whats the deal with hornady factory ammo

Mr. Outdoors

Mr. Outdoors

Member
What is the deal i went to the range last week starting to work up a load for my 204. Brought some hornady factory ammo just to test for speed then went to the reloaded. Out of the factory hornady 40gr. advertised at 3900fps and the factory came in at 3650fps. Has anyone else experienced this in any of the other factory rounds. I suspect its with any factory round not being up to what they say they are. Im sure this has been discussed before, but I hope with more discussions that take place in the public that the factories would take notice, give people what they pay for! This is the reason i bought a reloading rig to do it myself. Not everyone has this option. I would like to hear what others think.
 
Most advertised velocities are for 24" barrels. Also the ambient temperature can affect velocity. Additionally your exact chamber dimensions will change velocity slightly. What length is your barrel length?
 
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With a 26" barrel I would think you'd get better velocity. Usually 10 more feet per second so with a 26" barrel you should get 20 more feet per second.
 
I've seen your observation raised time and time again and for many many years. What the manufacturers aren't telling you is what weapon they used to obtains those velocities (not to mention some just pump the numbers for sales).
 
250 fps slower than advertised...

Sure every gun/barrel is different, and atmospheric coditions change. But those are minor differences and won't even come close to making up 250 fps no way. "Most" advertised rifle ammo velocities are BS. They're usually slower than what the box says. Been that way as long as I've been shooting, and I only own 26" centerfire rifles.
 
I'd be more concerned that the bullets are consistant at the way your measuring FPS.. I'd also like to think there not running out the back door shootin thru a 100 dollar crony. DANG!
 
The velocity observation was made when the .204 first came out by a couple of gun article writers....except the difference wasn't as great as what you are reporting...

Hornady was advertising 4100fps on the 32gr and 3900fps on the 40gr and the writers were recording 150-200fps less..

I asked a friend of mine that works at Sierra Bullets about the difference and even took a tour of the plant, where I got to see their underground test range...

The barrel/action they use for testing is a far cry from what you normally ever get to put your hands on, in very stable conditions, and probably much smoother than most lapped barrels...Considering the various measurement devices, I'm sure they are much more accurate as well as precisely located...

I know that when I go to the range and set up a chrono, I can measure approximate distances and by the time I get the tri-pod firmed up, etc., I may have moved it farther or closer to the muzzle....Theirs is anchored in a fixed location on a 'rail'...

Think of the difference between a "Stock" class NASCAR engine and one off of the show room floor...
grin.gif


I figure that if I work up a load that puts all of the rounds in a touching five shot group... I'm good to go...I've almost never achieved that out of factory centerfire ammo though..
 
This is the kind of controversy I was looking for. Thank you all! This is how we get results. Make enough noise with enough people, get human emotion involved with an issue and things will change. And people will someday get what they pay for. Misson accomplished.
 
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You will find the same thing in reloading manuals. You probably wont get the advertised velocities with your loads. There are a lot of variables. You could load some up and post your results then I could load the same load and shoot it. The velocities more than likely wont be the same. I personally dont try to shoot fast. I try to get accuracy. I have found most accurate loads are short of the max loads.
 
Yesterday, I shot 10 rounds out of a box of TAP that I forgot I had. It clocked 56fps faster than advertised and a .410" 5 shot group.......
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleThe velocity observation was made when the .204 first came out by a couple of gun article writers....except the difference wasn't as great as what you are reporting...

Hornady was advertising 4100fps on the 32gr and 3900fps on the 40gr and the writers were recording 150-200fps less..

I asked a friend of mine that works at Sierra Bullets about the difference and even took a tour of the plant, where I got to see their underground test range...

The barrel/action they use for testing is a far cry from what you normally ever get to put your hands on, in very stable conditions, and probably much smoother than most lapped barrels...Considering the various measurement devices, I'm sure they are much more accurate as well as precisely located...

I know that when I go to the range and set up a chrono, I can measure approximate distances and by the time I get the tri-pod firmed up, etc., I may have moved it farther or closer to the muzzle....Theirs is anchored in a fixed location on a 'rail'...

Think of the difference between a "Stock" class NASCAR engine and one off of the show room floor...
grin.gif


I figure that if I work up a load that puts all of the rounds in a touching five shot group... I'm good to go...I've almost never achieved that out of factory centerfire ammo though.. If they're testing their loads on a truly unique one-of-a-kind gun that ZERO of their intended customers would ever use, and then publishing the velocity on the box... What's the point? "Nobody" will be able to reproduce their testing conditions. "Nobody" will see the advertised velocity from their conventional rifles, not even with a custom rifle/barrel. Don't you think that's VERY misleading? Basically they're putting an almost impossible velocity on the box in order to sell more product, knowing full well none of their customers will actually get that velocity.
 
Being that Hornady is a member of SAAMI, it is unlikely that they are using anything other than SAAMI specified equipment for velocity testing. Those slick rigs that Sierra uses are for their internal quality control.

John
 
Like Old Turtle wrote,
most companies do not even use a regular rifle to fire and test ammo with, they are specialized barrel blanks locked into a solid position some are up to 28" or longer and are of a quality then is not obtainable in a standard rifle format. Some are even fired using electronic triggers, computers, etc...making some good velocity and the smallest little group sizes that you will ever see by eliminating the human factor for errors.
For each individual inch your barrel is shorter then a factory test barrel you can typicaly expect to loose around 200fps with most modern centerfires.
KOH
 
A quick check of the Hornady website does reveal the test barrel lengths. As far as electronic firing circuits; I just don't see how that will change velocity. What calibers have you noticed, that change by 200 fps per inch out at 22 inches and longer?
 
For each individual inch your barrel is shorter then a factory test barrel you can typicaly expect to loose around 200fps with most modern centerfires.
KOH
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Wrong, 50fps Max, ed
 
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