Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tell me about the Hornady Interlock SP

I'm an Interlock user. My favorite is the no longer made 100gr .257 that's had more one shot, DRT kills on deer than any other bullet/caliber I own. I also use them in my 338, 250gr and my 3006 in 180. That same 180 bullet out of a 300 Weatherby is probably the upper limit for this bullet. Here it is, last one on right, recovered from the ham of an impala shot at approx 80 yards on the point of the shoulder. Traversed the entire animal, shed its core, recovered weight was 79gr

I've only recovered one Hornady bullet, a 225 gr. fired from a .338-06. Bullet went through more than two feet lengthwise of bull elk. Much of the semi-mushroomed lead core was still firmly in the jacket and retained bullet weight was 181 grs. Of course, the striking velocity of around 2,400 fps may have contributed to the bullet holding together.

Have shot numerous deer with a 130gr. Interlock in my 270 with a case full of H4831. Have only recovered two. Terminal performance has been 100% effective every time. One of the bullets I recovered was from my one and only B&C whitetail shot in 91. Shot was high shoulder at about 75 yards. Deer dropped instantly. Bullet was recovered under the hide on the offside. It broke both shoulders and turned the lungs into jelly. It retained 50% of its weight. I have the utmost faith in the Interlock. For a reasonably priced bullet it doesn't get any better. Accuracy is also outstanding.

Good performing bullets. People mention Sierras as being accurate but on the whole, Hornady Interlokts have been the most consistently accurate cup and core bullets I have used from .243 to .312 calibre. I was sorry to see the 100gn .257 IL go but I have 4 1/2 boxes on my shelf that will keep my .250 Sav and one of my .257 Roberts' shooting for quite a while.

Tagged

Best groups my pre-64 .270 ever fired were with the 130gr ILs over 58gr of H4831, but nowadays it gets 160NPs because 2 out of the 3 hit with them so far just fell over dead right there. Third one, hit a bit higher, went about 50 yards. The one I hit with the IL went about 150 with a chest full of soup, but no exit or blood trail. Had I not found a puff of hair knocked from the far side of the ribs by the impact, I would not have done the search and found him.

The .308 165 grain Hornady IL SP is my goto bullet for KY whitetails. I use it in .308 WIN and 30-06. I have yet to recover one.

When I'm taking on a new deer rifle, I normally try to find a solution that comes out of a red box and go from there.

The bullet on the right is a 165 HDY BTSP that I recovered from last season's 6x6 elk. From a 308 Win at 140 yards, the bullet broke the heavy upper leg bone-knuckle, and punched into the lungs. I found it rolling around the chest cavity. All in all, that's a heck of a lot to ask of a bullet, and the first time I've center-punched that leg bone. That's about the worst possible scenario for an elk bullet.

Bullet on the left is a 150 Nosler Ballisitc Tip from a heavy, old 6x6 bull I took in 2014, shot at 40 yards from a 7mm-08. The bullet angled forward from the back of the ribs, and was under the off-side scapula. Around 32" of penetration. Bull ran about 25 yards and was dead when I got to him, likely the quickest kill I've ever seen on an elk.

Cool pictures Brad. Pretty good illustration that a bullet doesn't have to look perfect to work pretty decently.

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I will second this motion.....I have had consistently excellent results with interlocks.

They are my go to cup and core bullets, when I am not shooting mono's.

Always had good luck with Hornady Interlocks, especially at moderate velocities. Used them in almost every caliber.


Left bullet is a 200 grain out of a .33 WCF, Texas heart shot at around 100 yards.
Right side bullet is the 117 grain .257 RN taken from water jugs at around 50 yards. Kills deer dead too.

I have used the 165 and 180 interlock with great results in the 30-06 for many years. The 165 is about the best whitetail bullet going, there is usually little doubt upon impact and I've yet to recover one from handful I've shot into deer. Expansion is always reliable from 20-250 yds.

The 180 is also a gem. They used to have a ring just above the cannelure (middle bullet), this has since disappeared about 7 years ago (new production on left). These kinds of changes are frustrating as they introduce doubt.The only 180 I have recovered is pictured on the right. I found it while skinning a coastal brown bear that squared about 9'. It was shot broadside at about 80 yards, a smidge further back than I anticipated. It weighs 135 grains, so 75% weight retention. Not too shabby for a cheap bullet. The 180 partitions that I have recovered from bears have usually weighed less as the front core is more prone is separate. I still like the 180 partition, just dont think the interlock gives up much when pushed at 30-06 velocities. I have also used the 180 on deer and pigs, no surprises, they work on them too.



I have some 150 interlocks I plan on using in a 760 for whitetail next. Also plan on trying the 130 grain in a 270 slowed a bit from factory velocities. Across the board they have been consistently accurate in the calibers I've tried (.22 50 gr, .257 100 gr,.277 100 gr, .284 139 and 154 gr, .308 150, 165 and 180 gr, .358 200 gr, .375 300 gr RN and BTSP). The XTP pistol bullets are also excellent imo. I guess you could say that I'm a Hornady fan. Only negative is their brass is so-so.

Im slowly moving over to TSX's but the only other "cheap" bullet in the same league is the Federal Fusion.

I'm LATE to this thread....actually thot it was an older one that I remember, very similar.

I'm the contrarian, very poor bullets that sheds their cores. (sarcasm)

Good Bullets come in different colored boxes..










ALL but 1 (one) of my Whitetail loadS are equipped with H Ils.

The other is OLDER Rem C Ls ,270 Win 130s that I bought in BULK from Midway. "THEY" are actually stouter than the H Ils.

Jerry

I/we have used:
270 Win- 130,140,150 on deer, antelope, elk, black bear, caribou, hogs
The 130's flat work, the 140gr BTSP seemed to separate more than flat base, 150's impressed me on elk and hogs.

7mm-08- 154gr on elk
338-06- 200gr flattens deer
9.3x64- 286gr no animals, but it shoots great and to the same POI as the TSX
375 H&H- 270gr on deer, flattens them

I have never tried them in my 300H&H since I have a 180gr TTSX and 165gr GMX loads that shoot so dang good.

I love interlocks, from back before X's were cool..... never did swollow the X koolaide, for good reason...

Thumbs up!

I shot a bunch of 180's out of 300WSM, it killed two deer I plainly remember, through the lungs it worked like any other bullet traveling at close to 3000 fps. Don't over think it, try it.

Wonderful bullets overall.
The only failure I experienced was the 500gn RN loaded to a mild 2500fps in the .460 Weatherby. It was great on feral game up to wild horses, but failed to penetrate a shoulder on a scrub bull for me. AS I stated elsewhere, I recovered the bullet in the membrane between the shoulder and the ribs which were not even broken, let a lone penetrated.

This is why one opinion can be interesting but not necessarily of value because Weatherby has a long history of using that same bullet in their factory ammo and I never heard of a failure. There was even one of the old Weatherby Guide magazines that had a lady hunter brain an elephant with the same bullet, so was is a batch, a freak experience, who knows?
John

It's been one of my go to bullets in anything moving up to 3000 fps for many years. The only time I can say one definitely failed was a 139 gr 7mm from the unluckiest 7mm-08 rifle ever. It blew up on a rib for no particular reason. That same bullet has taken a pile of whitetail when shot at the same speed from a 7 mauser, so,like I said, bad luck rifle.