Explain Hornady bullets to me please...

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OK, I'm trying to figure out the differences between the Hornady bullets...including the differences between the SAME type of bullet but in different weights. What I mean is that I hear and read things like" SP's are quite fragile in the 150-165g range but 180's and up and really quite solid and hold together well". My bullet selection is running low so it's time to order some more so I'm just trying to get a good idea of what I want to buy.
My understanding is this: Interlocks are the original and lots of guys use them for paper and critters, as they're actually quite good bullets at good prices. Althought is sounds like certain weights behave differently on impact.
Interbonds are the new kid on the block and are bonded, better for higher impacts but not always flying the best out of some guns, while most seem to say that the interlock fly very well.
The SST is a new design, plastic tip, flys very well, good long range, but built the same as the interlock..so old technology with a new shape...still not great for higher speed impacts.

So that's what I know...or think I know anyway. here's what I'm gonna be loading for this year, so any recommendations are welcome, thanks

257 Roberts
6.5x55, I like 140's and 160's here
264 Win Mag, worried about higher impact velocities here...
7x57, thinking about 139 and 175 for this one
270 Win, 130's and 150's
30-30, 110,150,170
308 150's and 165's
30-06, 165 and 180, maybe 200's for bear defence
35's for 358 Win and 35 Whelen, hear losts of good stuff and 270g Hotcores here.
45-70, I like 405g cast bullets here, but LeverEvolutions sure are fun

I use Partitions for my hunting bullets most time, but I'm wondering if the interlocks really are just fine as long as the velocity is kept below 3000fps. The SST's look like speed freaks and fly very well in my 6.5, but if they're interlocks, not BONDS then they might not be a good choice for the 264 Mag...possibly the 270 Win, as well, if the shot is close.
 
Well - The issue is that a given dia of bullet can serve several calibers. 7 mm is a good example, from 7X57 to 7 mm Rem MAG. There is a tremendous difference in velocity, and more important kinetic energy(~40%), which varies with velocity squared. Therefore, Hornady has a tough job for a given bullet - do they design for the higher velocity calibre or the lower velocity calibre - its up to the individual to find out. (I would imagine that cartridge manufacturers purchase and test a specific bullet for a specific cartridge) As an example, the 175 gr Hornady SP barely expands in 7X57, but would likely work fine in the 7 mm MAG.
As a rule of thumb, I would say that the Interlocks are designed for the lesser calibers in the lower bullet weights, and faster calibers in the higher bullet weights, for a given profile. Hornady even offers various profiles in the same weight - eg SP and RN in the 150 gr range for 7 mm. The RN would expand more readily, suiting the 7X57. The SP would likely work better in the 7 mm MAG .
FWIW - I use Interlocks for both recreational target shooting and hunting. My calibres generally have MV's less than 2700 fps, so I dont feel I need premium bullets. The deer I have harvested are in agreement.
 
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I used the 225 gr Interbonds in my 338 Ultra Mag and the one I recovered from a moose shot at 240 yards performed superbly, expanded to over 2X diameter and retained almost 80 percent of its weight. For the money they are great bullets and I have total confidence in them, I also shot 3 mule deer with them but no bullets were recovered, just a big hole.
 
All bullets, regardless of manufacture or construction have a velocity envelope for optimum performance at impact. Some companies, like Woodleigh, publish an optimum maximum velocity.

Most expanding bullets intended for big game, although not all, will show some degree of expansion with impact velocity as low as 2000 fps, a few will expand at lower velocities, but 2000 fps is generally the minimum impact velocity for reliable expansion. As velocity increases the degree of expansion increases given targets of similar density. Jacketed soft point bullets of the traditional cup and core design of which the Hornady Interlock is an example, do best when the impact velocity is in the 24-2500 fps range.

I define a bullet failure in two ways. First, if the bullet breaks up or sprews its core, and secondly if it expands to the extent that it can no longer rotate around a linear axis. Not everyone agrees with this assessment because if the deer dies after the bullet has expanded violently and gone to pieces, a bullet that holds together might kill no better, or even as well.

The trouble is that not all shots on big game are broadside. Not all shots are through the lungs, where there is little resistance. Sometimes shots are quartering or head on. Sometimes the shot is made for the shoulder rather than the lungs. Occasionally, a shot is taken dead astern. Sometimes the shot does not strike the target where we had intended. In these cases it is easier to see how a bullet might fail if the velocity is excessive. Suffice to say, if you drive a bullet at a velocity that exceeds its design parameters, that bullet will fail by my definition of failure.

This is the reason that I do not particularly like bullets like the Nolser Partition (despite it's wonderful reputation) that are designed to shed weight as they drive through the target. At one time if you shot a 6.5, 7mm, .300, or .338 magnum with muzzle velocities over 3000 fps, the Partition was the only easily available bullet that would perform well on big game. Happily that is no longer the case.

There are times that a premium mono-metal, bonded core, or bonded core solid shank bullet is superior to the traditional cup and core bullet, and there are times that it is not. If the muzzle velocity of your rifle is below 2800 fps, there is little advantage to the premium bullet, if the muzzle velocity of your rifle is below 2400 fps, the cup and core bullet may out perform the premium. The exception would be those bonded core bullets that use pure copper jackets and pure copper cores, which expand very well at low velocity.

No matter how good a bullet is reputed to be, it is of no value if it doesn't shoot in your rifle. Despite the high cost, some premiums just do not shoot in some rifles. Premiums are often longer than conventional bullets of the similar profile and weight, so accuracy problems may have to do with the rate of twist. No matter what I did, I could not get the old 200 gr X bullet to shoot in my .30/06, and the .30 caliber 240 gr Woodleigh doesn't stabilize in my wife's rifle, yet shoots well in mine.

Any bullet you intend to hunt with must be fired in your rifle to verify the zero and to ensure that it will shoot. Elongated bullet holes in a paper target are cause for immediate disqualification. If you cannot keep the bullets in an 8" circle at your intended maximum range, and you have previously shot well at that range, chances are the problem relates to the bullet.
 
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Boomer said:
All bullets, regardless of manufacture or construction have a velocity envelope for optimum performance at impact. Some companies, like Woodleigh, publish an optimum maximum velocity.
Click to expand...

I would check the Hornady site they will probably have a bullet list with suggested velocities for each.
 
Boomer said:
Jacketed soft point bullets of the traditional cup and core design of which the Hornady Interlock is an example, do best when the impact velocity is in the 24-2500 fps range.
Click to expand...

I have seen these work good out of a .35 Rem, with a MV of 1700fps...I'm sure they worked good in a lot of old lever guns too...
 
I use nothing but Hornady 180gr interlocks in both of my 30-06's. All of the animals that I've shot with them have gone down as expected given the shot that I took, and all have penetrated the animal totally (I found one on the opposite hide this year).
Hornady bullets are (like all other companies) designed to be shot in a specific range of calibers. The 150gr, and 165gr are designed for the 308win (optimally), and the 180gr are designed for the 30-06 (optimally). Put another way, the lighter bullets are designed to open quickly under low velocity, while the 180gr bullet is designed to open with a bit higher velocity. You can tailor your bullet/velocity to give you the penitration/ expansion that you want.
Mike
 
There's nothing on your list that I would be scared to run Interlocks in. I've taken them up to 3500 fps MV in the STW, but then I wasn't hunting at powder burn ranges either. Admittedly that's pushing things, but it worked like lightning. I've had no luck getting the Interbonds to shoot, there seems to be a bit of a pattern there. SSTs are a deadly deer bullet.

Ross Seyfried used to call the Interlocks the cheapest premium bullet. That's about right.
 
Boomer said:
This is the reason that I do not particularly like bullets like the Nolser Partition (despite it's wonderful reputation) that are designed to shed weight as they drive through the target. At one time if you shot a 6.5, 7mm, .300, or .338 magnum with muzzle velocities over 3000 fps, the Partition was the only easily available bullet that would perform well on big game. Happily that is no longer the case.
Click to expand...

It's very true that bullet selection and construction have come a long way in the last decade, but oddly the one that they're all compared to at some point is still the Nosler Partition. Your reasons for not liking it are precisely the ones a whole pile of us do - it's design allows for deformation of the frontal portion so it works on low resistance impact, like a broadside deer, yet when facing stiff resistance like in a raking or deliberate shoulder shot like on a big bear the tough rear portion creates excellent bullet penetration and drive. All in all, maybe the best bullet design ever. I rarely use them, but if I could have only one bullet, it would be the Partition.
All the same, your summary of bullet performance design is well done and as posted above, quite a few bullet manufacturers do publish effective impact velocity ranges. According to Barnes, if you shoot only their bullets you don't ever need anything else, but we've found that to be not quite accurate, accurate being the key word.....sometimes they just aren't in many rifles.
 
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Thanks guys, that's what I'm looking for...actually experience with these bullets. The SST's seems to fly very well, are we sure that this bullet is the interlock construction with a different, more "pointy" tip, and should preform the same as the regular interlocks? Thanks again and keep it coming, pitched.
 
Pretty sure, I filed half of one away lengthwise years ago, when I felt that I wasn't getting a straight answer to the same question. There was also the rumor that the bullets were bonded at the time, for the record they were/are not. They seem to open more violently than the Interlocks, more like a Ballistic tip.


https://www.hornady.com/shop/Bullets_SST_popup.htm
 
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I shot about 10 deer with 130gr Interlocks and SST's in my old .270 WCF and they worked wonderfully. I believe I shot a moose with the same load too. Worked great. I loaded 140gr BT Interlocks in my friends .270 WCF for this season, and they performed admirably on 4 deer this season. I would use them in everything except in 3000fps+ situations. They are the best cup&core bullet in my opinion. If I was ever to have to go to shooting only one gun and one load, it would be a 30-06 with 180gr Hornady SP's. That will do the job on anything on this continent.
 
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