Hornady Manufacturing Company is an American manufacturer of ammunition cartridges, components and handloading equipments, based in Grand Island, Nebraska. History The company is currently run by Joyce Hornady's son, Steve Hornady, who took over after his father's death in a plane crash on January 15, 1981. The Piper Aztec, with Hornady at the controls flying in heavy fog, crashed into Lake Pontchartrain while on final approach to New Orleans Lakefront Airport. Pacific Tool Company Steve Hornady worked for Pacific Tool Company from 1960 to 1971, from the time the company moved from California to Nebraska until Pacific Tool was bought by Hornady. Pacific's DL-366 was their final progressive press and Hornady's first, and it is still manufactured by Hornady as the 366 Auto. Products Cartridges Hornady makes target shooting and hunting rounds as well as self-defense loads. In 1990, the Hornady XTP (which stands for Extreme Terminal Performance) won the industry's Product Award of Merit 1990 from the National Association of Federal Licensed Dealers. The company was the primary developer of the .17 HMR and .17 HM2 rimfire cartridges, which has become increasingly popular for small game and vermin hunting. Hornady has worked closely with firearms maker Sturm, Ruger on the development of the new line of Ruger cartridges including the .480 Ruger, .204 Ruger, and .375 Ruger. The company developed the LEVERevolution ammunition, which uses a spitzer bullet with a soft elastomer tip to give better aerodynamic performance than flatter bullets, while eliminating the risk of a shock driving the pointed polymer tip of a bullet in a lever-action rifle's tube magazine into the primer of the cartridge in front, causing an explosion. At the beginning of 2012, Hornady brought out a "Zombie Max" bullet, apparently due to the growing interest in "Zombie Shooting" in America. Hornady released the Vintage Match ammunition to replicate the original military performance specifications unique to wartime rifles such as the Mauser, Lee–Enfield, Mosin–Nagant, Swedish Mauser or others chambered in 6.5×55mm, .303 British, 7.62×54mmR, 7.92×57mm Mauser and .30-06. 6.5mm Creedmoor In 2007, Hornady released the first 6.5mm Creedmoor Cartridge. The 6.5 Creedmoor was a joint development between former Marine Corps competitive shooter David Tubb and Hornady Ballistician David Emary. Hornady Manufactures 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges, bullets and reloading dies. 6.5 PRC The 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) was initially designed by George Gardner of GA Precision and Hornady in 2013 and released at the 2018