Hornaday TAP buckshot....booo

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Geneseo1911

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I went to the farm store today, and on the clearance shelf, I found a crate of Hornaday TAP 00 buckshot. It was priced $5.69 / box of 5, so I figured I'd pick some up to see how it'd pattern.

I got it home this evening, and thought I'd take it out of the box and ogle it for a minute, and my first thought (I only had one shell out) was "that's a lousy looking crimp". Well, when I shook the second shell out, it was uncrimped! It's not a huge deal, but I am annoyed that I'll have to re-crimp supposedly premium factory ammunition.

Since they were already uncrimped, I figured I'd open one up and look at the pellets. I was again shocked to find 8 pellets of plain (as in not plated) and non-buffered shot, which measured .315. I realize most 00 buck is undersized, and that plated shot isn't ALWAYS better, but I was surprised to find this in a premium ammo. I haven't patterned it yet, but I suspect the only advantage it will have over my handloads is velocity (rated 1600fps!) and recoil (rated 1600fps!-ouch). I'm just glad I managed to ignore that voice in my head telling me, "its a bargain, buy it all!":D

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I would suggest contacting Hornady and letting them know about the crimps. They've been very nice and helpful whenever I've called them. Don't yell or scream and you'll probably get some good service from them. They might also be interested in your picture. Their answering machine is also a hoot to listen to.

I've fired a whole truckload of 00 Buck (used to be rangemaster for a large Sheriff's Dept.) and I've never seen plated buckshot in any of it. Also, they're getting the higher velocity due to the lighter payload. Our standard load of 00 Buck was a 2 3/4" Magnum load that contained 12 pellets. Those let you know when you set them off.....

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Considering that 00 Buck should be .33 caliber, I would suspect that Hornady might be very interested in that ammo.
 
i bought a box of the hornady TAP 12 ga. buck as well....this was from gander mountain or somewhere comparable.
mine were in about the same shape as yours.
not only were the crimps horrible, but the crimp end of the shells are so horribly misshapen, that 3 of the 5 would not chamber.
i won't be buying any of the tap ammo anytime in the forseeable future.
be glad you didn't buy the whole case.
 
Contact Hornady with the lot number. I'm sure they'd be very interested in what you have. TAP 9 pellet 00 and Federal Premium 9 pellet 00 have consistently been the two best patterning 12 gauge loads I've used.
 
Considering that 00 Buck should be .33 caliber
Click to expand...

A lot (if not most) of factory loaded shells sold as "00 buck" will actually be closer to "0". The Federal Premium loads I have have 9 pel. of copper plated, buffered shot, which measure about the same: .315.

I don't think it's worth calling Hornaday about; I can re-crimp them myself; my own loads do that from time to time. I just wanted to let you all know what I found, so you don't blindly order a case based on the name alone.
 
Poor crimps and crimps that break open can be the result of bad components as well....ie too much powder, or too much buffer---
 
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