Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Hornady roundnose performance

I was thinking that since there are other brand bullets performance threads, how about a hornady roundnose one.

I have a box of the .308 220 grain RN Interlock. Where/when I got them, I just don't recall.

Been meaning to light them off, but Oryx & Weldcores keep pushing in front...

The Hornady 180 grain .308 RN sure seems to knock the snot out of deer in my experience.

I always liked them. I still use their 220 grain 30 cal, but most of the others have been dropped from their line. Too bad.
Seems to be the same with Speer and Sierra. RN bullets are "old fashioned" and many men don't like that, but those of us who have killed a lot of game with them have a tendency to love them. Me included.

I have had good performance with the 160 gr 6.5mm out of a 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer. On deer sized game they work very well. And the 220 gr works very well in a 30-40 Krag. They aren't flashy but they take game just fine as long as you use them within their limitations. They aren't designed to be pushed fast and they drop like a rock at longer distance but at 100-150 yards they are effective.

What's your sample size for that one? Others have reported that particular bullet to be erratic in its performance.

I'm one of the 'others' experiencing erratic performance Hornady 6.5, 160 gr. I could never get any accuracy in 3 rifles, 1903 MS carbine, '96 Swede carbine and a Norwegian Krag. Tried switching components, seating depth to no avail. A "good" group might measure 2 1/4-2 1/2".
Then during the first Obama panic 2008 I ordered a bag of PPU 156 gr...more of a semi pointed...bingo, group sizes reduced by half. They feed better in the MS also. At the very modest velocities of the 3 rifles 2300 to 2480, at 75 to 150 yards the PPU's open wide just under the hide and destroy the boiler room and don't exit. What more could I wish for?

A dozen or so mulies and whitetails and some exotics. I load the bullet to as close to the original factory specs as I can and it has worked well. Neither the cartridge not the bullet are designed for speed and I think many people try to load them too fast. Just my opinion but I have been happy with them. I get about a 1 1/2 inch group and that is about as good as my eyes will do with open sights. I would not use them at 300 yards but at 100 they work.

I like the old Hornady roundnose style bullets. Last fall I shot a cow elk and a black bear a few minutes and a few yards apart, using .375 H&H 270 gr. roundnose. Worked perfectly in both cases. I have a bunch more 300 gr. RN loaded up that I expect will work just as well. I've also really liked the old 117 gr. RN in my 250 savage rifle. at 2700 fps that combination was a sure killer on deer at ranges of a few yards to 250. Shot several elk with the .358" 250 gr. RN from my .35 Whelen rifles. Loaded to 2500 fps, they Always gave good accuracy, deep bone breaking penetration, wide wound channel, and usually exits but not always. Perfect for my needs.

I haven’t had good luck with 220 grain Interlock 30 caliber bullets for accuracy. I’ve tried in 30-40 Krag, 30-06 & 300 Win Mag.

MAC,

Both Phil Shoemaker and I have experience erratic performance on deer with the 160 Hornady RN--both from 6.5 M-S rifles at traditional velocities. Don't remember exact results that Phil had, but mine included the bullet breaking both shoulders on a mature whitetail doe, and exiting--and another on a similar-sized doe with a behind-the-shoulder shot where the bullet didn't even reach the far ribs.

Might also add that I'm big fan of spitzer Hornady Interlocks....

I know my 9.3x62 with rn bullets is a real woods hammer.

I have a theory about this. It has to do with the hardness of the core compared to the jacket. I remember reading that the 160 6.5 rn specifically had a harder core than other 6.5 Interlocks for deeper penetration. It makes some sense that the 6.5 160 might be unique in this regard as its a heavy for caliber bullet in a fairly small caliber with a decent chance of being used on truly large game. This leads me to believe that this bullet may shed its jacket early when it doesn't meet enough initial resistance such as bone or heavy fur/hide/muscle. If the lead core is too tough the jacket might peel off early ruining both wounding and penetration. But, its all just a theory.

The 100gr 6mm bullet has made several pronghorn DRT from a 15" Encore 243.

Hypothesis

I picked up 2 boxes of.284 154 gr RN at a gunshow last month. Figure I’ll try them in my 20” barreled 7x57. Might be a while though, it shoots 160 Partitions really well and I just loaded up a batch.

Yes. Requires testing.

I've killed 2 with that bullet from a rather warmly loaded 7x57. Exits, short runs and lung soup.

I use mostly use the .358" 200 gr RN in my 35 Rem cartridges for deer and the 250 gr RN in the 358 Win for blackbear. I've got a bunch of 117 gr RN to use in the 250 Savage as they seem to be a bit tough for the 25/35 and 25 Rem. I've used the 154 gr RN in my 7/08 for a number of deer. I loaded a few hundred 150 gr 30 cal bullets into 30/30 cases and am still shooting them.

I think that is all the Hornady RN I've used. I have other RN loads but not using Hornady.

The most accurate load in my .375 H&H is a 300 grn Hornady round nose , and IMR 4350. 3 shots will consistently stay under 3/4" at 100 yds.