Hornady interlock in 375
- Thread starter hansol
- Start date
In T/C Contender's with 12" - 14" barrels chambered in 375JDJ and loaded with 270gr Hornady Interlocks @ 2000fps has killed almost every animal on earth including elephants.
I'm thinking that @ 375 H&H/Ruger velocities the 300gr Interlocks would be a very good hunting bullet.
I'm thinking that @ 375 H&H/Ruger velocities the 300gr Interlocks would be a very good hunting bullet.
I disagree with Camp on this one.
The 300gr interlock is a boat tail and as it has no method of core retention (bonding) it will eject the core if pushed hard enough.
I think the 270 interlock is a far better bullet than the 300gr.
As far as cup and core bullets go the 270 Hornady is well established as a good bullet.
The 300gr interlock is a boat tail and as it has no method of core retention (bonding) it will eject the core if pushed hard enough.
I think the 270 interlock is a far better bullet than the 300gr.
As far as cup and core bullets go the 270 Hornady is well established as a good bullet.
#3720 is a 300 gr roundnose flat-base Interlock. #3725 is a 300 gr BTSP Interlock. The roundnose 300 is my practice bullet, I've shot pails full of them.
The "interlock" is "a" method - seems to work well holding things together even in the boat tail versions as far as I can tell at medium velocitiy impacts anyway in my 35s, 6.5s and 30-06- say up to 2600 or so. Exits are the norm.
How fast do the big 375s push a 300gr bullet - 2500? I heard some PHs in Africa have been known to download their 375s from 2500 to 2400 for better penetration.
Here's the #3720 300gr RN interlock in .375"
I agree with you Whelen B.
Given modest 30-06 velocities the Hornady Interlock is all the bullet you will ever need. Larger mid to high velocity big bores like the H&H though do exert more pressure on the bullet jacket (go to Accurate Reloading and do a search on big bore bullets).
That said the 270 Spire point has a good reputation in all but the most heavy duty circumstances...It would not be my first choice in really big moose, bison, or whatever. If you are planing on shooting something really big I would upgrade the bullet.
The boat tail is the kiss if death in the standard cup and core bullet world. The interlock is of little help when the going gets really tough....despite Hornady's advertising to the contrary.
The 300 round nose should be a great bullet....Never used it on game nor do I know anyone that has.....Have shot plenty of them and the boat tails in practice.
I bought 2500 270gr Winchesters in a close out a few years ago and have all the 375 practice bullets I need for a while.
Given modest 30-06 velocities the Hornady Interlock is all the bullet you will ever need. Larger mid to high velocity big bores like the H&H though do exert more pressure on the bullet jacket (go to Accurate Reloading and do a search on big bore bullets).
That said the 270 Spire point has a good reputation in all but the most heavy duty circumstances...It would not be my first choice in really big moose, bison, or whatever. If you are planing on shooting something really big I would upgrade the bullet.
The boat tail is the kiss if death in the standard cup and core bullet world. The interlock is of little help when the going gets really tough....despite Hornady's advertising to the contrary.
The 300 round nose should be a great bullet....Never used it on game nor do I know anyone that has.....Have shot plenty of them and the boat tails in practice.
I bought 2500 270gr Winchesters in a close out a few years ago and have all the 375 practice bullets I need for a while.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I think you will find that the practice of down loading the .375 is to minimize the danger of over penetration when shooting into a herd of buffalo and resulting in more than one buff being hit by a single bullet, particularly solids. If I found a PH that carried a .375 to protect his clients, I'd probably work my way farther down the list.
Perhaps you are right - I can see that working with solids which don't expand at all. Drive them slower and they don't dig as deep. But a bit risky trying to judge a complete pass thru - or not - with solids before pulling the trigger - at least in the real world I'm thinking - or wondering.
However, with other expanding type bullets, reducing velocity often gives a dramatic increase in penetration because of reduced upset. This study shows the principle firing a 300gr Barnes Oringinal RN at 2364, 2110, and 1714 for a measured penetration of 13.8", 19", and 45+" respectively - http://www.35cal.com/35bullet_study/35bullet_study1.html
I'll try to remember where I got that PH info on slightly downloading the 375H&H for effectiveness - might have been a Finn Aagard article but ????
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
It would be interesting to know what the test medium was, it was unlikely game because the velocity is so precise. Still, it is worth considering. My testing has indicated that penetration with expanding bullets remains equal at lower velocity, provided there is a proportional increase in bullet weight, but none of my testing was below 2000 fps.
Most modern expanding bullets are designed to expand for roughly 1/3 of their length, the logic to this is that over expansion reduces straight line penetration for two reasons, first the expanded bullet needs to rotate around a linear axis for stability, and secondly, if the expanded portion of the bullet exceeds much more than double the original diameter, a glancing impact with bone can destroy the bullet's stability. The only Barnes Originals I have on my bench are some 175 gr 7mm, so I can't reproduce the test you quoted exactly, but with both 300 gr premium bullets and with 300 gr cup and core bullets loaded to 2600 in my .375, penetration is on the order of 32".
Most modern expanding bullets are designed to expand for roughly 1/3 of their length, the logic to this is that over expansion reduces straight line penetration for two reasons, first the expanded bullet needs to rotate around a linear axis for stability, and secondly, if the expanded portion of the bullet exceeds much more than double the original diameter, a glancing impact with bone can destroy the bullet's stability. The only Barnes Originals I have on my bench are some 175 gr 7mm, so I can't reproduce the test you quoted exactly, but with both 300 gr premium bullets and with 300 gr cup and core bullets loaded to 2600 in my .375, penetration is on the order of 32".
wapitiwhacker
CGN Regular
- Location
- East Kootenay B.C.
I noticed that sub sonic 308 caliber bullets penetrated well in water filled milk jugs, more so than higher velocity (and higher expansion) bullets did.
I presumed it's because they didn't expand
Of course, the just drilled a small .308 caliber hole through the jugs, instead of blowing the #### out of them with a normal load...
I presumed it's because they didn't expand
Of course, the just drilled a small .308 caliber hole through the jugs, instead of blowing the #### out of them with a normal load...
Pushed a 300 gr Hornady 3/4 of the way through a moose from my 375 Wby some years back. Bullet when recovered weighed about 160 gr or so (it was quite a while back and I'm doing this from memory). Wasn't as pretty as the Nosler Partitions, but back then they were hard to come by. I would use it again on all but dangerous game. - dan
The Hornadys get soft in a hurry when driven past H&H velocities. I shared a camp in Zimbabwe a couple years ago with an American using a .378 Weatherby and Weatherby factory loads topped with Hornadys. The box said Nosler Partition. He shot his buffalo perfectly broadside and recovered it 12 hours later. The buff wasn't impressed and still needed to be shot 4 times, this time with a .416. The original bullet only penetrated one lung, those buff run pretty good on 3 cylinders.
He also shot a huge eland, and kept shooting it until he ran out of ammo then finished it with the PHs rifle. His bullets just wouldn't penetrate, and recovery shots are sometimes limited to the part of the animal you can see. There were 11 holes in that critter when he was done.
Last time I talked to him he'd bought himself a Sako .375 H&H. Hard to blame him.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
I'd have thought a couple of boxes of TSX's would have been cheaper, clearly his bullets were to blame not his rifle or marksmanship. I keep an MTM box of 270 gr Hornady loads handy, and use them for my full powered plinking loads. They aren't as accurate as a 260 gr AB, and they don't stand up as well as TSXs, but they provide affordable practice rounds in the Ultra.
He needed a rifle anyway, he and his father were a interesting combo that hunted with 2 rifles (.378 and .300 Weatherby)and swapped them back and forth. Good guys, just not incurable gun nutz like us.
I use Interlocks for plinking and practice too in the .375, and suspect they might sometimes be a better choice than the TSXs and A-Frames I use hunting. It's just that with the harder softs I am well equiped for anything that walks that a soft is appropriate for without changing changeing ammo. At home I know what I'm hunting for, and gun choices can be much more specialized. That inevitibly means leaving 375s home.
