RB's...Speer or Hornady?

Is there any quality difference between Speer and Hornady round balls?

 

[Griz]

Prewarning, I'm not an expert !
I have used both and I feel the Speer, being a swaged RB is harder than the Hornady RB. maybe that isn't the right definition but that is how they seemed to me. I also thought the Hornady RB's held a tighter group. :imo: :m2c:

 

[bob1961]

isn't hornady's ball swaged....i thought so....but they shoot better for me then speer with 70 grs of 3f with 1" groupes at 50 yds and 2 1/2" at 100..................bob

 

[Ohio Joe]

Hornady balls are swaged also. I believe Hornady uses a softer lead then Speer? At least it seems that way to me? I have also noticed that the Hornady's do group better. The softer lead I imagine is the reason? :imo:

 

[Griz]

Bob1961, You are correct. I looked on thier site and they are cold swaged, but they do not put that on thier box and Speer does. I agree Hornady does hold a tighter group than the Speer does and I don't know why.
:imo:

 

[roundball]

Hornady has been my 1st choice in all calibers for years... 440/490/530/570...so far they're always accurate and 100% reliable on deer. They are both swaged, and I too think the Speers might be harder, but it's just a personal unscientific conclusion.

I haven't hunted Speers so I can't speak to performance on game, but I've shot Speer .530's and .570's at 50yds and could not tell any accuracy difference in casual range shooting (not shooting from a bench) so unless you're in match competition, I can't imagine you'd being able to detect enough difference in accuracy to care about...ie: if I ran out of Hornady's I'd buy a box of Speers without any hesitation.

BUT...superstitions die hard...so I make sure I never run out of Hornady's...at least for hunting !!

::

 

[Deadeye]

Strange but I've had just the opposite results with .530 balls in my .54s. The Speers shoot great in my .54s, all 5 of them and the Hornadys don't shoot well at all. I believe they're both made of pure lead. :results:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I think they are both what we would consider pure lead (anything over about 99.5% only exists in a lab). Both are swaged, and that hardens the lead some. Even so, the Hornadys seem no harder than my cast balls which are maybe 97.5 to 98.5% lead (based on weight of the ball). The Hornadys weigh at least a full grain more than my cast balls of identical diameter.

I've never come across Speer round balls in the 25 + years I've been M/L. For some reason the local shops just don't carry them. I always keep a horde of Hornadys on hand in case my cast stock runs dry. I do much more shooting in the winter, so this happens every year because it gets too darned cold to sit outside and run ball.

 

I'm with Deadeye,
I weigh my ball,,if for no other reason than to eliminate another variable. I keep a very tight standard +/- .5 of 1 grain in a group or batch of ball.
I have found Speer to have a higher # of in-tolerance ball per box than Hornady, upwards of 90-95% whereas Hornady may only have 60-65% and some ball can vary as much as 3grains in any given box.("flyers" anyone?)

However, after those "culls" are removed both manufacures ball perform the same,,I just think Speer keeps a higher standard of quality

 

[cayugad]

Before I started casting my own, I would buy Hornady or Speer. Speer always gave me the best groups. In fact to prove a point once, I tested 10 of each. Actually you would not want to live on the difference, but the Speer outshot the Hornady in my roundball 1-66 twist rifle. The group was not much different at closer ranges, the big difference came at 100 yards off a bench and then it was only a matter of one Hornady was a flyer and that could have been my fault. Still, the Speer was the better group.

I have a couple boxes of both around the house and I use them for hunting with only. When I am out plinking I shoot my homecast.

 

[NORD]

Before I started casting my own, I would buy Hornady or Speer. Speer always gave me the best groups. In fact to prove a point once, I tested 10 of each. Actually you would not want to live on the difference, but the Speer outshot the Hornady in my roundball 1-66 twist rifle. The group was not much different at closer ranges, the big difference came at 100 yards off a bench and then it was only a matter of one Hornady was a flyer and that could have been my fault. Still, the Speer was the better group.

:agree:

 

[Flintleather]

ive always had the best luck and accuracy with hornady. if you want a pretty yellow plastic box that dose'nt seem to stay shut for me than try the speer. :m2c:

 

[Gatofeo]

I shoot cap and ball revolvers.
Most of the time, I use Speer balls of .454 or .457 inch. When I buy Hornady balls I always seem to find a few balls out of shape, or showing a very slight ring around the circumference from when it was swaged.
I don't find that with Speer balls. That minor aberration probably doesn't make a difference in a cap and ball revolver, especially those with rudimentary sights, but it bugs me no less.
There's another reason why I usually buy Speer:
Living out West (Utah) there seems to be more Speer balls available. I once lived in Clarkston, Washington, across the Snake River from the Speer plant in Lewiston, Idaho.
I have a soft spot for Speer. The first bullet I ever used to reload was a Speer.
Anyway, I'll buy Hornady bullets if it's all I can find but otherwise I'll buy Speer.
For my .36 caliber revolvers, I use .380 inch diameter lead balls from Warren Muzzleloading in Arkansas. Visit its website at www.warrenmuzzleloading.com
Warren Muzzleloading has a huge selection of common and odd sizes of balls, as well as other projectiles and accessories. I recommend Warren Muzzleloading highly.