Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Has Hornady changed the Interlock?

I think that you nailed it. I think that it's unlikely as well.

It's likely one of three things: isolated QC problem, poor shot placement, CGN teen spirit

I've only had one Hornady bullet fail to exit: a 165gr .30 from my '06, shot downhill into the cervical spine of a buck. It shattered three vertabrae, blood-shot the neck and shoulder meat, and the base of the bullet fell out when I gutted the deer. I use them in all my .25s, 6.5, 7x57, '06, my brothers' .308 and .270. Guess I'll stick with them.

These are tough bullets. Yesterday I shot at an 8 point buck. The .30 caliber 150 grain bullet went though two inches of maple tree sapling before hitting amidships taking out the liver and a piece of the right lung. The deer ran a hundred yards and piled up. I was lucky. A lesser bullet might been a real problem.

THANKS, you have come up with the best answer yet concerning the Hornady I.L.s That is for ALL here on the fire and this thread that ARE USING interlocks to post their RESULTS, whether good or bad.

Sometimes I wonder about "haters". Some people hate chevy or ford or dodge w/o any personal experience. The same thing can happen with guns, bullets, powders, etc.

I hope we have enough INTEGRITY to be truthful based on experience and not PRE-CONCEIVED or TRANSPLANTED negativism.

There is one brand of bullets I refuse to use because of reliable refrences and personal experience YET I will not mention that brand. If someone is satisfied with them, it's fine with me. I won't MISLEAD anyone or LIE about a PRODUCT for any reason.

How about it? Will you Hornaday I.L. users tell of your results THIS YEAR, not 4,5,or 10 yrs. ago??

Colin Matchett;
I can't say whether the current 180gr Interlock has changed or not as we've not shot anything this year with a 180 Interlock that was newer than about 3 years old.

That one worked fine on a friend's son's mule deer - an 80 lb spike - as evidenced by the internal damage, entrance and exit holes. As a by the way we cut and wrapped it at our place so I got to perform a fair necropsy on it.

Another friend shot a 4 point mule deer that went 116lbs into our fridge with a 140gr. Interlock out of a .270. If memory serves we bought that box of bullets either late last year or early this year.

He's been cutting meat at our house for about 20 years and I've been helping him load 140gr Interlocks for the same amount of time. He's brought at least one deer a year here, most years two actually and if there's been any change in the performance of the Interlocks, it has escaped our notice.

As you might have guessed, we watch quite carefully as to which bullets work what ways when they hit game. It's part of the fun for me. Thus far there's been no change that we've seen, but as mentioned, we didn't specifically use 2010 manufactured 180gr this fall.

Hopefully that was some use to someone. Good luck on your upcoming hunts.

Regards,
Dwayne

This thread got my curiosity up, so I went through my stash of Hornady Interlocks. I currently have:

.257 100gr sp approx 5yr old

.257 117gr rn approx 3yr old

.264 129gr sp approx. 6mo old

.264 140gr sp approx. 2 yr old

.264 160gr rn approx 2 yr old

.284 154gr rn approx 3 yr old

.284 175gr rn approx 4 yr old

None of them have the external "ring" on the shank. All but the .284 175's have been used to take deer, and performance has been typical Interlock, holes in and out, with major disruption of soft tissue in between.

I do have a few boxes of Midway blems, 150gr .284's. They are obviously Hornady's (secant ogive) and they do have the external IL ring. Probably an overrun of bullets manufactured for another ammo maker, since Hornady has never cataloged a 150gr .284. They work just fine, as well.

The interlock feature is scraped into being on the inside of the jacket; you won't see it on the outside. It's on the inside to help hold the lead core in place.

The shallow groove above the cannelure is just an ID mark, at least on the .308 180 grainers, which is where the thread started.

Exactly..

Here is a cutaway pic from the Hornady site-


The Interlock ring is the "V" shaped ring at the bottom of the core. It has nothing to do with any cannelure or crimping grooves, etc.

Hey, I'm glad you have joined this discussion. I'm NOT being rude and don't intend to be. If you read the thread from the beginning, we've already discussed and understand that. We're simply discussing PERFORMANCE and appearance of H. I. L.

We're trying to determine IF there's any difference in terminal performance in NEWER lots of H. ils. Any actual observation of bullet performance is requested. We're ESPECIALLY interested in newer lots COMPARED to older lots.

Myself and a few others were responding to THIS quote by Gadfly just a few posts up-

" I do have a few boxes of Midway blems, 150gr .284's. They are obviously Hornady's (secant ogive) and they do have the external IL ring. "

I'll throw my data points in here. I shoot the 165 grain Hornady IL SP in a bunch of rifles, both 30-06 and 308 WIN. I just received a shipment of new from Grafs. They came in the new-style box. I compared them to some bullets from 2008 and 2003 and they all look identical.

Performance? I've had this bullet in service since 2001. All my deer have laid down within 80 yards of where they were shot. Some died in their tracks. The only reason why the 80 yards is two fell down into ravines. To date, no bullets have been recovered.

The last one was shot at approx. 100 yards with a bullet from the 2008 batch. I estimate the bullet to be traveling at 2469 fps when it hit the boiler room of the buck in a near -perfect broadside configuration. The animal bucked, walked 30 yards, and stood. I was able to shoot again. The animal tried to jump a fence and expired-- probably in mid-air.

Upon examination, I found two entrance holes 3 inches apart. A rib was shot in each instance. There was only one exit hole. From the damage to the two lungs, I would surmise that, if there was any deviation from my expectations, it would be towards not enough expansion rather than over-expansion. One lung looked pulped; The other only looked sliced. That there was only one exit hole, remains a bit of a mystery, but it would be possible for both bullets to have exited through this hole. I found no fragments. I'm not complaining, mind you; a dead deer is always a sign of proper performance.

In the past several years, the batches of bullets I've purchased in 2003 and 2008 have functioned flawlessly on deer-- .30" entrance holes, thumb-sized or larger exit holes and lots of destroyed lung and heart in between. Ranges have been from 20-100 yards with the 308 WIN (downloaded to 300 Savage levels) and 150-175 yards with the 30-06.

I just hope the new Interlock flat base 30 cal. 180s are just as good as the older ones; they shoot well in my rifle and I�ve stockpiled a few boxes. Probably really no issue as far as killing deer goes, but where I hunt there is always the real possibility of an unsolicited visit from a grizzly while taking care of the animal. Then bullet terminal performance could take on a whole new significance. I have some 220 gr. Interlocks loaded at 2525 fps on hand just for that possibility, however remote, and I hope never to have to use them, on a grizzly anyway.

I apologize if my post re: Gadfly seemed disrespectful; that was certainly not my intention. It is merely my opinion that it doesn�t hurt to try keep all the information that we can as straight as possible, whether or not in direct reply to the initial post. I�m not sure if there is an ID ring on Hornady�s other than the .30 cal 180s. In both Hornady manuals I have (#3 and #7) the only bullet listed with it is the .308 180 gr.

I only re-visited the 30-06 a couple of years ago, so have limited experience with the 180 Interlock, old and new. I�m sort of saving the older ones with the ID ring, why I�m not sure, certainly not for my �older� age � I�m already there�maybe for when and if I decide they�re better on game than the new ones. But with the newer ones I have killed 2 coyotes, one large black bear, and one moose � admittedly a small sampling. They have however worked well requiring one shot each with only the bear and moose moving after being hit, and less than ten feet at that. But it takes an awful lot more experience than that to come to any meaningful conclusion. In my .270 I�ve used both 140 and 150 Interlocks for many years, and I think they�ve been great. I also had very good results with the 100 gr. BTSP Interlock in my 6mm Remington over the time that I used it.

As an aside, similar to meddybemps�s experience - when I was a kid I took a running shot at the biggest mule deer I�ve ever got to date. The el cheapo no-name 174 gr. .303 bullet went dead center through a 6� aspen and hit the deer in the ribs. He kept running but ran out of gas after about 200 yards. The bullet or what was left of it exited the deer, so I don�t know what it looked like. But it was enough to kill the deer, however not quickly.

Good luck with your hunting, hope to hear reports of good results if you use the Hornadys!

Longleader- No offense taken. I should have been more clear in my statement. I am aware of how the IL is constructed, but was just noting that the external ring, which used to be the visual identifier of an Interlock is no longer present. I never really noticed when that feature was dropped, but judging from the performance of these bullets on game, the internal construction is still the same.

Stopped using them in 1991 after 3 solid hits to a big moose at <100yds. Tipped the moose over, field dressing revealed two disintegrated bullets and one that weighed 70grs. This was a 175gr at MV of 2800fps outa 7 Rem Mag. For deer sized game I would not hesitate using them and they are accurate and excellant for practice. I use Barnes FBX/TSX and Nosler AccuBonds (lately) since then. I know that many use cup & core bullets with good success, for me the price differance is not worth the chance of a lost animal.

Well, my 300 WM with Hornady 180 s p ils scored again this morning. This was a 1 1/2yr 6 pt @ 115 lbs. @ 150 yds. These bullets are going @ 3000 fps. I didn't notice any reaction to the hit due to recoil, however I know he didn't fall and get up. He didn't have to go far to reach timber and I marked a tree where I saw him last. This cut over and now regrowth has sage grass knee hi and sparse pines from waist hi up to 8' tall. When I walked down to the area I immediately picked up the blood trail and basically walked right to him. He didn't make the tree line.

I've been hunting this cutover and now regrowth for 5 yrs and have lasered MANY distances. I'm not far off on this one. I have had game scales for many years and weighed A LOT of deer. Our club has scales set up attached to a boat winch and normally I weigh my deer. Today tho I needed to get to work and didn't have the time to range the exact distance or weigh the deer.

The first thing I noticed was he was lying on his left side with his right front leg over his head. "That ain't exactly normal."

Upon cleaning, the bullet severed the 4th & 5th ribs from the back on the left side, damaged the left lung, passed under the spine, and tore up the right lung then went between two ribs on the right side and seperated the right front shoulder and exited and kept on trucking. It was more of a raking shot than I thot .

There was virtually no edible meat destroyed or severly blood shot. I know that he was young (tender) but I sacrificed him for food and bullet terminal performance investigation. I am part of a lease and we can't get the members to institute a management program. If it's legal they're gonna shoot at it.

I can still harvest 1 buck & 2 does. My wife can take 1 or 2 bucks depending on the type of license I buy her. She likes my 300 WM (tongue in cheek) too.

I hope more of you will report success OR failure w/Hornday 30 cal. 180 s p il. OR other caliber & Hornady interlocks too.

I had planned to hunt my Tikka 270 Win. more this year but this project has taken priority. This Win. 70 300 WM has a boat paddle stock and even w/26" bll. is an ultralight. I'm not too disappointed to make this sacrifice for the hunting brotherhood.

Good Hunting and Recovery Jerry

My father shot a buck a couple of weeks ago with a 139gr BTSP IL from his 7mm-08 at about 40 yards quartering toward. Bullet entered the point of the shoulder, put a 2 inch hole through both sides of the ribcage, and exited the opposite side paunch. Exit hole was about 1.5". Worked great.

I find that to be a highly unlikely conclusion.

Really?

exactly what hard facts- other than internet conjecture- do you have to make such a claim?

FURPICK: I agree with your assesment and conclusion about using premium bullets for Elk, Moose, etc. 1. The animals deserve our best for a clean, quick, humane kill. 2. I don't relish a long difficult trailing job anywhere but especially in RUGGED terrain often inhabited by those animals. 3. The price of a box or two of premium bullets is minimal compared to the cost of the trip and license.

I have the opportunity of hunting elk here in Ark. by drawing and I would use premium bullets in 7 RM 300 WM or 8 RM (calibers I have). And ESPECIALLY if I made a trip out West or up North for Elk, Moose, or Caribou, premium bullets are CHEAP insurance as long as I do my part shooting.

The magnum calibers really DESERVE premium bullets to stand up to their high velocity and mass and resistance of large animals.

Evidently there have been some failures with interlocks but SO FAR the majority have performed well on whitetail. There is a lot of hunting season left this winter and I'm hoping more will report their success or failure THIS YEAR with interlocks.


GOOD LUCK, GOOD HUNTING & RECOVERY Jerry

In contrast to my earlier post in this thread, here's a 225 gr .338 Interlock taken from a bull moose shot by my buddy this fall.



Muzzle velocity 2850. Range less than 50 yd. Retained weight 198 gr.

Ted