Does anyone know if Hornady's .500NE loads - DGX and DGS shoot to the same point of impact?

They do in the 450NE:

They shot same point of impact in my Searcy .500NE.

That's good news. Thank you

MB,

Welcome to the forum first of all. Second, that was a very nice report you posted on the Heym factory visit. Some really elite level engraving displayed, eh? Stunning work.

From your inquiry about Hornady DGX and DGS ammo, I take it that you do not handload ammo? If not, your are probably stuck with the Hornady stuff but if by chance you do load you own, there are much better bullet options out there. The DGS and DGX have been shown to produce the second and third highest barrel strains on double rifles with the DGX also having questionable terminal performance issues.

For more info, and there is a lot of it, take a look at the "Double Rifle Bullet of the Future" thread here: http://forums.accuratereloadin...0101804/m/1201069141

Even if you've been at it a long time, there is quite a bit of good info in that thread. Lots of new objective data that sorts out some of the old opinions on what is or is not safe to shoot in doubles. I hope you find it interesting.

Cheers

Thanks for the info and link Todd. I'll have a good read of it shortly.

To answer your question, yes I do handload and will definitely do so for me .500NE double when it arrives next year.

So why the interest in Hornady factory ammo? Well, I have to choose a brand of ammo for Heym to use when regulating the barrels. Heym offer a choice of Hornady, Norma, Kynoch and a small German company who's name escapes me. They also advised that there were reasonably large differences in velocity and spread between each brand and recommended Hornady as the most consistent.

Back to handloading. My objective will be to duplicate as closely as possible the ballistics of my chosen brand so that the rifle shoots where it should. Terminal performance is a different story and I will consider all bullet options to provide the best possible performance.

The other consideration is choosing a regulation ammunition brand that could be purchased in Africa if my own ammunition "disappeared" during my outbound journey. Again I am advised that Hornady ammo is widely available. In that situation I may have to rely on their DGS and DGX loads, hence my post.

Yeah, you are absolutely correct about Hornady being the most widely available ammo and I would agree that using their ammo for regulation is the best choice.

There is another thread here that goes with the "Double Rifle of the Future" and that is the "Terminal Bullet Performance" thread which at this point is now 237 pages long. Just an absolute overload of info on bullets as they have tested just about everything on the market at this point. Really interesting stuff if you're so inclined to study it.

Actually, since you are ordering a 500NE, there is a third thread now called the "New Exploration of the 500NE". It has some really good load data including pressures and barrel strains with different bullets and powders.

Lots of good stuff here. I'm sure you'll really enjoy your 500. I have one in a Merkel that has been on several safaris now. I have another 500NE on order from VC that I hope will be delivered sometime in October or November. It's a great caliber offering the best big bore performance of all the doubles without compromising excessive weight of rifle or excessive recoil over the smaller 450-470 class.

We all hope to see some pictures of your new rifle once delivered.

In my 450, and 450-400 the DGX and DGS both shoot the same, with the same loads. I can't afford those fancy bullets, so I just shoot those Hornadys that no one seems to like.

If you reload instead of purchasing factory Loads, you'll find that you can shoot about 3 of those fancy bullits for every 1 Hornady. But not everyone hand loads.

I haven't fired a factory load in 40 years at least. Except 105 and 120 mm tank cannon rounds.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I haven't fired a factory load in 40 years at least. Except 105 and 120 mm tank cannon rounds.

You would need a mighty big press to load those tank rounds at home!