Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

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Should Hornady Improve the 250 Grain FTX Factory Cartridge?

Poll ended at Sun Feb 18, 2018 8:47 pm

Yes
21
75%
No
7
25%
 
Total votes : 28

Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Mon Nov 20, 2017 8:47 pm

Okay Thumper fans. Time to get to the bottom of something that’s begun to concern me about the Hornady Factory ammo that people have been using the last few years to harvest game. So this post is sort of a survey.
To participate in this survey, I am asking for the following information. I want facts. Not speculations. Here’s what I’m asking. I want polite professional responses.
IMPORTANT RULE.
This is survey applies ONLY to Hornady Custom or Hornady Black Factory Ammunition. Absolutely NO handload accounts. They will be deleted.
Only hunters who harvested
Game with the 450 Bushmaster Factory Ammunition are to respond. No other comments will be accepted. No exceptions. Third party accounts of a hunt will not be accepted and those comments will also be deleted. I am going to ask that the peanut gallery please just refrain from commenting on other peoples posts. If you as the actually hunter using the 450 Bushmaster have shot more than one animal, please include all animals in one post. Just use your shoot date to identify each animal all in one post. Here’s what we need to know.
Copy and paste these questions in your reply and answer them to the best of your ability.
1. Date of kill.
2. Hornady Black or Custom?
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot?
4. Barrel length and twist rate.
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure).
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture.
7. Did you recover the animal successfully?
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected?
9. Did the bullet pass through?
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible.
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat?
12. How far did the animal run after being shot?
13. What kind of blood trail did you have?
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX?
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX?

It’s very important that we know the platform of the rifle and the barrel length and twist rate. Please copy and paste these questions in your post and answer them to the best of your ability. Please keep personal emotions out of your responses. Remember that we are to be professional here and there should be only facts in these answers.

If you choose, you may copy and paste this in an email and you can send your responses to TexasSheepdawg@gmail.com

I will compile all this information throughout the rest of the winter through Feb 1st 2018. Then I will pull it all together and post results.
And Hornady will be getting a copy.
Alright? Let’s do this.
-Texas Sheepdawg

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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Xtrema312 » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:38 pm

1. Date of kill. November 2016
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Custom
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? AR15
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 16" 1in 24.
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 60 yd.
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picturis. deer 120
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? Lungs
9. Did the bullet pass through? Yes
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. No
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? No
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 70 yards
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? Average and reasonably to follow in the dark.
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? Accurate
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? None so far.

1. Date of kill. November 2017
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Custom
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? Bolt
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 16" 1 in 16
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 154 yards
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture. Deer 160
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? Lungs
9. Did the bullet pass through? Yes
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. No
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? No
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 10 yards
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? Average
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? Accuracy
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? None so far.
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Sesshoku » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:44 pm

1. Date of kill.
03/2014
11/2015

2. Hornady Black or Custom?
Custom

3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot?
AR 15

4. Barrel length and twist rate.
16 inch, 1/24

5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure).
25 yards - hog
60 yards - deer

6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture.
Wild boar hog - 250lbs
Whitetail deer (button buck) ~ 125 lbs

7. Did you recover the animal successfully?
Yes
Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected?
Head shot, brains, skull
Necklace shot, spine, arteries

9. Did the bullet pass through?
Parts of the bullet exited
No

10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible.
Numerous fragments of the bullet remained in the skull, jacket remained
The bullet fragmented into numerous pieces that scattered through the neck and down into the shoulder.

11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat?
No
Yes, all of the neck, most of one shoulder and a good portion of the other.

12. How far did the animal run after being shot?
Zero steps DRT
Zero steps DRT

13. What kind of blood trail did you have?
None (didn't need one)
None (didn't need one)

14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX?
Accuracy is above expectations, and the bullet flies incredibly well out of my rifle

15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 2
I believe the bullet's propensity to break up on impact is its downfall. In both animals I've killed with the .450 BM, the
jacket separated inside the animal and the bullet split into numerous fragments. While it's hard to complain about two
kills with zero tracking required, I would like to see if there is any improvement in weight retention by using a copper
solid bullet such as the Hornady Monoflex 250 gr. I have not used the Black ammo yet, but I can't imagine it would
perform an differently while using the same FTX bullet. I've not taken a long shot either, so I can't say if that would
affect the outcome one way or the other.
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby plant_one » Mon Nov 20, 2017 9:49 pm

Copy and paste these questions in your reply and answer them to the best of your ability.
1. Date of kill.
11/19/17

2. Hornady Black or Custom?
custom

3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot?
ar15

4. Barrel length and twist rate.
20" bushmaster factory upper (1:24?)

5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure).
85 yds

6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture.
whitetail, did not get a dressed weight. average size, 1.5yr old.... lets say 150 lbs dressed

7. Did you recover the animal successfully?
yes

8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected?
rib in, rib out, grazed heart, small lobe of liver and both lungs. hamburgered mess just like i was hoping to find in between the ribs (likely due to hydrostatic shock)

9. Did the bullet pass through?
yes

10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments?
Post picture if possible. no

11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat?
only the liver that i like

12. How far did the animal run after being shot?
40 yds

13. What kind of blood trail did you have?
good, moderate at first, strong at the end

14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX?
it seemed to work exactly as advertised/designed

15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX?
cost per bullet
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Rklenke » Mon Nov 20, 2017 10:07 pm

Had 2 kills, 1 week apart, same stand, same relative deer distance. Both broadside. Multiply answers by 2.
1. Date of kill.
Oct 2017

2. Hornady Black or Custom?
Black

3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot?
AR15

4. Barrel length and twist rate.
18" 1-24

5. Distance to target.
30 yards

6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture.
Whitetail deer, 170 lbs (guess) undressed

7. Did you recover the animal successfully?
Yes, did not track as I saw where the deer trotted to die.

8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected?
1. Low chest, destroyed the bottom half of the heart.
2. Double lung shot. Only bones for both were ribs.

9. Did the bullet pass through?
Yes, completely on both.

10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible.
No, could not find in the dirt behind the point of impact.

11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat?
No.

12. How far did the animal run after being shot?
1. 60yds
2. 40yds

13. What kind of blood trail did you have?
Minimal for both, but they ran in a swamp. Hard to track blood in water.

14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX?
Deep penetration, accuracy

15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX?
Bullet can come apart, doesn't expand as well as others such as XTP.

Attached photo is of the second deer. The first deer with the blown up heart actually ran a but further before collapsing in a similar pool of water.
IMG_20171020_143015445_HDR~2-537x351.jpg
IMG_20171020_143015445_HDR~2-537x351.jpg (109.31 KiB) Viewed 39295 times
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Kelvarr » Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:54 am

1. Date of kill. 11-15-17
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Black
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? AR 450
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 20", 1-24
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 75 yds
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture. Whitetail, 1.5 y/o, unknown weight (I didn't weigh him)
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? Rib cage, right behind shoulder. Took out heart, lungs, liver and esophagus.
9. Did the bullet pass through? Yes
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. No
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? Still being processed, but only lost heart, and some rib tissue.
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 50 yds
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? Nearly non-existent. 3 drops, maybe the size of a dime in total. Upon retrieval, the round seemed to have sucked the stomach to the exit wound, effectively plugging it.
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? This is my first animal with the round. It seemed to have performed as well as any other round (.30-06 in my case in this area) has in the past.
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? None observed


1. Date of kill. 11-16-17
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Black
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? AR 450
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 20", 1-24
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 75 yds
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture. Whitetail, 1.5 y/o, unknown weight (I didn't weigh him)
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? Above right shoulder, spinal shot. Grazed top of lungs
9. Did the bullet pass through? Yes
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. No
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? Still being processed, only some upper shoulder and spine. Backstraps appeared to be in tact, but unknown if there was a fragment in them.
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 0 yds, dropped where shot.
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? None.
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? This is my second animal with the round. It seemed to have performed as well as any other round (.30-06 in my case in this area) has in the past.
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? None observed
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby ebusa » Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:05 pm

1. Date of kill. 10/19/2017
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Hornady Black
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? AR15
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 16" 11/24
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 50 Yards
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture. 4x4 Mule Deer migrator 300lbs, will try and post pic, but pics are on BM facebook group
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? When through top part of the heart and out the other side taking out his left leg.
9. Did the bullet pass through? Yes
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. NO
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? A little
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 10 yards
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? not much, but wasn't looking lol
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? Does what it's intended if shot placement is good, accuracy outstanding
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? Haven't found a weak point yet, it kills what I point it at.
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby c_franklin50 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 4:50 pm

1. 8 deer over past 3 years
2. Hornady custom
3. Savage bolt action
4. 25” 1:16 twist 2300-2400fps
5. 75-210 yards
6. Whitetail deer 135-165lbs dressed
7. Yes all
8. Neck to vitals anything the bullet hit it destroyed vitals turned to mush
9. Close shots no, far shots (+125 yards) yes
10. Pass through no recovery. Non pass throughs bullets separated from jacket had pieces everywhere.
11. Yes due to lead fragments
12. O-50 yards
13. Color deficient I can’t see blood
14. B.C.
15. Bullet is too weak for the impact velocity possible. Lots of core and jacket separation.
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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby earlwb » Tue Nov 21, 2017 6:58 pm

1. Date of kill. November 14-15, 2017
2. Hornady Black or Custom? Custom
3. AR 15, Bolt Action or single shot? AR15
4. Barrel length and twist rate. 20 inch 1:24
5. Distance to target. (Approximate will be okay if you’re not sure). 25 yards
6. Type of animal and approximate weight. Feel free to post a picture. Three pigs 96, 119, and 130 pounds
7. Did you recover the animal successfully? Yes
8. Where did bullet impact and what organs and bones were affected? Head shots
9. Did the bullet pass through? Two bullets went through one did not go all the way through
10. Did the bullet remain in the carcass and did you recover the bullet and fragments? Post picture if possible. The one bullet was recovered, the fragments were not recovered also the bullet retained 179 grains of weight to it.
11. Did you suffer any loss of edible meat? No
12. How far did the animal run after being shot? 0 feet, they went down as soon as the bullet hit
13. What kind of blood trail did you have? none
14. In your opinion, what are the strong points of the 250 Grain FTX? It worked for me, that is good
15. In your opinion, what are the weak points of the 250 Grain FTX? Maybe at close range it might be more fragile at muzzle velocity.

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Re: Hornady Factory Ammo Survey 2017/2018

Postby Texas Sheepdawg » Wed Nov 22, 2017 8:10 am

Update.
Guys, I’m getting some really great email feedback too.
Thank you and keep the data coming.
-Texas Sheepdawg

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