Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hornady GMX bullet

My primary big game cartridge is the .30-06 and it seems to like the Hornady factory loaded 165gr GMX bullet and I was wondering if anyone could share their hunting experience with the GMX?

I am a big fan of the TSX bullet and have taken several animals with them, so my expectations are high .

Thanks

I have tried that round in my custom Mauser 98 in .30/06 on the range only. The bolt had to be beaten open with the palm of my hand after firing. This load is over pressure in my rifle. Your mileage may vary.

Buddy of mine shot a smallish black bear with 165's in a 308. In and out, dead bear, though it took two, if the first one was a little farther behind the shoulder I feel it would have just taken the one, but you never know, the first might have been all it took. Better safe then sorry, bullets are cheep compared to hospital bills.

I have used the 130gr in my 270's. They work just fine. Recovered one that weighs 129gr. Picture perfect expansion.

I just recently picked up a 30-06, planning on using the 165gr. Unless they Do not shoot.

I have tried 139gr in my 7x57. But I cannot get them to group. I think I have a bedding issue with the mannlicher stock. Waiting until after hunting season to sort that out. Or the throat is too long. The closest I can get them is 0.45 from
the lands.

If they shoot good, I think you will good to go.

I used a 139gr factory superformance load in my 7mm Rem Mag this year on a moose here in Idaho. We estimated he weighed 6-700 pounds. It took one shot - the bullet penetrated completely and the bull died in 25 yards. I would use them again, based on my sample of one.

Thanks for all the info folks. I too was interested as I will be working up loads for '06 this winter and want to try the Hornady version if the TSX/TTSX don't shoot well.

Geno

I have taken deer with my 300 wsm and 165 GMX's with no problems, they were running around 3150 fps.

My impression is that these like to be run like the Barnes TSX/TTSX and perform pretty similarly.

Accordingly, I have leaned toward fast and light for caliber in my limited experience with them.

An 80 GMX in 243 performed well on this nice Hill Country buck for my daughter. She punched him behind the near shoulder and through the off shoulder on a quartering away shot at over 250 yards.

Bullet exited with good, although not excessive, expansion and he ran between 50 and 100 yards before piling up.

He was a big bodied, 6.5 year old deer, but the little 80g GMX did a number on him.





In my limited experience, they have been much like TSX/TTSX - they may be just a tad softer and expand a little better at longer range, but still penetrate well as shown on the 250 plus yard shot on this buck.

DJ

Nice buck - good job by your daughter.

Grat Hill Country buck!! Congrats to your daughter.

Nice buck, I tend to agree that they are maybe a touch softer than the tSX's but have not shot enough animals or recovered enough of them to form a definitive anecdotal opinion.

The only negatives that i've heard about them is from other handloaders that said they weren't as accurate as the Barnes...fwiw

I loaded some of the 90 gr seconds MidwayUSA had in my 257AI. Over a max charge of Hunter I got VERY sub-MOA groups and the sort of speed that allowed me to sell my Roy w/o a 2nd thought.

Gonna run em through a doe or 3 this fall and will be sure to report back.

The 150 GMX has worked well for me.

Nothing recovered from game. Good accuracy too.

two antelope, 1 deer, 1 buffalo all took one shot.

I never had a daughter, but if I did, Id want her like yours, a hunter. Good Job, Dad.

CrazyIs;
If my memory hasn't slipped too badly this evening, I've used a 130gr GMX on four bucks now, one whitetail and four mulies.

Here's a link I dug up from the only GMX I've recovered thus far.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthread...covered_GMX_tissue_damage_an#Post5700740

As a way of comparison and since you mentioned that you'd used TSX bullets with good results, here is the GMX in the center with an 80gr .257" TTSX on the left and a 168gr .308" TSX on the left.


The TTSX was recovered from a mulie buck that our youngest daughter hit with her .250AI, the 168gr TSX is from a whitetail buck I hit with a .308 Norma.

Hopefully the link and photos are some use to you or someone out there sir.

All the best to you and good luck on your upcoming hunts.

Regards,
Dwayne

Interested if anyone else has found the same thing. I have been very happy with the TTSX, but I wouldn't mind of they expanded a tad wider. Also, does anyone know what Hornady says the min velocity to open is? I don't see it on their website.

http://www.soarraptors.org/Documents/CopperBulletStudy.pdf

page 12 has some interesting pictures...

SAKO75;
I trust that this finds you and yours doing well this morning sir.

Thanks so much for the very informative link. I have to bookmark that one and re-digest some of the data.

Shortly after I picked up a couple boxes of 130gr. GMX for my "walking around" .270, I also managed to find a couple boxes of 130gr. TTSX - which have been just sitting there on the shelf waiting for me to get around to trying them out.

I'll have to take BobinNH advice and pick up some slower powder next time I'm up the valley far enough to get to a purveyor of reloading components and give them a whirl.

Thanks again for the informative link and all the best to you and yours.

Dwayne.

PS;
I took a quick peek at the shelves before posting here and also saw I'd picked up multiple boxes of 140gr TSX somewhere along the way - didn't recall doing that somehow.

I killed a first rack whitetail with one of those using a front on shot. It broke two vertebrae in the neck - powdered them really - and then sailed on through one lung, the diaphragm, a very full stomach and was somewhere in the intestines.

I couldn't find it in the near dark and when I returned the next evening some dirty coyote/raven had taken my ballistic evidence away!

All the best and thanks again SAKO.

no prob...best to you as well...

love to hear our thoughts on it