it.  That is no exaggeration...
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From all the advertisements that the superperformance has I'm not sure i want to put brass with a rocket booster on it in my gun anywayBucky
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 12:13
They are not defying physics.  You CAN increase speed without noticeably increasing felt recoil by controlling the rate of combustion of the powder, creating a more gradual pressure curve over a longer length of time as the bullet travels down the barrel as opposed to having a spike in peak pressure.  It's a matter of tweaking a duplex powder blend to carefully match the burn rate with the case capacity, bullet used, and typical barrel lengths for the cartridge. 
 
The amount of recoil energy is the force equal to the change in backward momentum of the gun during firing...which is equal to the mass of the gun times its velocity...which is equal to the mass of the ejecta (mass of bullet plus expanding gases) times the forward velocity of the ejecta.  FELT recoil is a bit different in that it involves the acceleration or rate of change in rearward velocity of the gun against the shooter over time.  So, if the total recoil energy is at a lower acceleration or spread out over a longer period of time, the shooter perceives the gun as having less recoil than if the recoil was spread over a shorter period of time (higher acceleration).  If peak pressure builds more gradually (spread out over a longer period of time), then the gun will accelerate rearward less "sharply" even though the total recoil energy is the same.
 
In reality, the gain in velocity is probably not enough for many shooters to feel a noticeable recoil difference anyway, so it's a wash.
 
As with all ammunition, factory or reloads, you can't generalize and say it will always shoot well in all rifles.  It will shoot well in some rifles and not in others.  A rifle is like a giant tuning fork, and precision is a function of tuning rifle and load so the end of the muzzle is sitting in approximately the same spot in space each time the bullet exits the muzzle as the barrel oscillates during firing. 


Edited by RifleDude - March/30/2011 at 12:18
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tip69 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 13:18
Nice job Ted!  I was pretty sure it could be done, but noway in hell could have xplained it like you did!!
take em!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 17:05
Thank you for the very well written explanation Ted. I agree that ammunition performance as well as recoil varies with individual rifles. However it is fairly accepted that some brands and specific loadings are more consistent and effective than others. 

For example, I doubt very many people have had "bad" results with Federal Gold Match 168 gr. HPBT rounds in .308 caliber. Although it may not be the best loading for an individual firearm that particular round simply tends to shoot well for MOST firearms. Of course there are always exceptions, but in general the performance seems to be uniformly good. I assume this is due to tight manufacturing standards among other things.

I suppose my question was not "will superformance rounds shoot well in my rifle?" The answer to that will depend on the rifle, and more importantly on my ability as a shooter. Instead I am primarily interested in whether any of you with experience can speak to the success of superformance with regard to uniform pressures, velocities, reliability etc that ultimately translates into how well the round is "capable" of grouping outside of individual considerations for each firearm.

Also, if anyone has used these on game I would love to hear the results. Whitetails are not particularly tough creatures in my mind, but I would be interested to hear whether these rounds had a tendency to exit the body, stay in the wound cavity, fragment upon impact etc.

Obviously to really find the answer I should just shoot a few boxes through my various rifles and see for myself, but I was just curious what other people had to say since I am not ready to buy another shipment of ammo yet.





-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 17:15
Ya, what Ted said.Big Grin
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RifleDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 17:33
MLV,
 
FWIW, I tried a box of Superformance in my .300 Win Mag (180 gr. SST) a couple weeks ago, and it shot very well in my rifle -- around .5 MOA.  I didn't chrono it, because I tested it out at my deer lease and I didn't have my chrono at the time.  I just bought the box on a whim when I stopped by a gun store on my way out there and wanted to see how it shot in my rifle.  I typically don't use factory ammo much except in rimfires and pistols.  The next time I head out to the range, I'll try to remember to chrono the stuff.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steelbenz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/30/2011 at 21:58
Ted, it will chrono more or less as advertised. I try some in my .308 the 178s the shot well but the es and the sd was not even close to my hand loads.  FYI what Ted is telling you is Hornady Blends all their Super performance stuff, they may have forty different blends depending on caliber, bullet weight.  You cant go out an grab the powder off the shelf and think you can get the same results with the same weight bullets.  I chrono'ed their stuff at 2775fps with 178s, my hand loads with CCI-250s chrono's at 2770.  Not enough to do back flips over.  My ES was 11fps an AS was 3.5fps.  I'll stick to my hand loads.
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote saitotiktmdog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/31/2011 at 09:07

I had really bad results with these. Two duds out of six, and they would not group. I was shooting probably 8 inches at 200 yards. Factory winchester 180 grains did 3 inches. Reloads right about an inch. Its a savage .30-06

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/31/2011 at 13:07
Good to hear everyone's individual experiences. From what everyone has said so far it seems like Ted was right on the money and that there is a pretty wild variation in performance depending on whose rifle the rounds are fired through.
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tman1965 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March/31/2011 at 15:01
Originally posted by RifleDude RifleDude wrote:

They are not defying physics.  You CAN increase speed without noticeably increasing felt recoil by controlling the rate of combustion of the powder, creating a more gradual pressure curve over a longer length of time as the bullet travels down the barrel as opposed to having a spike in peak pressure.  It's a matter of tweaking a duplex powder blend to carefully match the burn rate with the case capacity, bullet used, and typical barrel lengths for the cartridge. 
 
The amount of recoil energy is the force equal to the change in backward momentum of the gun during firing...which is equal to the mass of the gun times its velocity...which is equal to the mass of the ejecta (mass of bullet plus expanding gases) times the forward velocity of the ejecta.  FELT recoil is a bit different in that it involves the acceleration or rate of change in rearward velocity of the gun against the shooter over time.  So, if the total recoil energy is at a lower acceleration or spread out over a longer period of time, the shooter perceives the gun as having less recoil than if the recoil was spread over a shorter period of time (higher acceleration).  If peak pressure builds more gradually (spread out over a longer period of time), then the gun will accelerate rearward less "sharply" even though the total recoil energy is the same.
 
In reality, the gain in velocity is probably not enough for many shooters to feel a noticeable recoil difference anyway, so it's a wash.
 
As with all ammunition, factory or reloads, you can't generalize and say it will always shoot well in all rifles.  It will shoot well in some rifles and not in others.  A rifle is like a giant tuning fork, and precision is a function of tuning rifle and load so the end of the muzzle is sitting in approximately the same spot in space each time the bullet exits the muzzle as the barrel oscillates during firing. 
I don't think Dave Emary himself could have explained that any better!! ExcellentExcellent
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