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Posted: 2/3/2016 6:27:36 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Molon][Edited]
Hornady 5.56mm 62 Grain TAP Barrier Ammunition
Hornady’s 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition (#8125N) is loaded with a 62 grain flat-base, soft-point bullet with a cannelure. This bullet has the largest amount of exposed lead at the meplat of any of the soft-point barrier-blind loads that I’ve evaluated. 
Contrary to erroneous information that has been posted on the Internet, the bullet used in this ammunition is not a bonded projectile. 
The case mouth is crimped and has an anaerobic sealant. 
The primer pockets of this ammunition are crimped and have lacquer sealant. The case-heads read, “Hornady 5.56 NATO”. Hornady advertises that the ball powder used in this ammunition is temperature stabilized and has a flash retardant. The box label carries a warning that this ammunition is "NOT FOR USE IN .223 CHAMBERS". 
Hornady advertises that this ammunition has a muzzle velocity of 3078 FPS when fired from a 20” 5.56x45mm NATO test barrel. For comparison, the US mil-spec for the velocity of M855 ammunition is as follows: MIL-C-63989C [Amendment 4] states that the average velocity of the cartridges “shall be 3,020 feet per second (fps) plus or minus 40 fps at 78 feet from the muzzle of the weapon. The standard deviation of the velocity shall not exceed 40 fps.” This specification is for a 20” barrel and depending upon variables equates to a muzzle velocity of approximately 3105 FPS (plus or minus 40 FPS.) As an aside, after reading the above specification, some of you may be wondering, “Why 78 feet from the muzzle?” The answer to that question is that this specification is simply an historical hold-over from the days when “circuit” chronographs (e.g. Le Boulenge Chronograph and the Aberdeen Chronograph) were used at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Frankford Arsenal and Springfield Armory. These types of chronographs required a significant distance between their first and second screens to produce accurate results. As an example, when using the Boulenge Chronograph, the first screen of the chronograph was placed 3 feet in front of the muzzle and the second screen was placed 150 feet beyond the first screen. For those of you who might not be aware of the following fact; chronographs determine the velocity of the bullet at a point that is midway between the first and the second screen (i.e. not at the location of the first screen). Therefore, with the above spacing, the velocity of the bullet is determined for a point that is 75 feet from the first screen. So, add the three feet (from the muzzle to the first screen) to the 75 feet (the midway point of the screens) to obtain the “78 feet from the muzzle” distance. 
I chronographed the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition from a semi-automatic AR-15 with a chrome-lined, NATO chambered 20” Colt M16A2 barrel. 
Chronographing was conducted using an Oehler 35-P chronograph with “proof screen” technology. The Oehler 35P chronograph is actually two chronographs in one package that takes two separate chronograph readings for each shot and then has its onboard computer analyze the data to determine if there is any statistically significant difference between the two readings. If there is a difference, the chronograph “flags” the shot to let you know that the data is invalid. There was no invalid data flagged during this testing. The velocity stated below is the muzzle velocity as calculated from the instrumental velocity using Oehler’s Ballistic Explorer software program. The string of fire consisted of 10 rounds over the chronograph. 
Each round was single-loaded and cycled into the chamber from a magazine fitted with a single-load follower. The bolt locked-back after each shot allowing the chamber to cool in between each shot. This technique was used to mitigate the possible influence of “chamber-soak” on velocity data. Each new shot was fired in a consistent manner after hitting the bolt release. Atmospheric conditions were monitored and recorded using a Kestrel 4000 Pocket Weather Tracker. 
Atmospheric conditions Temperature: 78 degrees F Humidity: 54% Barometric pressure: 29.99 inches of Hg Elevation: 950 feet above sea level The muzzle velocity for the 10-shot string of the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition fired from the 20” Colt barrel was 3069 FPS with a standard deviation of 18 FPS and a coefficient of variation of 0.58%. .... I conducted an accuracy (technically, precision) evaluation of the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition following my usual protocol. This accuracy evaluation used statistically significant shot-group sizes and every single shot in a fired group was included in the measurements. There was absolutely no use of any group reduction techniques (e.g. fliers, target movement, Butterfly Shots). The shooting set-up will be described in detail below. As many of the significant variables as was practicable were controlled for. Also, a control group was fired from the test-rifle used in the evaluation using match-grade, hand-loaded ammunition; in order to demonstrate the capability of the barrel. Pictures of shot-groups are posted for documentation. All shooting was conducted from a concrete bench-rest from a distance of 100 yards (confirmed with a laser rangefinder.) The barrel used in the evaluation was free-floated. The free-float handguards of the rifle rested in a Sinclair Windage Benchrest, while the stock of the rifle rested in a Protektor bunny-ear rear bag. Sighting was accomplished via a Leupold VARI-X III set at 25X magnification and adjusted to be parallax-free at 100 yards. A mirage shade was attached to the objective-bell of the scope. Wind conditions on the shooting range were continuously monitored using a Wind Probe. The set-up was very similar to that pictured below. 
The Wind Probe. 
The test vehicle for this evaluation was one of my semi-automatic precision AR-15s with a 20” stainless-steel Lothar Walther barrel. The barrel has a 223 Wylde chamber with a 1:8” twist. 
Prior to firing the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition, I fired a 10-shot control group using a hand-load topped with the Hornady 73 grain A-MAX bullet. That group had an extreme spread of 0.82”. 
Three 10-shot groups of the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier ammunition were fired in a row with the resulting extreme spreads: 1.79” 1.23” 2.44” for a 10-shot group average extreme spread of 1.82”. The three 10-shot groups were over-layed on each other using RSI Shooting Lab to form a 30-shot composite group. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.55”. The smallest 10-shot group. 
The 30-shot composite group. 
….. Range Dog awaiting departure. 
.... |
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Interesting results from a barrier round. I always tought true barrier ammunition was bonded, but I guess not.
Thanks for posting this, Molon My "Molon Effect" ammo budget it all TAPped out from last month... 
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Certified Sig Armorer-Classic Pistols
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| Fat finger mistake, and I edited my post while you were quoting me. |
NRA Benefactor Member, Veteran; US Army 5th Corps 1970-1972
The only time in my life when I got to Rock-N-Roll, and the ammo was free!!
(Avatar is the Unit's shoulder patch)
The only time in my life when I got to Rock-N-Roll, and the ammo was free!!
(Avatar is the Unit's shoulder patch)
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Originally Posted By Molon:
For Inquiring Minds  . . .
https://app.box.com/shared/static/lh2jpl3iw29jn3zfca39g7o3dxgwr636.jpg https://app.box.com/shared/static/gct296wjzbqnv5i8zew68awqpet43h4j.jpg .... AR15 Mag length A-MAX ?...... Better question is, does Hornady still produce them ? Sorry..... that bullet is worth a whole different thread.
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*Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*
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JAFOM
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Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By bfoosh06:
AR15 Mag length A-MAX ?...... Affirmative. Better question is, does Hornady still produce them ? Unknown. Apparently..... I live under a rock. Completely unaware of that specific bullet. Wait.... why is this not a Hornady Factory load ? Judging by the box shown... the product # is earlier the 75gr BTHP, the 75gr A-Max, and the 80gr A-Max.... ( Not that I know that means anything. ) |
*Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*
JAFOM
JAFOM
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Originally Posted By bfoosh06:
Apparently..... I live under a rock. Completely unaware of that specific bullet. Wait.... why is this not a Hornady Factory load ? Excellent question. I think if Hornady could bring loaded ammunition with the 73 grain A-MAX to the market at a price-point that was less than what the loaded 77 grain TMK ammunition is going for, it would be competitive. .. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1:
Interesting. I chrono'd the .223 load at almost 300 fps slower : (  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MexIVrmbc
I chronographed the Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load from the same 20" Collt barrel used to chronograph the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier load that was evaluated for this thread. The Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. ... |
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Originally Posted By Molon: I chronographed the Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load from the same 20" Collt barrel used to chronograph the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier load that was evaluated for this thread. The Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. ... Originally Posted By Molon: Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1: Interesting. I chrono'd the .223 load at almost 300 fps slower : ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MexIVrmbcI chronographed the Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load from the same 20" Collt barrel used to chronograph the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier load that was evaluated for this thread. The Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. ... |
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Originally Posted By Molon:
Excellent question. I think if Hornady could bring loaded ammunition with the 73 grain A-MAX to the market at a price-point that was less than what the loaded 77 grain TMK ammunition is going for, it would be competitive. .. Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By bfoosh06:
Apparently..... I live under a rock. Completely unaware of that specific bullet. Wait.... why is this not a Hornady Factory load ? Excellent question. I think if Hornady could bring loaded ammunition with the 73 grain A-MAX to the market at a price-point that was less than what the loaded 77 grain TMK ammunition is going for, it would be competitive. .. since you brought it up, why would the 73gr amax be a better contender to the SMK TMK than the current TAP line with 75gr? those are pretty thin jackets all ready arent they? |
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Originally Posted By mr_h:
since you brought it up, why would the 73gr amax be a better contender to the SMK TMK than the current TAP line with 75gr? those are pretty thin jackets all ready arent they? Originally Posted By mr_h:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By bfoosh06:
Apparently..... I live under a rock. Completely unaware of that specific bullet. Wait.... why is this not a Hornady Factory load ? Excellent question. I think if Hornady could bring loaded ammunition with the 73 grain A-MAX to the market at a price-point that was less than what the loaded 77 grain TMK ammunition is going for, it would be competitive. .. since you brought it up, why would the 73gr amax be a better contender to the SMK TMK than the current TAP line with 75gr? those are pretty thin jackets all ready arent they? Good question.... given that the 75gr BTHP is mag length......The 73gr Amax shown, is reloadable to "mag-Length" use... the current 75GR Amax is not. I wonder what the BC on the 73gr shown would be. |
*Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*
JAFOM
JAFOM
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Tried to look that up, but I couldn't find the bullet on Hornady's website.
Found this on SnipersHide. Says they were a special run, sold only at Midsouth Shooters Supply, and that was a few years ago. |
Everyone please read this carefully. Eric802 is correct. - DK-Prof, 1/27/15
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Originally Posted By Eric802:
Tried to look that up, but I couldn't find the bullet on Hornady's website. That's 'cause you don't have the secret password. 
.. |
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Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1:
^^ Same day as your 5.56 test? You've got about 30°F on me. Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1:
Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Buffman_LT1:
Interesting. I chrono'd the .223 load at almost 300 fps slower : ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MexIVrmbc
I chronographed the Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load from the same 20" Collt barrel used to chronograph the Hornady 5.56mm 62 grain TAP Barrier load that was evaluated for this thread. The Hornady 223 Remington 62 grain TAP Barrier load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. ... ^^ Same day as your 5.56 test? You've got about 30°F on me. Not the same day, but I conduct all my chronographing for factory ammunition reviews at ambient temperatures of 70 - 80 degrees F. |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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Some comparative data . . .
Hornady 223 Remington 62 Grain TAP Barrier 
When chronographed from the 20" Colt barrel, this load had a muzzle velocity of 2931 FPS with a standard deviation of 14 FPS. A 10-shot group fired from my Lothar-Walther barreled AR-15 had an extreme spread of 1.84". 
.... |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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Originally Posted By snakeman48:
I always tought true barrier ammunition was bonded, but I guess not. Hornady went with a thicker jacket for this projectile. I would have liked to seen a bonded projectile, too. .. |
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Originally Posted By bfoosh06:
I wonder what the BC on the 73gr shown would be. I asked one of the Hornady techs that question. He found the drawing for it, but it didn't include the BC. ... |
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| Thank you again. It looks to me as if there isn't much difference in the probable effectiveness between the 5.56 and the 223 with the 62 grain bullet. I went ahead and got 4 boxes of the 5.56 fro Streichers but I don't see it listed now. I already had 4 boxes of the 223 and don't intend to mix them. |
Scouts Out
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Originally Posted By threefeathers:
Thank you again. It looks to me as if there isn't much difference in the probable effectiveness between the 5.56 and the 223 with the 62 grain bullet. I went ahead and got 4 boxes of the 5.56 fro Streichers but I don't see it listed now. I already had 4 boxes of the 223 and don't intend to mix them. Keep in mind that these loads have shown short penetration depth in gel after passing through auto safety glass. ... |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
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Originally Posted By Eric802:
Tried to look that up, but I couldn't find the bullet on Hornady's website. It's not uncommon for Hornady to produce special runs of projectiles that don't show up in their catalogs or on their websites. For example, I've not seen their 62 grain FMJ or 62 grain BTHP in a catalog or on their website as well as the aforementioned 73 grain A-MAX. .... |
All that is necessary for Trolls to flourish, is for good men to do nothing.
In God We Trust. Everyone else must post data.
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Originally Posted By Molon:
It's not uncommon for Hornady to produce special runs of projectiles that don't show up in their catalogs or on their websites. For example, I've not seen their 62 grain FMJ or 62 grain BTHP in a catalog or on their website as well as the aforementioned 73 grain A-MAX. .... Originally Posted By Molon:
Originally Posted By Eric802:
Tried to look that up, but I couldn't find the bullet on Hornady's website. It's not uncommon for Hornady to produce special runs of projectiles that don't show up in their catalogs or on their websites. For example, I've not seen their 62 grain FMJ or 62 grain BTHP in a catalog or on their website as well as the aforementioned 73 grain A-MAX. .... FWIW...... MidSouth Shooters Supply's web page shows a BC .280 for the Horn. 62gr BTHP. https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/001532276c250/22-caliber-point224-diameter-62-grain-bthp-with-cannelure-250-count |
*Hold on to your AR-15s. Their magic must be very powerful, or they wouldn’t want them.*
JAFOM.... Just another fat old man.
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