interlock vs hot-cor

[gajie270]

very simple premise here, what experiences do you all have with these two bullets and what are your preferences between them?

 

[Joker12]

I have used both extensively and like them both. Accurate, effective and modestly priced, what's not to like.

 

[mdwest]

I’ve got a good bit of experience using interlock in 7mm and .30… but honestly am pretty much a TTSX guy for all calibers these days…

For deer/hog/elk/etc (common NA game) I find them to be absolutely reasonable… they fly straight, are affordable, and kill effectively… I’ve had no problems with them.. (I just find Barnes to be better.. albeit at a premium price point)…

 

[JRWcows]

Hi there I have shoot a handful of elk with the Hornady interlock and they have never let me down.. I have shot a lot of hot-cor’s as well but I am a hornady guy they are a well constructed bullet especially for the price!!

 

[igotit]

Both are excellent. I use more Hornaday's with an unproven or unfounded thought that they were more accurate, just because one rifle preferred them. The hot cores are excellent game bullets and may prove more accurate in some rifles. It seems they are getting phased out or are harder to find. Please correct me if this isn't the case.

To me the Hornaday is a controlled expansion type bullet and the Hot Core is an almost bonded bullet. Both ideal for medium game they deserve to be used more. The Speer bullets were popular for game culling in Africa with those that reloaded.

 

[Tgood1]

Used both. Pick the most accurate for your rifle, send and deliver in boiler room. Both will do the job.

 

[Luvthunt]

cup and core both good bullets. Swift a frames for more serious .

 

[BeeMaa]

I've used them both effectively on North American game with success, but better options are out there with the advancements that have been made in the ammo industry. So the short answer to your question is...neither.

I use TTSX and TSX exclusively for all rifle hunting now, the only exception being solids that are Woodleigh Hydros. I believe you owe it to the game being hunted to use a premium bullet whenever possible. I keep several cup and core bullets around for range practice because they are inexpensive, not cheap...inexpensive.

You would be hard pressed to not find something that shoots sub-MOA in a modern rifle that is of a bonded or monolithic bullet design. Swift A-Frame, Barnes TSX, Norma Oryx or Federal TBBC are good examples.

 

[fourfive8]

Correct^^ - neither. Too many better choices. False economy to cheap out on hunting bullets. There is nothing core-to-jacket "locking" about interlocks- just marketing BS. Same with the false hint of "bonding" of the Hot Core- not.

 

[WAB]

My go to bullets are Speer Hot Cor and Swift A-Frame. The HotCor is a fine bullet for light game like deer. The biggest advantage I’ve found with it is that it tends to shoot to the same poi as the A-Frames in my rifles, making for an inexpensive practice round.

 

[Joker12]

My go to bullets are Speer Hot Cor and Swift A-Frame. The HotCor is a fine bullet for light game like deer. The biggest advantage I’ve found with it is that it tends to shoot to the same poi as the A-Frames in my rifles, making for an inexpensive practice round.

I have found that Hornady interlocks and Nosler partitions of the same weight using the same powder charges also shoot to the same poi. Good information on the hot cores and A frames.

 

[jduckhunter]

I've been using Hot core and Interlocks for deer and pronghorn hunting for more years than I care to count. I can't say that I've ever lost a wounded animal because either of those two bullets let me down. Don't let anyone tell you that you need a more expensive bullet to take medium sized game, that is simply not the case. As a matter of fact, I have 2 boxes of 150 gr. 30 cal. Interlocks loaded up and ready to go for my 308 Win. for my trip to Wyoming in a few weeks.

 

[gajie270]

for my serious hunting i will stick to my Nosler partitions, however partitions are expensive to practice with so as far as same B.C and point of impact the interlocks seem like a better pair.

 

[steve white]

I wish I had an interlock bullet I perfectly placed in a Gemsbuck, but it ran off with it in the boiler room, and after tracking for 1 & 1/2 days was lost! (had a perfect stone benchrest situation, rifle rested on my hand on my hat atop the rock) One interlock was retrieved from my Hartebeast, shot at 80 yards, which shed the jacket and was found in the shape of a teardrop--not my idea of a confidence inspiring result. Both were utilized in Hornady Light Magnum ammo which I thought at the time was a good idea...no longer. Buy better IMHO, tho either of your choices are absolutely acceptable for whitetails

 

[AHughes]

Neck/spine shot on a boar hog 200g .35 rem round nose , I like them for my lever guns

 

[mdwest]

I wish I had an interlock bullet I perfectly placed in a Gemsbuck, but it ran off with it in the boiler room, and after tracking for 1 & 1/2 days was lost! (had a perfect stone benchrest situation, rifle rested on my hand on my hat atop the rock) One interlock was retrieved from my Hartebeast, shot at 80 yards, which shed the jacket and was found in the shape of a teardrop--not my idea of a confidence inspiring result. Both were utilized in Hornady Light Magnum ammo which I thought at the time was a good idea...no longer. Buy better IMHO, tho either of your choices are absolutely acceptable for whitetails

Sad to hear about both your gemsbok and the bullet performance in the hartebeast...

I completely agree.. for me, I don't hunt in Africa anymore with anything other than TSX or TTSX (caliber dependent).. Honestly, I don't really hunt anywhere anymore with anything other than TSX or TTSX, unless I am just shooting through some old factory ammo I still have on hand or some old reloads from 5+ years ago before I became a pretty die hard barnes fan.. while TTSX is significantly more expensive than Interlock options.. in the scope of the total cost of a hunt (even a "free" hunt on public land isn't "free" when you factor in travel costs, gear/equipment costs, etc).. the price difference in 1 projectile vs another is really very, very small...

But, that said.. I shot quite a bit of interlock, interbond, and other hornady stuff back in the day.. and never once had a failure on any NA game.. If I were headed out after whitetail, blacktail, muleys, hogs, or even elk tomorrow and interlocks were my only option.. I wouldn't hesitate even for a moment...

But.. if headed back to Africa for wildebeest, zebra, etc.. there would be great hesitation for me (losing a $850 wildebeest over a $0.50 difference in projectile costs isn't worth the risk to me)...

 

[colorado]

For traditional bullets gotta go A-Frame. 300g A-Frame penetrated a 9' brown bear diagonally starting at the right shoulder ending in the hide of the opposite thigh, still weighed 299.5g. For deer and other light game either hornady or speer are fine for anything else I would go with an A-Frame