Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Hornady Whitetail 7mm-08 ammo results?

I have observed two animals not taken down with this ammo this year. An 8-pt buck deer at ~40 yards, and a 100lb hog at ~50 yards, both with the Hornady Whitetail 140g 7mm-08 ammo out of a Ruger American. Both animals were wounded and never found. The deer was tracked for three hours, by four people, with subsequent loss of the blood trail.

Has anyone else had issues, or maybe not? I hate to blame the ammo, it groups well out of the rifle, but I'm wondering if there was no/little expansion in both cases.

I handload, but I didn't have time to reload for the 7mm-08. I found the Hornady Whitetail was the most accurate of three different brands of 7mm-08 factory ammo through the rifle and decided to use it.

If you don't want to track a hog shoot them 1/2 distance from bottom of neck to the top of the neck and 1/2 the distance from the ear to the front shoulder.Bullet will snap their neck and they will go down immediately.This is the way I was taught when I was 9 years old and today I'm 65 and we have not lost or tracked 1 since then.I would say we have killed about 1000 or more.

May be an index finger issue..

I think the whitetail bullet is a BTSP interlock. Ive used it in the hornady custom line in 243 and have killed 3 whitetails with it with no problems.

The nut behind the butt.

I have used the btsp 165, .308 bullet for better than 15 years with stellar results.
Is be hard to imagine the bullet would be the problem and not shot placement.

Well, I was hoping everyone that posted would say that "yes" the Hornady Interlocks were junk, but I was too hopeful.

Apparently, the consensus is that it is "Operator Error."

I have killed several deer with Hornady Interlocks, all but 1 has exited and all animals have died within sight of my stand.


I vote operator error also.

I like the Hornady interlock and have had good success with them though it was the 154's I was using. If there was a lot of blood, can't see how you can blame expansion, I'm guessing it was shot back a little further then you think and may have "pressured" the deer a little too soon.

We have used Interlock handloads and factory ammo in .260, 7mm-08, 7x57, 25-06, .270 Weatherby Mag, and 30-06. The only deer we have had to track an excessive distance was a 120 lb-ish doe hit center of the lungs behind the shoulder with a 129gr from the .260 from 50 yards. Bullet missed bone and heart and the deer went probably 150 yards but I consider that an anomaly. Hit in thick timber late PM and had to go back the following morning because of a very scant blood trail. But a couple of years later I hit same sized doe in same spot and it was a DRT with hardly a quiver. With the 7mm-08 and 139gr IL I have seen lung tissue 10 feet behind the impacted deer.


What I'm getting at is if you hit a deer in the chest with a Hornady Interlock, at least in my experience, that deer will die close enough from the shot to be found. All bullets don't hit exactly where we thought sometimes.

I did have to track a small buck about 250 yards after being shot with a 139 gr. Interlock from my 7 Mag at a distance of about 50 yards.

It was walking through the trees and I rushed my shot. As a result I hit a bit far back. I pretty much centered the liver and there was nothing left of it but mushy chunks. For the most part it was an easy blood trail but was rather suprised how far that buck ran before expiring.

I've used and seen used Hornady Interlocks in 6mm, 6.5mm, 7mm, .257", and .308" on deer and hogs. I haven't seen a problem attributable to the bullet.

HIL is a great go to bullet for deer/hogs, though I rather run a 130 AB in my 6.5s, if only for an edge in accuracy. 129s are great 6.5s, heard great things in 6mm and others, used 139s on deer myself with great results, they penetrate and expand, and ran just a smidgen less accurate than a 140 NBT in a heavy varmint 7/08, both putting 5 in one hole at 100 yds, when kissing lands.

I shot an 8-point right behind the shoulder, half-way up at about 40 yards with a 130 gr. .270 IL and thought I had m-m-missed at first. Bullet blew a patch of hair off the far side, but stayed inside and was recovered. Similar hits with Sierras, BTs etc. have always exited. I found a couple boxes of 160 gr. partitions on sale, bought a bottle of 780 and ain't looking back.
The ILs are the most accurate bullet I've ever fired in my old Model 70 and totally souped the deer's innards, but I want a blood trail.

I like interlocks but seem to always have to track a bit. They are fairly stout. Try a wet phonebook test to make sure they are behaving as they should. If nothing else it will give you some practice and you can regain some confidence. I think it important to 'know' that animal is going down before I pull the trigger. Sorry you lost the deer. Am pretty much always happy when a hog gets fed some lead no matter what the result.

Have killed numerous deer with the 150gr Interlocks in the old Hornady Light Magnum factory loadings out of a .308. Every deer shot always had a exit wound about the size of a golf ball and died within 40 yds. Great bullet in my opinion but the SST is a different story...softball exit wounds and lots of blood shot meat in my experience.
I love the Interbonds if you can get them to shoot. I have never had a problem with them out of my .300 WSM, .30-06, or .308 but others have.

No offense, but yes. Definitely operator error.

That's my guess too, I hit about a half dozen deer and that many pigs with the 139 gr Interbonds powered to a moderate 2800 fps with H-4350 in my old 708, it was a hard killing penetrating sombuck, most dropped at the shot, those that ran, bled good, and none of them made 65 yds before expiring.

Gunner

If whitetails and 100 lb pigs aren't properly killed with 139 gr Hornady BTSPILs from a 7-08, it almost certainly the shooter's problem.

Expat

FWIW, Rem loaded these in their 140 CORELOKT ammo w/these for years. Sam Fadala's wife accidentally grabbed the wrong ammo, Rem CL not the Partitions planned, and dropped an elk with her Sako........no 100lb pigs and WT are no match.