Interested to find out how the new Hornady Super Performance factory loads will stand up to terminal ballistics testing. At first I thought this new factory load (available in many common centerfire calibers) was just marketing hype. However, I have talked with multiple guys at my local range who are trying this ammo, and all are extremely impressed with it. First of all, the claims that it increases velocity by 100 to 200 fps seem generally true. Second, there is no discernible increase in muzzle blast or recoil versus comparable loads (I verified this by firing a .30-06 load in a friend’s Tikka T3, which is a light rifle so you can really tell if the recoil increases sharply between different loads). In addition to the increased velocity, everyone I talked to was also getting impressive accuracy from these factory loads. One friend said: “I can’t get results better than this with my best handloads. It makes me wonder why I waste my time.”
To be clear, I don’t know that these loads really ARE this great, just reporting what I’ve seen and heard so far. The load I’m especially interested in, and planning to try myself, is the .308 178gr BTHP match.
It would interesting to see what the terminal ballistics are like on this particular load. It definitely retains a lot of energy down range. Here are the numbers Hornady reports:
Is your opinion that the performance is increased (particularly regarding velocity increase) verified by actual chronograph testing? Next, while claims may be made that recoil is not increased, that would appear to be physically impossible, unless Hornady has been able to negate Newton’s Laws of Motion.
What kind of gun are you intending on shooting this load in? If a M1, is this ammo compatible with an M1’s gas system constraints?
About the recoil, if Hornady has made a better progressive powder and increased the area under the curve w/o increasing the peak, then recoil wouldn’t go up.
Two guys at my range, one shooting a Rem 7mm magnum, another shooting a .30-06, verified that the velocity increases were in the range of what was advertised. I watched the guy with the .30-06 chrony the load, and then fired it myself from his Tikka T3. So yes, I tend to believe that aspect of the manufacturer’s claim.
As for recoil, Wayne you are right that with greater velocity one would expect an actual measurable increase in the recoil velocity/energy, if you ran the numbers. I was simply stating that from a subjective shooter’s perspective, there was no “discernible increase” in recoil (that is, FELT recoil). In other words, whatever actual and measurable increase in recoil may exist, did not seem significant or even noticeable.
As for Jmart’s post about Hornady’s powder that “increased the area under the curve w/o increasing the peak”, which is supposed to keep the recoil from increasing, I have read that on Hornady’s site (see a basic explanation at http://www.hornady.com/store/Superformance). That sounds plausible, but whether the measurable recoil actually increases or not, what I DO know is that the perceived increase in recoil is virtually nil, either way.
I don’t know if the claims for this ammo will hold up. But it does look pretty interesting, looking forward to trying out the 178gr BTHP .308 load.
They are saying the pressure remains the same even though the powder allows up to 200FPS more velocity.
Ive shot a couple boxes of the SP ammo, and to me it didn’t really kick any worse than anything else with the same weight of ammo. Im shoot an LMT MWS.
I wish they would come out with a 556 load using this powder. Id like a 75 or 77 grain bullet at 2900FPS out of a 16" barrel…
“One shooter reported 2820 fps from a 26″ barrel, while Hornady claims 2775 fps from a SAAMI-spec 24” test barrel.”
"With a 0.530 BC bullet moving around 2800 fps, the new Superformance™ ammo offers impressive ballistic performance — better than many reloaders may be able to achieve with their handloads. Accuracy has been very good also, according to Hornady Engineer, Joe Thielen, due in no small part to bullet design: “The new 178 grain BTHP Match bullet was purpose-built, and optimized specifically for the .308 Winchester chamber. It features an aggressive ogive as well as an extremely efficient boat tail that makes this projectile highly effective aerodynamically, [with] less wind drift and … flatter trajectories. Accuracy results were excellent. We shot a .680″ group at 200 yards with our test equipment, and field tests out to 1250 yards yielded 8″ groups (8 inches at 1250 yards is 0.611 MOA).”
The 178gr Superformance .308 ammunition should stay supersonic to approximately 1,275 yards. That’s a lot farther than any other factory .308 load for 175-180gr bullets. The ability to stay supersonic well past 1000 yards is a boone to long-range .308 shooters."
"Here is how Hornady has achieved high velocities with its new Superformance ammunition:
Superformance ammo uses advanced new Ball Powders (not yet for sale).
The powders are BLENDED, with different “recipes” for different cartridges.
The new powders maintain high-energy longer in barrel (like Reloder 17).
The new powders burn almost completely, reducing ejecta, for less exit pressure, and less felt recoil.
Superformance ball propellants pack very densely, so more grains of powder can fit inside a case, compared to typical extruded stick powders."
Hornady marketed/carried something similar to this several years ago, Light Magnum. I don’t know if that was in production continuously and this is just LM renamed or if LM stood down for awhile and this is replacing it. I don’t think they ever had a .223 rem LM laod, it was geared more for the hunting cartridges, e.g., turn your 30-06 into a 300 Win Mag, restore some performance to anemically loaded milsurp cartridges (6.5 Swede, etc.)
I shot a couple of 178 gr SP rounds through a friend’s .308 bolt gun. It seemed to recoil more than the Federal 175 grain SMKs that I was shooting. It was not punishing, but we both felt a difference.
I’ve heard reports on sniper’s hide that Hornady warns against the use in a gas gun. However, one ad said the load was safe in all types of weapons. Does anyone have significant experience with SP loads in a .308 AR. I believe that one thread had a few rounds through a SR25-EMC without blown primers.
I didn’t have any issues in my MWS, and I have a few more boxes coming + with the left over I had before.
I will say the Black Hills 168SMK shot a lot better than either the SP 150 SST or the 165 GMX. I was only getting about 2" groups with it at best.
I just bought some other pricey loads in 308 to test out, too. Remington match, Black Hills 175, Black Hills A-Max, SP 178, ect. I was sorta planning to do an informal accuracy evaluation with various loads from German DAG up to the pricey stuff.
I think Hornady is staking the primers in these loads to keep the leaking/blown primers to a minimum. I hope the newest lot is accurate and runs fine in gas guns, because I would but a bunch of this stuff.
The article is pretty detailed but I noticed they said the following, about halfway through:
“It is recommended that to get the best functioning with Superformance ammunition in gas operated/gas piston semi-automatic or select fire guns, rifle length gas systems with 20 inch or longer barrel lengths are best for reliable firing and extraction. Any other configuration, particularly shorter barrels/gas systems are best served with the installation of an adjustable gas system, ESPECIALLY if a suppressor is to be installed.”
