Hornady

started in 1949

“Accurate, deadly, dependable”

World War II Joyce Hornady trained marksmanship to the security force at the Grand Island Arsenal
Hornady acquired the first of many Waterbury Farrell assembly presses,
1949 a two-man operation
Hornady Sporting Goods Company
1958 built the 8,000-square-foot plant
1964 Frontier Ammunition surplus military brass with Hornady bullets
1960 new manufacturing space 25,000 square feet
1970 Steve Hornady, Joyce’s youngest son, joined the company
1971 acquired Pacific reloading Tool Company
– thry invented the “C” type reloading press in 1928
January 1981 Joyce Hornady and his companions died ina plane crash en route to SHOT Show
Steve Hornady became president

Hornady Manufacturing
3625 West Old Potash Hwy
Grand Island, NE 68803

800-338-3220

hornady.com

About Hornady

Hornady Manufacturing is a family-owned maker of bullets, loaded ammunition and reloading equipment headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Joyce W. Hornady, a Nebraska businessman who had sold bullets by mail order, launched the company in the spring of 1949 with a single 150-grain .30-caliber bullet advertised in the classified pages of The American Rifleman. Early work was done in a basement and a rented garage with one used press, and first-year sales were under $10,000. The company moved into a purpose-built 8,000-square-foot factory in 1958 and later added an underground test tunnel, a resource that shaped its reputation for ballistic testing.

For handloaders, hunters and competitive shooters, Hornady is one of the most influential names in modern ammunition. Its engineers were behind the 6.5 Creedmoor and the Precision Rifle Cartridge family (6.5 PRC, .300 PRC and 7mm PRC), along with the ELD-X and ELD Match bullets developed with Doppler radar data. After Joyce Hornady died in a January 1981 plane crash on the way to the SHOT Show in New Orleans, his son Steve Hornady took over at age 31. As of the company’s 75th anniversary in 2024, Hornady remained family-owned, with Steve Hornady as CEO and his son Jason Hornady in senior management.

Key Facts

Spring 1949: Joyce Hornady advertises the company’s first bullet, a 150-grain .30-caliber design.
1958: Moves into a newly built 8,000-square-foot factory in Grand Island.
1964: Frontier Cartridge Co. is created to load ammunition using surplus military brass.
1971: Acquires Pacific Tool Co., adding reloading presses and tools.
January 1981: Joyce Hornady and two employees are killed in a plane crash; Steve Hornady becomes president.
2016 to 2022: Introduces the 6.5 PRC (2016), .300 PRC (2018) and 7mm PRC (2022).

Sources

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