160 Grain CX Bullets

[CT.HNTR]

Just picked up a 7mm PRC for an elk hunt I am planning for 2025. I Also picked up some Hornady Outfitter ammo loaded with 160 grain CX bullets. I have had good luck with Barnes bullets but have not used the CX. I would love to hear people's real-life experiences with the 160 grain CX bullets on elk. Any information people can share would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guy Miner]

Using my 7mm Rem Mag, Ruger Number One with a 26" barrel, I tested the 150 gr Hornady CX in clear ballistics gel blocks. It showed excellent penetration.

I suspect that the 160 grain version would perform similarly.

Regards, Guy

 

[DrMike]

Appears to be a fine bullet for those wishing to use a monolithic pill.

 

[JD338]

That CX bullet looks pretty good. Deep penetration for sure.

JD338

 

[Blkram]

I have only tried the CX ammo in the 6.5 PRC (130 gr) so far, and while 5 other factory loads were all sub-MOA, the CX ammo was just over 2" in my rifle at 100 yards.
Cannot report re: on-game performance as what hunting I did do with the rifle this fall was with the Nosler 140 gr AB ammo (did not have any shot opportunities).
I have had great success on elk with 160 SGK and 160 AB bullets in the 7MM STW and 165 SGK bullets in the 7mm Rem Mag at short to longer distances over the years.
What I have seen on tv or read about in articles has been good as far as on-game performance.
If it is shooting well in your rifle, it should be just fine for your elk hunt!

 

[NYDAN]

Using my 7mm Rem Mag, Ruger Number One with a 26" barrel, I tested the 150 gr Hornady CX in clear ballistics gel blocks. It showed excellent penetration.

View attachment 21677

I suspect that the 160 grain version would perform similarly.

Regards, Guy

Guy, what was your load with the 150 gr. CX bullets? Was it with IMR 8133?

 

[FOTIS]

To be honest I have not tried these. That said I did spend a few hundred dollars on Hornady GMX's in different rifles. From the 7mm mag to the 378 Bee. I could not break 1.5 MOA no matter what I tried. That is when I went to the Barnes LRX and never looked back.

I realize the CX is somewhat of a different bullet than the GMX but I am set with the LRX and they do not need a minimum of 2k residual velocity to expand, like the CX, which is important to me.

 

[lhsako]

My elk hunting buddy in NM has taken several elk with the Barnes TSX 160 @3200 from his 7MM Bee with good results. The Monoliths all preform in a very similar fashion given the same impact velocity, weight and caliber.

 

[Guy Miner]

Guy, what was your load with the 150 gr. CX bullets? Was it with IMR 8133?

Yes, from my carefully hoarded stash of IMR 8133. I surely hope that stuff finds a way back to the marketplace. High velocity for sure, and a lot of other good attributes. Max load according to Hodgdon's data. I ended up with a higher velocity than Hodgdon did, perhaps because I used the 26" Ruger Number One.

Guy

 

[CT.HNTR]

I picked up the Hornady factory ammo using the 160 Grain CX bullets and am getting some handloads using the 168 grain Barnes LRX bullets and will do a comparison. I'll post the results. The CX bullets appear to have excellent terminal performance, but I need to confirm if they are accurate in my rifle.

 

[Guy Miner]

Don't be afraid to give them a "jump" to the rifling... Start working your way back and see how it goes. They seem to like a good jump at the start. I don't think that I've cracked the code on the CX bullets for accuracy yet.

Guy

 

[NYDAN]

Yes, from my carefully hoarded stash of IMR 8133. I surely hope that stuff finds a way back to the marketplace. High velocity for sure, and a lot of other good attributes. Max load according to Hodgdon's data. I ended up with a higher velocity than Hodgdon did, perhaps because I used the 26" Ruger Number One.

Guy

Thanks, Guy. I did subsequently look up your video on the Ultimate Reloader and found your load.