Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Hornady 180Gr or 165Gr. SP Interlock how good for deer?

Does anyone have experience with these bullets on deer? How are they for accuracy in your opinion. I have had experience with them on 3 whitetails from just over 100 yards out beyond 350. They were factory loaded Hornady Light Magnums in a 7mm-08. I have had no experience with them in my two 30-06's however, nor any handload. Considering them because they are fairly inexpensive and have killed deer for me in the past-with fairly dramatic results.

Killed two deer with the 165 Spire Point and a big cow elk with the 180 Spire Point Interlocks, all from a .30-06.

First deer was about 120 yards steep downhill and it hit on the back, took out a big fist sized chunk of spine and totally homogenized the lungs.

Second deer was about 220 yards away, broadside pass through behind shoulder, worked just like it's supposed to - nice big hole all the way though, los of blood in the chest cavity.

Elk was about 200 yards quartering toward me, hit chest in front of right shoulder and exited behind left shoulder. One shot bang flop went two feet straight down right now. I thought I'd missed as it dropped before the rifle came down out of recoil and the elk wasn't there any more. Big hole all the way through, chest cavity was inches deep in blood when opened.

My reloading component shelf has mostly red boxes by far. I have found the Hornady Interlocks to be as accurate across the board as most anything short of a dedicated match or varmint bullet - this considering all loads in several rifles in various .22's, .243, 6mm, .270's, 7-08's, 7X57, 7mm RM, .308's, .30-06's, .300 WM, .338 WM and .375 H&H's. Could be they don't work at all in .25 caliber rifles but I wouldn't know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Plus they're usually the cheapest bullet on the shelf which doesn't displease me.

Have used the 180 Nosler Partition mostly in my '06's because I'm a one rifle - one load kind of person, but would be happy to use plain old Hornady Interlocks of appropriate weight on most anything if I couldn't get the Noslers for some reason.

They work. For shots on any whitetail or mulie I'd say they kill just as good as anything else.

The 165 is all you'll need for deer. Either will work on elk also with good bullet placement, but I would prefer a bullet with more advanced terminal effect on an elk; ie: Interbond, Scirocco II, Accubond, Barnes TSX, TBBC, A-Frame, Partition, etc.

Thank you for that. I'm surprised with the Elk. I have always heard they are not an Elk bullet, but sounds like they are. They worked very well for me and like you I'd prolly opt for the partition if push cam to shove. But I have 200 Hornady Sp's 100=165's and 100 180-'s staring at me that were not even half of what I'd pay for Nosler partitions. I'm not a penney pincher but if they work-they work. I always thought the interlocks were for deer only and the interbonds were the Elk rendition. Live and learn thats why I'm asking.

most of my experience hass been with .270 130 SP. I;ve killed antelope out to 250yds, mule deer 100-150yds and one cow elk at 70 yds. All smaller animals were pass throughs and the elk broke the onside shoulder, passed through the chest, diaphragm, liver, and stopped under the skin on the far side. This was at 3000 fps. The bullet shed its core but both the core and jacket were together on the far side skin. That was about 27" penetration. I'm not a huge fan of conventionall bullets, but the Hornadys are very consistent in reguard to accuracy and you really can't ask for better performance than that. As long as velocity is not excessive, you should have no worries. (I.E. I'm not sure I'd go with the light magnums if the range was expected to be short).
-Lefty

The 180 Horn fb has always been the go to bullet for me when it comes to testing accuracy in a 30 cal of any kind.

And on game be it deer/lopes/bruins or elk it has always performed in a manner which was very good. I would personally take it at 06 speeds on any critter that moves and not blink an eye.

Of course if given my druthers I would prefer for all that walks the 168 TX.

But for venado only no doubt I would use this bullet.

Good luck to ya

Mark D

I killed most of my first 100 deer with 180gr round noses, quick death ,little tracking.. I have also killed a few with 165 & 180 flatbases with much the same results.

Good point and something I forgot to mention. Keep the impact velocity under about 3000 fps and they should do fine. If you read between the lines on my post you'll see that impact velocities with my loads were probably all in the 2400-2700 fps range and at those speeds the Hornady's have worked just great.

Also shot a deer right about 100 yards away with a 130 Hornady Spire Point from a .270 with MV just under 3200 fps. Perfect broadside shot behind the shoulder but I suspect a bit too far back in the lungs, so I put a finisher in that deer through the heart from 6" away. Both bullets were found under the skin of the far side, mushroomed out to little nubbins with almost no shank left but core and jacket stayed together. Terminal effect was just like the 165 .30 caliber, nice big hole all the way through with lots of blood in the chest cavity.

I won't have to worry about pushing out past 3000FPS with my 30-06 loaded with 57Gr of H4350. More like 2800 or so with 165 gr. The Lt Mags I used were advertised at 3000FPS but most folks say thats optimistic. That said they performed excellent for me in the 7mm-08. Last deer I killed was running up a hillside when he ran into my Hornady SP right behind the on shoulder he reared up did a backflip and rolled about 20 yards downhill stone dead with a broken off shoulder and leg. That was (pardon the pun) killer performance. Never shot an Elk with one, but prolly a good option for Cows in 180 grain. Heck, I know folks that sweart by the Nosler Ballistic tip for Elk and never use anything else. Now I wouldnt do that-but some do and kill Elk real well with it year in and year out. Sometimes I think we all go a little overboard and wacky when it comes to bullets (look out). I love the TSX too though I have not killed anything with it yet. It was deadly at the range shooting very nice groups in both 30-06's.

I used factory Hornady ammo for a couple of seasons.Shot one moose and a couple of deer.I wouldn't hesitate to use the interlock again.300 Win 180 gr.Hornady Custom SP Interlock was the ammo used.

I use Hornady 100gr in the Bob and .250 -3000, 129gr in my 6.5 wildcat, 139s in my 7x57, 130s and 140s in my brother's .270, 165s in my '06 and my other brother's .308. We eat venison every year, regardless of which caliber we use.

Some people call the Hornady Interlock "the poor man's premium." The 180 in the .30-06 works fine even on elk-size game, partly because just about any 180 in the .30-06 works fine, but partly because the Interlock is an excellent design. In addition to the Interlock, Hornady uses a slightly harder lead-alloy than most companies for the core.

A great many people in my part of Montana shoot Interlocks on everything--deer, antelope, elk, bear--because they work.
They will not shoot through a freight train like some of the expensive brands, but then most of us do not hunt freight trains.

MD

Deer just don't take that much bullet and the Hornadys work perfectly if not driven too fast. A 165 or 180 Spire Point out of a 30-06 will drop any deer of any kind that ever walked. I have a friend that has used them successfully on Elk as well but I would prefer a different bullet for that work. As for accuracy, my 30-06 has put five 150 Spire Points into one ragged hole at 100 yds. It has never shot any other bullet quite as well but will usually shoot Spire Points to minute of angle if I do my part. A powder I have been working with recently in my 30-06 is N550. Good velocity and very good accuracy.

The 165 gr hornady is simply a great bullet for the 30-06 for 98% of the hunting done. I have had excellent results on Deer,Elk, Moose. Perfect mushroomed bullets usually stoppung on the off shoulder hide if not exiting. It like other sage advise given, is good for accuracy testing. If a rifle cannot shoot the 165 gr with 56-58 gr of 4350 there is a problem. It is gratifying to see people seeing the relevance of the tried and true standy bullets like the original interlock, Partitions, Gamekeings ect, as long as they are applied toi the situations they were desighned for.

Were it me, I'd develop a hunting load for elk with the 168 TSX first and foremost, then develop a load around any simple cup 165 to use for plinking and deer sized stuff. Certainly one of them will go into the same POI as the 168 TSX and my first choice would be the 165 Hornady. IME, if a 30 cal rifle won't shoot either a 165 or 180 Hdy FB it won't shoot anything really well.

Lots of good info here, proven in the field. I used to use them quite a bit, if for no other reason that Weatherby loads them in their factory ammo and before I reloaded that is what I used. My rule of thumb is 2800 fps MV. Anything above that impact velocity and it's a crap shoot. As an example, I shot an impala which is sort of deer-sized at 80 yards. It was quartering towards me and I smacked him right at the pint of the shoulder. He went down like like a sack of potatoes, BUt I recovered the bullet in the off side ham. Not good, that bullet should have gone clean through and it only weighed about 79gr. On a biger animal, i might have had a mess on my hands. Since then, I've switched to A Frames and now TSXs as in my view that is THE bullet to use. On the image bleow you can see the remnants of the core. The others are 375 H&H recovered frm eland, zebra, and wildebeest. jorge

If all the above testimonies weren't enough, consider that Weatherby ammo uses the InterLock as their standard bullet. That's pretty high praise for a cup 'n' core bullet, considering Weatherby velocities.

rsy

I shoot the 165 bt interloc out of the 06 at velocities just a touch over 2900 fps on everything from antelope to elk. Never had a bullet failure except for the time a bull elk caught one in the neck at close range. The bullet went to peices, but left a hole in the vertebrae you could of put your fist thru.

Amen and thank goodness for the common sense displayed here.

Standard velocity cartridges work just fine with standard bullets (well duh, that's what the bullets were designed for). I firmly believe that 2800 fps is the magic number of bullet selection. At or just below that speed, any decent core/jacket bullet will perform in an entirely adequate manner.

Magnum cartridges that shoot at magnum speeds require premium bullets, period.

You won't go wrong by using a premium bullet (Partitions, TSXs, Scirrocos, etc) in a standard round, but they really aren't necessary at standard velocity.

My long-time bang/flop combo for any deer is the Hornady #3031 150-grainer in the .308. (As a pleasant coincidence, that bullet over 3031 powder is a great combo.) With good shot placement at modest range, that same bullet would do well for elk, I'm convinced, but I'd rather use a 165 than a 150.

I have always had good luck with Hornady. I used a 165 SPBT in my 308 to shoot an Elk several years ago.

I've used 150's and 180's on deer and antelope with my 06. I use the 150 SST now for deer and antelope. My buddy has shot a lot of Elk with the 190 SPBT-with both an 06 and 300 WinMag.