Hornady Bullets

[Delta5Cav]

Just got a letter from my PH that requested I not bring any ammo with Hornady bullets. Said they have had problems with them in the past but didn't say why. I am hunting kudu and gemsbok and my 300 WM ammo is loaded with Hornady. A

Anyone got any ideas.

James Hoffman

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Just got a letter from my PH that requested I not bring any ammo with Hornady bullets. Said they have had problems with them in the past but didn't say why. I am hunting kudu and gemsbok and my 300 WM ammo is loaded with Hornady. A

Anyone got any ideas.

James Hoffman

Are you a handloader / reloader?

 

[sestoppelman]

Just got a letter from my PH that requested I not bring any ammo with Hornady bullets. Said they have had problems with them in the past but didn't say why. I am hunting kudu and gemsbok and my 300 WM ammo is loaded with Hornady.

The why is because Hornady bullets dont have a reputation for holding together as well as some other premium bullets. My minimal experience with them in Africa would support that. I used 225gr InterBonds in RSA from a .338 nowhere near full throttle and the couple of bullets recovered had lost nearly half their weight. Terminal performance was fine on animals properly hit but thats a lot of weight shed. On the other hand a friend who has gone 3 times used Hornady in a .308 and an '06 with complete satisfaction. Solids are another matter, they are fine.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Hi James,
I can understand your PH's comments, but feel that he should have cleared up what Hornady bullets he dislikes. I had problems with their bullets many years ago. Bullets have come a long way since then. The new GMX range from Hornady is a very good bullet and you will have no problems with them. Personally, I am a monolithic solid guy. When there is no bonding or dual metals in a bullet, its almost impossible for failure to occur. Guess the same reason why I rate the GMX bullet so highly.
Ask your PH to be more specific, but if your loads are with GMX and work in your rifle, then go with them. They will get the job done and more.

Take Care,
Marius Goosen

 

[Delta5Cav]

Marius,
I haven't gotten back to him as to why or the type of Hornady bullets they are having or had trouble with. I am actually thinking of going with Swift A-frame bullets which seem to perform very well in my 300WM.
Phoenix Phil,
To the other question, about reloading, yes I am. Middle of the road for speed. I did shoot a black bear in the right shoulder laast year, using the 300WM andit looked like it was the exit wound. Don't know if the bullet blew up or what.

 

[1ObsessedHunter]

No doubt they're generally a softer bullet. I've used the interlock and SSTs extensively in the 300 Weatherby and other calibers. Usually all I can recover is a small piece of jacket from whatever game I've killed with them. I used SSTs in SA last year, didn't recover a single bullet, but they were deadly. Anything I hit was an instant kill...like a lightening strike. I generally find Hornadys to be very accurate, and with the terminal ballistics I've witnessed, I just keep using them.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Marius,
I haven't gotten back to him as to why or the type of Hornady bullets they are having or had trouble with. I am actually thinking of going with Swift A-frame bullets which seem to perform very well in my 300WM.
Phoenix Phil,
To the other question, about reloading, yes I am. Middle of the road for speed. I did shoot a black bear in the right shoulder laast year, using the 300WM andit looked like it was the exit wound. Don't know if the bullet blew up or what.

I used 200gr North Fork bonded cores in my .300WM this year. I took Eland on down with those bullets. I used H4831 in Norma brass with Fed 215 primers. I would use that bullet again in a heartbeat. If Eland is not on the menu, a 180gr version I'm sure would be a great choice.

After that I'd give the A-Frames and Barnes TTSX a go.

 

[Divernhunter]

I loaded Swift a-Frame bullets for both my daughter and I for our trip this year to South Africa. I did load Barnes TTSX 150gr for my 30-06 but did not use it.
The Swift bullets worked great. Shot 20+ animals not counting monkeys and all were one shot kills. Shots were from 130 to 480 yards.
She came home and put down a deer with the Swift Scirocco bullet. In one side and punched lung out the other. Another one shot kill

To go half way around the world and pay for the hunt it seems to me that the bullet/ammo is the cheapest part of the hunt. Buying a more expensive bullet(and using new brass) just makes sense to me. I could have used Nosler Partition bullets but the Swift is like a Nosler on steroids.

If it were me I would load up new brass with the hottest accurate load using the Swift 165gr A-Frame bullet in the 300win mag or Weatherby. That will take care of any plains game.

 

[Delta5Cav]

The reply from my PH was that the Hornady bullets are too soft and that they are having trouble with them as such.

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

I would also say that, this comment would be pretty accurate, especially on factory loads, one could rectify or better performance with reloading, we have been able to do so with some Locally produced projectiles in the past..

On plains game middle road should work fine, as a norm I usually just go TSX, Swift A Frame...

This will always be a never ending debate though.. Enjoy..

My best always

 

[Grumulkin]

Believe it or not, there is also a PH that doesn't want people hunting with Barnes, and I suppose, other copper bullets. Another PH of my aquaintance didn't think Nosler bullets were very good. I supposed not wanting a client to hunt with Hornady bullets is just another example of rather ridiculous prejudice.

Most of the stuff I've swatted in South Africa, which probably numbers 50 animals at this time, were swatted with Hornady bullets and a lot with Nosler bullets. They both worked just fine and, thus far, nothing I've shot in Africa got away wounded.

 

[Bobpuckett]

Delta5Cav if your going to reload for you Safari then I would say if you stick with TSX, TTSX, GMX, Etip and Swift A-Frame, Then you can't go wrong I swear by them all.

 

[lcq]

I will never again use the SST or AMAX for hunting anything but varmints. They are just too explosive on game, deadly accurate but grenade on thin skinned game.

No doubt they're generally a softer bullet. I've used the interlock and SSTs extensively in the 300 Weatherby and other calibers. Usually all I can recover is a small piece of jacket from whatever game I've killed with them. I used SSTs in SA last year, didn't recover a single bullet, but they were deadly. Anything I hit was an instant kill...like a lightening strike. I generally find Hornadys to be very accurate, and with the terminal ballistics I've witnessed, I just keep using them.

 

[Pancho]

OK, I'll admit that the Hornady is not a "premuim" (ie., expensive) bullet but I've never found Hornady bullets lacking. My first South African PH preferred the Hornady Interlock to any other bullet. I'll also admit that there have been technical improvements in bullets over the years but the regular old bullets have almost 100 yrs of development and testing behind them and will work pretty darn good in 95%+ of all situations. That said, it comes down to the matter of cost and performance.
In 300 WM, the 180 gr Hdy I-Lock has been one of my favorites, kills elk and kudu with one shot. If you want a little tougher bullet, look at the 180 gr Nosler Acubond, a very tough bullet and extremely accurate. My all time favorite "expensive" bullet is the Trophy Bonded Bearclaw. It is so good that Federal bought it and took it off the reloading market, a subject that makes me want to say bad things about Federal. I assume you are hand loading, therefore, if I were going to Africa, I'd take 40 rds of 180 gr Hdy I-locks and 20 rds of 180 gr Acubonds. I'd use the Acubonds on Kudu sized game and up. I'd use the Hornady on everything else. And, if I had Hornady up the spout when the biggest Eland I've ever seen showed up, I wouldn't hesitate to do the most important thing in hunting. I'd make damn sure that Hornady went directly into the sweet spor or I wouldn't pull the trigger.

 

[tarbe]

And, if I had Hornady up the spout when the biggest Eland I've ever seen showed up, I wouldn't hesitate to do the most important thing in hunting. I'd make damn sure that Hornady went directly into the sweet spor or I wouldn't pull the trigger.

Agree 100%. But, and this is a big but, the PH in question does not anticipate always having Cool Hand Luke as a client! He has to plan for the worst case...so he wants to control the variables that he can.

One of those variables is the construction of the bullet.

I don't agree with blanket banning of every bullet made by a particular manufacturer (I have killed maybe a dozen animals with Hornady bullets and they worked very well when used as intended), but I understand the temptation to do so.

My $0.02

 

[Velo Dog]

Delta5Cav,

I know your Hornady bullet question is an old one but, I am new to the forum and have quite a bit of experience with Hornady bullets, especially the round nose / heavy for caliber ones.

Furthermore, my favorite PH prefers them as well (again the heavy round nose ones / soft and solid).

I am wondering if your PH meant that he had seen many of them fail from high velocity cartridges, like your .300 Magnum.

In the .30-06, I like the 220 gr RNSP and @ 2400 fps, I have found it to hold together well / perfect mushroom from the few that didn't exit and all that nonsense.

I've never met anyone who both owns a .300 Winchester and would be seen in public with round nose bullets, much less, the heavy ones.

I get that.

Nonetheless, it seems to me your hot rod cartridge would be better suited to bullets of at least 200 grains, and whatever weight chosen, no doubt they should be premium / bonded types.

Consider trying 200 grain Swift A-Frame.

That bullet has the reputation of withstanding impact velocities of even these newest .30 super magnums, a bit faster than your "old" Winchester version.

Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[Norwegianwoods]

I agree Velo Dog.
Many heavy for the cartridge round nosed cup and core bullets work great.
But when people try to use them at high speeds, specially for a magnum cartridge, you will get results you don't want.
Usually people buy a magnum because they want high speeds and flat shooting.
I highly recommend premium bullets in a 300 mag.
My favorite is a 165 or a 180 grain Barnes TTSX in a 300 mag of any kind.
My friend uses 150 grain Swift Scirocco 2 in his 300 WSM and is very happy with that on everything that moves here in Norway, including Moose.

Many years ago I tracked a wounded Moose bull for 3 days with my tracking dog.
The hunter had used a 375 H&H and he was sure he put the bullet on the shoulder.
After many hours of tracking the first day, I was sure he had to be totally wrong about where he put the bullet, but found out that he was right when I finally caught up with the bull and killed it the third day.
The problem was that the hunter had used a light and soft cup and core bullet because he thought anything would work in his "Elephant cannon" as he "only" was going to shoot Moose with it.
The bullet had "exploded" on the ridge of the scapula and not even penetrated one lung.
He started to use Swift A-frame after that and had no more problems with penetration

 

[Just Passing Through]

Maybe it is the PH that needs replacing. I have eliminated some outfits from my list when they become product fans and spokesmen, or experts on everything pertaining to shooting. General advice is appreciated ("use heavy for caliber bullets", etc.) but pushing or bashing products turns me away quickly.

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

Maybe it is the PH that needs replacing. I have eliminated some outfits from my list when they become product fans and spokesmen, or experts on everything pertaining to shooting. General advice is appreciated ("use heavy for caliber bullets", etc.) but pushing or bashing products turns me away quickly.

Harsh to say the least j.p.t. In my experience they do not perform well enough to my liking on buff, Broadside they do well enough but on angles, they just do not perform as well as Barnes, trophy bonded bear claw, swift a frame, rhino bullets, or north forks,,,,

It is that simple if there are better rounds for the job, why not get them... :.?-) .ph's as a norm recommend what works, if a guide has hunted a100 buff or 200 oryx and seen what has worked how can that be bad.... after all you are paying (hope fully) for experience and knowledge...

Very few hard working full time ph's are sponsored, they just know what works.... best.... sponsors are for celebrities and tv guides.
My best always

 

[Velo Dog]

Again Nowegianwoods, we are on the same sheet of music.

I probably will never own a .300 Winchester but, if for some unknown reason I did get one, I would not use bullets designed for approximate .30-06 velocities, on larger / tougher species.

I agree totally with you, in that: at old fashioned velocities, the old fashioned Hornady bullets, RNSP, high sectional density (220 gr .30, 300 gr .375, etc) have worked well for me in Alaska, and Africa.

As a side note, I used their newest DGX (which is a "cup and core" bullet) on my one and only buffalo so far (.480 gr / .450 No2 Nitro 3.5") and was very happy with the result.

We are depicted by my pen name for this forum.

I kept the mushroomed bullet as a conversation piece.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.