Holy Hornady

[Accubond]

I have always used .30-06 Federal Accubond in 180, and they have worked well. This year on the advice from a guy at WS in Calgary I gave Hornady Interbonds a try in 165gr. (Excellent service at WS by the way) At the range the grouping was under 1 MOA and the recoil was a little less. (Savage 111) Shot a Mule doe yesterday at 208 yds, prefectly broadside. Bullet went between 2 ribs, blew up both lungs and exited the same. Doe jumped and fell over (into a coulee) Exit hole was not that large and should have no meat loss. I may have to change my username:lol:

PS. Has anyone ever recoved a bullet from a deer? I have alway has pass throughs, ranges from 65 yds to 389 yds. Is a deer just to small to absorb 1800 to 2872 ft/lbs of energy?

[Matt L.]

On my first deer I recovered the bullet. Don't ask me what I was using I can't remember lol. It was a 130 gr. the came apart a bit, it went thru the deer just not the hide on the other side.

[TangoKilo]

In my experiance, broadside shots on deer rarely result in a recovered bullet.

[Copidosoma]

I've tried Interbonds in my rifle and the accuracy was to say the least disappointing (really bad actually). I switched to accubonds on the advice of a friend (different weight mind you) and they shoot like match bullets. I might have to try the interbonds again in this weight because you certainly can't beat the price.

Maybe if I just really want them to work well...

Granted, either of them are way overkill for deer. I just wanted to maximize accuracy. Core-lokts are likely just as lethal.

[gitrdun]

I'm a big fan of Hornady bullets. I've had great success with the Interlocks in .270WSM and superb success with the 265gr. Interlocks in my .444 Marlin. I also use 225gr Interbonds in .338WM and finally my greatest little bullet is the V-Max in .223 Rem. Tiny little entry hole, devastating on the innards and no exit hole. There....now I think Hornady should send me on some hunting trip to further field test their products ;)

[Selkirk]

" . . . Has anyone ever recoved a bullet from a deer? I have alway has pass throughs, ranges from 65 yds to 389 yds. . . "
.


With high-powered rounds (.30-06, .270, etc.) and magnums (7mm Rem Mag, .270 WSM, etc.) only a few times ... but only when one or more major bones are hit. About the only time I have recovered a bullet involving my preferred 'broad-side' shot (heart/lung) on a deer was with my 45-70.



" . . . Is a deer just to small to absorb 1800 to 2872 ft/lbs of energy?"
.


When only rib bones are hit, I would say 'yes' . . . the chest cavity on most deer is not big enough to stop a bullet with that much energy.

[209x50]

I'm a big fan of Hornady bullets. I've had great success with the Interlocks in .270WSM and superb success with the 265gr. Interlocks in my .444 Marlin. I also use 225gr Interbonds in .338WM and finally my greatest little bullet is the V-Max in .223 Rem. Tiny little entry hole, devastating on the innards and no exit hole. There....now I think Hornady should send me on some hunting trip to further field test their products ;)

That 130 grain Interlock in the 270 is flat out the best performing bullet I've ever shot in any of my 270s. Accuracy is crazy good and penetration is always out the other side so you can't ask for any more.

[Kelly & Beth]

I have used Hornady interlocks in the wifes 280rem and my 7mm rem mag and really like them but I'm a little dissapointed in my 257 weatherby on how they blow up. I have also used the interbonds in my 300 wsm and they are super accurate and work really well I havn't recoverd any however.

kelly

[Gonehuntin']

PS. Has anyone ever recoved a bullet from a deer? I have alway has pass throughs, ranges from 65 yds to 389 yds. Is a deer just to small to absorb 1800 to 2872 ft/lbs of energy?[/QUOTE]

Just a couple of days ago I recovered a 168gr. Barnes XLC (out of a chunky whitetail doe). Perfect mushroom. PMC Gold factory ammo chronographed before season @ 2650 fps. Turned my .30-06 into a .308. Magical.Yay. Factory 30-06 ammo is loaded too soft. barnes book says that the bottom end load for this bullet is arond 2775 fps.or so and top is 3010ish fps.Not that there is any real problem, dead deer and all that.I think I'll try developing a handload for these, as the terminal performance and lack of meat damage is great.Have also recovered several 180 Accubonds from whitetails and moose at less than 200 yds. and a couple 180 partitions. All did the job but hung up on the off side, perfectly mushroomed.

[smurph]

That 130 grain Interlock in the 270 is flat out the best performing bullet I've ever shot in any of my 270s. Accuracy is crazy good and penetration is always out the other side so you can't ask for any more.

I completely agree. Just sighted in my new T3 in .270 and used the Hornady Custom Interbonds(not the interlock in my case) in 130 grain - recommended by the guys at WS in Edmonton - and had amazing groupings. 'Thee' best cartridge i've ever shot in 20+ years of shooting.

[Gonehuntin']

PS. Has anyone ever recoved a bullet from a deer? I have alway has pass throughs, ranges from 65 yds to 389 yds. Is a deer just to small to absorb 1800 to 2872 ft/lbs of energy?[/QUOTE]

Just a couple of days ago I recovered a 168gr. Barnes XLC (out of a chunky whitetail doe). Perfect mushroom. PMC Gold factory ammo chronographed before season @ 2650 fps. Turned my .30-06 into a .308. Magical.Yay. Factory 30-06 ammo is loaded too soft. barnes book says that the bottom end load for this bullet is arond 2775 fps.or so and top is 3010ish fps.Not that there is any real problem, dead deer and all that.I think I'll try developing a handload for these, as the terminal performance and lack of meat damage is great.Have also recovered several 180 Accubonds from whitetails and moose at less than 200 yds. and a couple 180 partitions.With the deer all recoveries were the result of a quartering shot and bones. All did the job but hung up on the off side, perfectly mushroomed. Also once shot a Sitka Blacktail with a .338 210 gr. Partition and had it stop in the animal after breakin every major bone in the deers top end on a high quartering shot. bullet stopped 1 inch under hide on off side rump. Also flung the deer 5 feet back quickly. Sorry for double post hit the wrong damn button.

[canadianhunter]

I tried the Hornady bullets on recommendation of a sales guy at the Saskatoon WS. (they must get a commission) He's about the only guy with actual customer service in the store, but never remember his name. Anyways, the accuracy is quite good out of my 308. I still haven't hunted with them yet.

As far as recovering bullets. In the past two year I have recovered three. I was shooting Winchester Silver Ballistic Tips out of my 270 Win. All broad side shots. The bullet passed through both sides of the rib cage but was then caught in the hide. Found the bullets when I was skinning. All the deer dropped in their tracks and the bullet completely destroyed the lungs and heart.

[shelldrake]

I've had a similar experience with 168 grain Winchester Nosler Ballistic Silvertips in my .30-06. I've recovered two of my bullets from deer now, both weighing about 75 grains or so. They knock down deer alright, but I'm a little disappointed by bullet retention and the damage they cause to the meat. I've decided to switch bullets for next season and load Hornady 165 grain SSTs instead. Have heard very good things about Hornady interbond and interlock bullets on other sites and the posts I've seen here seem to suggest the same.