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Hornady

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Hornady Manufacturing Company
Company typePrivate
IndustryAmmunition
Founded1949; 75 years ago (1949)
FounderJoyce Hornady
Headquarters
Grand Island, Nebraska
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsAmmunition, handloading equipment and supplies.
OwnerSteve Hornady
Number of employees
200+ (April 2009)
Websitewww.hornady.com
Footnotes / references
Largest independent producer of bullets in the world

Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska.

History

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Joyce W. Hornady began manufacturing bullets in the spring of 1949 with a .30 caliber 150 gr (9.7 g) spire point selling for $4.50 per hundred. Within a year Hornady was producing thirteen different bullets in five different calibers. The Korean War caused material shortages limiting early production. An early innovation was thinner copper jackets for varmint hunting bullets to cause rapid expansion and minimize size of ricochet particles. A new 8,000 sq ft (740 m2) factory was required in 1958 to meet surging demand as returning soldiers used their firearm skills for hunting. A 200 yd (180 m) test range in an underground tunnel was built in 1960 to aid development of secant ogive bullets in 1961.[1] The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took over after his father's death in a plane crash on January 15, 1981.[2] The Piper Aztec, with Hornady at the controls flying in heavy fog, crashed into Lake Pontchartrain while on final approach to New Orleans Lakefront Airport.[3]

Pacific Tool Company

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Steve Hornady worked for Pacific Tool Company from 1960 to 1971, from the time the company moved from California to Nebraska until Pacific Tool was bought by Hornady. Pacific's DL-366 was their final progressive press and Hornady's first, and it is still manufactured by Hornady as the 366 Auto.[4]

Products

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Cartridges

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Hornady makes target shooting and hunting rounds as well as self-defense loads. In 1990, the Hornady XTP (which stands for Extreme Terminal Performance) won the industry's Product Award of Merit 1990 from the National Association of Federal Licensed Dealers. The company was the primary developer of the .17 HMR and .17 HM2 rimfire cartridges, which has become increasingly popular for small game and vermin hunting. Hornady has worked closely with firearms maker Sturm, Ruger on the development of the new line of Ruger cartridges including the .480 Ruger, .204 Ruger, and .375 Ruger.[5][6][7]

The company developed the LEVERevolution ammunition, which uses a spitzer bullet with a soft elastomer tip to give better aerodynamic performance than flatter bullets, while eliminating the risk of a shock driving the pointed polymer tip of a bullet in a lever-action rifle's tube magazine into the primer of the cartridge in front, causing an explosion.[8]

At the beginning of 2012, Hornady brought out a "Zombie Max" bullet, apparently due to the growing interest in "Zombie Shooting" in America.[9]

Hornady released the Vintage Match ammunition to replicate the original military performance specifications unique to wartime rifles such as the Mauser, Lee–Enfield, Mosin–Nagant, Swedish Mauser or others chambered in 6.5×55mm, .303 British, 7.62×54mmR, 7.92×57mm Mauser and .30-06.[10]

6.5mm Creedmoor

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Main article: 6.5mm Creedmoor

In 2007, Hornady released the first 6.5mm Creedmoor Cartridge. The 6.5 Creedmoor was a joint development between former Marine Corps competitive shooter David Tubb and Hornady Ballistician David Emary.[11] Hornady Manufactures 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges, bullets and reloading dies.

6.5 PRC

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The 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) was initially designed by George Gardner of GA Precision and Hornady in 2013 and released at the 2018 SHOT Show. It is essentially a more powerful and flatter-shooting version of the 6.5mm Creedmoor and uses the same bullet, but not the same cartridge case.[12][13]

300 PRC

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The American ammunition manufacturer Hornady got the 300 Precision Rifle Cartridge[14] SAAMI-standardized in 2018.[15][16] In 2019 it got C.I.P.-standardized as the 300 PRC.[17] The .375 Ruger cartridge has functioned as the parent case for the .300 Precision Rifle Cartridge (300 PRC),[18] which is essentially a necked-down version of the .375 Ruger. The .375 Ruger cartridge case was used by Hornady as the basis for a new extra long range cartridge since it had the capability to operate with high chamber pressures which, combined with a neck and barrel throat optimized for loading relatively long and heavy .308 diameter very-low-drag bullets without the need to seat the bullets deeply recessed into the case result in adequate muzzle velocities from magnum sized bolt-action rifles. Rifles chambered for the 300 Precision Rifle Cartridge must be capable of handling 3.70 in (93.98 mm) overall length cartridges.[19][20]

7mm PRC

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Handloading

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Hornady manufactures a range of handloading components including cartridge cases, bullets and shotgun shell components. Hornady also produces a wide range handloading equipments such as presses, dies, powder measures, scales, case prepping tools, gauges, tumblers/ultrasonic cleaners and other accessories, as well as publishing a reloading data handbook that is currently in its 11th edition.

Security

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In 2013, Hornady launched its Security division, dedicated to gun storage products and accessories. Their gun safes are offered in different product categories, which include the RAPiD Safes, Keyed Safes and Lock Boxes. Hornady also sell gun safe accessories such as dehumidifiers, gun racks and hangers, RFID accessories, etc. In 2015, Hornady acquired the SnapSafe, a manufacturer known for its modular safes also headquartered in Grand Island, but these products remain marketed under the SnapSafe brand.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Zent, John (2024). "Hornady: 75 Years of "Accurate, Deadly, Dependable" Ammunition". American Rifleman. 172 (8). National Rifle Association of America: 48-53 & 62.
  2. ^ Zwoll, Wayne van (2011). Shooter's Bible Guide to Rifle Ballistics. Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-1-62087-285-7.
  3. ^ "A twin-engine plane carrying three people on a flight from Nebraska crashed into Lake Pontchartrain in heavy fog Thursday while on approach to New Orleans Lakefront Airport". www.upi.com/archives. January 15, 1981. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  4. ^ Tamage, Ken (2011). Handloader's Digest: The World's Greatest Handloading Book. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-4402-2451-5.
  5. ^ Barnes, Frank C. (22 September 2009). Cartridges of the World: A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4402-1330-4.
  6. ^ Ramage, Ken (19 November 2008). Guns Illustrated 2009. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-89689-673-4.
  7. ^ Massaro, Philip P. (11 September 2014). Gun Digest Shooter's Guide to Reloading. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-4402-3998-4.
  8. ^ Taffin, John (February 2007), "Seven revolution: it's not your grandpa's .30-.30", Guns Magazine, archived from the original on 2012-07-08, retrieved 2011-07-16
  9. ^ fieldsportschannel, fieldsportschannel. "How to shoot zombies with real bullets". fieldsportschannel.tv. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  10. ^ "Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Ammunition :: Rifle :: Choose by Product Line :: Vintage Match". Archived from the original on 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  11. ^ Association, National Rifle, American Rifleman | Official Journal Of The NRA | The 6.5 Creedmoor: Its Origins, Development & Future, retrieved 2021-07-07
  12. ^ "6.5 PRC". Hornady Manufacturing, Inc. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  13. ^ "6.5 PRC: Ultimate Guide To What You Need To Know..." 16 February 2020. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  14. ^ ".375 Ruger", Wikipedia, 2020-08-21, retrieved 2020-08-21
  15. ^ SAAMI Drawing 300 Precision Rifle Cartridge (300 PRC)
  16. ^ "It's Official — SAAMI Approves Hornady 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC". bulletin.accurateshooter.com. August 13, 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  17. ^ "C.I.P. TDCC (Tables of Dimensions of Cartridges and Chambers) 300 PRC" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-14. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  18. ^ "300 PRC, The Top 30 Cal?". loaddevelopment.com. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  19. ^ von Benedikt, Joseph (2019-01-09). ".300 PRC vs. Other .30-Caliber Magnums". Shooting Times. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  20. ^ Beckstrand, Tom (2019-03-12). ".300 PRC Review: Everything You Need to Know". Guns and Ammo. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  21. ^ "Hornady". The Firearm Blog. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
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