Molon
05-10-15, 11:58
Hornady 75 grain 5.56mm Superformance: Update
https://app.box.com/shared/static/mjmiqbesyutb809i0a5u8eup63815lv9.jpg
In 2010, I posted a sneak preview of Hornady’s 75 gain 5.56mm Superformance ammunition. When chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel, this Superformance load produced the highest muzzle velocity for a 75 grain load that I had ever seen; 2909 FPS. The table below shows the muzzle velocity of the Superformance load compared to other Hornady loads charged with standard powders.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/d7ari6jk2d.jpg
Unfortunately, this increased velocity load came with a price; and I’m not referring to dollar signs. The accuracy of the 5.56mm 75 grain Superformance load was . . . how shall I say this? . . . sub-standard . . . for what myself and others had come to expect from a “premium” heavy OTM factory load. The smallest 10-shot group that I obtained from a chrome-lined, NATO chambered, 20” Colt HBAR at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 3.4” and a mean radius of 1.16”. Others who tested the load using match grade stainless steel barrels fared hardly better.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/b70hxyavt2vvibi778a58vfyhujvmalq.jpg
http://www.box.net/shared/static/knb2dg3c2f.jpg
Since that time, Hornady has made a few changes to the 5.56mm 75 grain Superformance load. For starters (and of no real consequence) the boxes for this load now carry a “match ammunition” nomenclature instead of the original “Varmint” label. Secondly, this load is now seated with the 75 grain “T2” projectile instead of the T1 found in the original load.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/zdbs51sfw5qpe4pccovq6vo34g5hkxd6.jpg
Thirdly, the velocity of this 5.56mm Superformance load has been reduced. While the original load produced of muzzle velocity of 2909 FPS from a 20” barrel, the new version had a muzzle velocity of 2863 FPS for a difference of 46 FPS. Most importantly, this new version of the load has shown significantly improved accuracy over the original version.
Following my usual protocol for accuracy testing, (described in detail here (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?168982-Range-Report-Black-Hills-5-56mm-50-grain-TSX)) I fired three 10-shot groups in a row from a distance of 100 yards from a Lothar Walther barreled semi-automatic AR-15 with the Hornady 75 grain 5.56mm Superformance “Mod 1” ammunition. The resulting 10-shot groups had extreme spreads of:
1.31”
1.93”
1.02”
for an average 10-shot group extreme spread of 1.42”. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.48”.
The smallest 10-shot group of the “Mod 1” Superformance ammunition.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/7gcmkqioy3pwmgsa6tg5gk9ajw2xc7kn.jpg
It should be noted that the Superformance powder creates a higher port-pressure for less than full-length gas systems compared to standard powders.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/sttxz9tojuww9iqr796lwijcwrx5m8o6.jpg
….
https://app.box.com/shared/static/mjmiqbesyutb809i0a5u8eup63815lv9.jpg
In 2010, I posted a sneak preview of Hornady’s 75 gain 5.56mm Superformance ammunition. When chronographed from a 20” Colt M16A2 barrel, this Superformance load produced the highest muzzle velocity for a 75 grain load that I had ever seen; 2909 FPS. The table below shows the muzzle velocity of the Superformance load compared to other Hornady loads charged with standard powders.
http://www.box.net/shared/static/d7ari6jk2d.jpg
Unfortunately, this increased velocity load came with a price; and I’m not referring to dollar signs. The accuracy of the 5.56mm 75 grain Superformance load was . . . how shall I say this? . . . sub-standard . . . for what myself and others had come to expect from a “premium” heavy OTM factory load. The smallest 10-shot group that I obtained from a chrome-lined, NATO chambered, 20” Colt HBAR at a distance of 100 yards had an extreme spread of 3.4” and a mean radius of 1.16”. Others who tested the load using match grade stainless steel barrels fared hardly better.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/b70hxyavt2vvibi778a58vfyhujvmalq.jpg
http://www.box.net/shared/static/knb2dg3c2f.jpg
Since that time, Hornady has made a few changes to the 5.56mm 75 grain Superformance load. For starters (and of no real consequence) the boxes for this load now carry a “match ammunition” nomenclature instead of the original “Varmint” label. Secondly, this load is now seated with the 75 grain “T2” projectile instead of the T1 found in the original load.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/zdbs51sfw5qpe4pccovq6vo34g5hkxd6.jpg
Thirdly, the velocity of this 5.56mm Superformance load has been reduced. While the original load produced of muzzle velocity of 2909 FPS from a 20” barrel, the new version had a muzzle velocity of 2863 FPS for a difference of 46 FPS. Most importantly, this new version of the load has shown significantly improved accuracy over the original version.
Following my usual protocol for accuracy testing, (described in detail here (https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?168982-Range-Report-Black-Hills-5-56mm-50-grain-TSX)) I fired three 10-shot groups in a row from a distance of 100 yards from a Lothar Walther barreled semi-automatic AR-15 with the Hornady 75 grain 5.56mm Superformance “Mod 1” ammunition. The resulting 10-shot groups had extreme spreads of:
1.31”
1.93”
1.02”
for an average 10-shot group extreme spread of 1.42”. The mean radius for the 30-shot composite group was 0.48”.
The smallest 10-shot group of the “Mod 1” Superformance ammunition.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/7gcmkqioy3pwmgsa6tg5gk9ajw2xc7kn.jpg
It should be noted that the Superformance powder creates a higher port-pressure for less than full-length gas systems compared to standard powders.
https://app.box.com/shared/static/sttxz9tojuww9iqr796lwijcwrx5m8o6.jpg
….