Jason Hornady Discusses Hornady Ammunition

by
posted on October 29, 2023

Hornady began in 1949 as a manufacturer of bullets, but in the company's 74 years in business, it has expanded into a number of other areas. One of Hornady's main channels of growth has been in the development of loaded ammunition, and now, the company makes a wide range of hunting, defensive and target loads for every corner of the firearm market. Watch our American Rifleman video above to hear Jason Hornady talk about the development of Hornady's ammunition lines.

"You know, it's interesting, my grandfather started our ammo business in the early '60s, and he did it because he wanted to have a constant customer for his bullet business," Jason Hornady told American Rifleman. "And then in the late '80s, early '90s, my dad wanted to make more ammo, and so he started making cartridge cases. And when I say we started making cartridge cases, we made like, 12. And it wasn't until the early 2000s that we really doubled up on cartridge-case manufacturing."

The company released several innovative designs in the early 2000s, notably the .375 Ruger and 6.5 mm Creedmoor, both of which were released in 2007. The .375 Ruger was a unique cartridge designed jointly between Hornady and Ruger, and it offered a large-caliber round designed for dangerous-game hunting that could be chambered in a standard-length rifle action. For the 6.5 mm Creedmoor, Hornady started with the .30 TC cartridge, creating an efficient, long-range cartridge that's taken the precision-shooting world by storm.

"The number of steps a cartridge case goes through to become a loaded round of ammo is unbelievable, so we've focused on that, we've spent a lot of time trying to make sure we do it, and we've come up with some fun ones along the way," Hornady said. "When you do a 6.5 mm Creedmoor, which it took a while to get going, but boy, we sure sell a lot of them, and people like to shoot them, and there's a whole bunch of that stuff, PRCs and 6 Creedmoors and ARCs, and it's really turned into this little ammo company that buys a lot of bullets from our bullet business."

For more details on Hornady and its ammunition, visit hornady.com.

Latest

Rossi Rio Bravo Tactical lever-action rifle left-side view shown with bipod in brown grass outdoors with Leupold riflescope attached.
Rossi Rio Bravo Tactical lever-action rifle left-side view shown with bipod in brown grass outdoors with Leupold riflescope attached.

Rossi Rio Bravo Tactical: A Tactically Practical Rimfire

Announced during "The Year Of The Lever-Action," Rossi's latest tactically themed lever-action rimfire rifle does not disappoint, offering up practical features front to back.

Online Safety Resources On Water & Fire Damage Released By SAAMI

“These important documents add to SAAMI’s technical library of firearm safety resources that provide guidance to both industry professionals and the firearm-owning community.”

Rifleman Review: Taurus TX22 Compact

A downsized version of Taurus USA's TX22 is available, giving folks a smaller, handier version of the full-size TX22 rimfire pistol that's become one of the company's most popular offerings.

New For 2025: Springfield Armory Saint Victor 9 mm Pistol

Recently, Springfield Armory added a large-format pistol variant of its Saint Victor 9 mm carbine, giving enthusiasts a compact PCC that feeds from Colt-pattern magazines.

The Rifleman Report: New Developments

Our official coverage of new products for the current year is set for next month, but we included two substantial new developments in this issue that have the potential to make significant ripples in the firearm business even before then.

Arkansas To Begin Mandatory Gun Safety Lessons In Schools

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law requiring public and open enrollment public charter schools to provide age-appropriate firearm safety instruction beginning during the 2025-2026 school year.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.