Hornady Bullets

[DON]

So I purchased a box of Hornady 200 grain Interlocks for the 35 Whelen while in Colorado a few years back. Yesterday I opened the box to load some up.
I noticed all the bullets have this tacky grease all over them! Ran some through the media vibrator for 5-minutes and that cleaned them pretty good.

Anyone else ever experience this with Hornady?? I thought it was weird too.

Don

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I bought 3 boxes over the last 1.5 years and none of them are like that. Dan.

 

[DON]

I bought 3 boxes over the last 1.5 years and none of them are like that. Dan.

Thanks for the reply. Not a big deal to me. I'll just clean them, as I stated, then load some up then.

Don

 

[Divernhunter]

never had that happen to me

 

[Guy Miner]

Nope, I've never seen that. I've shot Hornady bullets off and on for a long time. More in the past few years than ever.

Guy

 

[ScottinTN65]

They weren't from Pee Wee Herman's estate, right?

 

[jimbires]

No , I've never seen it with Hornady bullets .

I have on Sierra , and Nosler bullets though .

Nosler ;
I hung the plastic wrap up to show these are stuck to it .







Sierra ;

I have a couple boxes of these getting green . you can see the bottom of the one box is kind of coated in like a varnish . the bullets were stuck to this box .

 

[grry10]

I've noticed a tacky feel to some bullets that have been in storage for a while (years). It has happened mostly with bullets that came in the light flip top cardboard boxes. I've always blamed it on being stored on a shelf in the basement where I am set up to load. It is cooler there and the humidity level may be slightly higher. I have not found it with the Speer (plastic) or Nosler and Barnes (heavier cardboard boxes). I clean them in a solution of Simple Green, give them a quick rinse, and let them dry. Tossing them in my tumbler may be an easier process.

 

[RL338]

I’ve come across older Hornady bullets that were dark in color and tacky. They were in the old cardboard boxes with the metal corners. Shot fine.

 

[Joec7651]

I’ve never had bullets from any manufacturer be sticky. I can see it happening however. Things happen in manufacturing. Lubricants or protective coatings could be too thick or miss a process step where they are cleaned. When I pan lube cast bullets they are sticky before being ran through the sizing die that last time.

If they are tacky spray them with some brake clean and you’ll be fine.

 

[michsteve]

I’ve come across older Hornady bullets that were dark in color and tacky. They were in the old cardboard boxes with the metal corners. Shot fine.

Some of those older cardboard boxes seemed to have been waxed that could of been the cause.

 

[bdbrown66]

Are they tarnished? That will make them feel sticky. I've bought bullets that had been sitting in a warehouse for years, and some of them had the green copper tarnish growing on them. A few hours in the tumbler and they looked like new.

 

[jimbires]

the bullets I posted are not tarnished . it's like a thick, gooey, sticky , kind of grease* . the nosler bullets were wrapped in the plastic , so I don't think it's from the box . these are old bullets . maybe something from the cleaning , or polishing , process that eventually causes a reaction ?

edit ; probably not a good description by saying grease . I'll correct this by saying it's more like a tar .

 

[DON]

I purchased these back in 2019 while in Colorado on vacation. Who knows how long they were on the shelf. Bullets were in card board box and sealed in plastic. I'd say they were packaged really good. The bullets didn't appear tarnished. But sticky and gooey. I don't know, maybe its something that happens after they sit on the shelf and age. Not an issue for me but it's my 1st experience with this in over 20-yrs reloading. They clean up well in the media vibrator.

Don

 

[PJGunner]

Probably the oldest Hornady bullets I have onhand are so 7MM 139 gr. and 175 gr. that I bought when I got my first 7X57 MM rifle. They're pre-Interlock bullets. I haven't looked at them in a while but IIRC, they had brown spots like freckles. I've been so bust trying TSX and partitions in rifles for that cartridge that the Hornady's have been neglected. Seems I have both pre-Interlocks and Interlocks so it might be fun to run a side by side test and see if there is a measurable difference.
Paul B.