Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Hornady Interbond Bullets

I was rummaging thru the on hand bullet supply this afternoon and found a box each of .30 caliber 150 grain and 165 grain Hornady Interbonds.

I have never tried the Interbond before.

Anybody tried/used the bullets on deer. I would be running them out of a .30/06 and a .308.

I killed an elk with the 165 Intervonds as factory loads in a .30-06. 1 went through the boiler room, and one settled on the offside of the skull. The latter expanded well, but lost a good deal of weight. I’d have expected it to retain more.

In that particular rifle, those Interbonds and the 165 SST’s were the most accurate factory loads I could find, and I had t begun reloading yet.

I contacted Hornady to ask why they didn’t factory-load 180 grain Interbonds for .30-06, and they replied that they hadn’t even noticed they’d not done so. The reply went on to state that a .30-06 couldn’t stress a regular Interlock to the point where it would even benefit from being bonded. I’d suspect the same is probably true for 150’s and 165’s, as well.

If they’ll shoot well in your rifle, the Interbonds will perform well on game within the ‘06’s performance envelope.

FC

Used the 139gr Interbonds in a 7x56R at 3,000 fps and they were very accurate and very good killers. They expanded widely to a rounded mushroom, destroying a lot of tissue but penalizing penetration.

Looking for more penetration I loaded the 154gr in the same rifle and cartridge, but accuracy was dismal. I gave the remaining bullets to a friend who tried them in his 7STW and 7RM with same results.

In the interim I loaded them in a 6,5x57R and obtained, again, excellent accuracy but have not shot anything but paper wiite them, yet.

My .02

The wife reloads them in her 270 wsm with sub moa accuracy. They have performed well for her on multiple mule deer and a few elk. Problem is finding them anymore is difficult. Maybe discontinued. She has picked up her last few boxes at 2 nd hand stores. Proven killer for her. Good luck

Thanks for the input. Were the Interbonds finicky about finding a good load?

My go to bullet in my 284W is a 139 gr interlock. I have also used it in my 270. I do not push the speed. They penetrate and hold together. Go forth and have your knife ready. This bullet gives good accuracy and good performance on game.

I only ever tried them in a .243 and couldn't get them to shoot...that was in a T/C. Icon which shot literally everything else well...



My sample of one...

I love Hornady bullets and reloading equipment. And the Hornady company is excellent in dealing with questions or problems. But the Interbond is the only Hornady bullet that I have trouble finding an accurate load for. This is my experience with two .30-06 rifles and a .308. I've had wonderful accuracy from SST, Interlock, BTHP Match etc.

I've shot quite a few deer,an elk and a nilgia with Interbonds.They are a hard bullet and everyone of them penetrated all the way through everything I shot with them.I think they work the best in magnum cartridges where you run them faster.Wound channel is decent,but not excessive even if animal is shot through both shoulders.Most of the deer I shot with them usually ran away,with very little blood trail.I've used 139gr in 7mag and 7STW and think it's really too hard for deer.I used 150gr and 165gr in my 308 and they usually ran from fifty to a hundred yards.In my 300WSM,I never had one go over thirty yards,most of the time it would drop them.As for shooting deer with the 308 and 30-06,I highly recommend the 165gr or 168gr Nosler ballistic tip.

I never shot anything with them, but the 154 gr Interbond patterned almost as good as a load of 00 buckshot at 100 yards in my 7mm Weatherby. Hornady factory ammo. About a 3 1/2” inconsistent group out of a rifle that shoots sub moa with almost anything else. Happy Trails

The finicky reports have me a bit spooked. I may just stay with the 165 Nosler BT. I know it shoots great and kills deer very well.

IIRC, JJHACK was a big proponent of the 165 Interbonds in the 30-06 for his clients several years back. I believe he later gravitated to the TTSX, but not because the Interbonds weren’t perfectly adequate.

Maybe send him a PM.

FC

Only tried 30 cal 180’s. Never got them to shoot in 3 different rifles . All three will shoot sciroccos and accubonds.

Never bother with them in other cals after that.

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YEP!


And Im a BIG Hornady fan, but I steer clear of the Interbonds...

Great minds thinking alike again.

Very difficult bullet to get to shoot well. I tried two weights in .30 caliber and one in .270 before giving up.

I was never able to get any of them to fly straight. They all seem to have bad juju. CP.

I have good results with the 150 gr. IB in a 300 SAUM. 225 gr in a 338 Win. and ok with the 129 gr in a 264 Win. Those are all I have tried.

I had good results with 130's in a 270 WSM, and 139's in a 7mm SAUM.