Hornady Great Plains ballistics

[Willfish4fud]

Found this chart in an old HGP box. Thought the data might be of interest to some

 

[CatamountRob]

Is that bullet available in all those calibers? I can’t seem to find anything except .50’s. I’d like to get some .45’s

 

[Willfish4fud]

They no longer making .45 n .54. You stumble across them occasionally as old stock. Careful though as the lube is often dried up

 

[52Bore]

Interesting that the diameters are well over bore diameter- 0.009” above nominal.

 

[edmehlig]

To bad someone doesn’t have one of those 45 bullets. We could send it to accurate molds to have a mold made.

 

[Willfish4fud]

Interesting that the diameters are well over bore diameter- 0.009” above nominal.

The leads so soft that those driving bands are easily cut by the rifling as they are pushed down the bore. In my .50 they don’t feel big to me but I know they are

 

[phoenman]

Id sure love to have a 58 mold either GP or Maxis

 

[KTK]

Same here Willfish4fud. They go in my 50 pretty easy, for being so oversized.
My favorite bullet.

 

[Renegadehunter]

They are my favorite conical as well, although I haven't tried many others. My renegade loves them, I use the .54 425's. I need a short starter to start them, but once about halfway down they load almost too easy. I do worry about them backing off the charge, so I've been putting a light coat of Wonderlube in the bore about a day before loading them to make the bore a bit sticky and help hold them in place. I check them frequently and haven't caught one backed off the charge yet.
When I heard they were discontinuing them I found and bought about 8 more boxes of them to go with the couple I had. I'll be using them sparingly. I know some folks don't like that they are a hollow point. I shot a whitetail with one last year at 54 yards with 100 grains of 2f Schuetzen behind it, bullet went through the lungs with the exit only about twice the size of the entry. Notched a rib going in and went between them going out, so no solid bone was hit. I don't think I'd want to shoot an elk in the front shoulder with one.
A deer doesn't go far after that thing goes through them. In all my years of hunting with CF rifles, I've never seen a bullet that leaves blood and lung bits on the exit AND entry side of where the animal was standing when hit. It did a full sprint of about 50 yards before crashing. I heard the crash about the time the smoke cleared enough that I could see that direction again.

 

[idahoron]

I had 35 boxes of the 50 cal 410 gr plat nose. They she well but when they discontinued them I had to do something else. That was when I started paper patching the Lee 500 S&W bullet. Looking back on the performance of the Hornady I am very happy I switched. The flat nose was better than the hollow point but the flat point sucked on game.

 

[MrTom]

When I bought my first Renegade back in the late 70's I used nothing but Buffalo Bullets' in the 435 grain. These has an indent in the nose and a hollow base. No such thing as a follow-up shot using them. I shot a lot of deer with these bullets. If memory serves me well enough I believe I was using 110 grains of black power when I first got the gun but shortly after getting it I found Pyrodex pellets for .54 cal and began using them just for convenience and they actually helped tighten up the groups at 50 yards.

While I no longer have that first Renegade I do have a single trigger Renegade that is in like "new out of the box" condition only no box. I cannot see where it has ever been shot and I have yet to shoot it even though I have everything I need to do so....sabots and bullets. Its a beautiful gun with nice wood and I just have a hard time thinking of loading it. If I could find some of those Buffalo Bullets I might break down but honestly I have plenty of very accurate rifles for the woods and will probably keep the Renegade for picking up to admire.

 

[idahobubba]

View attachment 4499 Found this chart in an old HGP box. Thought the data might be of interest to some

 

[idahobubba]

This was a totally awesome score..!! I appreciate it..!!

 

[4stringdude]

My .54 Caliber Thunderhawk loves HGP bullets. Sadly, I am down to my last box.

 

[WP79Vet]

Has anybody tried sizing the 385 grain 50 cal GP bullets down a bit to make loading easier? No Excuses .502 bullets fit down the bore of my Renegade with just faint scribing on the bullet, and my dial indicator says that the GPs I have are .509 on the upper band and .495 on the lower band. The base starts into the bore pretty well, but it takes a couple of sharp raps on the short starter to get them past the upper band. Once started, they push down the bore very easily, even after 5 or more shots (with swabbing between shots). For hunting, I'd love not to need a short starter at all, and I suspect that if they were sized down to maybe .504 or .503, they'd be more accurate too.

Thoughts?

 

[WP79Vet]

When I bought my first Renegade back in the late 70's I used nothing but Buffalo Bullets' in the 435 grain. These has an indent in the nose and a hollow base. No such thing as a follow-up shot using them. I shot a lot of deer with these bullets. If memory serves me well enough I believe I was using 110 grains of black power when I first got the gun but shortly after getting it I found Pyrodex pellets for .54 cal and began using them just for convenience and they actually helped tighten up the groups at 50 yards.

While I no longer have that first Renegade I do have a single trigger Renegade that is in like "new out of the box" condition only no box. I cannot see where it has ever been shot and I have yet to shoot it even though I have everything I need to do so....sabots and bullets. Its a beautiful gun with nice wood and I just have a hard time thinking of loading it. If I could find some of those Buffalo Bullets I might break down but honestly I have plenty of very accurate rifles for the woods and will probably keep the Renegade for picking up to admire.

Sure sympathize with wanting to keep your Renegade for picking up to admire. I just bought an unfired 50 cal Renegade Hunter a couple of weeks ago for hunting during Montana's new Heritage Muzzleloader season (restricted to sidelocks; full-bore pure lead bullets; loose powder; ignition with #11 caps, musket caps, flintlock, or wheellock; iron sights with no luminous paint), but am finding the rifle so beautiful and well-made that I'd like to display it on a wall plaque in our mountain home - alongside my Henry 45-70 carbine (bought to be bear medicine in case I find myself packing meat in grizz country - but may end up being my dark timber modern rifle for elk and deer too, as well as nice wall decoration). Like the Henry, there's old-school American made quality throughout the Renegade - although the lock internals on mine are a little rough (working on that, and making good progress). Walnut doesn't have a lot of fancy figure, but it's very nice, and the inletting is superb. A hunting rifle it will be, though.... so I'll have to be very careful with it. Despite the weight and 18 - 24 inches of snow on some very steep ground, it was a joy to carry during its first two days of elk hunting.

 

[idahobubba]

Has anybody tried sizing the 385 grain 50 cal GP bullets down a bit to make loading easier? No Excuses .502 bullets fit down the bore of my Renegade with just faint scribing on the bullet, and my dial indicator says that the GPs I have are .509 on the upper band and .495 on the lower band. The base starts into the bore pretty well, but it takes a couple of sharp raps on the short starter to get them past the upper band. Once started, they push down the bore very easily, even after 5 or more shots (with swabbing between shots). For hunting, I'd love not to need a short starter at all, and I suspect that if they were sized down to maybe .504 or .503, they'd be more accurate too.

Thoughts?

Or you could try the No Excuses .504? Might be an easier approach..

 

[WP79Vet]

Or you could try the No Excuses .504? Might be an easier approach..

Thanks for pointing out that possibility, which is a good one. I'd actually prefer to go with a conical that's lighter than the HGP rather than heavier, though - in order to get a bit more velocity, a flatter trajectory, and lighter recoil. Unfortunately, there just aren't many full bore conicals on the market. I was planning to try the 275 grain TC MaxiHunters, but for some reason I have trouble loading them. Being .499 in diameter, they should fit down the bore of my Renegade just fine, but for some reason they just don't, and I have trouble getting them started straight. The base won't start down the bore at all without a healthy whack - which is likely to get them started crooked - and the alloy used seems to be fairly hard. Another option is casting the Lee REAL bullet, but I've read that the biggest bands on those are .512, which calls for even more sizing, and while some people report good results with the REALs, others report had bad experience - including Idaholewis.

So.... the options seem to be the No Excuses 420 grain bullets, sizing the HGPs down, and a custom bullet mold from Accurate, in order of increasing expense and hassle. I have a nice melting pot, so casting my own seems to be mostly acquiring a good mold - and learning how to use it. Before I invest in an adjustable sizer die, I'm hoping somebody else has tried it and can let me know how it worked for them.

 

[idahobubba]

Thanks for pointing out that possibility, which is a good one. I'd actually prefer to go with a conical that's lighter than the HGP rather than heavier, though - in order to get a bit more velocity, a flatter trajectory, and lighter recoil. Unfortunately, there just aren't many full bore conicals on the market. I was planning to try the 275 grain TC MaxiHunters, but for some reason I have trouble loading them. Being .499 in diameter, they should fit down the bore of my Renegade just fine, but for some reason they just don't, and I have trouble getting them started straight. The base won't start down the bore at all without a healthy whack - which is likely to get them started crooked - and the alloy used seems to be fairly hard. Another option is casting the Lee REAL bullet, but I've read that the biggest bands on those are .512, which calls for even more sizing, and while some people report good results with the REALs, others report had bad experience - including Idaholewis.

So.... the options seem to be the No Excuses 420 grain bullets, sizing the HGPs down, and a custom bullet mold from Accurate, in order of increasing expense and hassle. I have a nice melting pot, so casting my own seems to be mostly acquiring a good mold - and learning how to use it. Before I invest in an adjustable sizer die, I'm hoping somebody else has tried it and can let me know how it worked for them.

I've used the 420's and the 460's from No Excuses and they load and shoot well from my CVA Accura but I did try several before deciding on them. But it does sound as if you have a fun project in front of you and I wish you the best of luck..

 

[WP79Vet]

I've used the 420's and the 460's from No Excuses and they load and shoot well from my CVA Accura but I did try several before deciding on them. But it does sound as if you have a fun project in front of you and I wish you the best of luck..

What's the twist on your Accura?