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Posted: 5/11/2014 4:33:10 PM EDT
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I purchased some Hornady Superformance 223 75 grain not realizing that it was not recommended to be shot in carbine length or mid-length gas systems. I shot 20 rounds today through my carbine, anticipating to have some blown primers. Fortunately all 20 rounds were shot with no problems.
So what problems should I anticipate, or look out for? |
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I called an spoke to Hornady about 6 months ago. I had ordered 1000 rounds of the Superformance 5.56 loadings and heard that it could cause issues.
They told me that ever since 2013 they have been shipping a new formulation that works great with everything except suppressed rifles. So if yours was made from mid 2013 to present I would shoot it proudly. |
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Quoted:
I called an spoke to Hornady about 6 months ago. I had ordered 1000 rounds of the Superformance 5.56 loadings and heard that it could cause issues. They told me that ever since 2013 they have been shipping a new formulation that works great with everything except suppressed rifles. So if yours was made from mid 2013 to present I would shoot it proudly. Well that's good to know. Accuracy seemed pretty decent for me, although I was just shooting at 50 yrds |
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I posted this as reply to one of the other superformance discussions. It was specifically about the 5.56 flavor of the load you have. I would suspect you'd have slighty less issues with the .223 flavor but even then I'd be leery.
As to them claiming they changed the powder I really question that. Pressure=fps, and no way to get around it. If it's still the same fps stated on both boxes your still going to see issues. Also I'll add the .223 flavor if I remember correctly had the T1 bullet and not the T2c like the 5.56 has. Most of the good ballistic reports from hornady 75gr bullets come from the T2c bullet. I suspect the T1 bullet would be adequate. Just some info. You can look up the pics of the different bullets and get an idea what pill they shove in that load from the ogive shape. Lots of people are unaware hornady has two completely different 75gr bullets. One secant ogive one tangent. Quoted:
Safe? sure. (Unless you have a supressor). Smart? That's debatable. It's going to be harder on your gun than any other factory round. Is that worth the extra 200 ish fps? I'd say no. Popped primers can stop up guns, that's something that can happen with these rounds. It's like shooting 255gr +p+ hard cast in my gold cup. The gun can handle it. Sure the frame will take a beating but a mag or two ain't gonna kill it. What's the point though. The pins fly just fine with 230gr ball. I see this round as a fantasy round for a lot of guys. They read the package see the extra fps and think "man I can get 50 yards more range out if gun XYZ". Ok so your pushing 650 ish yards? I see issues with this. A. So within real usable distances under 300 yards it is not any better then a conventional load for all its bluster and pressure. It's true usability lies in its extreme 600+ yard range. That's why it exists. If you use it as a go to round i got to assume you think you'll be shooting at that distance. B. Outside of a true hardcore SHTF basment dweller wet dream come true situation when would a person legally be within his rights to engage a target past 100 yards, and I'm giving you a lot. 50 yards is pushing it. C. can YOU even shoot that far? I know I can't. Don't have any weapons capable of it from a optics standpoint alone. Nor do I have a range with that distance available easy enough to make me a proficient enough shooter to be able to use a system capable of 500+ yard shots should that wet dream SHTF situation happen. D. The 5.56 superformance round by all reports is a 2moa round at best. Average of 3moa. 18 inch groups at 600 yards barely keeps you on a torso. You wanna engage targets at a legaly questionable distance AND be inaccurate doing it. E. A .308 would be waaaay better if you really do have the need to engage targets that far out. F. Even in SHTF fantasy land you have problems. You wanna use a round that hard on a gun for a limited replacement parts availability situation. If the world turns into "the road" I'd like a gun that would last past the next year. |
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While this 75gr superformance is not my favorite, it is far from being my least favorite. I bought several cases of it, it shoots better than any M193 or M855 in my rifles. It may be a little harder on a rifle, I have noticed nary a problem. I wouldn't advise shooting it as a steady diet ammo, but is no harder on rifle gas weapons/bolt guns than many military loads. If you can afford shooting high$ match ammo steadily, you can afford parts changes.
I have seen no difference in shooting the .223 or 5.56, the projectiles appear to be the same <SEE EDIT BELOW> (they appear to be the same as my older TAP projectiles in 75gr). Even though Hornady calls it MATCH and they use MATCH components, it does not shoot like any of my true MATCH ammo. The powder has a longer duration burn, it does not exceed SAAMI spec in pressure, but it has the longer peak. I have personally seen no punched primers, but have seen slight flattening and extractor swipe in some weapons (pics). I load my ammo hot, this is about right for my use. Some claim 1MOA, I have seen 1.5-2 moa by several shooters- which is plenty fine for little piggies. I use Black Hills ammo for my benchmark, this ammo does not shoot as well, but it does carry a lot of energy. I've shot it in a few 18-20" ARs, and at least one 16" middy, no excessive pressure signs in my weapons. Hornady did show a goal more towards energy over pure accuracy, yet it still shoots under 2moa in many weapons. With near 200fps higher velocity, this is a fair increase in energy (roughly equivalent to 4+" more barrel length). If you look closely, the .223 has higher velocity listed than does the 5.56 in this ammo (due to test barrel being 24" opposed to 20"). Hornady pushed the envelope on this ammo- and like everything else, it is not for everyone. I would not advise it's use in carbines- I have no problem with this. The T2 bullet bullet used is deadly on hogs. Again, it seems like a risky decision by Hornady to use this slow of a powder for production ammo without properly labeling the box. I knew what I was buying and bought a couple cases more after shooting it. Hornady says they sell quite a bit of it, many people tend to like it. EDIT-> I spent a good while on the phone with a Hornady tech this afternoon. I think we both confused each other, was told the 5.56 load uses the T2 bullet. But then was told the .223 uses the T2 bullet also. The TAP load shows a BC of .355 while both SF Match (223/556 -75G) show a BC of .395. When I asked about if the same bullet used in both, why the difference in BC?? He explained due to the velocity, the BC changes. I've seen charts and studied ballistics for years, I understand any bullets BC changes at different speeds. Speed kills (only when coupled with a good hit). Again, this ammo is not a great fit for everyone, what is? They sell a lot of it, continued with it's production while suspending some others. It works well for many, but not all. We can vote with our purchases (or not). Hornady SF page with info |
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Quoted:
Were they flat or show ejector swiping? signs of pressure? The primers and casings looked just like the 5.56 IMG I was shooting that day. I can take pictures if you want to look at something specific comparing the Hornady casings to the IMG casings. I collect my spent casings so I can eventually get into reloading. |
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