Hornady Superformance Ammunition in Gas Operated Firearms

[imschur]

Read the article here. Or download the pdf below

2048_.pdf

[survivalshop]

That piece of information is good for a lot of things, besides just that particular type of ammo.

[98Z5V]

They've got to be talking about the propellant here - I don't see how the actual projectile could have any affect on the gas pressure.  I have read that you don't want to use this projectile suppressed (didn't learn many details, besides it not working very well suppressed).

[survivalshop]

Yes , the weight of the projectile will produce differences in pressure ,but you are probably right about it being mostly about the propellant & its pressure spiking or pressure curve .

Which may be why it may not be good for suppressed applications .

If you read into into it , you will see that some of the problems some are having with brass deformation can be caused by the loads & what type of gas system is being used .

Some here should take note of that.

[KillShot]

The Superformance ammo is not intended to be used in the AR platform, as told to me directly over the phone by the Hornady representative.

[planeflyer21]

I'd imagine it is like the ol' "Light Magnum" cartridges they were marketing a decade ago.  Kinda like +P loads for bolt-action guns, don't use in semi-autos.

A couple of hundred extra feet per second and a shorter gun life, or a few extra inches of hold over when sighting?

Jon

[Dusty44]

Would like to see an additional review of adding weight in the BCG to slow the action as an alternative to an adjustable gas block.

[LocoGringo]

I think an adjustable gas block is ideal for solving the issues raised.  I don't think I'd want to modify my buffer/spring combo or add weight to my BCG just to shoot some specific ammo.  Get an adjustable gas block for less than $100 and tinker with it (start by completely turning the gas off) until you've got reliable function and (hopefully) best possible accuracy without stressing the action.  With the adjustable gas block, you can tweak it with ANY ammo, not just the superperformance stuff. 

[rhinegarten]

After this article I'm finally thinking seriously about just that for my DPMS. Not so much for Hornady ammo, but for my own reloads.

[NoFail]

I ran a Slash's Heavy Buffer & a adjustable gas block at the same time. One of them had to go & now I run stock carbine buffer/spring in UBR & the adjustable gas block. I think it's better since I only shoot my own recipe's & it is beneficial to me to be able to taylor gas system pressure for the particular load.

The amount of turns from valve closed too the required valve open setting for a particular load can be recorded and noted in your load recipe notebook, or whatever you call it. May have to adjust for weather. YMMV

Edit; Of course it matters that I run a JP low mass bolt carrier which is intended to run with adjustable gas block so, well so the system is working pretty good now that I tossed the heavy buffer.

[.308LiteHunter]

I ran a Slash's Heavy Buffer & a adjustable gas block at the same time. One of them had to go & now I run stock carbine buffer/spring in UBR & the adjustable gas block. I think it's better since I only shoot my own recipe's & it is beneficial to me to be able to taylor gas system pressure for the particular load.

The amount of turns from valve closed too the required valve open setting for a particular load can be recorded and noted in your load recipe notebook, or whatever you call it. May have to adjust for weather. YMMV

Edit; Of course it matters that I run a JP low mass bolt carrier which is intended to run with adjustable gas block so, well so the system is working pretty good now that I tossed the heavy buffer.

 

Why can't you run a heavy buffer with an adjustable gas block? If you adjust the gas down to low it negates the heavy buffer? Im just curious because I was thinking about purchasing both but sounds like one or the other.

 

And BTW you pic is damn distracting!

[Rsquared]

308Lite

You can run a heavy buffer with an adjustable block. Nofail was just saying that he's running the JP lo-mass carrier.

 

I run one of Slash's heavy buffers with an adjustable block on two of my AR-10 carbines. PRI block (JP block on the other), CAR10-XH buffer & spring, UBR, and a standard Armalite bolt carrier.

 

The combo of the JP lo-mass + the restricted gas + heavy buffer could cause problems. Though.......you would still think that you could find the sweet spot eventually. Haven't played with any of the lo-mass carriers personally yet.

[DNP]

 

And BTW you pic is damn distracting!

 

He's been working on that for a while now.  That Gazelle thingy from the weird pony-tailed dude works wonders eh?

[DNP]

Nothin?....damn. Tough crowd.

[Matt.Cross]

Nothin?....damn. Tough crowd.

 

 

Crickets & Tumbleweeds bro, gotta learn to love 'em!

[planeflyer21]

:tweed:

 

Jon

[.308LiteHunter]

308Lite

You can run a heavy buffer with an adjustable block. Nofail was just saying that he's running the JP lo-mass carrier.

 

I run one of Slash's heavy buffers with an adjustable block on two of my AR-10 carbines. PRI block (JP block on the other), CAR10-XH buffer & spring, UBR, and a standard Armalite bolt carrier.

 

The combo of the JP lo-mass + the restricted gas + heavy buffer could cause problems. Though.......you would still think that you could find the sweet spot eventually. Haven't played with any of the lo-mass carriers personally yet.

Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I'll carry on with my plan to get both. Wish there were a few more options for a railed adjustable gas-block, Ive only seen a couple.

Edited May 8, 2013 by .308LiteHunter

[PSAPA10]

Hornady Superformance 165gr GMX works fine in my PSA PA10 18" mid length. No feeding or cycling issues. Sure, Superformance is primo bolt action ammo, but should be safe and effective in most rifle length and mid length gas systems.

[MikedaddyH]

I can't believe I haven't posted to this topic. I have tested (shot)this powder from two different guns a 20" and 24" barreled rifle gas length 308ar guns. With a rifle gas length setup the it works just fine. I was shooting at a target 800 yards and tearing it up on à poster size target. I shot 80 rounds(4mags) that day without a fte or ftf. I would requamend this powder for magnum cases like the WSM in a bolt action gun.

[Jetdoc]

Well, I know this is an old topic. I bought four boxes of this stuff a while ago without knowledge of this thread. My rifle hated this stuff. I have a rifle length gas tube too. It would fire the initial round and jam.   Since I reload, I figured what the hell, pull the bullets and do a little experimenting. The factory load of powder is 46 grns; I loaded 20 with 44.5 and another 20 with 43 grns last night using the Top secret stuff I dumped from the cases.

This morning I went to the range to just to see if the rifle would cycle, good news.... It cycles both rounds, and I was hitting steel on the 300yrd line.  I didn't stick around to check accuracy on paper. I was just curious to see if I corrected the cycling issue. My experiment was a success to that extent.

Before you ask, I was bored and felt like a mad scientist last night. 🧐 

 

 

[98Z5V]

So those things were loaded HOT...   from the factory.  46.0gr is a big load for a .308 Win round.  I almost wanna get a box of this stuff and run it through a chrono.

[mineralman55]

I contacted Hornady many, many years ago about using this ammo in the M14. They were unequivocal... NO. Said it wasn't designed for gas weapons. There are too many other off the shelf brands of ammo that are appropriate to mess with this stuff. But hey, experiment all you like.

[Jetdoc]

26 minutes ago, mineralman55 said:

I contacted Hornady many, many years ago about using this ammo in the M14. They were unequivocal... NO. Said it wasn't designed for gas weapons. There are too many other off the shelf brands of ammo that are appropriate to mess with this stuff. But hey, experiment all you like.

If I buy anymore, it will be for my bolt action 308. As I said, it was a Friday night experiment, and It worked. I'll stick to the recipe my rifle likes.