Hornady 265gr. FP Interlocks - looses core?

[gitrdun]

I posted the hunting story in the Hunting forum, what I didn't mention was the bullet's performance. The Hornady 265gr. Interlock struck the elk at 63 yards at a muzzle velocity of 2100 fps. The bullet struck high on the front shoulder and made a direct hit to the spinal column. What baffles me is that the recovered bullet was perfectly mushroomed all the way back but was entirely missing the lead core We didn't bother looking for it, but saw no sign of it. Should the lead core not have stayed attached?

 

[Mauser98]

Nice going on the elk.

I suppose in a perfect world, the bullet would have remained intact. But when you consider that the Interlock is a conventional cup and core bullet and that the spine is apparently the hardest bone in the beast, it's probably not too surprising that the bullet came apart. Especially at near muzzle velocity.

 

[ben hunchak]

When searching through different materials one finds lots of jackets only, with the lead cores missing, as well as Barnes bullets that have not expanded at all, we shoot bullets into diff. materials to check for exp./penetration.

 

[Silverado]

I've dug out 2 bullets just as you describe; mushroomed but no lead core, just the jacket cup.

One was a Core-Lokt from a 7RM, and one was a Nosler BT from a 30-06.

 

[aulrich]

If that is the 44 cal I had that happen when doing some expansion testing, I did find both pieces the core was mushroomed but intact, minus the jacket. I'll see if I can dig it up, I remember the core being pretty hard.

 

[Republic of Alberta]

Should the lead core not have stayed attached?

No, probably not, you hit the spine with an easy to open (at that velocity), low SD bullet. It then peels back a fair amount, as a result there is little shank left to hold on to the lead. The spine is the hardest thing on bullets in an animal bar none.

 

[gitrdun]

Good information from all you guys. Thanks, now I've learned something else.

Yvan