Fire-forming improved cases can be time-consuming and expensive. Now with just a mallet, a Hornady hydro-forming die kit, and a little H20, you can form Dasher and other improved cartridge cases easily and safely. And you won’t consume costly bullets, powder, and primers, or use up precious barrel life.
Three or Four Whacks Produces a 95%-Formed Case
With a Hornady hydro-forming die, water pressure does the job of blowing out the shoulders of your improved case. The process is relatively simple. Place a spent primer in the bottom of a new piece of brass. Fill the case with water, and then slip it into a special Hornady shell-holder with no hole in the middle. Then you run the case up into the forming die. Now comes the fun part. You gently insert a plunger (hydraulic ram) from the top, and give it three or four stiff whacks with a mallet (or better yet, a dead-blow hammer). Remove the plunger and you have a 95% formed case, ready to load.
Forum member Walter Queen (aka Queen_Stick) acquired a Hornady Hydraulic forming die kit through our Forum Classifieds. He used this to form 6mm Dasher cases. Walter tested to see how many mallet blows would be required to form his dasher cases. Using a regular mallet, four or five blows was the magic number (with a Dead-blow hammer, one can often do the job with three strong whacks). Shown below are test cases with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 (X) mallet strikes. Walter explained: “It helps to use a consistent yet aggressive swing with the mallet. I did a little test to show what’s happening to the case with each swing. The numbers on the cases refer to the number of swings with the mallet. The last case, with the ‘X’ on it, I actually hit it 10 times. The extra effort made no difference; anything beyond 5 swings is likely a waste of time!”
What’s the “happy face” case with the split shoulder? Well, as a test, Walter tried one older, work-hardened piece of brass. This split its shoulder on the third strike. Walter concluded: “You MUST have new brass, or freshly annealed brass. The ‘smiley case’ shows a split neck. For that case, on the third swing of the mallet the piston slammed down into the die and bottomed out [and] the water shot out of the split in the neck.”
Read More on RiflemansJournal.com
You can learn more about the hydro-forming process in a detailed article on German Salazar’s Rifleman’s Journal website. There, you’ll find more photos, and Walter provides helpful tips on how to hydro-form cases most efficiently (and with the least spilled H20). One tip is to “fill the cases with a syringe of some sort.”
Hornady supplies a shell holder made specifically for the hydro die; there’s no hole in the bottom of it. Just insert a spent primer into the primer pocket and you’re ready to go. The spent primer combined with the solid shell holder, keeps the water from seeping out of the primer pocket. The primer pushes out a little bit during this process, but it’s impossible for it to come out because of the way the shell holder is designed. The shell holder has a grove which allows the case to slide out of the shell holder even when the primer protrudes a bit.
How to Order Hydro-Forming Die Kits
Hydro-forming die kits, which include forming die, plunger, and special shell-holder can be ordered through the Hornady Custom Shop. Hornady can create a forming die kit for most popular cartridges, if you provide a die print or some full-formed sample cases. To order, contact Ben Syring at Hornady: 800-338-3220 (ext. 261) or bsyring [at] hornady.com. If you have an oddball wildcat, send Ben the specs for your chamber and three (3) pieces of fire-formed brass.
In order to dispel some rumors and misinformation, Hornady has issued a notice concerning Hornady product availability and production priorities. Hornady has been working hard to fill increased demand, and wants to set the facts straight. Here’s what Hornady has to say…
Hornady Product Availability
The current political climate has caused extremely high demand on all shooting industry products, including ours. Empty retail shelves, long back-orders, and exaggerated price increases on online auction sites – all fueled by rumors and conjecture – have amplified concerns about the availability of ammunition and firearms-related items.
If the information you hear doesn’t originate from Hornady Manufacturing, don’t believe it.
Here are some of rumors we’ve heard, and questions we’ve received:
Q: Have you stopped production, or has the government forced you to stop?
Hornady: Not at all.
Q: Did you stop selling bullets so you could only make loaded ammunition?
Hornady: Absolutely not.
Q: Since we can’t find your product you must be selling it all to the government.
Hornady: Nope, less than 5% of our sales are to government entities.
Q: Why can’t you make more? Ramp up production? Turn on all the machines?
Hornady: We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years. We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that — please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.
Bottom Line — We are producing as much as we can; much more than last year, which was a lot more than the year before, etc. No one wants to ship more during this time than we do.
We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience. We don’t know when the situation will improve, so please bear with us a little longer. And remember, when it comes to Hornady Manufacturing, if you don’t hear it from us, please don’t believe it.
Vintage Military Rifle Matches
Across the country, vintage military rifle matches are growing in popularity. It’s easy to understand why — the matches are fun, the rifles are affordable, and the rules discourage the use of expensive aftermarket sights and fancy triggers. It comes down to good marksmanship… and good ammo.
To help competitors in the Vintage military rifle game, Hornady has devleoped a line of Vintage Match ammunition. Currently available in four cartridge types, Vintage Match ammunition replicates the original military performance specifications of older military rifles. To function safely and reliably in older guns, this Vintage Match ammo is loaded to pressures well below CIP max.
Hornady Vintage Match ammunition was developed for shooters involved in the increasingly popular CMP Vintage Rifle and Vintage Sniper Matches. This “Vintage Match” product offers an off-the-shelf, match-grade alternative to surplus or hand-loaded ammunition. The four varieties of Vintage Match ammo are: 6.5×55 Swede, .303 British (Enfield), 7.62x54R (Moisin Nagant), and 8×57 IS/JS (Mauser)*.
Hornady offers a handy power case prep tool driver (item 050160) with three power stations. Hornady basically took its previous single-drive Power Case Prep Assistant (item 050155) and added gearing to run three different heads. It took some clever engineering to accomplish this while maintaining the small footprint of the original one-head machine. MSRP for the new Case Prep Trio (item 050160) is $129.39. If you can live with a single power take-off, the older one-head Case Prep Assistant is still offered on “close-out” at some vendors. If you look around you may find one for as little as $79.99.
Hornady calls its updated machine, with 3-tool capacity, the Lock-N-Load® Case Prep Trio. With three active stations, you can chamfer, deburr and clean primer pockets without having to change tools. The Case Prep Trio ships with inside chamfer, outside chamfer, and deburr tools. You can also use the machine with other optional 8/32 threaded accessories such as primer pocket reamers and case neck brushes. Conveniently, the Case Prep Trio has on-board storage for your tool-heads.
Story tip by EdLongrange. We welcome reader submissions.
While the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge was devised primarily for High Power and Across the Course shooters, it has also found favor with tactical shooters looking for a highly accurate round that feeds well from a magazine, but offers significantly less recoil than a .308 Winchester. In fact, the 6.5 Creedmoor has become so popular that some vendors we checked were sold out of both brass and loaded ammo. (Don’t worry though — Creedmoor Sports has both 6.5 Creedmoor brass and loaded ammo in stock.)
6.5 Creedmoor vs. 6.5×47 Lapua — Cost Factor
The 6.5×47 Lapua and 6.5 Creedmoor offer very similar ballistics with 120gr and 140gr bullets. However, 6.5 Creedmoor brass AND loaded ammo are cheaper. That’s a big plus in the tactical game. At tactical competitions, there are “move and shoot” stages where you need to shoot quickly and then move to another position. It’s very difficult to recover all your brass. Losing a piece of 6.5×47 brass (at $1 dollar a pop) is painful. The Hornady brass is $34.49 per 50 (69 cents each) at Sinclair Int’l or $34.95 per 50 (70 cents each) at Creedmoor Sports.
Hornady’s 6.5 Creedmoor loaded ammunition is also much less expensive than the loaded 6.5×47 Lapua rounds. For shooters that don’t have the time (or skills) to reload, the 6.5 Creedmoor (at $25.95 per 20-rd box) makes more financial sense. Grafs.com currently sells loaded 123gr 6.5×47 Lapua ammo for $52.79 per 20 rounds.
On the other hand, the Lapua brass is tougher. Forum member Mudcat observes: “[As to] the Hornady brass, while it’s good, it ain’t no Lapua, so don’t try to run hot loads cause all you are going to do is blow out the primer pockets. Keep your loads reasonable and you will get over 20 loads out of em. I have some I have loaded well over 20 times during testing…they grow like a mother though, as they are a lot softer than Win or Lapua, which is why the pockets will go. However the necks haven’t been splitting.”
Barrel Life Looks Promising
Barrel life appears to be pretty good with the 6.5 Creedmoor. Barrels will last significantly longer than with a typical .243 Win or 6.5-284. Forum Member Mudcat reports: “Based on my throat wear at 600 rounds on my 6.5 Creedmoor barrel, I bet we are looking at 2500 rounds EASY of great accuracy and then probably to at least 3000 where you ain’t going to notice it shooting Cross the Course — you might see something at 600, but nothing worse than a few less Xs. At 600 rounds, I have not had to move my VLD seating depth yet.” Forum member Rob1, who shoots tactical comps with Team Blaster, notes that Hornady puts its load and velocity on every box (see photo below), so it’s easy for reloaders to duplicate the factory ammo. That way you can start with a few boxes of factory fodder, and then load your own.
Hornady has announced new products for 2013. These include a number of new bullets, along with new loaded rifle, pistol, and shotgun ammunition. Perhaps most interesting for precision reloaders is Hornady’s new jumbo Ultrasonic Cleaning machine (MSRP $658.33). Featuring a 9-liter capacity, the new Hornady Hot Tub™ is long enough to accommodate and clean a 16-inch AR-15 upper. Along with its large capacity, the Hot Tub has many advanced features.
New Large-Size Ultra-Sonic Cleaning Machine — the Hot Tub™
For 2013, Hornady will be offering a new, jumbo-sized ultra-sonic cleaning machine that can handle big parts and accessories. In addition to having four (4) transducers, there is also a heating element that enhances cleaning action. Hornady says that “the microjet action of the Hornady® Hot Tub™ removes carbon residue and other debris from cartridge cases, gun parts and other metal equipment.” We know that ultra-sonic cleaning works well on cartridge cases, provided you have a good machine, a suitable solution, and run the machine for an appropriate time.
The new Hot Tub is well-equipped out of the box. One 1.7 quart inner tank comes with the unit and can be used in the main tank for cleaning multiple smaller batches or to use separate solutions at the same time. Additional inner tanks can be purchased separately. Hanging cords have been integrated into the design to allow large objects to take full advantage of the ultrasonic energy. Additionally, the Hot Tub® features integrated drain pans in the lids, a small parts basket, a degas function and five (5) temperature settings from 100-140°F.
Watch Video to See Hornady Hot Tub Ultra-Sonic Cleaning Machine in Action
Here’s a good deal for you vintage military rifle shooters. For a limited time, Creedmoor Sports and Midsouth Shooters Supply are offering Hornady .30-06 Springfield M1 Garand Ammunition at special sale prices. Midsouth has this ammo for $27.38 per 20rd box — that’s 38% off the regular $44.33 MSRP. Creedmoor Sports offers Hornady’s .30-06 M1 Garand Ammo for $32.95 per 20rd box.
This ammo is favored by many CMP Garand match shooters. It is loaded with accurate, poly-tip A-Max bullets. The M1 Garand uses a gas port system to cycle the action, but existing .30-06 ammunition can burn too slow, causing the operating system to be driven harder and faster than intended. This new offering from Hornady is purpose-built to provide accurate, safe and reliable functioning for the M1 Garand. While optimized for M1 Garands, this ammunition also shoots well in 1903 Springfield rifles and other bolt-guns chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge.
This week, the “Sons of Guns” TV show features a grudge match between Brownells and Hornady. On tonight’s episode of the popular Discovery Channel TV series, the sons (and fathers) of two legendary, firearms-industry families square off in a 3-gun match, with “bragging rights” at stake for Brownells and Hornady. The “Corporate Shootout” episode airs Wednesday, October 17, at 9:00 pm (EST).
Long-time friends Pete Brownell of Brownells, and Jason Hornady of Hornady Mfg., both executives at their third-generation family-owned companies, team up with Red Jacket Firearms to do something special for their famous fathers. In the process, they’ll settle a generations-old grudge match over which family shoots better. “I only have to outshoot Pete Brownell,” said Jason. “He’s a long-time friend, but there are no friends when it comes to competitive shooting.”
Pete, pairing up with Frank Brownell, Chairman of Brownells, and Jason, joining Steve Hornady, President of Hornady Mfg., will engage in a friendly Brownell vs. Hornady 3-gun competition using 1911 pistols, AR-15 rifles, and Saiga shotguns built by Red Jacket Firearms.
Echoing Hornady’s sentiments, Brownell jokingly responded, “Jason’s a great guy, but he’s always known that I’m the better shot. In all seriousness, we had a great time competing with our fathers. I want to thank the Hornadys, as well as the crew at Red Jacket Firearms for an incredible experience. The show settles the bragging rights question once and for all.”
TV Guns Featured on Brownells Website
The AR-15s used by the Brownell, Hornady and Red Jacket teams for the filming of “Sons of Guns,” along with a list of products used for their builds, will be displayed in the Dream Guns section of the Brownells website following the show.
Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure to work with Hornady Custom Shop Tech Lonnie Hummel. Lonnie helped us with custom sizing dies, hydro-forming dies, and other special projects. We could always count on Lonnie to respond to a request in a timely and professional manner. Lonnie showed a genuine interest in his customers and he really took pride in his work. Whenever we worked with Lonnie, we could tell that he loved the shooting sports and had a true passion for the “relentless pursuit of accuracy.” No question about it, Lonnie was one of the good guys, and we were fortunate to have a chance to work with him.
Today Hornady threw a party for Lonnie, who is retiring from the company. We wish we had a chance to be there and give Lonnie an “attaboy” for the excellent service he has rendered over the years. Today, on Hornady’s Facebook page, the company announced: “We are celebrating with [Lonnie] on his retirement this afternoon here at the plant.” Lonnie, we hope you enjoy your retirement and get to spend more time shooting and having fun outdoors….
Hornady just unveiled its “new and improved” online Ballistics Calculator. It’s free, fast, and easy to use. New enhancements include selectable G1 or G7 BCs, drop and windage in MOA and MILS, metric value option, and the ability to enter shooting angle, wind angle, and more. To access all these features (such as G7 BCs), you’ll need to select the “advanced” display from Hornady’s Ballistic Calculator Entry Page. That will open up more entry fields. Default values are entered in the temperature and pressure fields, but you can override these with your actual field data. You can select a zero range from 0 to 2000 yards, with intervals from 25 to 400 yards. Once you’ve entered all the values, simply click “Calculate” and the program provides your drop numbers in a handy chart.
Printable ‘Cheat Sheet’ for your Rifle
One very cool feature of Hornady’s online calculator is the “Cheat Sheet” — a handy, printable come-up table. Once you’ve entered your variables and run the calculator, the results appear in a handy table that you can print-out and affix to your rifle stock. Here’s a sample Cheat Sheet prepared for Berger’s 105gr VLD and a 6mm Dasher*.
Although it can employ G7 BCs now, the Hornady Ballistic Calculator, unlike the JBM online solver, does NOT include a built-in database of G7 values, based on field-testing by Bryan Litz. For that reason, the JBM Ballistics Calculator is still our first choice for an online ballistics solver. We really do like Hornady’s handy “Cheat Sheet” option though. You can, of course, get a Litz-derived G7 value from JBM and then plug that number into the Hornady Calculator to produce a printable drop table.
*NOTE: Note: Even if you have a Dasher and use the Berger 105gr VLDs, you should run your own solution with your specific sight height, elevation, temp, pressure, humidity, and zero distance.
Hornady Product Availability
Hornady offers a handy power case prep tool driver (item 050160) with three power stations. Hornady basically took its previous single-drive 
6.5 Creedmoor vs. 6.5×47 Lapua — Cost Factor
Hornady’s 6.5 Creedmoor loaded ammunition is also much less expensive than the loaded 6.5×47 Lapua rounds. For shooters that don’t have the time (or skills) to reload, the 6.5 Creedmoor (at 
Long-time friends Pete Brownell of Brownells, and Jason Hornady of Hornady Mfg., both executives at their third-generation family-owned companies, team up with Red Jacket Firearms to do something special for their famous fathers. In the process, they’ll settle a generations-old grudge match over which family shoots better. “I only have to outshoot Pete Brownell,” said Jason. “He’s a long-time friend, but there are no friends when it comes to competitive shooting.”
