Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Severe Interbond testing

I have hunted a lot of different animals in my life but none have the skin thickness and rubber like body structure that the wild hogs do. At least not until you get into the bigger thick skinned African game. I was invited to hunt at a mountain lodge in Tennesse last week for hogs. I was fortunate enough to shoot two of them and I was using the 30/06 with the standard 165 grain Hornady Interbond that I have written about here in the past. They match so well with my rifle and have such massive penetration that I have really come to like them. This is also due to the perfect and consistant accuracy they give me from my rifle.



Back to the Issue! I hunted quite a while before finding a hog I wanted and then I had a 75 yard running shot on him. He was steeply quartering away and I had to sink one of the 165's into his hind quarter or just in front of it. I recovered the bullet in his neck meat.



That pig was given a second shot because when I hit him with the first one he actually ran on his back hoofs for about 20 yards. When he dropped back down to all four and remained upright I put another one in him. At that Distance and running you just never know how the shot was delivered and I was not about to take a chance.



The first hog I shot was at 157 yards laser ranged and shot again slightly quartering away. There were several hogs together and I did not want to kill one and hit another with the exit. As it turned out that bullet was in the 1.25" thick hide on the exit side after breaking the bones on the exit side front leg. Here are a few photo's, I did not weigh the billets yet but from looking at them I would guess they are near 90% or greater weight retention. Just look at the one bullet which almost turned completely inside out. It had the perfect long penetration from hind quarter to the neck meat.



I don't think you can get better then this,.......you can only equal it.

Thats a mean looking hog! Can't ask for more than what the interbonds did. I would like to ask that they'd start making them in .243 and .25 caliber though.

Thanks for the report....perfect timing. A bunch of us boneheads have been discussing the relative merits of bullets (again) and the IB/AB were among the debated items. That's sure a testimonial for the IB.

Personally, I'm planning my North America "go to" rifle to start building this spring. It'll be a 30-06 equivelant but in a short action. I am considering a number of bullets in the 165-180 range for the primary load. Given the short magazine, I'd like to have the chamber cut to best accomodate the "chosen" bullet.

I was considering the A-Frame until recent posts cast doubt on that one. This looks like a good candidate and it probably shares the ogive profile of other Hornies which are my runaway fave of the standard bullets.

BTW.......why did'ja shoot such a little piggy?? planning on making bacon bits??....... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

JimF

I'm sold as well. .284" 154 grain Hornady Interbond at 2950 fps. 100 yard quartering away shot.

Excellent info JJ,
as usual, you keep the good stuff coming.

I have purchased a box of 100 for my Ulimate All-around too.

Just when I ask the question about penetration on another thread...here comes some more good information!

It certainly appears as though there is no lack in penetration with the Interbonds.

JJ, based upon your experience so far, it seems as though you would you rate the terminal performance of the Interbonds equal to the A-frames ( "I don't think you can get better then this,.......you can only equal it." ).

On top of this there is the added benefit of a very good BC and a plastic tip to initiate quick expansion at longer ranges.

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All these good reports of Interbonds are starting to work on me. What am I supposed to do? I have hundreds of rounds loaded with Interlocks and Partitions in various cartridges! Not enough game to shoot! Not enough empty brass! Not enough time for the range! Where were Hornady Interbonds a couple years ago when I was working up "perfect" loads for a number of rifles?

DOES ANYONE FEEL MY PAIN? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have room in RSA this year for a couple people and I can apply the depost towards your hunt from the people who cancelled. You can use lots of ammo there and start fresh when you get home.
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Back to the topic, regarding the Swift A Frames and Interbonds. I have some rather strong feelings on this and have enormous experience with the Aframes in several calibers. I have shot at least 100 big animals myself with the 30/06 using the 165 grain Swift Aframes.

I think they are a near perfect bullet in almost every possible way in a rifle that shoots them over 3000fps MV.

I think they would still be the best choice today if the interbond was not here.

I think the Interbond being softer and without the "A" frame or partition is easier to expand for rifles under 3000fps or should we just say "standard cartridges" not magnums.

I think the interbonds at 34 bucks a 100 make it much more affordable to shoot them at al game rather then just the biggest trophy type of game. This is compared to 50 bucks for 50 Aframes. The interbonds are also boneded throughout the jacket. The Aframes are only bonded in the front half, the back half is simply pressed in like a Nosler. I have never seen, nor had one come apart myself but this is the biggest single complaint I have read about A frames.

I like the plastic tip and think it lets them ride in the magazine and deal with recoil much better and also the feeding into the magazine is unmatched. I have never been a fan of hunting with boat tails do to the tendency of curving inside game and not following a straight path. This has not been my experience with the Interbonds. I think that huge mushroom must allow them to drive straight through. I have had them travel 100% true to the course everytime a check a bullet path looking to recover the bullets.

So far with these Bullets there has been just over 20 medium to large game taken with my 30/06 in Africa, 3 black bears, a mountian lion, a 361 point Bull elk, and three wild boar. 30 big animals total in about 14 months.

I have recoverd only 6 bullets out of those 30 animals. the other 24 have exited. I think that is darn good especially from the "old and boring" 30/06 shooting puny 165 grain bullets at a pathetic slow 2900fps!

JJ,

I see your pig hunt was successful. Congrats!

I have found the place in Iowa that you mentioned to me and am trying to investigate. They aren't the best at returning calls.

Which place in TN did you go to? Was it a decent fair chase hunt?

Again, congrats on a fine hog!

Bill

Westman, Email on it's way



Here is the recovered bullet from the Big Bull Elk I shot in October with the interbond.







Here is another Angle of the bullet showing the remaining shank.

Would you mind posting the name, address, etc. of the Tennessee outfit you hunted with along with a comment as to recommendation ?

Rolly, Email sent

Now your really making it bad for me--by offering a good solution to my dilemma. I am moose hunting this fall so I will have to pass on the generous offer, however I have looked at some of your RSA propositions and find them very attractive.

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Though my experience is more limited then yours, I find myself drawing the same relative conclusions regarding bullet performance, based upon what I have observed in the field and from a number of dedicated hunters I associate with. If there is any downside to the Interbond it may that they are a bit more finicky (according to some reports) regarding accuracy than the standard Interlock.

I am feeling compelled to give them a whirl.

I weighed all three of the bullets I recoverd from the hogs this morning. The one that is nearly inside out was 146 grains, the next was 150 grains and the worst of the three which broke the bones of the front leg at 70 yards was 135 grains. I'm sure that one was the most stressful. Imagine if it were not bonded how much would be remaining and what if any penetration would have been achieved after it went to pieces.

I recently loaded a batch of these and a friend shot some in his rifle. He claimed that they did not group very well. I have heard this from others also. Maybe these bullets will have the haunting troubles of the X bullet which don't shoot well in many guns? Although the fellow shooting them has a very old Mauser conversion 30/06 with an ancient weaver scope and the stamped metal rings. His kit may not be worthy of judging accuracy with these loads?

Another friend I hunt with frequently shoots them from his 300 Weatherby. He claims sub inch groups with them and has killed plenty of bigger animals up to elk size. He also shoots longer ranges then I would normally shoot. We were talking about this yesterday and he said that he is going to move up to the 180 for the weatherby to see if they will shoot flatter with the additional weight. I think the 165's will shoot flatest of all .308 diameter bullets but he's going to give it a try and see. Probably not enough trajectory difference to worry about on bigger game.

Excellent post JJ and a fine example of why I swear by bonded core bullets when I go with jacketed rounds. They hold together under the most extreme conditions and give fantastic performance. Woodleigh Weldcore, Trophy Bonded, etc are utterly reliable even on the toughest critters... Now if we can just get Nosler to give us bonded core bullets in 450gr and 500gr .458" flat point Partition!

How much did those Hogs weigh in at?

Those 2 photo's are of the same boar. The smaller one is not pictured. The smaller one I shot we weighed on a Cabelas brand hanging scale. It was 175 pounds dressed. The bigger one would not register as the scale was only good to 300 pounds and it was pegged. Therefore I know it was over 300 pounds or very close. Depending upon the accuracy of the Cabelas scale! It was also "empty" when we weighed it, dressed in the field before taking it to the skinning area.

JJ, thanks for the great post. I was confused when many guys disliked this bullet. But now I am confident in these bullets. BTW, you mentioned they cost 34$ per 100. Why do you buy them this expensive. Midsouth and some others have them at 25-27$ per 100. Just an opinion.

Davaa
Mongolia

I finally have the teeth out and was able to get an official score. They are 7.25" long, each and both are 2.5" in circ. that makes them 9.75" per side or 19.5" total score. That is good enough for number 16 in SCI North America wild boar. It will be tied with 4 others that also have the same score. It's a long way from Number one though. That is a whooping 27" hog from Califorina.

THAT is one dandy hog!!!

Congrats...

That is an awesome hog!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'd like to thank you for posting the "testing" and pictures; being a "Hornady fan" I'm glad to have this information, it does look like they have "a winner" with the interbond!

Congrats on a real trophy!!!

The diameters of those expanded bullets are quite large and I like that. The Partitions do not retain that large a diameter at all.

Of course this is not all there is to it.

Based on those pictures I am going to load up some Interbonds and see how they shoot. Thanks for the consise report.

Bullet test.


Here is a test of premium bullets done in 2003. www.jegeren.net/tester_kuler.htm



I hope you understand the results even if it is in norwegian. Inntrenging means penetration.

The bullets where shot into wet telephone books, with two dry books in the front. A really hard test.Range 15m in "typical" 308win and 300win. mag speed.



The table "N&#65533;r ekspansjon stopper" means :When expansion stops. As you can see from the result a Scirocco expands much easier than a Speer Trophy Bonded.



A guess you have heard about most of these bullets except for Tonheim PBP wich is a local (the only!)norwegian bullet manufacturer. A very precise bullet.



I have a few comments to the results. Only one bullet fail; the Remington Core-Lokt Ultra.And i have seen other failures of this bullet in other norwegian tests. Perhaps not a real premium bullet with controlled expansion?



Lapua Naturalis is now a bit softer.Rhino Solid Shank; I think you can get this bullet i different versions.Also softer bullets.

Norma Oryx got a bit low result for retained weight, some years ago 90%+ was the usual result, perhaps they are a bit softer now?

Sako Super Hammehead has been improved over the last years and these results are now in the same class as Nosler Accubond.



Except for Core Lokt Ultra, no really surprises. And i have to say i'am impressed with the result of the cheapest one ; Interbond!



If someone want to understand the commets in the test i can translate. Points are given for 308win speed.Posts: 162 | Location: Norway | Registered: 28 July 2002

CDH
one of us
Posted Oct 5, 2:27 AM
Interesting! I wasn't able to figure out all the comments (+ and -) for each bullet. Please translate...Posts: 472 | Location: South Texas, U. S. A. | Registered: 22 January 2004

Pepper
one of us
Posted Oct 5, 8:25 PM
thanks for the info. very enlightening test.Posts: 51 | Location: Utah | Registered: 29 September 2004

RSY
one of us

Posted Oct 5, 10:04 PM
Man, that Remington CL Ultra looks awful! What a joke.



On a positive note, I really wish I could get my hands on some of those Norma CDPs here in the States.