News and Information May 3, 2019

(Grand Island, Nebr.) — The Hornady® Ballistic Development Group (BDG), a specialty research and design group at Hornady Manufacturing, has developed a new line of match bullets for the ultimate in precision and long-range shooting.

By drawing on years of research and experience with existing products like the ELD-X® and ELD® Match bullet lines, state-of-the-art equipment including Doppler radar, high-speed camera systems, plus investment in advanced manufacturing machinery, processes and quality control measures, the BDG has developed the A-Tip™ line of match projectiles.

By drawing on years of research and experience with existing products like the ELD-X® and ELD® Match bullet lines, state-of-the-art equipment including Doppler radar, high-speed camera systems, plus investment in advanced manufacturing machinery, processes and quality control measures, the BDG has developed the A-Tip™ line of match projectiles.

The most striking visual feature of the A-Tip™ bullet is its long, uniform, precision-machined aluminum tip.

“We wanted to incorporate aluminum tips in a full line of match bullets for years because we can make longer tips than we can with polymer materials,” said Joe Thielen, Assistant Director of Engineering. “This longer tip is a key component that helps move the center of gravity of the bullet rearward, thus enhancing in-flight stability and reducing dispersion. The problem has always been the cost to produce a tip like this, but we’ve developed a cost-effective process for manufacturing these aluminum tips while staying affordable for serious match shooters.”

The longer aluminum tips are machined to be caliber-specific, and when coupled with highly refined AMP® bullet jackets, aggressive profiles and optimized boattails, the result is enhanced drag efficiency (high BC) across the board. Each bullet design is carefully crafted for minimal drag variability for the utmost in shot-to-shot consistent downrange accuracy.

The materials, design and manufacturing techniques combine for the most consistent and accurate match bullets available.

“We designed the A-Tip™ projectiles with accuracy and precision first and foremost,” Thielen added. “Many low-drag bullets on the market today have very aggressive secant ogives, which look great on paper and yield high BCs, but usually these types of projectiles are very finicky when it comes to accuracy or performance in different chambers, standard twist rates, seating depths and barrels.”

In addition to developing projectiles that will shoot well in a variety of chambers, the BDG also designed the A-Tip™ bullets with the right balance between the center of gravity of the projectile versus center of pressure to minimize in-flight drag variability.

The A-Tip™ bullets are also packaged sequentially right off the bullet press without being batch handled or tumbled, ensuring that each bullet in the box is a clone of the bullet before it — and after it.

A-Tip™ bullets will be available in 100-count boxes, and retailers will also sell sleeves of five sequential 100-count boxes packaged together, as well as a case pack of two 500-count sleeves for a total of 1,000 sequentially packed bullets. Since the bullets will not be touched or tumbled, there will be some slight oil residue, so a bullet polishing bag will be included with each 100-count box for the hand loader to use in preparing bullets for loading.

This change in manufacturing and packaging is a welcome and unique challenge for a company built on large-scale manufacturing.

“We are frequently viewed as a very large bullet manufacturer, which in many ways we are, but the Ballistic Development Group runs like its own small ‘skunkworks’ division that allows us to offer the small-batch craftsmanship normally only offered by a boutique bullet maker,” said Jason Hornady, Vice President. “We’re shooters ourselves, and we also listen to what shooters want, and we are excited to be able to offer competitive and hard-core shooting enthusiasts projectiles that are undoubtedly the new standard bearer of precision and performance.”

Initial offerings of the A-Tip™ bullet include the following listings with Doppler radar measured G1 and G7 BCs:

·6mm 110 grain G1: .604 G7: .304

·6.5mm 135 grain G1: .637 G7: .321

·6.5mm 153 grain G1: .704 G7: .355

·30 caliber 230 grain G1: .823 G7: .414

·30 caliber 250 grain G1: .878 G7: .442

Use of a new A-Tip™ bullet seating stem is required for optimal bullet seating. Please visit hornady.com for full details.

A-Tip™ bullet BC values have been measured at Mach 2.25 and corrected back to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standard Atmosphere (sea level, 59 degrees F, 29.92 inHg, 0% humidity).

Visit hornady.com/BC for BC values measured at Mach 2.0 and Mach 1.75 for calculating trajectories when shooting long distances.

Use of the Hornady® 4DOF® ballistic calculator with pre-populated A-Tip™ bullet drag curves will provide the most accurate calculations. Visithornady.com for full details.

Founded in 1949, Hornady® Manufacturing Company is a family owned business headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Proudly manufacturing products that are made in the USA, Hornady® Manufacturing is a world leader in bullet, ammunition, reloading tool and accessory design and manufacture.

BELLEVUE, WA – Three victories in three Second Amendment-related cases—two from New York and one from Wisconsin—is good news for gun rights, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

“This should be tantamount to ‘three strikes and you’re out’,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Gun control took three hard punches and should be down for the count.”

He was alluding to the following cases:

• The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against New York City in its attempt to stay a challenge to that city’s handgun law that prevents gun owners from taking their handguns outside of their homes or the city. The Court has already granted review of the case.

• The Wisconsin State Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against Armslist LLC that alleged the popular website was liable for the acquisition of a gun by Radcliffe Haughton in October 2012. Haughton was subject to a restraining order at the time. The state high court ruled 5-1 that Armslist LLC is protected from liability by the federal Communications Decency Act. Haughton used the gun to murder his wife and two of her co-workers.

• The New York State Supreme Court dismissed two SAFE Act charges against a man convicted of selling a firearm to an undercover officer in 2014. The SAFE (for Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement) is an extreme gun control act championed by anti-gun-rights Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“In New York’s cases,” Gottlieb observed, “the court rulings should be a clear signal that the state, and New York City, have taken gun control to unacceptable extremes. They need to be reined in.

“The Wisconsin case should never have been filed in the first place,” he added. “The federal law is supposed to prevent such legal actions, and the Armslist case shows why.

“Gun rights court victories are like seeds,” Gottlieb said. “They grow into big legal precedents.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the firearms industry trade association, commends Congress’s passage of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act (H.R. 1222). The bipartisan legislation, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Companion legislation (S. 94) was previously passed by the Senate. The bill will return to the Senate for a legislative formality, but is expected to pass by unanimous consent as the bill language is identical, and be sent to President Donald Trump for enactment.

“This has been a key piece of legislation for NSSF to grow and sustain hunting and recreational target shooting that will additionally benefit wildlife conservation. We are deeply appreciative to our leaders on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of Capitol Hill for their perseverance and foresight to benefit state wildlife agencies, recreational target shooting and sustained wildlife conservation,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “This is crucial legislation that will give state fish and game agencies more flexibility to use Pittman-Robertson excise taxes dollars raised from the sale of firearms and ammunition to enhance existing public shooting ranges and to build new ones to meet the growing need for additional places for target shooters to participate in their sport. Public shooting ranges provide hunters a place to sight in rifles and shotguns before hunting seasons, for people to take firearm safety and hunter education courses and, for recreational target shooters to enjoy their sport.”

The Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act, also known as the “Range Bill,” would allow states to use their allocation of Pittman-Robertson funds to begin construction of new ranges, or improve existing state-run public recreational shooting ranges. Currently, states are required to put up 25 percent of the cost of range construction projects to access the matching 75 percent of funds from Pittman-Robertson allocation. This legislation would allow states to access those funds with a 10 percent match and allow states five fiscal years to acquire land for range construction or expansion projects.

Pittman-Robertson funds are derived from an excise tax paid by firearms and ammunition manufacturers. Since 1937, the fund has generated more than $12.1 billion that has funded wildlife conservation and safety education programs in all 50 states. NSSF estimates more than 80 percent of Pittman-Robertson excise tax contributions are generated by sales attributed to recreational shooting. This means today’s recreational target shooter is an overwhelming contributor to conservation through excise tax support.

NSSF works diligently to remove barriers of entry to hunting and the shooting sports. A recurring concern of those considering taking up recreational shooting as a sport cite having access to a safe range as a priority concern. This legislation’s passage would make it easier for states to enable recreational target shooters to enter the sport, which in turn would generate continued contributions to Pittman-Robertson funds and the conservation programs which it supports.

This legislation has long been a top priority for NSSF as a crucial step forward in promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports. It has been introduced as 29 different numbered bills, since the 110th Congress. In those 14 years, the legislation was included in 15 separate bill packages, that for reasons unrelated to the “Range Bill” failed to reach Congressional consensus.

NSSF is especially grateful to Reps. Kind, Bishop and Hunter, as well as U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Boozman, (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-Utah) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). All are original co-sponsors.