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Light Magnum???

sentry dog 69
I was looking at ballistic ratings from Hornady last night and many of their calibers had "light magnum" rounds.

What is a light magnum? Is it for magnum rifles or is it a hopped up round that can be shot in a regular rifle?

Thanks in advance.
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • Ambrose
    Your second guess!
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  • nononsense
    sentry dog 69,

    "...or is it a hopped up round that can be shot in a regular rifle?"

    The light Magnums are standard cartridges that Hornady loads using a proprietary process of getting specially designed powders into those cases. The powders are severely compressed. If you remove the powder from the case, you can't get it all back in. These powders yield more energy when burned than standard powders. The downside to this idea is that we, the reloaders can't achieve the same ballistics because the powders and process aren't available to us.

    Best.
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  • He Dog
    But for some calibers, like .257 they are the best comobination of bullet and velocity you can get short of reloading. Most .257's are round nose and Hornady light mags are spire point. better accuracy in all of my .257's.
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  • iwannausername
    Also changes the gas pressure curve, so if you have a gas operated gun (garand, m1a, etc) beware - think damaged op rods, etc. I think with the FAL you could adjust the gas system to avoid damage, and I'm not sure what would happen to a roller block system (HK), but I still wouldn't do it - besides, too expensive to feed regularly.
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  • grdad45
    I tried some in my 280 cal. Remington 700, and they strung out about 3-4 inches to the right. As with all ammo, every gun will shoot it differently. It did seem to be hotter than my regular load (more recoil).
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  • sentry dog 69
    Originally posted by iwannausername
    Also changes the gas pressure curve, so if you have a gas operated gun (garand, m1a, etc) beware - think damaged op rods, etc. I think with the FAL you could adjust the gas system to avoid damage, and I'm not sure what would happen to a roller block system (HK), but I still wouldn't do it - besides, too expensive to feed regularly.
    [/quote

    Yes, it did have a warning not for use in gas operated or semi-automatic rifles.
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  • sandwarrior
    sentry dog 69,

    FWIW I've had pretty good luck with the Hornady Lite Mag. So good in fact that when I saw six boxes of .257 Roberts at www.sportmansguide.com I bought them. I got the velocity I expected from a shorter barrel. When I shoot lite mags through a 22" barrel I need a 26" barrel with slow powder to duplicate the velocity. However, as with all factory ammo, I get better accuracy when I reload.

    Some say the brass is too soft. I've found it a little soft for when I want to load up some hot rounds. Other than that it's worked great.
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