A lot of times the first shot fired out of a clean barrel will be off.

For Christmas, I bought two of my friends some Superperfomance ammo. One a box in 30-06, and one in 25-06.

Both have had some pressure signs on the spent brass. Nothing like the pictures posted though. The .25-06 is a H&R break open, and does have some head space issues, but the 30-06 is a 1917 Enfield that had been shooting other factory ammo just fine.

That new powder must be loaded right at the edge, or the Frontier brass is to soft.

UPDATE:

I received a call from Hornady this morning to discuss my ammo issue. The gentleman was very nice and gave me the following information:

1) He pressure tested the ammo, which came in at 64100 PSI. He said it was under the 65000 saami limit and that it was not a powder issue based on this.

2) He measure the unfired cartridges from the box and they were within spec.

3) The fired cases appeared to be out-of-spec, with no details.

4) The ammo shot fine out of the Rem 700 they have for such purposes.

5) Therefore, it MUST be my rifle (either head space or that my "throat or grooves are too tight" -direct quote).

I asked him why I have not ever had any similar instances with other ammo from other vendors and all he could say was that it was not their (Hornady's) ammo that was the problem and it was "something" with my rifle.

The real humdinger: he stated that the other times he has seen blown primers (which indicates that he is acquainted with the situation), it is always the rifles that are out-of-spec (though he personally had never inspected those rifle himself). He also mentioned that the powder they are using "keeps pressure on the bolt for a longer period of time than other powders do, but not above saami specs" -that is a direct quote.


The solution: I told him that I didn't want the ammo back and he gave me a list of options I could choose from, including a total cash refund. I choose to replace the ammo with non-superperformance 375 h&h and he said okay.

I am certainly no expert on ammunition manufacturing, nor powder burn rates, etc, but something isn't right with the batch I got. My 270 has fired >500 federal premium, more than 200 Remington and Fusion each, not to count the 100 or so of my reloads that I've pushed through, and I have never seen flattened primer or blown primers like I did with the super-performance ammunition.

If you are shooting this stuff and it looks okay in your rifle, more power to you. But check your cases between lots and check your primers. For me, I tried it and I have moved on.

In our era of slimy tort lawyers and stupid jurors, the company response is so predictable as product liability concerns over rule factual customer information exchange.

its a shame some of the ammo couldn't be tested by and "independent" facility.

I thought the new super ammo used magic powder that gave you 200 fps faster with LESS pressure.

quote:

I thought the new super ammo used magic powder that gave you 200 fps faster with LESS pressure.

Not at all.....it keeps the pressure up longer is all.....and this translates into increased velocity.

quote:

5) Therefore, it MUST be my rifle (either head space or that my "throat or grooves are too tight" -direct quote).

Teat, I'd be inclined to agree with the Hornady rep. A trip to the gunsmith is probably a good idea. You could have a jugged chamber.

How many other brands of ammo have you shot in the gun? Have you shot any hand loads? If you've tried several other brands of ammo and hand loaded stuff and have had no problems, it sure sounds like a problem with the Hornady ammo to me. However, what Sniper said about having a qualified gunsmith check your rifle, wouldn't hurt anything.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

"Headspace problems" my ass. There is nothing other than excessive chamber pressure which will deform brass in the manner of those in the photo.

Even "headspace" so excessive that the primer will just barely be ignited will NOT result in blown primers and ejector cut extrusions on the head of the case.

+1

Last weekend, I went hunting with my two friends whom I had bought some Superformance ammo for earlier.

One friend has two H&R handi rifles in 25-06 and 30-06. The other has an "Enfield" 1917 in 30-06.

The ammo for the 25-06 had the same issues that the original poster mentioned. Blown primers, bulged brass, and the like. My friend shot five rounds and then sent the rest of the box back. He also is taking the 25 in to be checked for headspace, something which I have been bugging him about for a few years.

In the H&R 30-06, the primers were cratered, and had the usual high pressure signs. No primer blow outs. My friend didn't use them for early deer season, because they were not as accurate as a Federal factory load. This rifle had been checked for head space by a gunsmith before he bought it.

My other friend with the 1917 didn't have any pressure signs, and did use it for the early season. Looking at the cases, there was some primer flattening, but not much more than I get with my handloads. But more than the Remmington core locks he usualy used.

Seems like the Superformance ammo is loaded a bit hotter than other factory ammo, and is not as tolerant of headspace issues as a result.

From my pressure testing to blow a primer like that your pressure is way over 70,000 psi, 65,000 psi in a modern/current bolt action centrefire rifle is no big deal or issue
Just from an intrest point of view i would take it to a gun smith and have him check the head space....thou i think its a pressur issue
Daniel

It appears Hornaday is loading to SAAMI limits and probably in a pressure barrel. If your rifle has a tight chamber or bore, you could easily see pressure signs.

Was the ammo sitting on the bench in the sun? Was the barrel very warm/hot and did the failed case sit in a hot chamber for very long?

Might be a combination of these things.