I just bought a Savage w/ 1 X 9 twist barrel.Tonight I tried shooting some Hornady 55gr SX or SPSX I think I've loaded both of these bullets for a 1 in 12 Remington and they shot great. The strange thing is the first 5 from a clean barrel shot great . I tried some other loads 40 gr. Nosler and 60 gr. Berger then I went back to the Hornady 55's w/25 gr Benchmark I was not hitting the paper . Is it possible they were blowing up ?? thanks

No I wouldn't think so. I doubt that you can push them fast enough in a 223 to blow one up. I'd check for something else. Try moving the target to 25yrd if everything is ok there , then move it back ten yds at a time. I suspect a loose scope mount or ring or a scope problem.

375win

I haven't shot Hornady SX bullets in quite a few years. They used to place a warning in the box that the velocity limit on SX's was 3600fps.
Beyond that point, they would evaporate and you'd just see a white line going towards your target!

The 3500 rpm is for a standard twist 1-12 barrel. Do the math. 1-9 is a lot more RPM.

My guess is they are blowing up also. I have had blow ups with them in a 1:7.75" twist Krieger 223Rem barrel. Not to mention total destruction of the 32 gr Bal-tips in a 1:9" twist 204 Ruger. Funny that the 32gr BlitzKings hold up just fine in the fast twist 204.

Duh. Wonder if you might figure out if they're disintegrating by shooting them at some really sophisticated target like a cardboard box placed about 25 feet away? If you find more holes than shots fired, there's a good chance that the bullet's integrity is being challenged by the combination of spin and velocity.

I had some of the early (>20 yrs. ago) 50gr. SPSX's "disappear" out of a 1:14 .222 Rem. AFTER THE BARREL GOT GOOD AND FOULED. Cleaning thoroughly made them re-appear. Stopped using them...

BV

Yes the bullets were coming apart from the increased RPM of the 9" twist. The fouled barrel cased more damage to the jackets and they came apart easier. No real mystery there as it is a common happening and easy to reproduce. My first experience with it was with 50 gr Sierra Blitz's in a 12" .223 back in the early '70s when the temp went over 80. Went to 55 gr SXs and could shoot them all day long regardless of barrel fouling or temperature. The 55 SX is deadly on any varmint up through coyotes.

Shot some of my loads through a M16A2 with 7.5" twist when they first came out and the SXs were coming apart short of 25 meters. Made interesting holes in the 25 meter zero target! Got one of the first Mini14s with 10" twist and found the SXs were ok there but velocity was only 3000 fps out of the 18" barrel thus they had less RPM. With the 9" twist of my Colt Comp the SXs again started coming apart. Switched to the Speer 52 gr HP and they worked fine but they also come apart in the faster 7.5" twist.

Larry Gibson

Back when I first got my Savage 12 BVSS, I experienced the same.. and figured they were exploding leaving the barrel..

So I called Hornady's tech line..

To put it simply.. the 50 and 55 gr SPSX's were designed to take a maximum of 180,000 RPMS upon leaving the barrel...

at 3200 fps or so out of a one in 9 twist barrel as on the Savage, they are leaving the muzzle at about 272,000 RPMs... or about 150% of design max...

So fragile bullets are not recommended in the one in 9 twists.. but they are pretty neat to shoot out of the barrel on a foggy day... you can actually watch the explosion occur thru the fog....something we have plenty of here in the Pacific NW...

Juat go to the regular 55 grain SP and 50 grainer SPs from Hornady and you'll be fine.. they both are accurate and still explosive on Prarie dogs and sage rats...

quote:

... you can actually watch the explosion occur thru the fog....

seafire2, what does it look like?

Kinda like a miniature sight of a jet coming apart after getting hit by a missle..

Thanks guys .. Lesson learned ,once loaded don't mix up SP and SPSX .I think I"ll just buy the SPs from now on they are cheap and shoot pretty good in both guns.