Hello Paul Edwards,
I've only shot one dangerous African animal with Hornady bullets.
So, do take my opinion on DG bullets with a grain of MSG.
Nonetheless, it was the buffalo shown in my avatar here, with the old left and right, from an Army & Navy double, in .450 No2 NE (that I sold to pay off my safari bill).
The bullets were 480 gr Hornady DGX and DGS respectively, leaving the muzzles at 2050 fps and the range was 40 paces.
The soft struck him at the juncture of his throat and brisket, just left of center, nicked his neck bone, badly damaged blood vessels above the heart, tore through his left lung and stopped against a broken rib on that side.
This bullet is shown in my photos.
He dropped to the shot but gathered himself back up to run, obviously not agreeing with the experts that he had just received a very fatal wound.
Soon as there were no other animals in my line of sight (herd was thundering off and at first, all around him as he was running with them), I fired the solid into his right flank, just behind the last rib, at what I say was about 120 paces but the PH said 150 - whatever, (grew up shooting jack rabbits with rifles / revolvers and this practice definitely paid off on my 2nd shot here).
The "solid" passed through about 3 or more feet of buffalo, smashing his spine and tumbling him, as if he hit a trip wire.
He was very dead by the time we arrived at his location, including a small delay while the Tracker threw rocks and sticks at several bulls that had come back around to confront us, the PH ready with solids in his custom CZ actioned .458 3" and me with solids in both barrels of the .450 #2.
Very sadly, I do not have the solid to show for my time and money (miscommunication with the skinners) and so, it is still somewhere along the banks of the Olifants River, Maruli Concession, SA.
By the wound channel, it did not deform much if at all.
The only other animal of any size I have shot with the DGX was a zebra stallion, also at about 40 paces maximum, in heavy foliage.
He was likewise quartering toward me but, nearly broadside.
My soft struck spot on the right shoulder, smashing it, then through both lungs, breaking a rib on the left side, close behind the left "armpit", and stopping just under the skin, showing a distinct lump there.
In fact I nicked my finger examining the lump, as there was a tiny, sharp piece of jacket material sticking through but concealed in the short hair (lesson learned).
That bullet is also shown in my personal photos, within the world's greatest forum here.
A .45 caliber, 480 grain bullet tends to almost always pass through smaller animals such as reed buck, impala and such, even if it is fragile.
So, only two bullets to illustrate my opinion that:
1. Hornady DGX seem to work alright if impact velocity is rather low.
2. Hornady uses malleable steel jackets, guilding metal plated so as not to ruin rifle bores HOWEVER, I feel they should stop forming these thinner toward the tip.
This bullet would be quite good if the jacket was same thickness from base to nose.
3. If Hornady was to bond the core to the jacket, they could probably leave the jacket thinner toward the nose but, if left up to me (and if a frog had wings), I'd still thicken it as mentioned.
4. Since about age 16, (late 1960's), I have used various Hornady bullets, mostly spire point and round nose, in a multitude of calibers, from .224 caliber, through .458 caliber and enjoyed no bullet failures (none).
However, I am not one to use smallish calibers on largish animals, I like rifles and have various ones for various types of game and various hunting conditions.
And so, I feel their old fashioned and dreaded "cup & core" are quite good for things like deer, impala, etc., (f course as always, provided suitable calibers and bullet weights are chosen according to animal hunted, in other words, I prefer a 6.5 bullet of about 140 gr or heavier as my personal minimum on mule deer / wild boar
Parting shot as it were:
If you are not shooting some finicky, stubborn double that, refuses to regulate with any of today's tough, bonded core bullets, and / or the rifle is antique, thereby causing concerns about very stout bullets, potentially loosening the solder bond, between the rib and barrels, I would avoid Hornady softs for heavy game.
If you are using just such a double rifle in say, .375 H&H, I'd be nervous about the velocity threshold.
As for repeaters and single shots, since the Swift A-Frame is almost always accurate in these types of rifles, and since IMO, it is the very best of the best premium softs ever dreamed up, were I to use a bolt action or single shot for DG hunting, when a soft is advisable (such as first shot on buffalo for one example), the A-Frame would be my choice.
Pertaining to close in hunting of large, heavy animals, dangerous or not, I'm no fan of very high velocity, no matter what bullet I intended to use.
IMO, high velocity and pointed bullets are however a very good fit for shooting rodents and small predators at long range.
So, perhaps needless to say, I've zero experience with the .460 Weatherby cartridge.
My life's experiences and opinions are not the Gospel unto all the world.
However, my suggestion on that fast mover, is to not use the DGX in it for heavily built animals.
Cheers,
Velo Dog.
