Hornady Interlok performance on game.

[powdergun]

Before I describe the situation all animals shot were collected and thoroughly examined.

Cartridge: .308 win 150 gr Hornady Interlok. ( All bullets from the same box)

deer 1: First shot right through the rib cage ( 70 yards). Deer walked 100 yards and lay down waited 20 min but still had to give a neck shot. ( very little organ damage small exit hole)
deer 2: Exactly the same thing
deer 3: First shot through the chest under 100 yards. Deer runs off to about 200 yards stands broadside . 2nd shot at 200 yards bang flop proper expansion another chest shot.

It was a well tested load with good velocity that should of worked with the bullets. Shots under 100 yards just seemed to pencil hole through with little expansion but long shots seem to have better bullet function.

I used up the rest of that box on targets and have switched to other bullets. Just wondering if anyone else had similar experiences. I was avoiding busting the shoulder on that hunt as it was for mulie does and was looking not to ruin the shoulder. On each deer the first shot was right through both lungs and even broke ribs but the exit holes were only about 1/2 " give or take.

 

[dgradinaru]

I've had nothing but good results from the Hornady Interlocks. I mostly use 8mm 195gr driven to 2600 fps in my 8x57's. Awesome bullet and well worth the money. Ive recovered some over the years and they preformed as expected from a cup and core bullet. Also used the 170gr RN and 150 SP with good results.

 

[Eagleye]

I've had nothing but good results from the Hornady Interlocks. I mostly use 8mm 195gr driven to 2600 fps in my 8x57's. Awesome bullet and well worth the money. Ive recovered some over the years and they preformed as expected from a cup and core bullet. Also used the 170gr RN and 150 SP with good results.

For many years, the Hornady interlock worked as designed. Usually retained a good portion
of the core, and expanded to c 2x diameter.

More recent offerings have appeared to be a bit more fragile than the earlier ones, though.
I had a 270, 140 grain I.L. literally blow up on the ribs of a Whitetail buck. No part of that
bullet entered the chest, but bits of jacket and core were all over the surface of the ribs
and flank. Had to shoot him again to put him down. Second shot went between the ribs and
devastated the lungs.

I think at moderate velocities they are just great, but if you chase them a bit fast, they are
prone to coming apart. The 195 grain IL that is mentioned in the accompanying post is very
good at 8x57 velocities [about 2700 fps] In my 325 WSM, or worse, my 8mm Mag, they are
pretty explosive. The 196 Norma Dual-Core acts very similarly....it was designed for the 8x57.
Dave.

 

[Dogleg]

Best thing with Interlocks is to stay with flat-base. Go with boat tails at your own risk.

In a general sort of way I find that flat-base Inter-locks end up performing a lot like Partitions. 2X expansion and 65-70 % weight retention on the few you find. Imagine whatever you want the ones that exit. They tend to do that right up to the point where they don't.

On the other hand I doubt if I've shot much over 2000 BG animals with Hornadys so what do I know.

 

[powdergun]

That is interesting. What makes the boat tails a problem relative to the flat base ?

 

[Suther]

That is interesting. What makes the boat tails a problem relative to the flat base ?

I'm also interested in this. I've got a box of 100gr BTSP Interlocks for my 243 on the shelf, and I've heard good things about that bullet in that cartridge, but now you've got me wondering...

 

[Kenny_G2]

I'm also interested in this. I've got a box of 100gr BTSP Interlocks for my 243 on the shelf, and I've heard good things about that bullet in that cartridge, but now you've got me wondering...

In my 243's and 6mm the flat base were very accurate. The BTSP, not so much. Finding the flat base has been problematic, I scoop them up every chance I get.

 

[Kenny_G2]

OP, I had a similar experience using 165 gr interbonds in my 300 wsm. Chest shot a deer at 200 yards. Found hair at the impact site but no blood. Followed tracks in the snow for 100 yards with no blood, decided to back off and leave the deer over night. I found it the next morning however coyotes and ravens had eaten half of it, I only found it because of the ravens That deer made it over 300 yards, only had a blood trail for the last 50 yards. Shot was just behind the heart, midway up the chest.

I used the same reloads a few years later on 2 moose. One went down right away, the other took 2 lung hits and ran to another hunter who put it down with a 308. I have since gone to Accubonds, a bit more money but they work consistently.

 

[Suther]

In my 243's and 6mm the flat base were very accurate. The BTSP, not so much. Finding the flat base has been problematic, I scoop them up every chance I get.

I've put two boxes of Hornady American WhiteTail ammo through the rifle and they worked fine, so I think I'll be good?

Actually, now that I think about it, that was totally my last 243win, I haven't even shot my current one lol.... I already bought the bullets though, so I might as well at least try them... If they won't shoot I'll switch to either a partition or monometal probably...

 

[mnr]

A few years ago I bought multiple boxes of factory 375 Ruger ammo with the 270gr interlocks, and found they acted like V-Max's on impact. I haven't found it to be a big deal on deer-sized game as long as you don't shoot the meat, although it is kind of funny there were pictures of cape buffalo/elephants/etc on the box. Beyond that I haven't tried any other ones in other calibers.

 

[Bigbubba]

shot tons of deer with a 270 using 140 gr BTSP (hornady bullets) going about 2800 fps

Never had any issues with finding any of them - most didnt go very far at all, all were pass through shots, lots of blood, good expansion, etc

Maybe they have gone down hill lately, I dont know....

 

[powdergun]

I was wondering about changes. Another thing I found was with some .45 cal XTP s that I used in my muzzle loader. Bullets from my older supply mushroomed well as I recovered most as they would not pass through. I ran out and bought a new supply and they do not react nearly as well. They did not remain intact and I have had a few tracking adventures with them.

 

[john-brennan]

Best thing with Interlocks is to stay with flat-base. Go with boat tails at your own risk.

In a general sort of way I find that flat-base Inter-locks end up performing a lot like Partitions. 2X expansion and 65-70 % weight retention on the few you find. Imagine whatever you want the ones that exit. They tend to do that right up to the point where they don't.

On the other hand I doubt if I've shot much over 2000 BG animals with Hornadys so what do I know.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ flat base only I have had great accuracy and reliable expansion with flat base interlocks

 

[cosmic]

There were a couple of threads a few years ago discussing the Interlock. People were complaining that the new (at the time) offerings were more fragile. The suspicion was that Hornady had reduced the copper jacket thickness to save cost.... I've used the Interlock over the years in modest velocity calibers (300 sav, 303, 308, 7 x 57) and the deer have expired handily. Mind you, I tend to favour heavier bullets in a given caliber. With people chasing higher velocities in more modern calibers, I can see where the Interlock, or any cup and core bullet, might be problematic.

 

[cbh560]

I've shot whitetail with 100 gr BTSP out of my .243 at 200 yards. Excellent penetration and performance, no bullets recovered. I've also shot moose with 180 BTSP out of a 30-06 at 400 yards. Again, complete passthrough and judging by the the exit wound, expansion was as it should have been.

That being said, I've also shot a few coyotes with the same 100gr load from the .243. Obviously they are much lighter bodied than WT, but one penciled all the way through from the chest and out behind the last rib (didn't hit anything hard) and didn't expand at all (coyote was still a bang flop) Another one was broadside, hit a rib on the way in, and looked like a baseball came out the other side of the ribcage. Obviously expansion was considerable on this one.

 

[Northman999]

I’ve been using interlocks, along with all other commonly available cup and core bullets, pretty much forever. I’ve never noticed an issue with them, they always seem to perform pretty much the same as everybody else’s cup and core bullets, whether those others were Sierras or Speers or whatever. My current load for my 270 Win is 150 grain flat base interlock at 3000 FPS, and I would not hesitate to shoot most anything with it.

 

[Bad Bob]

Shot a lot of stuff with interlocks over the years, mostly .243, .270 and 7mm. Everything hit with interlocks died just fine. Accuracy was pretty fine also,hard to beat and a good price to boot.

 

[leeelmer]

250 grain spire point interlocks for years in my 358 Norma mag. Killed everything they have hit.
Loaded some 200gr accubonds now, not that the interlocks are not working, just was looking for a bit lighter load.

 

[Northern Boater]

Have used the 162 btsp out of my 7 mag on last 3 moose. Two large bulls both lung shots drops them fast but both bullets really blew up and neither hit the opposite rib so meat damage was very minimal. Lungs are liquified completely. I would never take a frontal shot or shoulder with them and this will be the last year I use them. This years moose was a small immature 2 point bull, dressing in the 300 lb range, I shot it in the neck and it dropped as expected but again it blew up destroying the neck and not exiting with no significant pieces of bullet found. This was a small bull and the neck was not as large as a mature mule deer. I am going back to Partitions or Game kings which have always performed flawlessly for me.

 

[Butcherbill]

.308 Hornady American Whitetail, 165gr interlock. Once I deboned the right side front quarter I found a small entry hole through the shoulder blade which started the expansion, large entry through the right side ribs. Full pass through on a double lung and a huge exit hole. I’ve had more meat damage with bullets that left smaller entry and exit holes, this was my first time using this bullet. Probably hit him at the 60-75y mark.

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