Hornady 9.3 bullet explosion again.........................

Wow, incredibly bad performance of the Hornady 9.3. Looks like I'll save the ones I have for the '57. I have to say though that the 8mm 195gr Interlok worked fantastic in Africa this year. All shots on gemsbok, waterbuck and Kudu didn't exit, but damn well dropped them on the spot! Closest shot was 30yds raking shot on a large Kudu bull. Bullet retained about 65% weight and did not separate.
I have to ask, what velocities are you getting out of your 9.3 x 62 with that bullet?
 
prevost12 said:
It's interesting how differently people view terminal ballistic performance. Some people get upset when they don't get total penetration and a exit hole and yet other people will swear by things like VLDs that go off like a hand grenade. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder but if the anaimal dies and drops on the spot I have a hard time saying that the projectile "failed" or didn't do its job.
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Agreed. I have never had an exit wound from my .25-06. And the bucks are literally taken off their feet and often spun around if a neck shot.
That tells me that indeed the bullet has done its job, unleashed every pound of energy, and the animal is killed quickly and humanely.
 
The Hornady 308 Interbonds make a big hole and drop deer on the spot.
Have not yet recovered one to see how it held up, but, job well done
 
I spent over an hour on the phone with a tech at Hornady,sent him the pictures and gave him the lot # of the bullets. He said they keep an sample inventory of all bullets ever made on site in storage.They will duplicate my load of 58gr/RE#15/Lapua brass/Fed mag primer/Hornady 286gr and shoot some ballistic gelatin then get back to me with the results.He agreed the bullet shouldn't do that.The only change to that bullet since inception was the prominent lead tip was shaved off flush with the jacket.Will see if they keep their word or are just blowing smoke up my butt.Cautiously optimistic.............Harold
 
mbogo3 said:
I spent over an hour on the phone with a tech at Hornady,sent him the pictures and gave him the lot # of the bullets. He said they keep an sample inventory of all bullets ever made on site in storage.They will duplicate my load of 58gr/RE#15/Lapua brass/Fed mag primer/Hornady 286gr and shoot some ballistic gelatin then get back to me with the results.He agreed the bullet shouldn't do that.The only change to that bullet since inception was the prominent lead tip was shaved off flush with the jacket.Will see if they keep their word or are just blowing smoke up my butt.Cautiously optimistic.............Harold
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That's very similar to the load I use and it's not excessively fast. In my rifle that load would shoot somewhere around 2,350, or factory equivalent. Certainly shouldn't be enough to cause a bullet failure.
 
The shooter is actually a Prince........so money is no object.But he's a pleasure to watch shoot and does not come across as arrogant.The load is 1/2 gr under MAX ..cuts 3/4" @ 100 yards.......haven't chronograph it but I suspect just under 2400fps .....as mentioned I've pulled the Hornady's and switched to 286gr Partitions for now and will select a quality lighter/ high end bullet for mid - sized game in the near future.........Harold
 
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The 270gr .375 did pretty good in my .375 bullet test. Although my test was in wet newspaper which not the same as a real animal, I'm surprised they blew up on a deer.

 
A fellow on another forum has shortened a .222 FL sizing die to swage 235gr /.375 Speer bullets to .367 and said they hold together great on deer and elk? Thicker jacket I presume? The 270gr /9.3 Speer is also a grenade ,he mentioned only 5" of penetration before blowups occurred....will pass along what I get back from Hornady if it happens if not I will call them again in a week or so....Harold
 
hey just a thought, have u sanded a hornady long ways to see how the jacket thickness does look.... an maybe do the same with some other cals??
 
The 270 gn Speer works flawlessly in the 9.3X62 and I have used it on several large animals. However it (spectacularly) does not work at 9.3X300WM velocities of just under 3100 fps and I know this for a fact as well. I have never had a 270 Speer blow up though when started under 2600 fps, all mine that have been recovered look like the poster children for perfect C+C expansion photo op. This is my one and only bullet in my 9.3X62.
 
mbogo3 said:
A fellow on another forum has shortened a .222 FL sizing die to swage 235gr /.375 Speer bullets to .367 and said they hold together great on deer and elk? Thicker jacket I presume? The 270gr /9.3 Speer is also a grenade ,he mentioned only 5" of penetration before blowups occurred....will pass along what I get back from Hornady if it happens if not I will call them again in a week or so....Harold
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Coincidentally (or not) the 235gr Speer also did surprising well in my .375 test.

 
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