Hornady GMX any good?

[R Flowers]

After spending more time than seemed reasonable trying to get a friends 300 WSM to shoot the Barnes 168 or 180 TSX (we live in central California), I finally tried some Hornady 165 GMX bullets and was rewarded with repeatable 1/2 inch groups.

I had been dissapointed in the rifle because it has already been pillar bedded, recrowned, had the bolt lugs lapped, etc. etc. The gunsmith could get groups well under a half inch with factory Federals loaded with 180 Barnes TSX, but for whatever reason my buddy or I could not. With reloads I could get good groups sometimes, but could not repeat them.

My question is, has anyone shot anything with the GMX bullets? I intend to load some up for my friend, I hope they perform on game as well as they do on paper.

 

[ACLakey]

I have not shot anything with them as of yet but I did order 500 for the 30-06 during a blem sale not to long ago. It is good to hear you got a positive result with them on paper. Please report back after you kill something, I will do the same.

 

[DrMike]

I have not shot anything with GMX bullets, but I have loaded quite a bit in several cartridges. The bullets shoot well in all that I have loaded. I see no reason they will not perform well.

 

[CAhunter]

A buddy of mine is using the in his 30-06 with great results. Took an antelope and deer in WY this year and absolutely hammered them. Great bullet IMO!

 

[SJB358]

If Nosler didn't have 2nds, I would shoot more Hornady! I think Hornady makes great bullets for a reasonable cost and their GMX looks like a great one. Scotty

 

[super-7]

I used them in 139 gr in the 7mm rm this fall, everything I pointed them at tipped over dead. 1 wt doe 1 wt buck, both one shot kills. I could not find e-tips here locally and a box of ttsx's should have been paper weights I could not find a group that was moa consistently with them either. The Gmx shot well and had some of my best gruops ever out of this rifle , the only funny thing is I recoverd both bullets, one on a quartering away doe at 60-70 yrds found on the far side shoulder, it weighed 139 only the tip peeled back about 3/8 of an inch. The WT buck was shot at over 350 yrds and I recovered that one also on off side under the hide, it was peeled back farther then the close shot it weighed 136 gr's and had one petal missing. They worked well and internal trauma was significant, I just don't know how the shot on the doe was not a thru and thru, and why it wasn't peeld back alot farther as the Mv or impact velocity would have been way higher.

 

[SJB358]

Super 7, do you have any pictures of the bullets? It would be pretty neat to see what they look like! Scotty

 

[super-7]

Sorry for the pic quality, I don't know if it's me or the cheap digital camera. O.k. it's me. Pic of the GMX bullets recovered from deer this year, and a comparison to a 160 gr AB recovered from a moose last year.

 

[JD338]

Not sure why the GMX didn't exit considering the fact that they didn't open up very much.
I guess I am biased, the Nosler E-Tips open up well and are accurate too.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

They look pretty good to me, and apparently they work well for ya. I do like the E-Tips mushroom though. It is really like a lead bonded mushroom. I wouldn't feel to hard up about using either of them. I think the bands on the GMX are a nice touch though and being able to use the same loading data for the SST, Interbond and GMX is a huge plus in my book. Scotty

 

[super-7]

Yeah Jd I know what your saying, I expected more of a 4 petal tsx like opening aswell. I am not really sure why I was able to recover both, the longer shot maybe if it hit bone, but the closer one on the doe I really figured would be a thru and thru. In testing before hunting season I sent 2 gmx thru 2 five gallon pails full of water expecting to recover one, @ 100 yrds both penetrated thru both pails and my backer and I was unable to find them, I guess the internals of an animal vs bullets at high speed , = not always getting the result you expected. If I had only recovered one bullet I would have probably shrugged it off. Like I said both animals very dead, buck dropped in it's tracks and the doe went maybe 7-8 yrds.

 

[SJB358]

Hard to argue too much with dead animals though. Scotty

 

[R Flowers]

Just as a follow up, I finally got out to test the 165 GMX in my own rifles. I own two Remington 700 rifles chambered in 300 WSM (an XCR and a CDL). After the way the GMX shot in my buddies gun, I just had to try them in mine, right?

What a dissapointment! Both rifles shot groups of 1.5 to nearly 2.5 inches with the Hornady GMX using the same H 4350 I used in my friend's gun. You just have to test this stuff to find out, you cannot assume anything.

At the same range session both guns shot 1/2 inch groups with both Nosler 165 Accubonds and Barnes 168 TSX bullets. (again using H 4350) Go figure.