I recently ran into a problem with the Hornady 55 gr Sp w/c bulk bullets and was wondering if anybody else had experienced the same. I bought a couple boxes (100 count) off the shelf locally a year or two ago and had them laying around till this fall when I decided to load them up and see how they shot. I was plesantly suprised when all three of my uppers put 5 into an inch at 100 very consistently. Sometimes a little better but hardly ever any worse, very consistent. So I figured I would buy them in bulk and see how they performed on squirrels, prairie dogs etc this coming spring.
Long story, short, the bullets that worked so good before(off the shelf) now in bulk would not chamber in 1 upper and the best group I could get out of the other 2 uppers is now at about 3". Checking the bullets they are visiably different. The bulk bullet had a longer OAL, longer bearing surface, cannelure in a different place, but they weigh the same as the old ones. A quick call to Hornady in which they informed me they have changed nothing with that bullet and the company I got them from probably used somebody else's bullet or had a mix up of some kind. So I called the place I bought them from, they told me they do not mix bullets, the Hornady's are taken right from a 6000 round box and divided up. They were very nice, told me to send them back with a couple of my old ones and they would check into it.
Again long story short, after 2 weeks of them looking into it and talking with Hornady's plant manager, it has been verified that they were Hornady bullets, the tolerences have changed but they are still within Hornady standards. So the bullets that shot so good I guess are a thing of the past, at least in bulk!! FYI for those who did not know the Hornady bulk bullets come from a different assembly line than the red box you buy on the shelf, completely different plant, different address. I am not tring to rag on Hornady bullets here, I have shot thousands and will continue to shoot some others but I am kinda disappointed with this experience. I know I was not buying a match bullet but I expected the same bullet I had before. Anybody else noticed any difference in these bullets???
Long story, short, the bullets that worked so good before(off the shelf) now in bulk would not chamber in 1 upper and the best group I could get out of the other 2 uppers is now at about 3". Checking the bullets they are visiably different. The bulk bullet had a longer OAL, longer bearing surface, cannelure in a different place, but they weigh the same as the old ones. A quick call to Hornady in which they informed me they have changed nothing with that bullet and the company I got them from probably used somebody else's bullet or had a mix up of some kind. So I called the place I bought them from, they told me they do not mix bullets, the Hornady's are taken right from a 6000 round box and divided up. They were very nice, told me to send them back with a couple of my old ones and they would check into it.
Again long story short, after 2 weeks of them looking into it and talking with Hornady's plant manager, it has been verified that they were Hornady bullets, the tolerences have changed but they are still within Hornady standards. So the bullets that shot so good I guess are a thing of the past, at least in bulk!! FYI for those who did not know the Hornady bulk bullets come from a different assembly line than the red box you buy on the shelf, completely different plant, different address. I am not tring to rag on Hornady bullets here, I have shot thousands and will continue to shoot some others but I am kinda disappointed with this experience. I know I was not buying a match bullet but I expected the same bullet I had before. Anybody else noticed any difference in these bullets???
