Any one have recent experience with the Hornady .458 500 grain FMJ bullets? I know about the problems that have been widely reported with the Interbonds, but curious how the FMJ bullets perform on thick skin game. I notice on their website that they list both a 500 grain encapsulated FMJ and another 500 grain bullet listed as coming soon. Thanks.

You can get the new FMJ from Midway, if they are not out of stock at the moment. I bought some quite a while back.

Will, do you know what the difference is between the old version and the new version? Any one else?

Mike:

The "new" version is a return to their old steel jacketed solid.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."

Also looks like it has a blunt nose and not a full rounded nose.

It should be better with the blunt nose, and certainly no worse than the old steel jacket ones.

I haven't shot the new version yet. The old round nose was not a favorite...much preferred the Barnes banded solids.

i have personally shot 2 elephants and some buffalo with the "old" Hornady .458 FMJ out of my .458 Lott and i have had no problems. I know they are not considered premium bullets and if i had to choose i would go for a barnes monolithic but the Hornadys performed their job very well and on the one Elephant bull exited perfectly on a side brain shot. I recovered 2 from body shots and they were perfect, i still have them at home and will try to dig them up and post pics

To make the topic clearer:

The oldest style were steel jacketed solids and had a good reputation.

Then Hornaday had a brain fart and ditched the steel jacket for some other copper or alloy jacket and the bullets often failed.

The Hornaday wised up and decided to go back to the steels jackets.

Use a magnet to be sure of what you've got.

JPK

I had a client last year on elephant. He asked me to back him up which I dont do unless of a problem or the hunter asking. He was using the Hornady flat nosed solids and I was using the old woodliegh solids. Our shots were half a foot apart on the shoulder. His bullet passed through and mine was under the skin on the opossite side.

Howdy,

I use the Hornady FMJ for my target practice load and when I go hunt I use the Woodliegh solid. I always thought the Hornadys were cheap crap but I decided for the hell of it to shoot a Hickory tree at the farm. It was about 18 inches in diameter and the Hornady popped through it like it was jelly. That's enough to hurt the hell out of a buff. I have no experience to offer on elle.

quote:

I always thought the Hornadys were cheap crap but I decided for the hell of it to shoot a Hickory tree at the farm.

They may be cheap crap but I've found them to be quite accurate. They'll probably be what I'll use for my 458 Lott groundhog load.

My old friend George Hoffman loved the old style steel jacketed Hornadys, thats good enough for me..

I have never had any problems of any kind with Woodleighs.

I will probably draw a lot of heat for this, but last year I decided to shoot francolin with my Hornady .458 lott FMJ's. I think I hit one. Best I can tell it was a full pass through and it instantly cured my hangover at the same time.

I used the old steel jacketed Hornady solids on a couple of handfuls of buffalo from a 375 H&H. They always penetrated straight and true. The few I recovered were undeformed. I had complete confidece in them and if the new steel jacketed solids from Hornady are the same as the old ones then they will be a great bullet also.

465H&H

smarterthanu, you are one brave man going in against a herd of francolin so under gunned, lucky you had the right ammo. ;-)

WOW...!!!Good thing you chose the Lott for that Francolin hunt. After reading all the posts on this forum from highly experienced dangerous game hunters.....I'm convinced that a .458 Win Mag won't stop anything.

Wasn't Hornady the first to offer truncated pistol bullets for defense, realizing the improved perfromance. I haven't seen the new Hornadys but something as simple as a flat nose, better yet a sharp meplat as on the TBSS, really improves penetration.