On the Fence with Interlock

[someguy2800]

In my experience standard cup and core bullets leave much to be desired above 2500 fps or so. After trying many different things from small to large, light to heavy, slow to fast I prefer full penetration with no fragmentation, so I use bonded bullets in anything over 2500 fps or so. I would try 150 grain speer gold dots. Best deal on the market for bonded bullets. Same basic thing as federal fusion factory ammo, which also happens to be the best deal on the market for factory hunting ammo. The expand violently but they retain nearly all their weight so they give excellent exit holes.

 

[Gtscotty]

In my experience standard cup and core bullets leave much to be desired above 2500 fps or so. After trying many different things from small to large, light to heavy, slow to fast I prefer full penetration with no fragmentation, so I use bonded bullets in anything over 2500 fps or so. I would try 150 grain speer gold dots. Best deal on the market for bonded bullets. Same basic thing as federal fusion factory ammo, which also happens to be the best deal on the market for factory hunting ammo. The expand violently but they retain nearly all their weight so they give excellent exit holes.

I just loaded some of the 120gr Gold Dots up for my Grendel, can't wait to shoot some groups this weekend. They are really cheap for bonded bullets, if I can find a good load, I'd like to put one through a late season antelope and see how they perform.

 

[alsaqr]

i've killed scores of deer using cup and core bullets, never lost an animal. In the 1950-60 era one had a choice between Remington Core Lokt or Winchester Power Point or Silver Tip ammo. The Remington Bronze Point was the first tipped bullet, hitting the market in 1922. Ammo loaded with the Bronze Point cost more.

In 65 years of hunting i have had lost one game animal when a bullet failed to expand. A highly touted muzzleloader bullet failed to expand on a huge cow elk. If a muzzleloader bullet fails to expand when pushed by 150 grains of Pyrodex P it ain't going to expand. The blood trail petered out and four of us gave up after four- five hours of searching. Later that day another hunter found the elk at a small stream at least 300 yards away. He checked the animal in. The elk was hit in both lungs.

In 2005 i bought several boxes of Barnes 150 and 180 grain .30 caliber Triple Shock bullets. At .308 and .30-06 velocities the 150 grain bullets expand well. Not so the 180 grain Triple Shock. Loaded those 180 grain Triple Shock bullet to 2,750 fps. They fail to expand on big hogs at 100 yards.

i load the 150 grain Sierra Game King bullet to 2,900 fps in .30-06. The load is devastating on deer and hogs. The bullet destroys the heart and lungs and leaves a circular "shot" pattern on the inside of the opposite rib cage around an exit hole. i've never found a bullet jacket.

BTW: .50 and .54 caliber patched round balls kill as well as any .30 caliber rifle bullet at short ranges.

 

[double bogey]

I have seen several write ups on forums in the last two weeks complaining of 6.5 creed 143gr ELDx bullets not performing well on closer (100 yds or less) shots on deer. Some saying the exit is the same size as entrance, no expansion, little to no blood trails. If that were the case then they certainly wouldn't expand at longer ranges. Further examination has most believing that the bullet is coming apart and the cup is exiting leaving a small exit. That means this bullet is fairly fragile. The 6.5cr isn't any kind of a speed burner with the 140+ projectiles, and folks using them at longer ranges seem satisfied with the performance.

Interlocks, I have used them since Academy came to my area and had the Hornady custom ammo on the shelf which used the interlock bullet. I was shooting 7mm Rem mag and liked the 139 gr. offering. Began handloading and used it too. Pushing it 3100 fps or so I have never had a deer be more than a very short distance from where he was standing. Never saw any reason to look at heavier bullets because the 139's worked well, and I liked the speed. Started shooting a .300 win mag, using 150 gr interlocks, liked the speed and accuracy, but I was less than satisfied with the performance on deer. Every single one I shot ran, a couple over 100 yds. Our country wasn't too thick, so I never lost one, but I am lazy and don't want to worry about losing one. Went back to my 7mag and later started using high shoulder shots, and the 139 gr performed well. Never had a failure to exit, so I don't know if they came out in pieces or mostly intact.
As a matter of fact, I have only had 2 instances of a projectile failing to exit a deer, and one was a 30-06 federal 150 gr (cup and core, not sure which one,it was in the mid 80's. Fed factory load) that I shot as the buck was facing me 25 feet away. Shot him right where I envisioned the heart to be, and he turned hard and ran 15 feet and directly into a tree and fell dead. The bullet was under the skin on the back side of his right rear leg. Looked like a perfect mushroom you would use for advertising your bullets.
The other instance was buckshot at 10 feet or so, and 3 pellets were still in the deer, the remaining 6 (2 3/4" 00) either exited on the front quarter left side, or left marks where they skinned hair off. One such mark was 2' long, we all wondered how it stayed on the skin so long.

I now shoot 25-06 due to back surgeries and other health issues. I have found good loads for my Tikka T3lite, and weatherby mkv ultralight using nosler 115gr ballistic tips, and 115 gr partitions at 3100 fps. I just bought a box of 117 gr interlock btsp's and have not worked up loads for them yet. I am a little concerned about the performance of the BT's, and their toughness, so I most likely will be hunting with the partitions, because I know they will stay together. Since the 117 gr interlock will be driven as fast as I used to shoot the 7mag, I feel like they will work well on deer.
I sold the 7 mg and bought a ruger predator in 6.5 cr, because I felt like I needed to get on that bandwagon, hence my first paragraph about the eldx performance. If I deer hunt with this rifle I think I will use partitions in the 125gr for more speed. I got a 100 bullet box of eldm's140 gr, as I may want to try some longer range shooting. I have never practiced over 200 yds, although killed a couple of deer near 300. I know that the predator isn't the best rifle to do LR with, but maybe I can get my feet wet.

 

[double bogey]

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