Hornary or Speer, is one better than the other? Local supplier (Gander Mtn) carries Hornary, however, I've seen a few shooters at the local shoots (1&1/2 hr drive each way) using speer's. Fairly new at prb shooting, and am just curious? :hmm:
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Hornary or Speer
- Thread starter Grandpa C
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I've used them both in multiple calibers and I've never seen any difference.Grandpa C said:
The Speer balls seem to run a couple bucks a box more, so Hornady is always my first choice...both targets & deer...never, ever, ever had a concern over the quality or accuracy of Hornadys.
(+ the red colored box goes good with the red colored can of Goex :grin: )
Guest
My reply to your question is, do you want a Cadillac or a Lincoln? They're both good. For a round ball, I use the swaged 490 Hornadys. For my M1A, I use the Speer 168 grain.
jimeckersley
40 Cal.
Grandpa C said:
Are you a recreational shooter or do you want to be a competitor in matches? It helps to know what you want to do.
I like hornady they're usually cheaper than speer.I think you pay extra for the speers to get the handy plastic box.
right now, I'm a recreational competitor. I just started shooting a few months ago for the enjoyment of shooting, but I joined a club that has monthly shoots, and I realy don't want to be in last place every month, but last place is better than not shooting at all.
Guest
Stick with the Honadys Grandpa, you won't go wrong. :thumbsup:
jimeckersley
40 Cal.
OK. For now...
Which ever you get the best buy on will work just fine. Keep in mind how the swaged balls are made. They're hammered into shape. That's why they're slightly dimpled. They're also not all the same weight and most are a bit out of round.
Have you ever heard of blue printing an engine. People do that all the time to get advertised performance out of their engines. So, you can also blue print the swaged balls.
The immediate thing you can do is weigh the balls. Keep the heaviest and down to 1/2 grains lighter for match use, assuming a 45 to 54 caliber or so.
I know this will drive some forum members crazy but you can get a couple of 3/8 to 1/2 inch steel plates about 12 inches square. Have one side of both plates machined flat and the machine marks removed. They don't have to have a mirror finish. You now have a ball roller to bring those out of round balls back into round. You can make a circle out of a piece of 1/4 inch plastic neoprene tubing to hold the balls in between the plates while you're rolling them around. It doesn't take long and you have really round balls. You can do a whole box, less the culls at one time.
You'll get a lot of advice too regarding lubes, patches and more. If you want to private post me, I'll get you some information that took me from where you are, to quite a bit better.
Which ever you get the best buy on will work just fine. Keep in mind how the swaged balls are made. They're hammered into shape. That's why they're slightly dimpled. They're also not all the same weight and most are a bit out of round.
Have you ever heard of blue printing an engine. People do that all the time to get advertised performance out of their engines. So, you can also blue print the swaged balls.
The immediate thing you can do is weigh the balls. Keep the heaviest and down to 1/2 grains lighter for match use, assuming a 45 to 54 caliber or so.
I know this will drive some forum members crazy but you can get a couple of 3/8 to 1/2 inch steel plates about 12 inches square. Have one side of both plates machined flat and the machine marks removed. They don't have to have a mirror finish. You now have a ball roller to bring those out of round balls back into round. You can make a circle out of a piece of 1/4 inch plastic neoprene tubing to hold the balls in between the plates while you're rolling them around. It doesn't take long and you have really round balls. You can do a whole box, less the culls at one time.
You'll get a lot of advice too regarding lubes, patches and more. If you want to private post me, I'll get you some information that took me from where you are, to quite a bit better.
Johnny Tremain
Silversmith in training
flyboy said:
I use home mades in my muzzle stuffer, and Hornady 175gr BT HP in my M1.
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I have used both. I have found by mikeing them that Speers are a couple of thousandths closer to round, but I don't think you could tell the difference in shooting with either.
I use Hornady in my 50's and Speer in my 45. The only difference I've noticed is that the Speer come in a plastic box and Hornady comes in a cardbox box that kinda unfolds to open and my son constantly is spilling the contents all over. Although I find it quite amusing, I do need to go the ways of the ball bag
Guest
Slake, for the few dollars that you'll have to spend, a ball bag is most definately worth it!
WV_Hillbilly
45 Cal.
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Typically, the Hornadys are much easier to find and are priced lower. I do still like Speer though and the plastic box is probably(?) why they cost more. Some of the "generic brand" swaged available out there are Hornady seconds (or so I've heard).
As far as accuracy goes...? It isn't a lot, but it does depend on the gun also. The Speer do appear to be "more round" (less "flats" during swaging) and are a little more consistent. BUT remember that BOTH brands get squeezed into an oblong spheroid shape upon firing.
Have you went to a match and noticed what most of the top shooters are using...? You may want to!
Shoot Safely,
WV_Hillbilly
As far as accuracy goes...? It isn't a lot, but it does depend on the gun also. The Speer do appear to be "more round" (less "flats" during swaging) and are a little more consistent. BUT remember that BOTH brands get squeezed into an oblong spheroid shape upon firing.
Have you went to a match and noticed what most of the top shooters are using...? You may want to!
Shoot Safely,
WV_Hillbilly
Arrowstorm
40 Cal.
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I like speer better because they seem to be far smoother than hornady's balls. Just my two cent piece.
Well, I'm surprised no one has jumped in with a vote for "Buffalo". They're cheaper than either of the named brands and they also come in a plastic box and it's even semi-transparent so you can see how many you have left! :haha:
I'll bite - I use .610 Buffalo Balls and find them excellent.
I also have Warren/Ozone Mt. .610s and they have some serious, visible to the naked eye, out-of-round issues. Considering how expensive they are that's pretty sad.
Got so many Speer and Hornady .490 on sale that I haven't shot any Buffalos in my .50. So my observations are in 2 different calibres. I don't find any measurable difference between Hornady & Speer for casual paper punching or hunting.
I also have Warren/Ozone Mt. .610s and they have some serious, visible to the naked eye, out-of-round issues. Considering how expensive they are that's pretty sad.
Got so many Speer and Hornady .490 on sale that I haven't shot any Buffalos in my .50. So my observations are in 2 different calibres. I don't find any measurable difference between Hornady & Speer for casual paper punching or hunting.
Pierre a' Fusil said:
FYI...same here...last year I got a couple boxes of Warren .600's to try in a GM barrel and had to use a length of 2x4 with the short starter to beat them in...and that was just with a thin .010" patch.
(Yet by contrast, a few years ago I had shot a couple boxes of Warren .550's in a TC .56cal S/B and they were excellent)
So a few weeks ago I followed the advice of someone here and ordered some from TOW...supposed to be made by 'Rush Creek' (if I've got that right) and supposed to be better quality
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