Hornady whitetail ammo.

[buck knife]

Has anyone else had these bullets dissentagrate while using them on whitetails?I shot a big 9 ponter last fall and the shot hit him right behind the front shoulder through the ribs.No exit hole and no blood or hair from shot right up to the 40 yards recovery.I figured I missed him but I followed his tracks and sure enough found him ,No exit hole which I thought was weird,that round should have popped straight through on a broadside shot like that.

I got him feild dressed and looked inside the carcass and it looked like a bomb went off,then I find the copper jacket with NO lead core,just the jacket.that bullet fragmented and made a heck of a mess ,I skinned him out and had to throw away a lot of meat,the front shoulders which were full of fragments ,even pieces in the backstraps.Very upset about the way this bullet performed,and now I see a lot of places aren't selling this interlock whitetail ammo,I have used this ammo since it came out with zero issues up until now.

Just wonder if anyone else experienced failure like that?The lead core seemed to have grenades inside the deer with lead going all through The meat.

 

[wasa]

Curious as to (i) what caliber? (ii) what bullet weight? (iii) how far from the deer were you when you shot?

Not sure I have much to contribute (sorry) but I wouldn't have expected varmint performance from a deer projectile.

 

[smokeeter]

You didn't mention how far the shot was. close shots have a tendency to explode especially when striking massive bone . Try avoiding the shoulder and put it thru the ribs there'll be less meat damage.

 

[7mag]

My son used them in a 7mm08 until I had enough brass to reload for it. 140g…. Always worked well!

 

[DGY]

You didn't mention how far the shot was. close shots have a tendency to explode especially when striking massive bone . Try avoiding the shoulder and put it thru the ribs there'll be less meat damage.

OP wrote that it was through the ribs on a broadside shot…. But some fragments ended up in the shoulder meat and even back straps!

 

[medvedqc]

hornday typical behavior ...

 

[Butcherbill]

Have shot two big bucks with it, 165gr in .308. Performance was great on both, recovered one under the opposite hide. A full pass through on the whitetail buck, I shot the mulie buck twice. One passed through the other I found while skinning, great expansion with minimal meat loss. Both were 70-75y shots, broadside or quartering away broadside. WT buck made it 30-40y and the mulie made it 10ft before dropping, I’ll use interlock’s again.

Here’s some pics, haven’t bothered to weight the bullet for weight retention.

 

[rar]

nice deer butcherbill .

 

[Jimbobob08]

Sounds like a close shot with a lot of velocity behind it?

 

[mimile]

What Hornady calls 'ideal performance envelope' is the ideal velocity at which a bullet should hit a game. This is where Ideal penetration and expansion happen. It is not muzzle velocity. For Hornady interlock (whitetetail) it is 2800-1800 fps. If at 40 yards the velocity of the bullet was above 2800 fps the risk is bullet disintegration. Below 1800 fps it will not penetrate enough.

The Interlock is known as 'poor man's Partition' for a reason.

In My 270 Win, I have two loads for a 130 grains Interlock, one with mv at 2850 for hunting in the woods at short range and another at 3060 fps for longer range. Both work flawlessly when used correctly.

 

[Butcherbill]

nice deer butcherbill .

Thanks, the stars align some years haha!

 

[Southcountryguy]

hornday typical behavior ...

Exactly, killed with short track job. Typical. Lol.

 

[buck knife]

Curious as to (i) what caliber? (ii) what bullet weight? (iii) how far from the deer were you when you shot?

Not sure I have much to contribute (sorry) but I wouldn't have expected varmint performance from a deer projectile.

I'm sorry I should have mentioned they were the 165 grain hornady whitetail ammo in.308 cal and about 100 yard shot.

 

[buck knife]

You didn't mention how far the shot was. close shots have a tendency to explode especially when striking massive bone . Try avoiding the shoulder and put it thru the ribs there'll be less meat damage.

If you read what I wrote,the shot was placed behind the shoulder,broadside ,not in the shoulder .Ribs should not have blown the bullet up like that .

 

[Butcherbill]

I'm sorry I should have mentioned they were the 165 grain hornady whitetail ammo in.308 cal and about 100 yard shot.

Hand loads or factory ammo?

 

[Southcountryguy]

If you read what I wrote,the shot was placed behind the shoulder,broadside ,not in the shoulder .Ribs should not have blown the bullet up like that .

Animal was killed quickly with a short track job, sounds about perfect performance to me.

 

[Gman123]

First off what caliber and what grain bullet ? Sounds like you need to go to a heavier bullet !

 

[DGY]

Holly #### you guys don’t read the posts by the op before posting a comment?!?
He didn’t shoot the shoulder, it was factory Hornady whitetail hunter 165gn, the shot was 100 yards/meters, the bullet hit a ribs in the way in! The bullet “exploded” and lots of lead particles/fragments were found in the shoulder and back strap….

 

[Southcountryguy]

Holly #### you guys don’t read the posts by the op before posting a comment?!?
He didn’t shoot the shoulder, it was factory Hornady whitetail hunter 165gn, the shot was 100 yards/meters, the bullet hit a ribs in the way in! The bullet “exploded” and lots of lead particles/fragments were found in the shoulder and back strap….

But the bullet did the intended job, dead animal. Or no?

 

[Butcherbill]

But the bullet did the intended job, dead animal. Or no?

I’d say no, unless the intention is to have it ruin a bunch of meat. Nobody likes chewing on lead fragments.