I agree within reasonable limits. A 165 interlock impacting at 3400fps (a distance of 10’) wont make it to the off side rib cage of a large mule deer when shot squarely through the lungs. Bullet failure? No, just way out of design parameters of the bullet. No question many of the true premium bullets would have exited. The 300wby shooting 165 Interlocs remains my mule deer combination of choice because of it’s effectiveness. I actually prefer it to my 7STW that shoots 160 accubonds as fast (even though it shoots flatter). One of the things I really appreciate about the Interlocs is how easy they are to find great accuracy. For new rifles, I always start with Interlocs and accubonds.
I think of Hornady Interlocks as the non-premium bullet with premium performance.
I am always skeptical of bullet failure reports on lost animals because of the following:
A well hit animal can easily run 50 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail. Most of us have seen this on more than one occasion. Yet, hunters will report shooting animals from ~100 or more yards and the animal disappears from sight after 10-15 yds of running. They "profess" to be 100% certain of a "good hit" and "blame bullet failure" even though they have no physical evidence to support it; i.e., no recovered animal.
