This has to be one of my favourite video's that you have done. Guest did an excellent job of answering your questions. Should have him back when you get your 7mm PRC
The guy from Hornady is Ses? I think a much better intro would be better, just saying. More like the most articulate bullet speak since I used to talk with Walt Berger years ago. Great info for new and old shooters/handloaders/hunters. I always liked Hornady 60gr sp for my custom .223. Awesome consistency. All of their bullets in my experience can be very accurate.
I have really enjoyed this gentleman for past few years. Very sharp guy. Sober & serious with a skill to communicate even complicated aspects of the industry in a way that most everyone can easily understand. I have gained quite a bit of knowledge and confidence from him and others at Hornady. And I have gained a greater respect for him/them and the company/product because of it. Thank you for bringing this to us.
I could listen to this guy talk all day. He definitely knows his stuff. He’s straight to the point and even uses examples to help explain his points of view and knowledge
1. 0:05 Why are there so many new cartridges? 2. 2:15 For the average shooter, what practical difference will someone see with a new cartridge? 3. 3:28 What can you tell us about 7 PRC? 4. 3:54 What difference does shoulder angle make, and how do you decide what shoulder angle to use? 5. 5:57 Why does the industry cater to competitive shooters over hunters? 6. 8:19 What cartridge would you choose to maximize first shot hit probability for a single 400 yard shot? 6b. 8:59 What caliber if that target is an elk? 7. 9:08 What hunting bullet would you choose if it's the only bullet you could ever hunt with again? 8. 9:48 Why would you choose a specific Hornady hunting bullet over another? 9. 12:48 What should handloaders do you maximize effectiveness of a shorter barrel? 10. 15:20 What makes a bullet design more or less forgiving? 11. 18:33 Is there an accuracy standard for the bullets that Hornady makes? 20:59 "Alright, I'm gonna stop my recording now."
What a fantastic informative interview with a guy who obviously knows his stuff and great credos to Hornady and him for not being frightened to put it out there. I’ll certainly look for their podcasts. Your videos are some of the best out there. Look forward to more
Great video! I shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor Tikka CTR 20 inch barrel with Hornady Eld-X bullets hand loaded mag length and they are extremely accurate and do great on deer. Most accurate combo I've ever shot in my life.
One of the most educational videos I've watched in years. So much useful information about bullets in such a short time. As a reloader this helps me a ton as my understanding of Hornadys product offering is now 10 fold. Thanks guys! I will definatly checkout Hornady podcast.
This is a good video and was very informative. It makes me really appreciate the fact that my Savage Model 11 deer rifle shoots the lowly and inexpensive cup and core Winchester Power Point bullets into 1 inch groups. This ammo has been in continuous production for over 50 years.
Excellent interview. Yes, developing the most accurate bullet in competition has bled over into hunting. I dare say it has pushed progress in both areas, and also in self-defense and target, just by knowledge gained.
People can complain about the new cartridges and I understand that the older cartridges got the job done. The only modern round I own is a 6.5 PRC. However, I think it keeps things exciting seeing the newer cartridges come out and seeing what technology is doing to improve them.
My old man was a Hornady man and I do say that I follow his support of them as professional harvester, family provider and social sporting shooter. They have never let me down.
Another possible reason for a focus on the competition crowd is that they probably shoot much more than hunters, thus they spend much more on ammo. It makes sense to cater to a small group of customers that spend almost as much on a product as the majority of the rest of the customers. In this case, I see it as a good thing. Any improvements in ammunition for competition is going to be useful for hunters as well, either by reducing the cost of regular ammunition, or by having more accurate ammunition.
I view it as high performance tech that trickles down to the rest of the market. Think about racing or the military. The tech used in racing like brakes, engines, and suspension developed for racing sometimes makes its way to road cars. Same with military development like DARPA creating the internet.
absolutely this. unit production cost for components is WAY lower than unit production cost for a finished cartridge. a hunter may buy 1 - 3 boxes of factory ammo a year (or he may only buy a couple boxes every 2 or 3 years). no idea what Hornady's profit margin is, but it doesn't really matter. a single competition shooter may buy 5000 ELD-X or ELD-M bullets in a year. even if the margin on the component is smaller (I suspect it's actually higher - there is a lot less effort that goes into packaging 50 or 100 bullets in a box than 20 cartridges in a box), the volume makes up for it. even if hunters outnumber target shooters by 50:1, Hornady would only sell, at most, 3000 cartridges to them (in a given year) vs 5000 bullets to a single customer (who can be counted on to buy roughly the same volume every year), and it is more efficient for them to sell components than it is finished cartridges. right now on Midway, they show ELD-X 143 gr at $48 for a box of 100. they also show a 20 round box of 129 gr Interlocks for 6.5CM at $30. I guarantee they make more money off that box of bullets than they do off that box of cartridges. fwiw, this isn't a complaint. it is economic reality. if someone wants to complain about it, he might just as well complain about the weather for all the good it'll do.
I hear it all the time about these prc and creedmoors from hunters. They want the best and go on about high bc and drop and wind drift at 1000y and it's supersonic out to a mile etc etc... but... they have never shot 1000y and their deer blind is 100y from their feeder. They are essentially buying a F1 race car just to drive in traffic lol
This was a very interesting video. Enjoyed hearing the practicality that goes into Hornady's bullet design and production. As fairly new reloader, more good concepts to consider. Thank you.
Excellent post, great questions and Seth did a fine job conveying information without a ballasticions natural tendency to wander into the weeds. More of these please
Wonderful insights into internal as well as external ballistics. Thanks to all involved in the production of this video. One of the comments by this ballistician, on the SST bullet, struck a cord with me. He opined about the SST being “a little bit” more frangible (my term) than a Interbond. Well, here was my experience nearly 10 years ago: I built a rifle in 7RUM (26”; 1:9)for an alternate to my .300 WM (which I built and have used satisfactorily since 1983). My bullet selection boiled down to the Interbond and the SST in 162-gr variety. I settled on the SST because the 300-yd accuracy was better. That year I shot a gold-medal Elk at 176 ranged yds. Bullet strike was directly on the left shoulder, quartering in. Elk went down but was up immediately and disappeared into the timber. Following up, I found that Elk in another opening with a destroyed left foreleg. A finishing shot was required where he stood on 3 legs. My first bullet did not reach any vital but exploded that foreleg (one of my tracking methods was following bone shards!). So, I can certainly agree about the frangibility of the SST bullet. I have since switched to the GMX, and I look forward to testing the new CX. Thank you again.
The GMX and similar monolithic bullets are good for maintaining weight and penetrating even after hitting bone. The SST and new ELD-X won't retain as much weight. FWIW, it appears that the changes from the SST line to the ELD-X are to make the new bullet work better at both the high velocity and low velocity end of the spectrum. One of the ways it does that, however, is designing it to shed lead progressively as the jacket peels back. After a deep penetration, the remaining bullet is significantly shorter and lighter, but the mushroom tends to stay of moderate size... smaller than that of some other designs. It would be interesting to hear from other hunters to find out if the improvements to the ELD-X would have allowed it to hold together after the shoulder hit you described.
Thanks for your comment, J. I have had considerable and more recent experience with monolithic bullet performance (GMX, TSX, E-tip) that I have decided not trust cup-and-core bullets again.
Yeah when shooting a magnum there is only 2 bullets hornady makes that would work. That is the interbond and vmax when hunting varmints. I shot a buck at 350 yards with a 162gr eldx out of a 28 nosler and the thing acted like a grenade. Then on the other hand copper bullets are the exact opposite. I have tried them multiple times because I wanted to like them but they just zip through and dont transfer much energy. It has caused many 3+ hour track jobs or lost game on what should have been a bang flop. If you want a serious and dependable hunting bullet then get something bonded or an A frame style the the partition or A frame.
@@jfess1911 That’s interesting because I’ve heard a lot of mixed results around ELDXs from other hunting RUclipsrs and podcasters. I don’t use the ELDX and I don’t know anyone else that does, so take that with a grain of salt.
I load my own. My preference for deer size animals, is a bullet that enters but does not leave. I want every single foot pound of energy converted to hydraulic shock inside the animal. When I hit them with that there is no need ever for a blood trail. Field dressing is very easy just slit the belly and let the liquified mess inside flow out. A long time ago Herter's made really good bullets, primers, and they sold some great powders. So for me in 30 cal, the 170 grain round nose, out of the muzzle at 3000 feet per second was the solution. I got that info from a fellow who was 50 years my senior when I was 21. He was absolutely right. My loads in a Winchester Model 88 would easily shoot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. Not the newfangled center to center junk meaments (Measurement with the sure taken out) but a circle that covered any torn paper in the group.
I’ve had four 6.5 CM rifles, and reloaded around 4,500 rounds between these rifles. Factory ammunition in this cartridge is very impressive, and I don’t mean just match ammo. The hunting ammo shoots amazing too. Only bullet I have never had great accuracy with in this cartridge is the GMX. Don’t know why, but I have had zero luck with that bullet even trying a lot of different powders.
I’m shooting about 1.25” groups with factory 120 grain GMX out of a Ruger American 6.5CM. That’s about as good as I’ve gotten with most any copper bullet in any caliber I’ve used. Plenty good enough for me and for hunting though; it’s all I use.
@@phild9813 that accuracy is plenty for my hunting in the Deep South also. I just love working up handloads to see how accurate I can get them. I’ve had some amazing accuracy with the Barnes TTSX though, but I’ve never tried them in a factory loading. I’ve not tried the nosler e-tip, so I don’t know how well it performs.
Mind blown so much excellent information and suddenly I start to see why different factory rounds perform so very differently out of the same gun . Great interview
so true. a hunting buddy has a 308 that shoots 1 inch with X brand, 1 inch with Y brand and 5 inch groups with Z brand. It's the rifle (mostly) and the ammo. The Z ammo shoots great out of my rifle, a different caliber and different brand of rifle.
Super interesting episode, great to listen to a guest who really knows what is going on with their products and what influences accuracy, and I'm a nosler guy...
Thanks for talking about barrel length and loading. I have a very short suppressed .308 which I'll be running 165 SST's out of. I'll load them down abit to prevent those gases bucking the base of it on exit
The recipe for short barrels: Loading down allows you to use faster propellant and recover good part of the energy lost. Basically choose the powder which has smallest maximum load in your loading manual, and if there are several with similar maximum load, choose extruded/perforated powder among them, not ball. You can safely use that smallest maximum load without loading it down any further. For example, for 150gr bullet in 308, 44gr of Alliant AR Comp would do the job, but so would 40gr of H322.
7mm PRC is a more powerful and accurate 280 Ackley Improved and coupled with a faster twist rate built barrel specification makes that cartridge a great concept.
I agree on the 6mm creed. Developing loads for that is a dream. You take a 5 grain spread and you shoot sub MOA in every load. Helps I load for a Ruger Precision Rifle, but you basically just go until you start getting high pressure signs. 110 grain sierra match king at 3120 fps is close as you can get to a rail gun at this point far as I'm concerned.
Excellent video. It helps explain the technical aspect I need to know in regards to hand loading. Even though I do not favor Hornady bullets due to my rifles liking others, very interesting. Thanks
I have been reading hunting and shooting magazines for about 35 years, have been watching hunting and shooting shows on tv for just as long, when the internet came along, I researched even more, combine that with actively hunting the entire time, even professionally as a damage control officer with a pack of hounds. I’ve learned more about bullets in the last 20 minutes
The reason the companies concentrate so much on match bullets is simply that competition shooters shoot infinately more rounds a year compared to hunters
I dont hand load….but i do typically buy Hornady because its is always consistent….and accurate. Now if only I could find some on the shelves or online.
He knows his accurate Calibers and a very accurate bullet in the ELD-X precision hunter round. I have the 6.5 Creedmoor in a hunting rifle but I'm very interested in the 6mm Creedmoor as well for target
I'm calling out Seth, pffffft he's probably been shooting the 7PRC for 2 years now 😂🤣😅. He'll be on podcasts in November saying it watch. Great interview, nice and short 👍🙏✌
Haha. He said he went on SAAMI’s website and looked at the specs. There’s no way he didn’t know that and probably had a hand in making it. Nice deflection 😂
All the equipment In my reloading room is Hornady with the exception of a few due sets. I love Hornady bullets and equipment. The SST and GMX have killed alot whitetail and hogs for me
Great video. I like the questions you asked very much. When the “companies” do just their topics it makes a viewer wonder about just advertising. Thanks.
What a great talk. I came to love this channel from the first video I saw. I’ll have to check this guy out too. Seems like a cool dude. Appreciate all this info, especially being in the market for a “do all” hunting rifle. 300 PRC is calling my name.
300prc is a good round, but i can still find 300 wm at the stores with good selection. I chose it over the prc due to this, and i don't think game animals will know the difference. The main thing is no matter how good a new round is, if you cant put ammo with a good selection of bullets for hunting and target on the shelves you lose sales.
I would think that competition shooting is like NASCAR or IRL as far automobiles. New technology is introduced or tested there before being mass produced at maybe a modified version. In my world of DoD Operational Test and Evaluation, competition testing is akin to Developmental Testing or DT, while hunters are the Operational Testing or OT. This was a great interview/discussion.
Bingo. I made the same comparison to another comment. Racing tech will sometimes trickle into street cars and countless military advancements have made their way into everyday life like DARPA creating the internet. Cutting edge tech is made and tested for a niche purpose with high funding and then perfected and rolled out to the greater market.
400 yards on elk and you choose a 300 prc? 7mm PRC all day long. The 300 prc is affected at 400 yards with a 25-30 km wind using a 212 grain eldx but the 7mm prc with a 175 grain eldx is not. That's only one example why. Now moose, the 300 prc is the choice but both will do it and so will the 7mm rem mag, 300 wsm, 300 win mag ect.... Also the Hornady stated velocity out of their loads is absolutely misinformation for sales. Did they not think we wouldn't test this ourselves ?
@@archeryhunter86- so 20 hunters firing a 3 shot sight check the maybe 3 more hunting you’ve got each hunter firing 6 rounds per year. 20 hunters firing 6 rounds equals selling 6 boxes of ammo per year. Competition shooter maybe 250 rounds per daily outing? I’ll market to the serious shooter and let my competitors fight for the bargain bin crowd.
Thank U BossMan This was "VERY INFORMATIVE" I try to learn something new every day & U two packed a bunch of new thing's into a short time! 👍👍 Thanks Keep your Target 🎯 Clear & Send it
It would be AMAZING to have a (little more than) a crash curse of ballistics for the hunting/shooting "aficionados" that cannot have so much time for the range or the books!! Thanks I really enjoy both Hornady and Backfire podcasts /videos!!
How physics apply to each factor, differences between sectional density, weight and how that relate to accuracy, and how do they add or subtract from BC, having BC well explained, at what ranges it really make a difference having modern bullets and why etc. I just love to learn this stuff, what book to read, how to decide what weight and style of bullet (already on a cartridge) to go get for a specific hunt, OMG I can go on and on
Dramatic expansion is an understatement...I shot a decent mule deer 'behind' the shoulder/top of the heart at 85 yards out of a 257 Roberts with the SST Super Performance factory load. Blood was spurting everywhere and I lost both front shoulders to bloodshot meat. The next deer I shot was out of a 30 06 with a 180 grain accubond at about 50 yards. The bullet exited through the far shoulder. I could basically eat to the bullet hole... The SST is not for me.
@@TexanUSMC8089 Yeah they all have their purposes. It was shocking coming from the 257 Rob though. The accubond in the 257 performed well, but not as much damage as I'd like so it wasn't the choice as well. Back to where I started...partition. In the 06 the accubond worked well in180.
@@bneaclab1 Yeah horandy mostly makes low cost match bullets. The eldx is just a match bullet marketed to hunters. I have had them blow up on me multiple times before. If you want a dependable hunting bullet bonded or A frame style is the way to go.
@@mrjeffjob If you are refering to me I didn't indicate they don't penetrate. I said in my one instance it penetrated and blew up like a bomb at about 2800 fps on impact. My beef is the meat damage, and once is enough to convince me.
Lots of good info, after 19 years of hunting from moose, elk and deer from 10 yards to 500 yards somebody would have to do a lot of talking to talk me out of the all copper bullets. I did sprinkle in some Berger hunting bullets along the way but switched back after the first animal harvested. Really like the Hornady target bullets though
In regards to the "why competition over hunting" portion of the questioning. A cartridge kinda has to be designed for competition from the ground up if it's going to be successful in competition, whereas hunting can be as simple as bullet choice. I see zero issues with developing "competition" cartridges that can then flex into the hunting role, and as a hunter first and foremost I prefer it that way. Competition cartridges are designed to be as forgiving and accurate as possible, and the accuracy and forgiveness gives you "fudge room" in the field (you should always try to take the best shot possible, but everyone has miscalculated the distance or wind if they've hunted long enough and a little forgiveness is a good thing to have) And as far as long action vs short action, I don't own ANY short action hunting rifles, and would much rather have the performance potential of a longer range cartridge than a smaller or lighter gun (the difference isn't that big of a deal anyway, I've hiked up and down mountains hunting elk with a long action rifle many times, and the extra 5-6 ounces didn't sour my experience, and it meant I had a longer potential reach if and when I spotted my animal. I'd trade performance for weight any day, my hunting rifle for long range is a 14.5lb setup, but I can kill anything within 1200yds with it. I get the old adage "ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain" and there IS truth to that, but I'd rather deal with a little extra weight and know I have the ability to make the shot than handicap my range and lethality. I get that not everyone feels the same way I do, and that's ok, but I like the fact that Hornady is thinking about performance and efficiency, even if most disagree.
I really enjoyed this episode! It’s probably the 4th time watching this episode. At the end he said to mention things shooter’s want to see, and for me I’d love to see some kind of hybrid between the eld-x and interbond. A high bc bonded bullet for hunting. The accuracy and bc of a eld-x with the strength of a bonded bullet. Until that happens, for hunting I’m pretty stuck on the federal terminal ascent. I love what the eld-x does at distances say 500-1000 yards, but when I’ve shot an animal inside 200 or even a buck at 348 yards, I had pieces of led all over inside the chest cavity and a copper jacket with no core just hanging out in the lungs. I’ve come to the compromise of picking up one rifle if I’m going to an area where I don’t expect to shoot under 400 yards and another rifle if I plan long range as I can’t simply swap rounds and both have the same point of impact. If I’m not committed to an area to hunt, I take my 7 mag that loves the terminal ascents since it performs at all but the most extreme ranges.
@@terryslaton5582 I use the 208 grain Barnes lrx in my 300 wsm and really like them but after trying the 181 grain hammer hunters, the hammers are now my preferred choice in monolithics and terminal ascents in a bullet that has lead. Hammers are usually always available but the terminal ascents, not so much.
This might be a little off point, but, I love the 6mm Arc. Built one in an AR platform, great gun great accuracy. In my backward home state of Pennsylvania, they won't let you hunt deer with an AR. Why is Savage the only gun company to chamber 6mm Arc in a bolt gun? I like Savage, but I also like a variety.Is it because the military did not pick it up? This is a great cartrige.
I get my best velocity in my short barrels in most cases with the same burn speed powder that produces the fastest velocity in long barrels. I’ve long been a specialty pistol shooter with cartridges like 30 Nosler, 7 RSAUM, 280AI, 30-06JDJ, 30-30AI as well as several other cartridges. I’ve almost always gotten my best velocity and accuracy with powders that are on the slower side. A good example is the 7 RSAUM in my XP-100 with a 17.5” barrel. H1000 produces about 150 fps more velocity than H4831sc does in that short barrel. In my experience, this is typically the norm.
Just don’t try and convince me that the 6.5 CM is a 600 yd elk gun. It is not. Move up to 30 cal …in general don’t shoot elk at 600 yds. They are not targets. They are game. The 6.5 cm, 260 rem and 6.5 Swed are all about the same. I have been a 6.5 x 55 shooters for 30 years. Have shot a ton of different bullets over the years. My guns love SST, interlock sp, BT and X bullets…Sierra bullets too..not an issue to get sub moa at 2650 to 2700 fps. What works….works…. But the 6.5 CM is no wonder gun. Bring a big enough gun for big game. 264 wm or prc is minimum is 264 for big game and don’t stretch the range.
@@paulkysar6207 Yeah, uhh, I shot an elk at 600 and it died so actually you have to explain to me how it isn't. If it isn't a 600-yard gun for you, that's a skill issue. Which is fine, just say that.
@@isaiah9683 maybe you are a skilled marksman. Read wind within 8 mph +/- error within 16 mph including up/down drafts and wind direction changes, the elk walks 10 extra yards between ranging and shooting. The expected impact area will range from 15+ inches left or right, 10 inches up/ down vertically for a total of about 20 inches. At 600 yards BC has very little effect on the bullets a few percentage points of probability. 6.5 CM is not going to allow recovery of hit elk more often than not. People kill deer with a 22lr, doesn't make it a deer rifle.
Great video. BTW, Terminal Ascent shoots .4 to .6 in three of my rifles and sub 1” in a fourth. 280AI took a bull moose at 250, MD buck at 204, black bear boar at 63 yards all one shot. I shoot Cooper and Fierce. Fifth rifle (Fierce 280 AI shoots ELDX slightly better but still shoots Terminal Ascend at .75.
This has to be one of my favourite video's that you have done. Guest did an excellent job of answering your questions. Should have him back when you get your 7mm PRC
If you haven't checked it out yet you might like the Hornady podcast. He's the host and interviews their engineers etc.
I don’t think I’ve ever learned as much in any 20 minute span in my life.
@@Trigg6978 Had a look and I will be watching the Hornady podcasts going forward. Thanks for the tip
The guy from Hornady is Ses? I think a much better intro would be better, just saying. More like the most articulate bullet speak since I used to talk with Walt Berger years ago. Great info for new and old shooters/handloaders/hunters. I always liked Hornady 60gr sp
for my custom .223. Awesome consistency. All of their bullets in my experience can be very accurate.
Best show yet, Seth was great. Will definitely subscribe to Hornady Podcast.
I have really enjoyed this gentleman for past few years. Very sharp guy. Sober & serious with a skill to communicate even complicated aspects of the industry in a way that most everyone can easily understand. I have gained quite a bit of knowledge and confidence from him and others at Hornady. And I have gained a greater respect for him/them and the company/product because of it. Thank you for bringing this to us.
Did you just assume his pronouns?
I could listen to this guy talk all day. He definitely knows his stuff. He’s straight to the point and even uses examples to help explain his points of view and knowledge
1. 0:05 Why are there so many new cartridges?
2. 2:15 For the average shooter, what practical difference will someone see with a new cartridge?
3. 3:28 What can you tell us about 7 PRC?
4. 3:54 What difference does shoulder angle make, and how do you decide what shoulder angle to use?
5. 5:57 Why does the industry cater to competitive shooters over hunters?
6. 8:19 What cartridge would you choose to maximize first shot hit probability for a single 400 yard shot?
6b. 8:59 What caliber if that target is an elk?
7. 9:08 What hunting bullet would you choose if it's the only bullet you could ever hunt with again?
8. 9:48 Why would you choose a specific Hornady hunting bullet over another?
9. 12:48 What should handloaders do you maximize effectiveness of a shorter barrel?
10. 15:20 What makes a bullet design more or less forgiving?
11. 18:33 Is there an accuracy standard for the bullets that Hornady makes?
20:59 "Alright, I'm gonna stop my recording now."
You left off 20:59 "Alright, I'm gonna stop my recording now."
@@TrademarkMediaTM Corrected. Good catch.
i#5 - Hunter outnumber competitive shooters by far, but competitive shooters buy waaaay more ammo.
@@scottjenkins4613 👍
thanks for the time line,i didnt bother put it in a little notepad
What a fantastic informative interview with a guy who obviously knows his stuff and great credos to Hornady and him for not being frightened to put it out there. I’ll certainly look for their podcasts. Your videos are some of the best out there. Look forward to more
Great video! I shoot a 6.5 Creedmoor Tikka CTR 20 inch barrel with Hornady Eld-X bullets hand loaded mag length and they are extremely accurate and do great on deer. Most accurate combo I've ever shot in my life.
Great interview, awesome to see two of my friends getting into some deep details! :)
Hiii 😊 I just finished watching a video of yours! Nice to see you here in the comments
Hey! Always a joy to see you as well! No one does accuracy talk like you :)
One of the most educational videos I've watched in years. So much useful information about bullets in such a short time. As a reloader this helps me a ton as my understanding of Hornadys product offering is now 10 fold. Thanks guys! I will definatly checkout Hornady podcast.
Seth is a great interview. Very knowledgeable ballistician with a great understanding of hunting.
Great interview. Excellent ambassador for Hornady and the Corps. Please have him return once he can speak about the 7mm PRC. Semper Fi!
I noticed that too. Semper Fidelis. 🇺🇸
This is a good video and was very informative. It makes me really appreciate the fact that my Savage Model 11 deer rifle shoots the lowly and inexpensive cup and core Winchester Power Point bullets into 1 inch groups. This ammo has been in continuous production for over 50 years.
Excellent interview. Yes, developing the most accurate bullet in competition has bled over into hunting. I dare say it has pushed progress in both areas, and also in self-defense and target, just by knowledge gained.
This was jam packed with awesome information thank you.
People can complain about the new cartridges and I understand that the older cartridges got the job done. The only modern round I own is a 6.5 PRC. However, I think it keeps things exciting seeing the newer cartridges come out and seeing what technology is doing to improve them.
The 6.5 PRC is trash
@@saltcreekammo Okay. I will go sell my gun now, cause you said so.
@@saltcreekammo compared to what🤣 what a wild statement to make with no backing argument
My old man was a Hornady man and I do say that I follow his support of them as professional harvester, family provider and social sporting shooter. They have never let me down.
Another possible reason for a focus on the competition crowd is that they probably shoot much more than hunters, thus they spend much more on ammo. It makes sense to cater to a small group of customers that spend almost as much on a product as the majority of the rest of the customers. In this case, I see it as a good thing. Any improvements in ammunition for competition is going to be useful for hunters as well, either by reducing the cost of regular ammunition, or by having more accurate ammunition.
I view it as high performance tech that trickles down to the rest of the market. Think about racing or the military. The tech used in racing like brakes, engines, and suspension developed for racing sometimes makes its way to road cars. Same with military development like DARPA creating the internet.
absolutely this. unit production cost for components is WAY lower than unit production cost for a finished cartridge.
a hunter may buy 1 - 3 boxes of factory ammo a year (or he may only buy a couple boxes every 2 or 3 years). no idea what Hornady's profit margin is, but it doesn't really matter. a single competition shooter may buy 5000 ELD-X or ELD-M bullets in a year. even if the margin on the component is smaller (I suspect it's actually higher - there is a lot less effort that goes into packaging 50 or 100 bullets in a box than 20 cartridges in a box), the volume makes up for it.
even if hunters outnumber target shooters by 50:1, Hornady would only sell, at most, 3000 cartridges to them (in a given year) vs 5000 bullets to a single customer (who can be counted on to buy roughly the same volume every year), and it is more efficient for them to sell components than it is finished cartridges.
right now on Midway, they show ELD-X 143 gr at $48 for a box of 100. they also show a 20 round box of 129 gr Interlocks for 6.5CM at $30. I guarantee they make more money off that box of bullets than they do off that box of cartridges.
fwiw, this isn't a complaint. it is economic reality. if someone wants to complain about it, he might just as well complain about the weather for all the good it'll do.
His answer was very much an engineering answer. You optimize what you can measure.
@@Sam-tb9xu if one can't measure, . . . it's all about results.
I hear it all the time about these prc and creedmoors from hunters. They want the best and go on about high bc and drop and wind drift at 1000y and it's supersonic out to a mile etc etc... but... they have never shot 1000y and their deer blind is 100y from their feeder. They are essentially buying a F1 race car just to drive in traffic lol
This was a very interesting video. Enjoyed hearing the practicality that goes into Hornady's bullet design and production. As fairly new reloader, more good concepts to consider. Thank you.
Absolutely phenomenal video!!! Really enjoyed listening to all that goes into the design of the cartridge and engineering behind the bullet
Excellent post, great questions and Seth did a fine job conveying information without a ballasticions natural tendency to wander into the weeds. More of these please
Wonderful insights into internal as well as external ballistics. Thanks to all involved in the production of this video. One of the comments by this ballistician, on the SST bullet, struck a cord with me. He opined about the SST being “a little bit” more frangible (my term) than a Interbond. Well, here was my experience nearly 10 years ago: I built a rifle in 7RUM (26”; 1:9)for an alternate to my .300 WM (which I built and have used satisfactorily since 1983). My bullet selection boiled down to the Interbond and the SST in 162-gr variety. I settled on the SST because the 300-yd accuracy was better. That year I shot a gold-medal Elk at 176 ranged yds. Bullet strike was directly on the left shoulder, quartering in. Elk went down but was up immediately and disappeared into the timber. Following up, I found that Elk in another opening with a destroyed left foreleg. A finishing shot was required where he stood on 3 legs. My first bullet did not reach any vital but exploded that foreleg (one of my tracking methods was following bone shards!). So, I can certainly agree about the frangibility of the SST bullet. I have since switched to the GMX, and I look forward to testing the new CX. Thank you again.
I have seen similar results on whitetail at close range from a .300 Winchester Magnum.
The GMX and similar monolithic bullets are good for maintaining weight and penetrating even after hitting bone. The SST and new ELD-X won't retain as much weight. FWIW, it appears that the changes from the SST line to the ELD-X are to make the new bullet work better at both the high velocity and low velocity end of the spectrum. One of the ways it does that, however, is designing it to shed lead progressively as the jacket peels back. After a deep penetration, the remaining bullet is significantly shorter and lighter, but the mushroom tends to stay of moderate size... smaller than that of some other designs. It would be interesting to hear from other hunters to find out if the improvements to the ELD-X would have allowed it to hold together after the shoulder hit you described.
Thanks for your comment, J. I have had considerable and more recent experience with monolithic bullet performance (GMX, TSX, E-tip) that I have decided not trust cup-and-core bullets again.
Yeah when shooting a magnum there is only 2 bullets hornady makes that would work. That is the interbond and vmax when hunting varmints. I shot a buck at 350 yards with a 162gr eldx out of a 28 nosler and the thing acted like a grenade. Then on the other hand copper bullets are the exact opposite. I have tried them multiple times because I wanted to like them but they just zip through and dont transfer much energy. It has caused many 3+ hour track jobs or lost game on what should have been a bang flop. If you want a serious and dependable hunting bullet then get something bonded or an A frame style the the partition or A frame.
@@jfess1911 That’s interesting because I’ve heard a lot of mixed results around ELDXs from other hunting RUclipsrs and podcasters. I don’t use the ELDX and I don’t know anyone else that does, so take that with a grain of salt.
I load my own. My preference for deer size animals, is a bullet that enters but does not leave. I want every single foot pound of energy converted to hydraulic shock inside the animal. When I hit them with that there is no need ever for a blood trail. Field dressing is very easy just slit the belly and let the liquified mess inside flow out. A long time ago Herter's made really good bullets, primers, and they sold some great powders. So for me in 30 cal, the 170 grain round nose, out of the muzzle at 3000 feet per second was the solution. I got that info from a fellow who was 50 years my senior when I was 21. He was absolutely right. My loads in a Winchester Model 88 would easily shoot 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. Not the newfangled center to center junk meaments (Measurement with the sure taken out) but a circle that covered any torn paper in the group.
Love the ELD-X IN MY 7MM MAG.
Hornady understands their market. I shoot bugholes with their 6.5CM 140 gr ELD in my factory Ruger Precision rifle. No reloading needed
I’ve had four 6.5 CM rifles, and reloaded around 4,500 rounds between these rifles. Factory ammunition in this cartridge is very impressive, and I don’t mean just match ammo. The hunting ammo shoots amazing too. Only bullet I have never had great accuracy with in this cartridge is the GMX. Don’t know why, but I have had zero luck with that bullet even trying a lot of different powders.
I’m shooting about 1.25” groups with factory 120 grain GMX out of a Ruger American 6.5CM. That’s about as good as I’ve gotten with most any copper bullet in any caliber I’ve used. Plenty good enough for me and for hunting though; it’s all I use.
@@phild9813 that accuracy is plenty for my hunting in the Deep South also. I just love working up handloads to see how accurate I can get them. I’ve had some amazing accuracy with the Barnes TTSX though, but I’ve never tried them in a factory loading. I’ve not tried the nosler e-tip, so I don’t know how well it performs.
Mind blown so much excellent information and suddenly I start to see why different factory rounds perform so very differently out of the same gun . Great interview
so true. a hunting buddy has a 308 that shoots 1 inch with X brand, 1 inch with Y brand and 5 inch groups with Z brand. It's the rifle (mostly) and the ammo. The Z ammo shoots great out of my rifle, a different caliber and different brand of rifle.
Super interesting episode, great to listen to a guest who really knows what is going on with their products and what influences accuracy, and I'm a nosler guy...
Thanks for talking about barrel length and loading. I have a very short suppressed .308 which I'll be running 165 SST's out of. I'll load them down abit to prevent those gases bucking the base of it on exit
The recipe for short barrels:
Loading down allows you to use faster propellant and recover good part of the energy lost. Basically choose the powder which has smallest maximum load in your loading manual, and if there are several with similar maximum load, choose extruded/perforated powder among them, not ball.
You can safely use that smallest maximum load without loading it down any further.
For example, for 150gr bullet in 308, 44gr of Alliant AR Comp would do the job, but so would 40gr of H322.
7mm PRC is a more powerful and accurate 280 Ackley Improved and coupled with a faster twist rate built barrel specification makes that cartridge a great concept.
I agree on the 6mm creed. Developing loads for that is a dream. You take a 5 grain spread and you shoot sub MOA in every load. Helps I load for a Ruger Precision Rifle, but you basically just go until you start getting high pressure signs. 110 grain sierra match king at 3120 fps is close as you can get to a rail gun at this point far as I'm concerned.
Excellent video. It helps explain the technical aspect I need to know in regards to hand loading. Even though I do not favor Hornady bullets due to my rifles liking others, very interesting. Thanks
The SST is awesome on white tails.
Most likely your most educational video, excellent Hornady representative.
He was well spoken and easy to listen too!
The terminal ascent is my go to
I have been reading hunting and shooting magazines for about 35 years, have been watching hunting and shooting shows on tv for just as long, when the internet came along, I researched even more, combine that with actively hunting the entire time, even professionally as a damage control officer with a pack of hounds.
I’ve learned more about bullets in the last 20 minutes
The reason the companies concentrate so much on match bullets is simply that competition shooters shoot infinately more rounds a year compared to hunters
Well done !
Excellent interview . . .
Useful information to all genre of shooters
I dont hand load….but i do typically buy Hornady because its is always consistent….and accurate. Now if only I could find some on the shelves or online.
He knows his accurate Calibers and a very accurate bullet in the ELD-X precision hunter round. I have the 6.5 Creedmoor in a hunting rifle but I'm very interested in the 6mm Creedmoor as well for target
Great conversation. Thank you for making this happen.
Interesting conversation!
Thank you for making content for the regular guys who enjoy shooting.
Why competition? Goodhart's law is an adage often stated as, "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"
You know this had to do with monetary policy and not measuring the difference between things.
My Savage 110 chambered in 7mm Remington Magnum absolutely love the Precision Hunter Eld-X rounds.
This is a great interview. Great questions and direct answers.
I'm calling out Seth, pffffft he's probably been shooting the 7PRC for 2 years now 😂🤣😅. He'll be on podcasts in November saying it watch. Great interview, nice and short 👍🙏✌
Haha. He said he went on SAAMI’s website and looked at the specs. There’s no way he didn’t know that and probably had a hand in making it. Nice deflection 😂
All the equipment In my reloading room is Hornady with the exception of a few due sets. I love Hornady bullets and equipment. The SST and GMX have killed alot whitetail and hogs for me
Great video. I like the questions you asked very much. When the “companies” do just their topics it makes a viewer wonder about just advertising. Thanks.
I love the inter bond bullet. Really wish they would put that one back on the market
sounds like the newer technologies are /have replaced a lot of the interbond stuff
No hype basic info people want to know. Well done.
My most accurate rifle and cartridge i own atm is a tie 28 nosler and 6.5x300 weatherby mag both tied with a .92 group at 300 yards
"Excellent questions, which are critical. Well done!
Excellent video!! I learned a lot. You asked all the questions that everyone else forgets to ask! I learned a lot.
What a great talk. I came to love this channel from the first video I saw. I’ll have to check this guy out too. Seems like a cool dude. Appreciate all this info, especially being in the market for a “do all” hunting rifle. 300 PRC is calling my name.
Thank you for the outstanding sound quality!
300prc is a good round, but i can still find 300 wm at the stores with good selection. I chose it over the prc due to this, and i don't think game animals will know the difference. The main thing is no matter how good a new round is, if you cant put ammo with a good selection of bullets for hunting and target on the shelves you lose sales.
I would think that competition shooting is like NASCAR or IRL as far automobiles. New technology is introduced or tested there before being mass produced at maybe a modified version. In my world of DoD Operational Test and Evaluation, competition testing is akin to Developmental Testing or DT, while hunters are the Operational Testing or OT. This was a great interview/discussion.
Bingo. I made the same comparison to another comment. Racing tech will sometimes trickle into street cars and countless military advancements have made their way into everyday life like DARPA creating the internet. Cutting edge tech is made and tested for a niche purpose with high funding and then perfected and rolled out to the greater market.
Watch Hornady podcast, it's crazy some of these rounds have been wild cats for 15 years before they become factory loads
400 yards on elk and you choose a 300 prc? 7mm PRC all day long. The 300 prc is affected at 400 yards with a 25-30 km wind using a 212 grain eldx but the 7mm prc with a 175 grain eldx is not. That's only one example why. Now moose, the 300 prc is the choice but both will do it and so will the 7mm rem mag, 300 wsm, 300 win mag ect....
Also the Hornady stated velocity out of their loads is absolutely misinformation for sales. Did they not think we wouldn't test this ourselves ?
"Average" hunters shoot a box of 30-06 ammo every 4 years so they are a daily rounding error compared to competition shooters...
Yup.
And yet there are 20x as many hunters as there are competition shooters.
@@archeryhunter86- so 20 hunters firing a 3 shot sight check the maybe 3 more hunting you’ve got each hunter firing 6 rounds per year. 20 hunters firing 6 rounds equals selling 6 boxes of ammo per year. Competition shooter maybe 250 rounds per daily outing? I’ll market to the serious shooter and let my competitors fight for the bargain bin crowd.
Thank U BossMan
This was "VERY INFORMATIVE" I try to learn something new every day & U two packed a bunch of new thing's into a short time! 👍👍 Thanks
Keep your Target 🎯 Clear & Send it
Wonderful insight and transparency
Please do more of these, great show lots of good information. Thank You.
hornady/support/ballistic-coefficient is worth a look for concept of BC is not a constant when using a "standard" calculator
It would be AMAZING to have a (little more than) a crash curse of ballistics for the hunting/shooting "aficionados" that cannot have so much time for the range or the books!! Thanks I really enjoy both Hornady and Backfire podcasts /videos!!
What kind of topics would you want to see discussed?
How physics apply to each factor, differences between sectional density, weight and how that relate to accuracy, and how do they add or subtract from BC, having BC well explained, at what ranges it really make a difference having modern bullets and why etc. I just love to learn this stuff, what book to read, how to decide what weight and style of bullet (already on a cartridge) to go get for a specific hunt, OMG I can go on and on
At the end the day, is about how to start to load and reload, and understand exactly what you want to do and why I guess!
Well done interview, Jim. Some good questions and useful answers.
Dramatic expansion is an understatement...I shot a decent mule deer 'behind' the shoulder/top of the heart at 85 yards out of a 257 Roberts with the SST Super Performance factory load. Blood was spurting everywhere and I lost both front shoulders to bloodshot meat. The next deer I shot was out of a 30 06 with a 180 grain accubond at about 50 yards. The bullet exited through the far shoulder. I could basically eat to the bullet hole... The SST is not for me.
@@TexanUSMC8089 Yeah they all have their purposes. It was shocking coming from the 257 Rob though. The accubond in the 257 performed well, but not as much damage as I'd like so it wasn't the choice as well. Back to where I started...partition. In the 06 the accubond worked well in180.
@@bneaclab1 Yeah horandy mostly makes low cost match bullets. The eldx is just a match bullet marketed to hunters. I have had them blow up on me multiple times before. If you want a dependable hunting bullet bonded or A frame style is the way to go.
So one guy says they don’t penetrate and you say they over penetrate. That’s why anecdotal limited experiences are not valid arguments
@@mrjeffjob If you are refering to me I didn't indicate they don't penetrate. I said in my one instance it penetrated and blew up like a bomb at about 2800 fps on impact. My beef is the meat damage, and once is enough to convince me.
Very cool!
Ironically just started listening to the Hornady podcast a couple weeks ago and am slowly catching up.
No fluff. Excellent content.
Good to hear from an expert
Lots of good info, after 19 years of hunting from moose, elk and deer from 10 yards to 500 yards somebody would have to do a lot of talking to talk me out of the all copper bullets. I did sprinkle in some Berger hunting bullets along the way but switched back after the first animal harvested.
Really like the Hornady target bullets though
More of this! Loved it.
In regards to the "why competition over hunting" portion of the questioning.
A cartridge kinda has to be designed for competition from the ground up if it's going to be successful in competition, whereas hunting can be as simple as bullet choice.
I see zero issues with developing "competition" cartridges that can then flex into the hunting role, and as a hunter first and foremost I prefer it that way.
Competition cartridges are designed to be as forgiving and accurate as possible, and the accuracy and forgiveness gives you "fudge room" in the field (you should always try to take the best shot possible, but everyone has miscalculated the distance or wind if they've hunted long enough and a little forgiveness is a good thing to have)
And as far as long action vs short action, I don't own ANY short action hunting rifles, and would much rather have the performance potential of a longer range cartridge than a smaller or lighter gun (the difference isn't that big of a deal anyway, I've hiked up and down mountains hunting elk with a long action rifle many times, and the extra 5-6 ounces didn't sour my experience, and it meant I had a longer potential reach if and when I spotted my animal.
I'd trade performance for weight any day, my hunting rifle for long range is a 14.5lb setup, but I can kill anything within 1200yds with it. I get the old adage "ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain" and there IS truth to that, but I'd rather deal with a little extra weight and know I have the ability to make the shot than handicap my range and lethality.
I get that not everyone feels the same way I do, and that's ok, but I like the fact that Hornady is thinking about performance and efficiency, even if most disagree.
This was a good one! Thanks backfire
I really enjoyed this episode! It’s probably the 4th time watching this episode. At the end he said to mention things shooter’s want to see, and for me I’d love to see some kind of hybrid between the eld-x and interbond. A high bc bonded bullet for hunting. The accuracy and bc of a eld-x with the strength of a bonded bullet. Until that happens, for hunting I’m pretty stuck on the federal terminal ascent. I love what the eld-x does at distances say 500-1000 yards, but when I’ve shot an animal inside 200 or even a buck at 348 yards, I had pieces of led all over inside the chest cavity and a copper jacket with no core just hanging out in the lungs. I’ve come to the compromise of picking up one rifle if I’m going to an area where I don’t expect to shoot under 400 yards and another rifle if I plan long range as I can’t simply swap rounds and both have the same point of impact. If I’m not committed to an area to hunt, I take my 7 mag that loves the terminal ascents since it performs at all but the most extreme ranges.
Try the Barnes solids or CX Hornady. They have good expansion with less than 5% loss and very accurate in most guns.
@@terryslaton5582 I use the 208 grain Barnes lrx in my 300 wsm and really like them but after trying the 181 grain hammer hunters, the hammers are now my preferred choice in monolithics and terminal ascents in a bullet that has lead. Hammers are usually always available but the terminal ascents, not so much.
VERY good video - they really make great bullets and brass.
Lots of good information for sure
This might be a little off point, but, I love the 6mm Arc. Built one in an AR platform, great gun great accuracy. In my backward home state of Pennsylvania, they won't let you hunt deer with an AR. Why is Savage the only gun company to chamber 6mm Arc in a bolt gun? I like Savage, but I also like a variety.Is it because the military did not pick it up? This is a great cartrige.
6 arc is chambered in the howa mini action. If I were to build an ar it would be in the arc.
Good interview. Good job both of you
I get my best velocity in my short barrels in most cases with the same burn speed powder that produces the fastest velocity in long barrels.
I’ve long been a specialty pistol shooter with cartridges like 30 Nosler, 7 RSAUM, 280AI, 30-06JDJ, 30-30AI as well as several other cartridges.
I’ve almost always gotten my best velocity and accuracy with powders that are on the slower side.
A good example is the 7 RSAUM in my XP-100 with a 17.5” barrel. H1000 produces about 150 fps more velocity than H4831sc does in that short barrel.
In my experience, this is typically the norm.
Great information! Love this session.
Great questions! Very good answers as well.
Good segment.
This would be nice if Hornady products were available. I haven't seen any 6.5 bullets or cartridges from Hornady available for more than 2 years.
ELD-X is my absolute go-to in my 6.5
Definitely going to circle back to this video. Thanks!
Very good interview!
I want a equally accurate hunting round as target shooting. don't get a second shoot hunting most of the time.
Please Hornady make more inter bonds .308 165 grain , been looking for ages I just can’t find them in a store
Can’t wait to see which rifles are going to be available for 7 PRC and how quick they will be on the market (and then sold out)
Great vid! I do enjoy the hornady podcast as well!
Excellent 👍
Thank you very much
I loved the information
Just don’t try and convince me that the 6.5 CM is a 600 yd elk gun. It is not. Move up to 30 cal …in general don’t shoot elk at 600 yds. They are not targets. They are game. The 6.5 cm, 260 rem and 6.5 Swed are all about the same. I have been a 6.5 x 55 shooters for 30 years. Have shot a ton of different bullets over the years. My guns love SST, interlock sp, BT and X bullets…Sierra bullets too..not an issue to get sub moa at 2650 to 2700 fps. What works….works…. But the 6.5 CM is no wonder gun. Bring a big enough gun for big game. 264 wm or prc is minimum is 264 for big game and don’t stretch the range.
Agreed 100%
Okay boomers.
@@isaiah9683boomer? How about enlighten us on why the 6.5 cm is a 600 yard elk rifle.
@@paulkysar6207 Yeah, uhh, I shot an elk at 600 and it died so actually you have to explain to me how it isn't. If it isn't a 600-yard gun for you, that's a skill issue. Which is fine, just say that.
@@isaiah9683 maybe you are a skilled marksman. Read wind within 8 mph +/- error within 16 mph including up/down drafts and wind direction changes, the elk walks 10 extra yards between ranging and shooting. The expected impact area will range from 15+ inches left or right, 10 inches up/ down vertically for a total of about 20 inches. At 600 yards BC has very little effect on the bullets a few percentage points of probability. 6.5 CM is not going to allow recovery of hit elk more often than not. People kill deer with a 22lr, doesn't make it a deer rifle.
I've had horrible results from eld x . Blow all to pieces.. the gmx has been alright.
I know that CX bullet is the truth. My 25-06 has taken a few whitetails with amazing performance!!
Tried Barnes yet?
Heck ya, I need one
Great video. BTW, Terminal Ascent shoots .4 to .6 in three of my rifles and sub 1” in a fourth. 280AI took a bull moose at 250, MD buck at 204, black bear boar at 63 yards all one shot. I shoot Cooper and Fierce. Fifth rifle (Fierce 280 AI shoots ELDX slightly better but still shoots Terminal Ascend at .75.
Right. A very accurate bullet. But it can be finicky in load development before you find what works.
@@backfire OK, I got you. I don't reload. Great show. Keep it up.
Competition is where all the innovation happens.
Good information I just bought a 6.5 creedmore I’ll have to try the A tips
Awesome job guys learning alot
Really enjoyed this video.