Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Norma Oryx vs Hornady Interbond

Have some of you tested cal. 30 Hornady Interbond and Norma Oryx 180 grains ? They look a bit different, but are they very similar in expansion, retained weight and penetration?

In my tests they have been very similar in action, with weight retention in the 85-90% range and fairly wide expansion. The expansion tends to limit penetration compared to some other "premium" bullets, but it is still generally plenty for most hunting.

Norwegian,

I used Norma factory ammunition with their 180 gr Oryx bullet in a .308 Win rifle for an African hunt in '01. I was mostly shooting impala for leopard bait, but I did shoot a warthog too. My .308 (a Steyr Scout) will feed that ammunition, but I understand that ammunition came off the market because many makes of .308 had trouble feeding it. My Steyr SBS will feed beercans from its single stack magazine, so I continued to use the ammo.

jim

Thanks John! Yes I too, think they are plenty for most hunting and I guess that's why the Oryx is a very populare bullet, in many calibers, for big game,mostly moose,hunting in Scandinavia. For deeper penetration some hunters prefer the 200 grs Oryx in cal. 30

Don't tell anyone, but the Oryx is my favorite of the bonded bullets for 'normal' speed cartridges.

It's a darn good one, and normally VERY accurate.

Yes indeed, very accurate in the rifles I have used them in.

Hi,
I used the 180 grain Oryx in my 308 when they first came out, but then I started to use the 150 grain TSX instead.
Results with the 180 grain Oryx at 2650 was pretty good, I shot 4-5 mooses and a couple of good sized boars with it without any problems. Usually it will not exit on a full sized moose or a big boar but all the game shot with it went down anyway.

My brother has been using it at 2700 since they where released and since he's a more practical guy he has no intention to fix stuff that ain't broken Anyway, I believe that he has harvested at least 30 mooses with it and so far with complete satisfaction.
It has been one of the easiest bullets to get godd accuracy from that I have tried (that goes for the 6.5 and 9.3 versions as well which are also really easy to load).

To summarize my experience with the 180 grain oryx I would say that;

1. Based on bullets found in game they will expand to about 2.5 times the original diameter (goes for all versions that I have tried (156 gr in .264, 180 gr in .308, 196 gr in .323 and 232 and 285 grain in .366)

2. penetration is limited but the remaining weight is around 85-90 %. The bullet thet we have fund that lost the most still weighed 78%

3. Accuracy is generally really good, it will shot up to the rifles potential most of the time.

4. I would not recommend these bullets if you want to push them at 2800 or more because of som efailures that we have seen at higher velocities.

5. We have seen some cases where they did not penetrate in a straight line, but changed direction when they hit heavy bone. These observations where with 180 grains .308 and 232 grain .366 bullets that will almost look like a ball after expansion due to their short length.

I have tried Interbond 180 grain in my 308 win and the 85 grain version in my 6x45 but I've never been able to get to shoot as accurately is I wanted. The shot around 2" groups in guns that normally shot sub MOA and since they did not offer anything else that was not already on the table I've not used them on game.

Best Regards,
Henrik