Hornady 220 gr Round Nose bullet in the 30-06 actual hunting experience?

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Why not?

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Using the currently manufactured RN bullet, not the older one. Accuracy is very good, no problem there.

Came into three boxes, and interested in hearing actual experiences on really big game, such as bison, etc.

Thanks,
Ted
 
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Tried it was not a fan. The old case is limited by powder capacity to launch that big heavy bullet fast enough to make it highly effective. I stopped at 190grs. seemed to be the limit for the 06
 
wannabe said:
The current crop of Swedish rifles may not stabilize these.....just sayin...
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Thank you, wannabe. Forgot to state that the question is concerning the round nose. Edited the post to correct that it is the RN, not the sptizer bullet I am enquiring about.

The 220 gr Hornady 30 cal RN bullet is quite blunt, and 1:12 twist and faster will stabilize it with no problem. It is no longer than many 180 grain spritzers.

Am wondering about expansion and penetration on very big game.

Ted
 
6.5 shooter said:
Tried it was not a fan. The old case is limited by powder capacity to launch that big heavy bullet fast enough to make it highly effective. I stopped at 190grs. seemed to be the limit for the 06
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Plain vanilla cup and core 220s do quite well on big game in the 30-40 Krag at 2000 fps. The 30-06 easily gets them well past 2400 fps.

They are very accurate, but wondering if the new Interlock expands and penetrates as well as the older 220s?

When you “Tried it…”, did you actually hunt with them?

Ted
 
I've no personal experience with them but these charts from an old Finn Aagaard article might be of interest:

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I recall a post from H4831 where he said he was unimpressed with the penetration of the 220 gr bullets, but I don't think he specified which one. I doubt if I could ever find that post again now.

Based on Aagaard's tests, and Bruce's testimony, I've never had much interest in trying out the 220 gr, unless it was maybe a Woodleigh or Nosler Partition.
 

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I launch them at just north of 2500 fps in a .30-06. They penetrate straight and wound channels look like you drove a fence-post through a moose. Good accuracy and hit like a truck. Use with confidence.
 
I still have a few boxes on the bench, though I did a goofy thing and loaded them in .308 while trying every odd bullet I could get my hands on in it… .30-06 would suit them better. They stabilized, were accurate, and got around 2200fps. I never hunted them, but I did shoot a water filled plastic drum. Even at 2200fps, it fragmented substantially which was a surprise. I didn’t weigh them but would guess 2/3rds weight retained and the jacket peeled way back, didn’t even put a mark on the far side of the drum. Recoil impulse was very “friendly”.

In summary, they were substantially softer than I anticipated, which isn’t a bad thing with that much weight to spare and moderate velocities. I didn’t dig deeper as I shot all sorts of things with their big brother of identical construction in .375 including bison here, and ‘dangerous game’ in Africa. We get too hung up on retained weight as a metric of effectiveness it seems, they definitely were effective. This all said I couldn’t get workable velocity in a .308 needless to say and just tried them for amusement, so I never tested them further or hunted them.
 
220 grains rn was used for many decades in the 30-06 with great sucess on very large game. i shot only one black bear with a core lockt remington 220 grains but never recovered the bullet but the bear was not anymore alive ...

my wife is getting very good result with the 220 grains nosler partition but not a rn ...
 
A good thread - is of interest to me as well. OP specifically mentioned currently manufactured - so I presume from bottom box in picture. At least three era's of boxes shown - I have no clue if bullets always were the same or not - goes to past experience - pro or con - was what was used then, the same as what is bought now?

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FYI - my copy of Hornady 9th manual shows 5 powders in 30-06 getting at least 2,500 fps with these bullets (page 445) in their 23 3/4", 1-10" twist, Winchester Model 70. Fed 210 primers, Hornady/Frontier cases. H4350, IMR 4350, H4831, IMR 4831 and RL-19
 

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That’s it exactly. Ardent makes a very good point when he writes about us getting somewhat hung up on weight retention.

To be clear, having used them, I know the older 220 bullets were quite effective. The latest iteration has definitely been changed, and will no doubt work on deer, bear, caribou, etc. Am wondering if anyone has used the new ones on really heavy game at sensible 30-06 velocity.

The lowest box in the picture Potashminer posted is the bullet is the latest one, and the one used in their factory ammo.

Thanks,
Ted

PS: Asking because I am hearing and reading reports about this bullet not holding together in water tests with magnum rifles, 2800 fps in the 300 Win for one.
 
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when i used them in the 30-06 they worked great , 100 ,200 yds max
My very first moose shot at 50 yds ,standing head on to me , with a big fire killed pine in between us .
Shot threw the tree into the moose busting its shoulder ,it just fell down i couldnt believe it either could my 3 friends i still hall the slug lol
 
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That is nasty to hear of, Ted - I bought these specifically for a 308 Norma Mag, which the same Hornady 9th shows two powders at that 2,800 fps, both of which I have on hand. Was to be a "step up" from the 180 grain Grand Slam - not sure about that, any longer - given what you wrote. But the Grand Slam may have been through similar changes - is most definitely at least two types of them on hand - and at least three era of boxes (for what that is worth!!). What was done decisively 25 years ago, may no longer be possible with today's product?
 
Why not? said:
That’s it exactly. Ardent makes a very good point when he writes about us getting somewhat hung up on weight retention.

To be clear, having used them, I know the older 220 bullets were quite effective. The latest iteration has definitely been changed, and will no doubt work on deer, bear, caribou, etc. Am wondering if anyone has used the new ones on really heavy game at sensible 30-06 velocity.

The lowest box in the picture Potashminer posted is the bullet is the latest one, and the one used in their factory ammo.

Thanks,
Ted

PS: Asking because I am hearing and reading reports about this bullet not holding together in water tests with magnum rifles, 2800 fps in the 300 Win for one.
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let me check tonight what i got for the 220 grains at home.
 
I think I have a box of those in the tickle trunk. I don’t have any time for testing but I can send you guys a handful
 
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