Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Factory Ammo and Claimed Velocities

Is there any truth to the suggestion that some cartridges are more likely to reach claimed velocities in factory ammo than others? Have heard this before, most frequently in connection with older cartridges, particularly those for which there are a lot of older military rifles in use, like 6.5x55, 7x57, 8x57 and .30-06. The latter is interesting because the factory claimed ballistics are really pretty nice (180 at 2700 as a standard), but I've heard that they tend not to actually achieve those velocities, even from 24" barrels. Is this true on the whole? The question arose when talking to someone before who said that while he'd found the .270 win stuff he'd chronographed had performed pretty much exactly as the factory figures suggested, the .30-06 stuff had been much slower, on the order of 150 fps off claimed velocities, which seems like a lot. Both barrels were 24" by the way. Has anyone any experience which corroborates or counters his experience? It's worth bearing in mind that in Ireland we can't handload, so whether factory ammo lives up to its claims is reasonably important.

IME with the 7X57 and 30-6 they certainly reached published velocity. In fact I have seen 30-06 factory ammo in my 06 exceed published velocity by a considerable margin

I've found Federal performs above claimed velocities and Hornady (Superformance) below.

Fed 160 Accubonds 7WSM - 3120 claimed (when it was made) - 3170 actual - 23" barrel

Fed 140 Accubonds 270 Win - 2950 claimed - 2970 acual - 24" barrel

Hornady Superformace 140 SST 270 Win - 3090 claimed - 3030 actual - 24" barrel

The 35 Remington is loaded by the factory to well below the
published velocity. The deer don't have chronographs and
die the same as always.

Remington Corelokt 130 gr 270 Winchester ran 2880 fps in my 270 Featherweight 22" barrel. Claimed was 3060 fps. It did shoot good though.

It is a rare day at the range when any gun with any factory ammo achieves factory posted velocity.
The only combo that ever made it with my chrony testing was a Fed Prem 270 Win offering.
If you run the gammit with 55 grain 223 ammo, you wont believe the variation in velocity acrossed the brands.
JMHO
Tim

Often seems to me like marketing hyperbole blended with the reality that accuracy trumps everything.

And they don't seem to test much in short barrels...grin.

And there are always liability concerns...

Factory stuff that has been at or near published velocities has rarely been accurate IME - although my experience with that is really limited. I wonder if pressure spikes/inconsistency problems are more common in the average gun when factory ammo pushes the envelope.

I don't know though, since in my loading experience, high density loads are where it's at - but that's will bullets seated where they should be.

DJ

I have chronographed a lot of factory ammo. Some reaches the specified velocities (especially the newer ammo), but most of the older ammo doesn't.

Ammo companies do their load development and spec ammo in custom barrels. Production rifles generally have generous chambers and barrel dimensions, so don't reach the factory specs. Some ammo isn't even close. I chronographed some Winchester .270 130 grain silver tips that averaged 2,500 fps. on two different chronographs.

I have found that most 7mm magnum and .300 Winchester magnum ammo is in the neighborhood of 150-200 fps slower than advertised (6+ year old Federal and Winchester). Remington seems to come pretty darn close and even exceed most factory rated velocities. Across the board, Federal ammo seems to fall short more than any other I have chronographed.

There really isn't any bad ammo out there now. Ammo makers have really stepped up their game. They know we watch them and talk about them more than ever. Flinch

I've run virtually no factory fodder for decades. The exception has been some Weatherby ammo given to me by friends when they were aware of a new purchase. Chronied factory Weatherby stuff at least seems to run at advertised velocities. I do think they push the pressure envelop to the high side though.

I have to say, the guy in the original story did have a custom .270 barrel, in which he was getting around 3100 with ammo claiming 3060 (Think it was Federal 130 BTips). Do custom barrels tend to produce higher velocities, closer to the claimed ones, due to tighter chambers and tolerances?

Is that typical of the stuff Norma loads under its own name as well then? I know they claim better velocities in some older cartridges (about 100 fps better in 6.5x55 for instance).

I'd say that "tighter" custom barrels can produce higher speeds from the same ammo. I know some members here who own factory and custom-barreled rifles in the same chamberings do have to bump charges up a bit to "equalize" speeds for the factory barrels.

270 Win Federal 130 Power Shok 22.75" Bartlien = 3060 just as advertised

Core Lokt factory come pretty close in the more popular cartridges, ie '06 and .308. Not so close in .250 Savage.

Federal not always close. Maybe 100fps slow though my rifles tend to have shorter barrels and I should allow something for that. The old HE stuff [which I still have some of] is closer .

I've had Winchester Supreme, Hornady Custom, and Hornady Superformance clock as advertised.

I've also had Federal Blue Box come pretty close.

On the other hand, Remington Core-Lokts and Federal Premiums have NEVER clocked as advertised in my guns.

A few week back, the same stuff did 3106 in a 22" pre 64 M70 FW for me.

Would be interesting to know what cartridges the readings are coming from, to see whether certain cartridges are more prone to being overstated. I'm hoping to throw a new barrel on a rifle over the summer, probably either a .270 or a .30-06, and I'm weighing options. Being restricted to factory ammo for the time being, I'd obviously like to know what performance I can likely expect as that'll help determine the choice, especially if the .270 is more frequently loaded to full potential than the .30-06 Anyone any experience of the Norma stuff? They load both a 150gr BTip and a 180gr Partition in the .30-06, which would cover all bases nicely, but will they reach claimed velocities (2936 and 2700, respectively)? As I say, I know they've a reputation for loading hot in a few other cartridges.

The yellow and green box of Rem 7 mag with a 175gr CL runs just over 2700fps. A hand loaded 280 , same 175gr bullet ,runs 2680fps, that's why I'm partial to the 280

Just for fun I chronographed some approx. fifteen year old Win. 30-06 150 gr. Power Points out of a 22" barrel. I was pleasantly suprised when they clocked 2900+ fps. It is nice to know advertising isn't always BS.

The only factory stuff I can recall off the top of my head was some Federal blue box .30-'06 180 gr. rated at 2700 fps that went 2750, and some Remington .35 Remington 200 gr. rated at 2050 that went 2010 fps. Both from 24" barrels.