Hornady DGX bonded failure

[Redfishga1]

Just returning into Atlanta and finally have enough WiFi to post. I have heard the non bonded dgx were terrible but Hornady had fixed the issue. I think I have run into a quality control/ velocity issue. I had a great and shot a nice buffalo in the 20-25 yds. Luckily it ended up being a heart shot and second shot I took as it ran and hit a little low in the leg. Dead is dead but under the circumstances I would think a bullet behaving like this could be catastrophic. I do not know the twist rate of my merkel 450/400 and don’t think it would matter that much. I will chronograph what is left of ammo this weekend. I also got a giraffe which turned into a bit of a mess with several shots needed. I had to leave before bullets were collected so I’m assuming I was getting the same result. I don’t reload so will have some custom north fork made for it before I go back.

 

[coreydb]

Hornady's DGX line's performance has never been that reliable. I don't know why, because their entire bullet line's excellent performance is well established and my first choice in hunting.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

You’ve just been DGX’d. seriously I’ve been posting for years on the horrifically bad performance of the DGX bullet but some still defend it. Now ask yourself if the animal was charging how comfortable you would feel?
Get some custom hand loads that work well with your double and move on with confidence. I like either Swift, TBBC, NorthFork, TSX, or Woodleigh.

HH

 

[Russ16]

I think the issue isn't just bullet. You mention it is the 450/400. I've chronographed almost 4 boxes of 450/400 DGX ammo. I've yet to have any average over 2,000 fps and almost no individual shots over 2,000. My Chapuis regulates much better with A-Frames a little over 2,100 fps and I think that velocity is better suited for bullet performance as well.

 

[Miletic]

Just returning into Atlanta and finally have enough WiFi to post. I have heard the non bonded dgx were terrible but Hornady had fixed the issue. I think I have run into a quality control/ velocity issue. I had a great and shot a nice buffalo in the 20-25 yds. Luckily it ended up being a heart shot and second shot I took as it ran and hit a little low in the leg. Dead is dead but under the circumstances I would think a bullet behaving like this could be catastrophic. I do not know the twist rate of my merkel 450/400 and don’t think it would matter that much. I will chronograph what is left of ammo this weekend. I also got a giraffe which turned into a bit of a mess with several shots needed. I had to leave before bullets were collected so I’m assuming I was getting the same result. I don’t reload so will have some custom north fork made for it before I go back.

I think the producers calculate between hard and soft. They don't want the hard to be too hard, and the soft to be very soft. That's why they calculate with the composition of the bull, its construction and its speed. When we reloaders just load some bullets, then we choose their speed and thus how much they will open

 

[Rafiki]

I had similar results on buffalo with .510 cal in 2022; recovered bullets didn't expand as expected, 100grs just blown away somewhere. These were 570gr DGX (bonded) so plenty of shank left. Dead buffalo but surprised me a bit. Went to Peregrine Bushmasters in 2024 with much more satisfactory results.

 

[UpNorthMI]

It will be interesting to see what speed you find for this ammo, Hornady states 2050 FPS as muzzle velocity for its 400 grain 450/400 ammo from a 24" barrel. I'm no ballistic expert but that just seems a little slower than I personally like.

I've shot the 400 grain .416 DGX bonded bullets from my 500/416 NE double with tremendous results using my reloads which have a muzzle velocity of 2,330 fps. Here are a few recovered rounds from Australian buffalo. I think I shot 17 buffalo with this round in under a week, most rounds exited with large holes, we recovered the bullets below from frontal or quartering shots.

Personally I'll keep reloading and shooting these DGX bonded bullets with a high level of confidence.

What ever bullet you decide to use, I would be trying to find a load that created a little more velocity.

 

[Miletic]

Higher speed - larger mushroom - lower penetration

 

[grand veneur]

Perhaps we should clearly define what exactly is meant by a "bullet failure."

When I look at many bullets I have recovered from buffalo and elephants I have shot in my life and judge them according to the definition of failure by many of you, than the majority of my bullets failed.

 

[SStomcat]

That shank (pic 3) in case of a direct head shot would have done some heavy damage I would imagine.

 

[curt672]

does anyone have any pics of how the Woodleigh bullet works in the same conditions?

 

[etsonaut]

Perhaps we should clearly define what exactly is meant by a "bullet failure."

When I look at many bullets I have recovered from buffalo and elephants I have shot in my life and judge them according to the definition of failure by many of you, than the majority of my bullets failed.

We should ask the Buffalo if the bullet failed. Wait... nevermind. He's probably not in the mood to talk.

All jokes aside, dead is dead but there is nothing whatsoever wrong with post mortem analysis of bullet (and shooter) performance. Those recovered bullets in the pictures definitely do not look the way one would hope. Fortunately, the job still got done.

 

[Rafiki]

does anyone have any pics of how the Woodleigh bullet works in the same conditions?

From my 2022 buffalo hunt. Two buffalo one with Woodleigh, one with DGX. 500 Sharps, the only difference in the load was the bullet. 570gr, 2150fps.

 

[grand veneur]

One should not always expect that the bullet after recovery look exactly like that depicted in the advertisement. Even if this bullets were recovered from game and not only from ballistic gelatin, only those that deformed exactly as intended are shown. This applies to all companies.

 

[deewayne2003]

does anyone have any pics of how the Woodleigh bullet works in the same conditions?

Two 350gr Woodleigh Weldcores fired from .404J, recovered under skin on opposite side from two separate water buffalo.

 

[grand veneur]

It looks just like my old Interbond bullets from Hornady.

 

[uplander01]

Hornady has become a practice bullet for me in anything 338 and up.

 

[375Fox]

It’s not the worst kind of failure, but it definitely didn’t perform as designed. It didn’t expand and probably didn’t penetrate very straight. I think you’re lucky it ended up being a heart shot or could have been a longer follow up.

 

[Mark458]

Perhaps we should clearly define what exactly is meant by a "bullet failure."

When I look at many bullets I have recovered from buffalo and elephants I have shot in my life and judge them according to the definition of failure by many of you, than the majority of my bullets failed.

I agree here. If your definition of bullet failure is inconsistent mushrooming and more than 10% weight loss then I think you miscalculated in your choice of bullet to begin with. The Hornady dangerous game line has never had a reputation that meets this criteria. It has improved over the years but still falls short of the numbers I mentioned.

As referenced earlier the Swift, TBBC, TSX, or the North Fork are all better than choices to end up with great weight retention and consistent mushrooming or petalling in the case of the copper bullets.

The first two buffalo I took years ago were with the early Hornady Interbond. I used a 500 grains out of my 458 Lott and these bullets failed miserably according to the standard that the numbers I mentioned earlier show. The results is that those two buffalo went a total of 40 yards. The first one did the whole 40 yards by himself, stopped and put his head down and I'm sure he was ready to fall over, but I put a second and a third one in him and that was it. The second bull dropped in his tracks. High lung shot that broke ribs on the way in and out. I'm sure it shocked the spin and he went straight down. Quick follow up shots prevented any chance of getting up.

Bullets that were recovered lost about 40- 50% of their weight but the damage that was done was devastating.

I know many people love the Cutting Edge Raptors for dangerous game. These bullets are designed to shed their petals and the shank continue on as a solid. To each their own, but not for me.

Since that first hunt I have switched to 500 grain TSX as my default bullet of choice and is what I will be using when I go back this July. I do intend on trying some of the North Fork bullets when I hunt multiple buffalo next year and see how they perform side by side with the TSX. I prefer bullets that penetrate deep and petal consistently which inevitably will be accompanied by good weight retention.

Let the debate continue.

 

[grand veneur]

It is all just internet problems. In the past, the outcome of the hunt was what mattered, not what the bullet looked like afterwards. Besides, many of us did not know how a bullet was supposed really to look like after impact.