Hornady "Light Magnum" Test Results

We had a discussion last week about the Hornady light magnum loads, and I said that I planned on doing some testing of one. The two test rifles are a Win Mod 70, 22" barrel, and a Mauser 98 with a 24" barrel. The cartridge tested is the .308 Win caliber, 165 gr. BTSP, which is catalogued as having a muzzle velocity of 2880 fps.

Out of the 22" tube, 10 shots averaged 2779 fps, with a standard deviation of 12. Out of the 24" barrel, 10 shots averaged 2861 fps, with a standard deviation of 10. 100 yard accuracy was not bad, with the Mod 70 garnering three 3 shot groups averaging 1.15", and the Mauser getting three 3 shot groups averaging 1.27".

By comparison, my best handload for the Mod 70 with the Hornady bullet gets me 2735 fps, average group size .74". For the Mauser, I can squeeze 2810 fps out of the Hornady bullets, with group sizes averaging 1.00".

So, I can get about 50 fps more out of the Hornady factory ammo, but accuracy is not as good. And yes, barrel length does make a difference. At least with this light magnum load.

Comments?

[This message has been edited by Nodak Hunter (edited 03-04-2001).]

Nodak, It sounds like barrel length does make a difference. I would be curious about the load densities. Anyway, thanks for the report. What do you think? Will you use the light magnum loads or go back to your handloads?

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Dan AZ www.huntandlodge.com

I'll stick with the handloads. (Like you knew I would) They're more accurate, less expensive, and, of course, I made them.

Nice job Nodak.
Hey guys, There's a couple of really good articles on the Lilja Barrel website. One is about optimizing a .308. The other is about a 40-something inch long 30-378 barrel that he tests, then cuts an inch off, then tests, then cuts, test, cut, test, cut....... Very interesting.

Elmo, do you happen to have the web site address. I will like to see it, just for kicks

John

John,

Here it is. There is a chart quite a ways down into the article that sums the whole thing up. I found it interesting to not what happened when the barrel length dropped below 30".

http://www.riflebarrels.com/velocities.htm

That is a great article.

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Dan AZ www.huntandlodge.com