Hornady interlock 75gr BTHP .223

M

mrMONEYman

New member
Well, first off, let me put my flak jacket on first, cause I know I will be causing a s***t storm around here.....

I was wondering if anyone has ever tried using the Hornady interlock 75 gr BTHP in .223 for whitetails. The other day while at the fun store, I noticed that Winchester has a 64 gr .223 SP designed for deer hunting; so, will the 75 gr Hornady also do the job? How is accuracy wise out of a 1/9 twist barrel? Don't worry, I'm hunting in WI, so the .223 round is legal; I'm not the spray and pray type; and will be discriminant when it comes to shot placement.

Just want something light and "fun" to hunt with.

Thanks
 
I've shot the 75 gr Hornady on paper (Hornady factory load) and it was accurate, but I think it is intended to be a match bullet.

Try the 60gr Nosler Partition. I think Federal has it in a factory load. The Speer 70gr SP has gotten a lot of good reviews also.

I am currently working up loads for both.
Dallas Jack
 
According to Hornady, if it says "Interlock", it's a hunting bullet. However, my experience hunting with Hornady Interlock bullets is not good. I would go with the Nosler 60 gr Partition. Like Dallas Jack said, it is available loaded from Federal, or you can buy them and load them yourself.
 
I plan on using some handloaded sierra 65gr SBT's (soft nose boat tail). I also plan on shooting less than 75yds with neck shots only.

The deer down here are also half of what they are up there. I would not recommend a 223 for a 200+ lb deer.

That said, The 1in9 should stabilize the 75 very well. In order to get your effective range, you really need to look at some ballistic tables for that round.

1000lbs of energy I think is what is recommended for deer...although I could be way off.


Think long and hard, not to mention get plenty of practise before you decide to do it....
 
According to Hornady, if it says "Interlock", it's a hunting bullet. However, my experience hunting with Hornady Interlock bullets is not good.
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So, Scorch, what happened? I'm curious as to what kind of shot you took and the aftermath. Can you please expalin?

I'm thinking about the 75 Hornady, along with the Winchester 64gr SP. I haven't found any Federal 60gr Partition in any of the fun stores I've visited.

I haven't taken a deer with a .223 yet, but my grandfather and a couple of uncles have done it successfuly. I'm not just going to limit my self to the
.223, as I will be bring along my .30-06 too.:cool:
 
Yes, the BTHP is a match style bullet, not quite the expansion you are looking for in a deer round. It is great for paper punching and completely accurate, just not a good "one and done" bullet. You are going to want something with more expansion and ft-lbs of energy at longer ranges.

F-C
 
You are going to want something with more expansion and ft-lbs of energy at longer ranges.
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What kind of long distance are we talking about??? In the woods of Wisconsin, I doubt I'd have to shoot farther than 75 yards (if even that far). The farthest I've shoot a deer is probably that....75 yards while I was walking a hiking trail.

I think I'm going to go with the hornady .223 75 gr bthp. I'll post the results as soon as i come back from the trip.

thanks all

and wish me luck:D
 
You may also want to look at the 65gr Sierra Game King Spitzer boattail. I had excellent results with their 55 in the same bullet out of my 22-250. Or the 75 gr. Swift Sorroco. They should perform real nice. The Game King doesn't blow up, and has a thicker jacket. I have to use the 55 due to my 1:14. Just won't group tight enough, but that 1:9 should do fine.
 
So, Scorch, what happened? I'm curious as to what kind of shot you took and the aftermath. Can you please expalin?
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Antelope hunting with my 7X57 with Hornady 139 gr Interlock SP loaded to 2,650 fps. Shot a nice buck at 250 yds broadside. The buck turned and ran, and I shot it in the spine going away, anchored it. When I walked up to the antelope, there was lots of lung blood around its mouth and nostrils, but no entrance wound. The bullet hit a rib and shattered it, spraying splinters into the buck's lungs. When the bullet exploded on its ribs, it knocked a chunk of hide out of it as big as my hand. There was not a hole from outside to inside.

Pig hunting with the same load about 2 weeks later. Shot a pig crossways from the side of the neck towards the far flank. The pig ran off into the brush. I looked until past dark, couldn't find it. Next morning I went out again and found the pig about 1 mile away from where she was shot. It looked like a grenade had gone off in her neck muscles, indicating the bullet exploded after penetrating about 2". The bullet did not penetrate to the chest cavity, she died from blood loss from the neck wound.

After that, I quit using Hornadys for hunting and switched to Noslers. No problems since then.
 
Interesting about the Hornadys. Years back, they made the "Spire Point" bullet in 110- and 150-grain weights that I and my father used. He used it exclusively, while I sorta messed around with this'n'that.

His high year, shooting deer for others, was 32. Lord only knows his overall total, from 1946 to his "hung it up" around 1980. But he never had a blowup problem...

FWIW,

Art
 
Scorch, that is extremely interesting about the Interlocks - raises quite a few questions:

-Is it only the 139 6.5s or all (probably all)?
-Have they since recognized & fixed the problem?

Really weird; thanks for the warning; sounds like a great varmint bullet. :cool: At 250 yards, the bullet will have slowed down quite a bit, so it *certainly* should not have performed like that at the slower speed.

Also, have you found other stories here and there in person or on the net which corroborate this issue? It seems like ethical hunters everywhere ought to know...

Art, your father - the deer exterminator ( :) ) - 110s or 150s? Neck shots or vitals?
 
I had the same problem out of my 300 win w/ hornady 150. When I switched to the 165, the problem ceased. Just too much energy for the jacket. I then switched to the 165 Game King, and that was my bullet of choice until I got rid of it. I think the game kings are better overall bullets. They even hold together real nice out of my ''250. My 7mm rem mag I use Game Kings as well now.
 
-Is it only the 139 6.5s or all (probably all)?
-Have they since recognized & fixed the problem?
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This was with a 7X57 with 139 gr flat-base spire point (not a 6.5mm). I have no idea about other bullet weights because I switched to Nosler Solid Base bullets as my hunting bullets after that and never had a similar problem. I know other folks who use Hornady Interlock bullets with no problem, but in heavier bullet weights. It could have been that lot of bullets, it could have been all Interlock bullets, but I was not about to shoot another animal with them. I still use Hornady bullets for target work, but not on game animals, although I have been tempted to try the new Interbond bonded-core bullets.

I am not sure if Hornady ever thought of it as a problem, but now that the Interbond bullets are available in the same bullet weight, I would say they have solved the problem.
 
150s for deer. Mostly neck shots, unless Bambi was running. The ol' man was a phenomenal shot, observed by witnesses to call such shots as a neck shot, offhand, at 500 yards. I saw him waver and wobble about and pop a buck in the white spot at 250 yards, offhand, when he was around 70 years old. He just sorta grinned and said--for the twentieth time--"Didja ever notice that when ya shoot 'em in the white spot, they don't go anywhere?"

He and his old 1941 Ford ex-Army staff car were known all over south and west Texas, from 1945 on into the late 1970s. "Hey, Mist' Willie, where you been huntin'?"

Wish I could shoot like that. :)

Art
 
Oooooh, I see... "Interbond" different/better than "InterLOCK"?

Art, that's funny about dear ol' dad and him being known far and wide for being a "dead eye dick". :)
 
"Interbond" different/better than "InterLOCK"?
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Yes. As the name suggests, Interbond bullets are bonded, i.e. the jacket is soldered to the core, so they are essentially one piece. Interlock just has a raised ridge on the inside to try and hold the core in the jacket when it hits something.
 
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