Which powder in Hornady Factory Ammo

Anyone know what powder Hornady uses in their .22-250 and .22 Hornet ammo????

The powder in the .22-250 looks like Varget but i would like to know forsure.

Chris

They use powders that are close to what we get over the counter - but it's not the same each time, so the box you bought this week was not the same as the box you bought a few months ago.

You will never know, because they won't tell you, so work up loads with what you can get.


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Cat

I have and do work up loads for all my rifles,but the Hornady factory 55gr V-max fodder shoots VERY well in my stick, but we have a bad supply over here so i wanted to duplicate the load.

I'll give you a more detailed explanation then.

Powder is made in bulk (tons at a time) and it never comes out quite exactly the same each time (it's like making scotch or wine ;) ).

Each type of powder is given a type number, like W-750 (a BULK Winchester ball powder). Each shipment of W-750 is a little different than the last.

For commercial ammunition companies, this is no big deal, cuz when they get a new load of powder they just tweak their loading machines and keep on going. That's why the cartridge you bought today will vary in powder weight (and maybe type) from what you bought three months ago, or three years ago.

But for selling powder to the public, the powder companies will "blend" different batches to get a constant burning rate.
For example, when making W-750, some of the fast batches will be held back, and some of the slower batches will be held back... and when making powder for the consumer, they will blend some of the fast with some of the slow to get the exact burning rate that they have defined for the public, as W-748.

So the W-748 you get today, will have the same burning rate as W-748 you bought 30 years ago (and it DOES!!)...

... but the W-750 that they load in cartridges will vary in weight from batch to batch.

Here in the states, a shooter can buy W-750, and work out the loading data themselves, and save a bunch of money - cuz it's sooooo cheap. About 20 cents on the dollar.

Now here's the thing - Hornady can't tell you what they use because of legal problems - they can't be responsible for giving you loading data for a powder that keeps changing it's burning rate.

The powder in their .22-250 probably is a bulk version of H-4895 or Varget (both are about the same speed, Varget being slightly slower).

With these two powders, it could be either one, because they are so close in burning rate, and they look almost identical.

Hornady could have used a slow lot of bulk 4895, or a fast lot of Bulk Varget, and the charge weight would be the SAME! So you can't tell by weighing the charge.

That's why they won't give you any information.

If the pulled powder looks like Varget, then try that - it's a great powder, and the first choice of many shooters - if you don't get the accuracy you want, then try H-4895.

Both are classic powders for the 22-250.


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Cat,
Where can I buy these bulk powders so cheap?

Read the Shotgun News - bulk powder sellers advertise there all the time - and they include loading data, (but drop 10% and work up).

Also, there are bulk powder dealers that sell on the internet.

I buy bulk powder for my 50BMG in 48 pounds batches, cuz it eats up a lot of powder @ 240 grains a pop :( :(

PD shooters also buy bulk powder, cuz they will take a few thousand rounds to a PD town...

... and small commercial loaders/reloaders use bulk powder to keep costs manageable, or they would go out of business.

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22-250

i have loaded for several 22-250's remington 700's. benchmark with 50 grain and h-380 for 55 grain . roninflag
 
22-250

i have loaded for several 22-250's remington 700's. benchmark with 50 grain and h-380 for 55 grain . roninflag
I'm sure this is an old thread. But I just loaded up some 55gr v-max for my 250 and Hornadys book stops at 40.6 for h-380. You just ladder up or are you shooting a different bullet?
 
On a side note; I bought some Hornady 708 box ammo for the brass and pulled it down. The powder wascidentical in appearance to H335 which is very similar to blc2 or win 748. The cahergeweight in the factory ammo corresponded to book velocity vs advertised velocity. It seems that in this case the powder was an off the shelf powder.
 
But for selling powder to the public, the powder companies will "blend" different batches to get a constant burning rate.
Do not believe this.
Canister powder, what we buy in 1lb or 8lb containers is not blended.
Canister powder has to be within +/- 3% of the ORIGINAL burn rate to be classed as canister powder.
Powders' that fall OUTSIDE of these parameters are sold as BULK powders, which is then blended with different lot# by the ammo factories to obtain the desired ballistics for their cartridges.
We don't have labs to test blended powders, hence why the canister powders MUST be close or they don't get classed that way.
It is virtually impossible to know what powder is being used in factory ammo, even if proprietary companies list the recipe, it could be a lot of powder several years old.

Cheers.
 
Hornadys book stops at 40.6 for h-380.
The Hornady book also goes so low and slow on some powders I'd be more worried about a pressure spike on the slow end and not the fast end. They're a conservative source on the top end, best to compare with Hodgdon's data as the powder vendor.

Looks like Hodgdon goes up to 40.6 for the 60gn V-Max and up to 41.0gn for a non-V-Max 55gn bullet. 41.0gn max all the way down to 40gn bullets, but pressure falls off on the loads.

I read his comment to be 55gn bullet weight, not charge weight. You're not fitting 55gns of anything into a 22-250 case, unless you melt some lead and pour it in 🤡
 
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The Hornady book also goes so low and slow on some powders I'd be more worried about a pressure spike on the slow end and not the fast end. They're a conservative source on the top end, best to compare with Hodgdon's data as the powder vendor.

Looks like Hodgdon goes up to 40.6 for the 60gn V-Max and up to 41.0gn for a non-V-Max 55gn bullet. 41.0gn max all the way down to 40gn bullets, but pressure falls off on the loads.

I read his comment to be 55gn bullet weight, not charge weight. You're not fitting 55gns of anything into a 22-250 case, unless you melt some lead and pour it in 🤡
I read it at 50 gr for 55 just re-read and it's 50 gr and 55 gr bullet. Makes much better sense
 
I'll give you a more detailed explanation then.

Powder is made in bulk (tons at a time) and it never comes out quite exactly the same each time (it's like making scotch or wine ;) ).

Each type of powder is given a type number, like W-750 (a BULK Winchester ball powder). Each shipment of W-750 is a little different than the last.

For commercial ammunition companies, this is no big deal, cuz when they get a new load of powder they just tweak their loading machines and keep on going. That's why the cartridge you bought today will vary in powder weight (and maybe type) from what you bought three months ago, or three years ago.

But for selling powder to the public, the powder companies will "blend" different batches to get a constant burning rate.
For example, when making W-750, some of the fast batches will be held back, and some of the slower batches will be held back... and when making powder for the consumer, they will blend some of the fast with some of the slow to get the exact burning rate that they have defined for the public, as W-748.

So the W-748 you get today, will have the same burning rate as W-748 you bought 30 years ago (and it DOES!!)...

... but the W-750 that they load in cartridges will vary in weight from batch to batch.

Here in the states, a shooter can buy W-750, and work out the loading data themselves, and save a bunch of money - cuz it's sooooo cheap. About 20 cents on the dollar.

Now here's the thing - Hornady can't tell you what they use because of legal problems - they can't be responsible for giving you loading data for a powder that keeps changing it's burning rate.

The powder in their .22-250 probably is a bulk version of H-4895 or Varget (both are about the same speed, Varget being slightly slower).

With these two powders, it could be either one, because they are so close in burning rate, and they look almost identical.

Hornady could have used a slow lot of bulk 4895, or a fast lot of Bulk Varget, and the charge weight would be the SAME! So you can't tell by weighing the charge.

That's why they won't give you any information.

If the pulled powder looks like Varget, then try that - it's a great powder, and the first choice of many shooters - if you don't get the accuracy you want, then try H-4895.

Both are classic powders for the 22-250.


.
I think what you say is accurate plus they use a lab 'bomb' where they use a small charge and measure and record the pressure curve. In addition to blending, they may add various solvents to alter the burn - things like nitro glycerine or toluene. Powder in their ammo I thought is Leverolution available in 1lb containers.
 
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