Hornady American Gunner Ammo review

Started by Carl in CT, March 02, 2016, 08:51:14 AM

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Carl in CT

March 02, 2016, 08:51:14 AM
I picked up four boxes of Hornady American Gunner ammo a few weeks ago. Went shooting with it Saturday. I bought two boxes of 9mm+p 124 grain XTPs and two boxes of .45 Auto 185 grain XTPs.

I am not impressed. Out of 20 rounds of .45 I had 2 failure to fires in my Ruger SR45. The only other ammo I ever had FTFs with in that gun is cheap crap Herters and that was 2 or 3 out of 100 so a 2-3% failure rate for the cheapest ammo out there just for plinking. The American gunner was 2 out of 20, a 10% failure rate, not good, especially for defense ammo that you may be betting your life on.

I then tried the 9mm American Gunner ammo in my Kahr CW9. Again, out of one box (25 this time) I got 2 failure to fires, that's a 8% failure rate, totally unacceptable. I have never had any failure to fires out of that gun with any kind of ammo.

So while this Hornady American Gunner ammo looks just like the more expensive Hornady Critical Defense it seems like they skimped on something (primers maybe). I won't buy it again even though it's a little cheaper. I just don't trust it as self defense ammo and it's still too expensive for plinking.
It's sad that the motto of young Americans isn't "live free or die" or "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" or even "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". Instead their motto is "pee yourself, shelter in place and cry for help". Pathetic.

running-man

#1
March 02, 2016, 10:11:56 AM Last Edit: March 02, 2016, 10:25:29 AM by running-man
Wow, definitely not good Carl!  What do you think the root cause of the FTF is?  (Primers too deeply seated, too hard, poor quality, etc?)

Do you think it's worth letting Herter's Hornady know they have a quality control problem? 

      

Carl in CT

#2
March 02, 2016, 10:21:38 AM
I dunno, I am thinking bad primers simply because they must be looking for a way to make these just a tad cheaper than the Critical Defense stuff.  Can't see them changing the manufacturing or QA process, it's easier to just use a cheaper component. Just a guess though.

It was a small sample size but to have the same issue with two otherwise reliable guns in two different calibers seems like more than an outlier or coincidence. I have to clean the guns and my daughter wants to go shooting soon, when does she not want to go shooting  :). So I will shoot one more box of each and see how they do. I may contact Hornady with the results and lot numbers. I didn't keep the unfired rounds though. If I get more I will save them.
It's sad that the motto of young Americans isn't "live free or die" or "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" or even "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". Instead their motto is "pee yourself, shelter in place and cry for help". Pathetic.

Phosphorus32

#3
March 02, 2016, 12:34:45 PM
That's completely unacceptable  bat1  I don't think I've ever had a FTF with new production ammo. 8-10% is a sign of something that is seriously wrong with their components or production process. I think Hornady would be grateful (or should be) to hear about the problem.

Phosphorus32

#4
March 02, 2016, 06:48:11 PM
Do you have any other .45 ACP or 9mm firearms to examine the possibility that it is the pistols that are sensitive to this particular ammo?

Carl in CT

#5
March 03, 2016, 08:53:17 AM
Quote from: Phosphorus32 on March 02, 2016, 06:48:11 PM
Do you have any other .45 ACP or 9mm firearms to examine the possibility that it is the pistols that are sensitive to this particular ammo?

Nope, the budget says 1 pistol per caliber at the moment. My buddy did have his LC9 with him, should have had him try some.
It's sad that the motto of young Americans isn't "live free or die" or "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" or even "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". Instead their motto is "pee yourself, shelter in place and cry for help". Pathetic.

Carl in CT

#6
March 24, 2016, 08:11:05 PM
Finally got around to shooting the rest of this ammo, just another box of each. Well, no problems this time. Ammo came from the same batches, same guns, same mags, heck I hadn't even cleaned them yet ( loser1 ). So I dunno, I still find the failure rate too high and I won't buy it again but it's better. I found a place that has Federal HST 50 round boxes for under $30 each so no need to bother with American Gunner again. With tax and shipping I am getting 100 rounds of 9mm HST and .45 HST (50 rds each) for $68. That's a damn good price for some of the best self defense ammo on the market.
It's sad that the motto of young Americans isn't "live free or die" or "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" or even "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". Instead their motto is "pee yourself, shelter in place and cry for help". Pathetic.

Carl in CT

#7
March 29, 2016, 05:12:50 PM
Quote from: Carl in CT on March 24, 2016, 08:11:05 PM
Finally got around to shooting the rest of this ammo, just another box of each. Well, no problems this time. Ammo came from the same batches, same guns, same mags, heck I hadn't even cleaned them yet ( loser1 ). So I dunno, I still find the failure rate too high and I won't buy it again but it's better. I found a place that has Federal HST 50 round boxes for under $30 each so no need to bother with American Gunner again. With tax and shipping I am getting 100 rounds of 9mm HST and .45 HST (50 rds each) for $68. That's a damn good price for some of the best self defense ammo on the market.

BTW, here is the link to where I got the HST ammo, right here in the heart of the progressive blue north, CT.

http://www.targetsportsusa.com/CSearch.aspx?Search=%25hst&CategoryID=2&ManufacturerID=0&SectionID=0&PriceRange=0&SortBy=0&PageSize=12&AndOr=AND&DisplayMode=Grid&Condition=-1&SearchPartNumbersOnly=0
It's sad that the motto of young Americans isn't "live free or die" or "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" or even "ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country". Instead their motto is "pee yourself, shelter in place and cry for help". Pathetic.
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