Have you ever wondered what separates Match Ammunition from Hunting Ammunition? Obviously, the way the bullet performs will be one of the largest determining factors, but there is a list of other attributes that makes “Match” Ammunition increasingly more accurate and consistent. On this episode of Korth Group Outdoor Education we are going to briefly touch on what goes into Hornady’s Match Ammunition that makes it some of the best in the world. This write up will just be a quick synopsis as the YouTube link at the bottom of this article will take you to Episode #077 of the Hornady Podcast where Seth Swerczek is joined by Senior Ballistician, Jayden Quinlan, and Assistant Director of Engineering, Joe Thielen, where they dive into some of the specific characteristics of what makes Hornady Match Ammunition the pinnacle of the industry.
With competition season basically here, shooters are preparing their ammunition by either sourcing factory loaded ammunition or reloading it themselves. With the level of quality that Hornady Match Ammunition has, a shooter would have to ask the question of whether it makes economical sense to go with factory Match Ammunition rather than loading it themselves while taking into consideration the cost of reloading components and the time invested. If one can get similar or better accuracy with their desired velocities out of loaded Hornady Match ammunition, why would one need to reload?
So, what makes Hornady Match Ammunition so superior? Basically, you can start with the quality of the different components – bullets, propellants, primers, and cases.
Simply put, Hornady is a bullet company. Before they started offering loaded ammunition, they mastered the art of producing industry superior projectiles. Their Match bullets (ELD-Match, ELD-VT, A-Tips, BTHP, etc.) are held to a different standard than their hunting bullet offerings. The tolerance of the tooling that is used in the production process and the consistency of each bullet that comes off the line is their main priority and is what sets it apart from others.
Yes Hornady is a bullet company, however the additional components (propellant, primers, and cases) of their loaded Match Ammunition are also held to a higher quality standard. The propellant is the main driver outside of the bullet when looking at consistency and accuracy. They select powders that not only work the best for the selected bullet, but also for a broad range of temperatures and applications. We all know that matches can be shot in the high heat of the summer or the cold damp climate of the spring/fall, so having a powder that will consistency perform throughout this spectrum of temperatures is very important. When all said and done, each component must work in conjunction with one another, like a recipe. You can have an excellent propellant with the right bullet selection for the caliber but if the primer is not suitable for that combination it will not produce the best possible result. This is something that Hornady takes very seriously when producing all their ammunition, but specifically their Match Ammunition offerings.
With all this being said, I will let the three Hornady experts provide you with a more in-depth discussion on Hornady’s Match Ammunition in the YouTube link below.
