180 gr 30 cal Hornady Interlock

Northman999 said:
Somebody other than me said it first, and probably better, but...

At what point when the animal was laying there dying from a single shot did the bullet fail?
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This is true, but Hornady Interlocks never did this before, and if a bullet comes apart too easily, it may fail to get the job done.
Mike
 
Attention said:
:agree: I could not of said it better!!!! For the amount of bullets you use in a year on big game why not buy premium hunting bullets and not worry about bullet coming apart or disintegrating ?
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I think that I've come to the rather hard to swallow point of realizing that the Barnes tipped TSX is in my future.
Mike
 
mike shickele said:
I think that I've come to the rather hard to swallow point of realizing that the Barnes tipped TSX is in my future.
Mike
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I've run tipped TSX's in a 7mm-08,7-08AI a 280, a 280AI, 7mm Rem Mag and 7 STW...all shot them very well....some faster than others:D,...but all shot very well...:)..haven't hit hair with them...yet.
Just finished loading 40 of them for the 7 Mag with 69 grs of Rel22...they go over 3300 out of the 24" factory tube.
 
I sections the bullets but my camera is not good enough to take close up pics. What I did find out is the old one was harder to get through the jacket than the new one. The blade slid through easier and faster on the new one. Also as I cut the old one nothing moved but the new one's jacket started to separate from the core as I cut. The jacket seem to be a touch thicker on the old style also. Not too impressed.
It will be Nosler Partitions from now on and these for target work. They lost a loyal customer.
 
Well isn't this a fine kettle of fish.
I've enjoyed interlocks for decades as bullets for both bulk practice, and business.
.264" 140's, 30 cal. 165/180's, .375" 270's.
Time to start hoarding the stash.
Lesson learned yet again,---- stock up.
 
Charlie38 said:
What I did find out is the old one was harder to get through the jacket than the new one. The blade slid through easier and faster on the new one. Also as I cut the old one nothing moved but the new one's jacket started to separate from the core as I cut. The jacket seem to be a touch thicker on the old style also. Not too impressed.
It will be Nosler Partitions from now on and these for target work. They lost a loyal customer.
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I agree, friend of mine shot small whitetail into front shoulder with his 338 Federal and new Hornady 200gr IL bulet going less than 2400fps and bulet "failed" (found later in 3 small chunks in the rib cage), deer died after 15minutes of trailing and after second shot to the neck. Imagine that, it was his moose load....I still have stash of old 7mm 154gr IL for my 7mm-08 and will buy what I can of the old stuff, the new ones are not on my shoping list either.
 
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Charlie38 said:
I sections the bullets but my camera is not good enough to take close up pics. What I did find out is the old one was harder to get through the jacket than the new one. The blade slid through easier and faster on the new one. Also as I cut the old one nothing moved but the new one's jacket started to separate from the core as I cut. The jacket seem to be a touch thicker on the old style also. Not too impressed.
It will be Nosler Partitions from now on and these for target work. They lost a loyal customer.
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Sounds to me like you found exactly the same thing that I did. I find this whole thing rather disturbing, as I have recommended the interlock many times over, only to find that they have now (it seems purposely) turned the bullet into a lemon. I hope that they haven't done this to promote the sale of their premium bullets, as no one will use a bullet from a manufacturer in which they have seen failures in their lesser line from. As far as the premium bullets go, I find it disgusting that we have to pay as much for bullets as we do. I will be using barnes tipped TSX bullets in the future, but I'll feel violated paying the price for a bullet that should cost less than a cup and core bullet (the same or less steps in manufacture, and only one alloy to purchase). I guess the truth really is that they are only in it for the money, they will charge what the market will bear, and they will all do whatever they can to live up to the first two statements.
Mike
 
I've had Interlocks fail...Nothing new there bro.

Years ago I shot a tiny Blacktail head on in the brisket. The core ejected on impact and put a tiny nick in the heart...The deer went a bit over 150 yards....Took me an hour to find him. 30-06 180gr Interlock.
Drilled a monster black bear with the same combo and spent two days looking for it...Pretty much the same story only it was lung shot.
The final straw was a 7mag and a 154gr Interlock on a mid sized blacktail. The bullet went off like a bomb and fragged and pulped the front half of the animal.
All of the shots were inside of 20 yards.

Other than some 348, 358Win, and 30/30 stuff I refuse to use them.

Some of us are just lucky....I have a buddy that shoots a 300Wby and has never had a problem....Go figure?

Accubonds are a cheaper alternative to Barnes and are more than enough bullet in the 30-06.
 
I sure send lots of Hornadys downrange in practice...And I've shot deer and bear with them and I might even use the 300gr RN .375 fior bear sometime next spring....BUt I don't anticipate using them in most of my rifles. Rather have the stem to stern penetration of a TSX or similar. TTSX bullets are so accurate, dependable and not very expensive for hunting, you may as well use the best...
 
IMHO Hornady's lead cores are too hard. What appears to happen is that the jacket is torn away from the core which has not expanded enough to prevent fluid from getting between the jacket and the core. Those bullets would perform better if the cores were pure lead and the jacket thickness was tapered to control the rate of expansion. Of course then you can argue that the jackets should be pure copper and that the cores should be bonded, and those things are available from other makers, but not at Hornady prices.
 
!80 Hornadys have allways been little bombs. Great accuracy but not suitable at mag speeds. Just my experience but I had several explode way back before I found Noslers. I'm talking way, way back. Now I shoot TSX/TTSXs.
 
I will be interesting to see what the new Deep Curl from Speer will be like, I shoot a 35 Whelen and a 358 Win. Most retailers seem to stock the Hornady bullets in this caliber because they seem easier to get.
Noslers and the rest are way harder to come by.
 
According to the experts on 24hourcampfire, the deep curl is, indeed, a bonded bullet. But it is not designed like the partition or accubond where the front 1/3 disintigrates. It simply mushrooms into a pancake that will slow down rather quickly. Having the front blow apart aides in penetration because the rest of the jacket rolls back onto the shank and you have a smaller frontal area to give you more penetration. Smaller frontal area is also why the tsx penetrates so well.
 
Well...went down to the local store, and bought 2 boxes of the barnes 168gr TTSX. Loaded up the rest of the 165grTSX's up to carry me through to the end of the season, then after the season is through I'll develop a load for the 168grainers. gotta re-sight for those though.
I have 12 boxes (1200) of the 180gr Hornady interlocks; if anyone wants to trade me straight across for 600 of the Barnes 168gr TTSX (tipped), send me an e-mail.
Mike
 
Two days ago me and my friend suprised large 3 point mule dear deep in the bush. He was in better location so he shot him from about 60 yards from his 338 Federal rifle and new lot of 200gr Hornady IL bullet doing only 2400fps at muzle. The bullet centered low on the shoulder, bruised the hart and rested on oposite brisket, one shot and one dead dear within 50 yards or so. An hour ago I finished helping my friend to butcher it and he found twisted highly mangled half of the bullet jacket worth about 50gr and no lead what so ever. Did the bullet failed?....no, b/c it killed the dear but we are not impressed with performance of it whatsoever and rest of those bullets are designated now to be paper plinkers only. Tommorow his 10 day LE cow moose hunt starts and he has no time to switch to other bullets and is scared to use those POS IL. What a let down!
 
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If you guys would just shoot TSX's you could save all the time it takes to type all these bulet failure horror stories....cost?..most of us spend more $$ at Timmy's on the way out of town than a few TSX's cost.....shooting cheap cup and core bullets at game is like installing bias belted tires on your new pickup...or replacing your fuel injection system with a carb....
 
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This is no surprise to me. A number of years ago I took my 270 Whitetail hunting. Because it shot so very well in that particular rifle, I decided to try the 140 Hornady IL. I shot a nice whitetail at about 55 yards, broadside in the ribs. Imagine my surprise when he jumped straight up and ran around the bushpile, only to stop broadside, this time about 125 yards away. I gave him another one, and he obligingly collapsed where he stood. That first bullet had basically disintegrated on a rib, and pieces of jacket and core went every direction but through the lungs. We found small pieces in the flank, in the shoulder and in the rear quarter. Second shot went through properly, and exited out the far side. I didn't wait long to switch back to the Partition in that rifle, even though I had to give up ¾ moa of accuracy. The thing that bugs me, I KNOW better, and have hunted with premium bullets almost all my 50+ years. Regards, Eagleye.
 
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