Hodgdon Powder has decided to release their SUPERFORMANCE Powder to the public. This is great news because we reloaders will now be able to duplicate the performance of Hornady's Superformance ammunition. That stuff is GOOD! Since this powder was developed it has been a Hornady exclusive to use in their Superformance Ammunition line and not available to other ammo manufacturers or the public.
I've been able to come close to the 'foot per second' perfomance of Hornady's Superformance ammo in some calibers in the past with a variety of available and applicable powders but not without pushing the absolute limits of pressure. Pushing the limits always makes me a little nervous for all of the obvious reasons such as temperature differentials, case differentials and differences in chambers and throats. A hot load that works fine on a nice 40 degree day here in Arkansas at the range can become a dangerously hot load on a 100 degree day in a South Dakota prairie dog town. One hot load that works fine in my 4x4 might be the one that could disintegrate my 700 Rem. These are just a couple of reasons why I don't like to push the limits.
I want to get all of the performance, accuracy and velocity possible in a load while keeping everything safe to shoot in any firearm chambered for that particular caliber. Having access to this 'super powder' will sure make my job a lot easier and safer. I'll be able to pull some bullets out of some factory 'SUPERS', weigh the charge, use the same primer and case and seat the same bullet at Hornady's designated C.O.L. and presto, I'll have brand new, home made Superformance ammo! OK, before I get any hate mail, I'll back off the charge a grain or so and work up the load to Hornady's charge weight to be on the safe side. One of the greatest reasons that I'm excited about this powder is that it is all most completely insensitive to temperature changes. It performs the same on a -10 degree day chasing coyotes as it does on a 103 degree day busting prairie dogs. That's a pretty neat trick, I must say!
I've used quite a bit of Superformance ammo in several calibers and always found it to be exceptional ammo. In my 25.06 4x4 I chronographed several rounds. The average FPS out of my piece is actually 65 FPS higher than Hornady's advertised velocity, with no signs of excess pressure, and with only a 19 FPS extreme spread from fastest to slowest. This is impressive to actually get more fps than advertised with hardly any velocity spread and trust me, this is not the norm. In most of my tests, actual FPS on factory ammo is significantly lower than advertised. FYI; My M700V Rem, with the same barrel length, shoots this same load well over 100 FPS slower than my 4x4. Go figure!
I just thought that you 'loaders' would want to hear this 'news'.
Ol' Fussy
I've been able to come close to the 'foot per second' perfomance of Hornady's Superformance ammo in some calibers in the past with a variety of available and applicable powders but not without pushing the absolute limits of pressure. Pushing the limits always makes me a little nervous for all of the obvious reasons such as temperature differentials, case differentials and differences in chambers and throats. A hot load that works fine on a nice 40 degree day here in Arkansas at the range can become a dangerously hot load on a 100 degree day in a South Dakota prairie dog town. One hot load that works fine in my 4x4 might be the one that could disintegrate my 700 Rem. These are just a couple of reasons why I don't like to push the limits.
I want to get all of the performance, accuracy and velocity possible in a load while keeping everything safe to shoot in any firearm chambered for that particular caliber. Having access to this 'super powder' will sure make my job a lot easier and safer. I'll be able to pull some bullets out of some factory 'SUPERS', weigh the charge, use the same primer and case and seat the same bullet at Hornady's designated C.O.L. and presto, I'll have brand new, home made Superformance ammo! OK, before I get any hate mail, I'll back off the charge a grain or so and work up the load to Hornady's charge weight to be on the safe side. One of the greatest reasons that I'm excited about this powder is that it is all most completely insensitive to temperature changes. It performs the same on a -10 degree day chasing coyotes as it does on a 103 degree day busting prairie dogs. That's a pretty neat trick, I must say!
I've used quite a bit of Superformance ammo in several calibers and always found it to be exceptional ammo. In my 25.06 4x4 I chronographed several rounds. The average FPS out of my piece is actually 65 FPS higher than Hornady's advertised velocity, with no signs of excess pressure, and with only a 19 FPS extreme spread from fastest to slowest. This is impressive to actually get more fps than advertised with hardly any velocity spread and trust me, this is not the norm. In most of my tests, actual FPS on factory ammo is significantly lower than advertised. FYI; My M700V Rem, with the same barrel length, shoots this same load well over 100 FPS slower than my 4x4. Go figure!
I just thought that you 'loaders' would want to hear this 'news'.
Ol' Fussy