A Genuine Question : Why Is Hornady So Hated?

[Major Khan]

Dear forum members ,
As l read more and more about the world of modern hunting on African Hunting forums , l have been getting increasingly curious about 1 thing . Why is the ammunition company , Hornady so loathed by most forum members ? Back in the 1960s when l used to guide clients for shikar in Nagpur , India ... Hornady used to be an extremely popular ammunition company , especially among my American clients . Their .458 Winchester magnum calibre ammunition , in particular were greatly praised . The solid metal covered bullets in .458 Winchester magnum calibre were extremely effective for shoulder shots on gaur and water buffalo . The jackets of their solid metal covered bullets used to be made from a very good , thick steel .

However , these days l cannot help , but notice that a large number of modern sports men think very poorly of Hornady ammunition . Now , l am not questioning the judgement of any of our forum members as most of you are extremely sensible and well read.
Indeed , if so many sports men are shying away from Hornady ammunition for dangerous game , then there must be a very logical reason .
Perhaps quality has deteriorated ?

What are your opinions on Hornady sporting ammunition for dangerous game , gentlemen ? I intend to use your information in an upcoming article for African Hunting forums .
Therefore , all of your input is greatly appreciated .
Yours sincerely,
Major Poton Khan ( Retired )

 

[Scrumbag]

Personally I don't think it is bad ammunition. The main issue I have with it is that it is I have found it not to be as accurate as Norma and the certainly their 404J cases are very thin, lightweight and bend the case mouths very easily so are unsuitable for reloading

 

[Major Khan]

Personally I don't think it is bad ammunition. The main issue I have with it is that it is I have found it not to be as accurate as Norma and the certainly their 404J cases are very thin, lightweight and bend the case mouths very easily so are unsuitable for reloading

Thank you for your input , Scrumbag. I am noting your your reason , for my upcoming article.

 

[BenKK]

I think the brass is really good!

 

[BnC 04]

I believe their original DGX series bullets is what really tarnished their name. Being an unbonded bullet there were/is many reports of bullet failure on dangerous game. Even though Hornady has made the switch to the fully bonded style I think it is a little to late for some to give them a go again for the purpose of African DG.

 

[Major Khan]

I think the brass is really good!

I know , BKK ! My clients who used to hand load cartridges used to love them !

 

[Major Khan]

I believe their original DGX series bullets is what really tarnished their name. Being an unbonded bullet there were/is many reports of bullet failure on dangerous game. Even though Hornady has made the switch to the fully bonded style I think it is a little to late for some to give them a go again for the purpose of African DG.

Finally , an answer which begins to approach the actual problem . This makes a great deal of sense , BnC 04 . Are their current DGS and DGX factory loaded cartridges also bonded ?

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

This is a copy of a previous post I made on a DGX bashing thread:

Everybody getting in line to do some Hornady bashing. I don't disagree that the DGX and DGS leave a little to be disired. I use Swift A-Frames a lot, but I also have been a fan of some Hornady bullets and ammo too. I have had lots of one shot kills using the the Superformace SST. So has my daughter.

One thing you can say about Hornady is they have probably done more for African type caliber ammo than any other US ammo maker. When they decided to come out with 458 Lott factory ammo (with Ruger chambering rifles in that caliber), that really brought the wildcat to the mainstream. Resurrected the 404J too, making factory ammo reasonably price. Who else produces 275 Rigby factory ammo? Look at the list and tell me what other US company does as many Nitro Express cartridges?

http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2017-Standard-Ballistics.pdf

CHOOSE BY CALIBER

• 17 Hornet
• 204 Ruger
• 5.45X39
• 22 Hornet
• 218 Bee
• 222 Rem
• 223 Rem
• 5.56 NATO
• 22-250 Rem
• 220 Swift
• 243 Win
• 6mm Rem
• 6mm Creedmoor
• 25-35 Win
• 250 Savage
• 257 Roberts
• 25-06 Rem
• 257 Weatherby Mag
• 6.5 Grendel
• 6.5X55 Swedish
• 260 Rem
• 6.5 Creedmoor
• 264 Win Mag
• 6.8mm SPC
• 270 Win
• 7mm-08 Rem
• 275 Rigby
• 7X57 Mauser
• 7x65R
• 7x64
• 280 Rem
• 7mm Rem Mag
• 7mm Weatherby Mag
• 30 Carbine
• 300 Blackout (Whisper®)
• 30-30 Win
• 300 Savage
• 308 Marlin Express
• 308 Winchester
• 30 TC
• 30-06 SPRG
• 300 H&H
• 300 RCM
• 300 WSM
• 300 Win Mag
• 300 Weatherby Mag
• 300 Rem Ultra Mag
• 30-378 Wby Mag
• 7.62X39
• 7.62x54R
• 303 Brit
• 32 Win Special
• 8x57 JS
• 8x57 JRS
• 338 Marlin Express
• 338 RCM
• 338 Win Mag
• 338 Lapua
• 357 Mag
• 358 Win
• 35 Rem
• 35 Whelen
• 9.3X62
• 9.3x74R
• 376 Steyr
• 375 H&H
• 375 Ruger
• 450-400 Nitro Express 3"
• 404 Jeffery
• 405 Win
• 416 Rem Mag
• 416 Ruger
• 416 Rigby
• 500-416 Nitro Express
• 44 Mag
• 444 Marlin
• 450 Bushmaster
• 45-70 Govt
• 450 Marlin
• 450 Nitro Express 3 1-4"
• 458 Win
• 458 Lott
• 470 Nitro Express
• 500 Nitro Express 3"
• 50 BMG

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Personally I don't think it is bad ammunition. The main issue I have with it is that it is I have found it not to be as accurate as Norma and the certainly their 404J cases are very thin, lightweight and bend the case mouths very easily so are unsuitable for reloading

I have a little Norma and Nosler brass and a lot of Hornady brass for my 404J. No issues at all with the Hornady brass.

 

[mdwest]

I think the dislike of Hornady is largely excluded to dangerous game hunters and perhaps some other African plains game hunters.. and that this is mostly dude to their DGX projectiles..

Hornady is still very popular in the US among pistol shooters... they make some excellent factory pistol ammunition and pistol projectiles that are widely adopted among both law enforcement and people interested in self defense carry loads..

Their “black” line is also extremely popular among AR15 shooters as it was specifically developed for that platform.. they have “black” ammo specific for short barreled AR rifles and pistols, specific to suppressed rifles, etc...

I particularly like their 77gr “black” 5.56 round for Texas hog hunting... it’s accurate, penetrates deep, holds together well, and is devastating out of a 16” barrel on pigs...

I occasionally load their 162gr 7mm interlock bullet for my 7x57.. it’s affordable, my 7mm rifle shoots them accurately, and it’s more than potent enough for pigs and deer in this part of the US

 

[BnC 04]

Finally , an answer which begins to approach the actual problem . This makes a great deal of sense , BnC 04 . Are their current DGS and DGX factory loaded cartridges also bonded ?

Yes their "new" DGX bullets are now fully bonded per their description by Hornady. Hope they can regain the confidence among DG hunters.

 

[WAB]

I know and really like many of the Hornady folks. In fact, I use their ammo exclusively in my 6.5 Grendel for hog control. However, I had a spectacular failure with their original DGX bullet on a buffalo in Mozambique. I managed to kill the buffalo in spite of the poor bullet performance. We recovered all four bullets, or what was left of them. I keep them in my office to remind me never to use Hornady bullets on dangerous game again. I use Swift A-Frame and Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullets for DG softs. Monometal bullets by woodleigh and Swift are my preference for solids.

 

[Major Khan]

I know and really like many of the Hornady folks. In fact, I use their ammo exclusively in my 6.5 Grendel for hog control. However, I had a spectacular failure with their original DGX bullet on a buffalo in Mozambique. I managed to kill the buffalo in spite of the poor bullet performance. We recovered all four bullets, or what was left of them. I keep them in my office to remind me never to use Hornady bullets on dangerous game again. I use Swift A-Frame and Trophy Bonded Bearclaw bullets for DG softs. Monometal bullets by woodleigh and Swift are my preference for solids.

This is quite a terrifying experience , WAB. Have Hornady DGS solid metal covered bullets also been known to fail ?

 

[WAB]

This is quite a terrifying experience , WAB. Have Hornady DGS solid metal covered bullets also been known to fail ?

I have heard stories of failures but have no first hand experience. It seems less likely to me even though they too were not bonded.

 

[thriller]

I had a couple of boxes of Hornady bullets where the majority of bullets failed to fire...... I now have trust issues.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I had a couple of boxes of Hornsby bullets where the majority of bullets failed to fire...... I now have trust issues.

Are Hornsby bullets a Hornady knockoff? Never heard of them!

 

[thriller]

Are Hornsby bullets a Hornady knockoff? Never heard of them!

No it’s what this damn phone is autocorrecting to.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I've used their SSTs on plains game and deer and Vmax bullets in various calibers with good results. Their brass is considered second rate in the accuracy world. Some of the flack comes from their uber hyping of the Creedmoor.

 

[Shawn.54]

My reason for leaving Hornady was 139gr out of 7mm-08 under 100 yards the bullets just came apart. With the mild speeds of the 7mm-08 this was unacceptable I just moved on to a bonded bullet. I believe the problem is that when people started reporting failures to Hornady they chose to turn a blind eye to the problem while other manufacturers figured out the problem.
Shawn

 

[Ridgewalker]

Have Hornady DGS solid metal covered bullets also been known to fail ?

I keep meaning to get a friend to send me a photo of his giraffe DGS failure. He was fairly close and put the DGX out of his 458 Lott in the shoulder. It blew up leaving a huge shallow entrance wound. His dad backed him up with a quick 286 grain neck shot out of his 9.3x62 Ruger #1 dropping the giraffe.
I suspect the 458 Lott hit the big shoulder ball, but I would have thought it would just break it and go through. But it didn’t.
I also suspect this may have been a one time isolated case because IMO any brand of bullet can fail under the right, or wrong circumstance. Even the venerable A-frame has failed.
A good reason to have a backup on DG.