Hornady Interbond Bullets DGX and DGS

[daniel paydar]

hey
what is your opinion about these bullets, Hornady Interbond DGX and DGS, for dangerous game hunting?
best regards
daniel

 

[daniel paydar]

i forgot to mention the caliber and weight, i was asking about 300 grain in 375 caliber

 

[Calhoun]

...Daniel I can't really say. I have shot the DSG bullets through my 375 but they didn't have the accuracy of my Nozler loads so I opted for the Nozler round! Even with that I can't truly answer your question as I have never shot any Dangerous game!
....But as far as shooting Hornaday bullets they were always my choice of bullets when I did shoot jacketed bullets in Hand gun or rifle competition & they never let me down!! I don't believe selecting either bullet would be a bad choice!!

 

[Skyline]

Daniel I can't help you either as I have yet to meet anyone who has used them on any big game.

I will probably never know first hand as I rarely stray from Barnes, Nosler and Swift.

 

[enysse]

Hi Daniel, I have never shot them. But I'm a huge fan of Hornady and looking over there product literature and watching "Tracks Across Africa" were Craig Boddington puts them to use.....I believe it is a very fine bullet for hunting dangerous game. Hornady wouldn't be producing it, if it didn't work. And the price is very, very good too.

 

[Royal27]

i forgot to mention the caliber and weight, i was asking about 300 grain in 375 caliber

I'd love to hear some more recent opinions on this. I'm preparing for a Cape Buffalo hunt and currently have these bullets (factory load) included as an option. I can do the accuracy tests myself, but I've heard that Cape Buffalo are thicker skinned than paper targets...

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

Daniel, to be honest, the Hornady (all of them) in my experience simply do not perform well on Buff... They all tend to over expand and core seperation is a very common occurrence.

On Lion and Leopard I rate them well as the do give a great wound channel in these softer skinned and light boned DG species.

A great cat round in my experience and pretty decent on PG.

My best always.

 

[sestoppelman]

Jaco didnt address the solid DGS bullet though. The solid should be fine. I used the older Hornady solid on two buff some years ago and both worked fine. No reason why the newer version should do less.

 

[poprivit]

Well, I've taken two Cape Buffalo with HornadyDG series in my 458 Lott. One solid DGS hip-to-chest shot at a very long distance as he was departing, and the scond straight through the heart with the DGX at 15 yards. Results? As we speak, the DGX buf is looking over my shoulder from his place on the wall. The DGS animal went 40-50 yards and took a dirt nap. I'll definitely use the DGS on my 2014 Non-trophy elephant hunt. Accuracy? Better than my old eyes can see through the 'ol Leupold.

 

[Royal27]

Well, I've taken two Cape Buffalo with HornadyDG series in my 458 Lott. One solid DGS hip-to-chest shot at a very long distance as he was departing, and the scond straight through the heart with the DGX at 15 yards. Results? As we speak, the DGX buf is looking over my shoulder from his place on the wall. The DGS animal went 40-50 yards and took a dirt nap. I'll definitely use the DGS on my 2014 Non-trophy elephant hunt. Accuracy? Better than my old eyes can see through the 'ol Leupold.

I'm glad to hear this, especially on the solids. Solids seem to be hard to get right now, and expensive, except for the DGS. I'm sure that will change over the next year, but I don't want to wait until the last minute either! I will use whatever shoots best between the DGS, Sledgehammer, and whatever other solid I can find. For the softpoint I'm leaning towards the Barnes TSX, or the Federal Bear Claw. Again, with whatever shoots best from my rifle.

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

Sest very true I did not but then again I prefer not to use solids on Buff especially not on a first shot, from a trophy hunters rifle, for the obvious reasons we all know.

As you correctly state the solid should be fine on Ele no doubt about that and would give awesome penetration on anything one takes a crack at....

My reasons for not recommending solids as primary buff round is wound channel... Putting a solid through the lungs extends the expiery dates due to the lack of tissue damage as well as much needed hydrostatic shock...

Hence my usual of Barnes trip shock which provides great CONTROLLED penetration as well as wound channel especially when connecting with some heavy bone.

The question I believe of wether a DGX (not the solid) is fine for Buff is very simple.... it could and does... but my question would be would one not rather use the absolute best round for the job or target quarry, than settling for something that works in ideal conditions?

Royal27 just noticed your choice and perfect would be my reply...

My very best always

 

[Royal27]

Thanks Jaco!

I tend to over think things and it helps me when I seem to get multiple views that are in line with my thoughts.

 

[DaveA]

I just got back from a hunt in Zimbabwe where a large group shot several buffalo and a lot of plains game with numerous calibers from 308 to 458. We had a few bullet failures of the Hornady DGX in both buffalo and smaller stuff. The solids worked fine. The PHs all commented that our experience was not at all unusual. I shoot lots of other Hornady stuff and really like it, but I will never again use DGX. I've ordered a bullet puller and I will reload with something else.

 

[Buff-Buster]

I just got back from a hunt in Zimbabwe where a large group shot several buffalo and a lot of plains game with numerous calibers from 308 to 458. We had a few bullet failures of the Hornady DGX in both buffalo and smaller stuff. The solids worked fine. The PHs all commented that our experience was not at all unusual. I shoot lots of other Hornady stuff and really like it, but I will never again use DGX. I've ordered a bullet puller and I will reload with something else.

Dave,
Try the Barnes....you'll never regret it. Super accurate, TSX/Banded Soilids - same impact point, super performance and deadly.

 

[LIBERTY]

I killed 8 elk with Hornady interlocks and then on the ninth one the bullet blew up on the skin of the animal and never penetrated the skin at all. I have read of many others having the same problem. I now use Barnes TSX exclusively and I have enough of them to last my lifetime. By the way this is with a 30/06 180 gr bullet going right at 2700fps. When you consider the cost of the whole hunt bullets are cheap use the best and you won't regret it. Liberty

 

[BigBore]

I have 40 years experence hand loading and have hunted a verity of game over the years from varmints to elephants. So I offer this first hand information. I have seen many types of bullet failures so it's important to select the right one for the job. There is a lot to consider, cost,availability, accuracy and of course performance. The right bullet is a combination of every thing mentioned. I use a lot of Hornady mostly because they are inexpensive and accurate and I do a lot of shooting several thousand rounds a year. Generally depending on what I'm hunting when using expanding bullets it's going to be a Nosler or Barnes X. But we are talking big game here so lets stick to that meaning game over 1,000 pounds. I have shot big game with 375 H&H, 416 Rigby, 460 Wby, 500 Jeffery and 500 NE. Used on several elephants, buffalo and one giraffe. With out any question when selecting a expanding bullet the Barnes X can not be beat. For solid on elephants Barnes is great but Hornady DGS work just as well and cheap enough to expend a lot of ammo on practice. In my bolt rifles I will use a Barnes X followed by Hornady DGS Except on elephant which is always DGS for head or body shots. The frontal brain shots I have made on elephants always dropped them and the bullets penetrated so deep I have never recovered one. I did one heart shot on a elephant with my 500 jeffery and it knocked him down, he got up and ran about 50 yards as fired 2 more rounds in his hip trying to anchor him. That rifle also shot buffalo but it really too much gun for them. On buffalo I have shot with a 375 H&H with good heart shots just did not stop fast enough to suit me and I think the caliber is a bit light for them but I'm sure there are hundreds of people who will disagree with that. But that's my personal experince. I moved up to a 460 Wby on my next buff with a Hornady soft point, killed the buff but the bullet blew up and no exit wound. Hornady expanding bullets are not suited for a 460. The 460 is really too much for buffalo and that 26" heavy barrel is kind of slow to swing. I've shot 6 big game animals with it but I don't use it much any more. I did take a very nice Eland with the 460 firing a 500 Hornady solid thru it's rump that exited his chest, That was about 7 feet of penetration. Could not have made that shot with any other bullet rifle combo with confidence. Only made that shot because I knew what that gun and bullet could do. The PH was a bit upset I took that shot until we found the bull behind the next bush. He went 25 yards. The next buffalo was shot with a 416 Rigby pushing a 400 gr Barnes X moving at 2550 FPS on a frontal shot, the bullet was recovered in the hind quarter perfectly mushroomed and retained all it's weight. It spun the buff around, still on his feet but unable to run so I fired a 400 gr Hornady DGS broad side thru his shoulders and he dropped in his tracks. It's hard to beat that combo for buffalo. I've shot buffalo, giraffe, crocodile and Baboons with the 416 and I love that rifle. With my 500 NE double rifle it is regulated with Hornady bullets so I am forced to use DGX and DGS. I have another Buffalo hunt booked this year and will be using that rifle and load. I have not used this rifle on Buffalo yet but I believe the 570 gr DGX should do just fine due to the slow speed of the 500 NE. I would not use a DGX in bolt guns with high speed loads as long as Barnes X was available. If you use any thing from a 416 to a 458 Lott of Buffalo with a Barnes X you can't go wrong. Most people think you really need a expanding bullet to do the job, But on really big tough game, I've seen many still standing after absorbing expanding bullets and took a solid to put them down. I have shot several big game animals in Africa where the expanding bullet broke up before reaching vitals before I learned my lesson on using premium bullets. If you are shooting big cats then then you need a much different bullet bullets like a nosler Accubond that expands very rapidly yet will hold together rather well in animal in the lion class. Hunt why you still can worry about paying for it latter.

 

[CAustin]

Big Bore are you familiar with Federal Cape Shock Bear Claw in 458 Lott?

 

[BigBore]

Hello CAustin yes Federal Cape Shock Bear Claw is top grade premium ammunition and you can't go wrong with it. They are very well constructed bonded bullets and are and excellent choice for Buffalo. Certainly better then Hornady DGX and not even in the same class. But not as good as the Barnes X bullets. The main down side of the Federal Cape Shock Bear Claw is the cost. Also because it is a lead soft nose, if your bullet hits branches or limbs on the way end they will start to mushroom before hitting the game. A Barnes X bullet will not expand going thru wood and other hard material , they require fluid material like flesh and blood to enter the cavity to expand. I have seen the high speed video's at Barnes that proves that and also my personal experience. When I am in Africa many times I end up shooting with brush in the way. If you hit brush nearer to you, it may cause a miss altogether if the brush is just in front of the animal and you have a heavy bullet you still have a reasonable chance on hitting him and the odds go up with a Barnes that wont expand in the brush so it has a better chance of not deflecting as much. I have pictures showing my bullet track thru brush where I made good kills with the right bullet. I was not sold on Barnes when they first came out but when I was saw them used on big game I was very impress. On my next trip for Buffalo I used them and been using them every since. They are not always the best choice for every hunting situation, But if you need a deep penetrating reliable expanding bullet and you may be shooting thru brush there is no question what the top bullets is. That's advice is not coming from what I read, it comes from over 40 years of reloading and hunting. I have made many good kill shots on game in brush and shots at very poor angles because I was using the right bullet and knew what the bullet, the gun and I could do. When I was younger I did have issues with poor bullet choices and I learned the hard way. Also there are many companies offering loads with Barnes X. As a large retailer of guns, ammo and reloading supplies I can tell you with certainty that Barnes out sells Bear Claw by a huge margin.

 

[CAustin]

Thanks BigBore

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

To years ago I hunted buffalo in Rhodesia. I used cartridges from Hornady in 404Jeffery with 400gr DGX.
The result was satisfactory.
Witold