Hi,

Looks like the 180gr Interbond is too new to have been included in the latest Hornady manual - do you folks just use the loading data for the other Hornady 180gr bullets? Also, do you know if the suggested velocity range for the 180gr IB is the same as for the other IB's?

Thanks,
Bruce

for bullets of copper jackets and lead cores I use data as data.....for monolithics I back up quite a bit more.
Load the interbonds same a interlocks and drive them as fast as your gun can do it....or as fast as you want them to go.

Cheers. I'd heard of performance issues with Interbonds being driven too fast, wondering if there was more leeway with the 180gr bullets or not. I'm always cautious with loading data - my first reloading manual was a Speer, with lots of warnings about not mixing load data between their heavier 6mm projectiles due to difference in surface bearing area, and consequent changes in pressure.

Thanks,
Bruce

I called Hornady about this a while ago. They told me the info for the SST, Interbond, and Interlock is pretty much interchangeable for starting loads. Work up slowly.

As far as driving the IB's too fast, they should hold together better than any of Hornady's other bullets at high speed. I dont think you want to push the limits too far, but 3200 fps should be fine in medium sized game.

quote:

Cheers. I'd heard of performance issues with Interbonds being driven too fast, wondering if there was more leeway with the 180gr bullets or not.

BS! Another "I HAVE HEARD" rears it's ugly head. It's not true of an interbond any more than any other bullet.



That's a 180 interbond at 3050 fps from my 300 WSM hitting water filled milk jugs at 100yds. Weight retention was 85%, expansion was over .800. Penetration was 3 milk jugs end-to-end, or about 21 inches of water!

I've done more testing of the 165's, even at 3150 they held together.

Shooting milk jugs ain't the same as shooting an elk in the shoulder, that's for sure!

quote:

Originally posted by Brad:
Shooting milk jugs ain't the same as shooting an elk in the shoulder, that's for sure!

Very astute statement Brad! Then you of course have a suggestion as to which type of otherwise free medium could be used to measure expansion? Don't tell me wet paper, it's too heavy and has to be disposed of. Then there's corbin sim-test gelatin, but then you'd still say "not the same as shooting an elk in the shoulder" Nothing is of course! If somebody is unlucky enough to muff a lung shot and does hit one in the shoulder with a 180 interbond, then will we know? Absoutivly, postalutly!

In the mean time, my tests are repeatable any time I want to set up and do them. It's purely for reference. Sine the interbond has shown deep penetration, there's been damn few recovered so far. One guy recovered a 150 IB,(.308), from a mature whitetail buck, that he had taken a Texas heart shot on. The bullet ended up against the front leg bone, which it had broken! Traveling full length through a deer aught to be enough penetration for any elk out there!

Sand is a more real test than water... it is very tough (tougher than game) but is a bonafied torture test.

I prefer wet phone books with a piece of 1/2 plywood (OSB) 1/3 of the way in from the impact side. I don't understand why you think it's hard to dispose of!

As an aside, I can't really like how big those IB's expanded... on the other hand they could act quite differently on game (or in wet phone books -grins-).