Anybody tried the Hornady A-tip bullets?

[Gamecock]

The press is good. I'd like to try them.

But they say you need a special tool for seating them. Then they say the special tool only fits in Hornady dies.

I'm not that interested. Anyone have any experience with them? Will my old RCBS dies work well enough?

 

[WR Moore]

Who is "they"? Hornaday has tech/customer service, you might contact them. FWIW, my latest Hornaday data manual makes no mention of any such need. I've loaded similar design rifle bullets from other brands with standard dies.

Your seating stem is touching the bullet on the ogive, not the tip.

 

[Gamecock]

Who is "they"? Hornaday has tech/customer service, you might contact them. FWIW, my latest Hornaday data manual makes no mention of any such need. I've loaded similar design rifle bullets from other brands with standard dies.

Your seating stem is touching the bullet on the ogive, not the tip.

"They" is Hornady.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I have loaded with the soft poly tipped bullets for years and before that with Remington's Bronze tip. Tip deformation is a real problem, of a sort. The only problem with tip deformation is that it is inconsistent, making your round's Ballistic Coefficient inconsistent also! The new hard poly tipped bullets may be better or they may not! It is all about making each bullet the same! But it's not about Factory sameness, it is about that sameness for when the bullet exits the barrel! And it is about not setting the primer in front of it off!

Ivan

 

[loc n load]

Hornady does recommend their “ A tip “ seating plug for these new bullets. I have some of the A tips in 6.5 destined for the 6.5 PRC, they will be shot at 1200 yards and beyond.These bullets are the “ latest and greatest” in high BC, long range bullets for PRS and long range precision shooters.
In the past year I have loaded and shot hundreds of Hornady ELD’s 80 gr 22’s and 6.5 120/123 gr. I use Hornady dies, which have a “floating “ seating stem that will not deform the poly tips.
If you are going to go to the expense of loading the A tips, then I would recommend you use the Hornady seater and avoid deforming the tip.
These bullets are designed for extended long range, so deforming the tip is defeating the purpose of the projectile. As Ivan points out, consistency is a must for precision shooting.
I don’t know what range you are planning on shooting the A tips. Last April I saw the A tips at a Hornady demo, and I told the rep I would load some and shoot them at 1000 yds, he told me to save my money and just shoot the ELD’s. He said the A tip was intended for 1200-1500 yards and beyond. Considering the groups I get at 1000 yds with the ELD’s I shoot every week, he is probably right.

 

[Gamecock]

Thx, loc n load. I'll save my money for now.

 

[Jellybean]

Wow, the marketing hype for "long range" this and that is getting sort of out of hand. Don't get me wrong, if you need it-get it, but most people I see falling for this stuff shoots at the 50 yard line, and can't hit squat at that range.

Sorry for the thread drift by the way.