Jug tested the Hornady 180 RN.

[ShadeTree]

MjMichigan's post about the 180 gr RN and Hornady specs saying it expanded just down to 2400 had me very curious. I did not believe that bullet was near that hard or tough.

Tests came out pretty much as I expected.

First test was at my normal load which will run about 2725 in my 22" barrel. Distance was 20 yds so impact velocity would've been in the neighborhood of 2665.

Didn't hit the jugs quite where I wanted on the first test and the bullet kind of went out the side of the 4'th jug and through the side of the 5'th jug and bounced off the edge of the 6'th jug. Running full width of the jugs I'd say it will for sure be in the 4'th jug, possibly in the 5'th.

Obliterated the first 2 jugs. Bullet peeled all the way back pretty much even with the bottom of the shank. Measured .645 at the widest, and weighed 108 gr's. Would be a whitetail thumper at woods ranges, probably overkill on damage if hitting shoulder.






I then loaded the same bullet with 35.5 gr's of H4895. Estimated muzzle velocity figuring 20 fps loss per inch of barrel with my 22" compared to 24" data, was 1985-2035 FPS. Estimated impact was 1925-1975.

That bullet was in the 6'th jug. Actual lead nose was wider because the faster speed of the 1'st bullet melted most of the lead off the front and the width of the bullet on the faster 1 was the copper shank peels. This measured .575-.600 on average around it, but was in a lopsided fashion underneath. Weighed 143 gr's. So much for only expanding down to 2400.







A comparison of the 2. Normal load of 2725 on right, 2000fps give or take on left.

 

[JD338]

Looks like a winner to me. You can hunt deer with confidence and never look back. All you need now is a sharp knife.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

That looks like a great test. Makes it much more clear in my head. Thanks ST

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Shade thanks for your time and effort providing this info. That bullet as you say and proved will be a deer thumper no doubt. Dan.

 

[TackDriver284]

With that amount of penetration and expansion, both will certainly kill deer. Nice jug test.

 

[mjcmichigan]

Thanks for doing that Shade Tree.

I don’t have a good spot to do do a test. City limits issue.

I spent to day posting a new piece of property.

I’ll load up the rest of the box of 180 RN.

That will be a handy load.

That was a nice looking mushroom too, even the one with 4895.

Did get a brick of MLP primers today.


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[DrMike]

You're golden for deer with that bullet. Ecellent test.

 

[Joec7651]

No doubt that will get the job done from deer on up to large game in fine fashion. Thanks for taking the time for the test.

 

[ShadeTree]

MjcMichigan, Unless you're pressed for time with an early season starting soon, I'd still test your own bullets if you get a chance. Maybe they changed something? I have roughly 400 of these bullets and some are pretty old.

I tested out of one of the newer looking boxes, if I had to guess I'd say they were made in the 90's, early 2000's. But that's still 20-30 yrs ago.

 

[mjcmichigan]

Thank you for the heads up and disclaimer…

TJay put his finger on it.

I didn’t read the heading properly…

It says muzzle velocity range….

What a strange heading. I’ll call hornady, and while I have them of the phone I’ll ask if the spec has changed over the decades.


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[ShadeTree]

Thank you for the heads up and disclaimer…

TJay put his finger on it.

I didn’t read the heading properly…

It says muzzle velocity range….

What a strange heading. I’ll call hornady, and while I have them of the phone I’ll ask if the spec has changed over the decades.


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Yeah that makes more sense. They probably have a parameter that they figure that RN bullet will be used at, and know what it will expand down to........say for example 250 yds maximum shot would be taken with that bullet. With a set minimum velocity of 2400 and that B.C., that would have it down to about 1600 fps at 250 yds.

 

[mjcmichigan]

Called Hornady Tech support today and talked to Brad.

He confirmed the following….

1) the #3075 Interlock 180 RN should expand down to about 1800fps when expansion should slow down a lot.

2) no changes to interlock design. 30 yr old interlocks should be the same.

Thanks again for the testing the 180RN at speed and reduced loads.

 

[ShadeTree]

Called Hornady Tech support today and talked to Brad.

He confirmed the following….

1) the #3075 Interlock 180 RN should expand down to about 1800fps when expansion should slow down a lot.

2) no changes to interlock design. 30 yr old interlocks should be the same.

Thanks again for the testing the 180RN at speed and reduced loads.

Good deal. Nice to have all the info. So at that and your starting speeds of roughly 2825 fps, you would be good out to 300 yds as far as expansion. Way farther than I'd figure on using a RN bullet at.

With the minimum of 2400 fps, it would get you out to between 175-200 yds. More in line with what I'd figure as a maximum distance for that bullet. If I'm carrying that bullet it would be in areas where I couldn't ever see to shoot more than 150 yds period, and almost all shots would be well under 100 yds.

 

[ShadeTree]

MjcMichigan, just another tidbit of information. At the slower MV speed of roughly 2000 fps, the first jug was blown apart with the 1 half laying a full 15 ft directly to the right. The other half to the left was more in smaller pieces. Nothing 100% scientific you can take from that, but to me it means that even at the slower speed the bullet has rapid initial expansion.

As far as a tougher bullet in standard C&C, the Speer HC's and Sierra PH's in 180 are tougher than the Interlock's. Plus the spitzer shape vs the RN slows the initial expansion down. But these bullets would be far better than those 2 would be for whitetail IMO, and would still be adequate for black bear.

 

[Nimrod84]

Good going ShadeTree. That is some great expansion at 2700+ fps.

Not that it matters but the roughly 2000 fps impact images are little more expanded than what I see with my friends Krag loads. Might be due to the close range and differing rifling, or differences in media (water vs game). I think he said he was comfortable with impact velocities down around 1700 fps; from what I recall him telling me the expansion isn't as strong but it still is adequate sub 1800 fps. Honestly he usually loads pretty light to begin with to avoid meat damage / "max expansion" of bullets.

Glad the velocity mystery was solved.

Any reason to not re-post the OP or move this to the bullet test section of the forum?

 

[SJB358]

I bet that’s a good Bullet in a 300 Savage as well. Been awhile since I’ve rang mine out. I’ll have to look around for some.

 

[ShadeTree]

Here's 1 more pic just to give a different perspective from a side view so to speak. The 2725 fps bullet is actually pretty impressive. Jacket peeled all the way back even with the base all the way around. Like a domed mushroom covering the stem. I'd say 2650-2850 would be optimal for whitetail depending on how far a typical shot would be.

The really slow impact speed had trouble peeling back the jacket in a uniform fashion, but would obviously still get the job done.


windows screen capture

 

[ShadeTree]

Good going ShadeTree. That is some great expansion at 2700+ fps.

Not that it matters but the roughly 2000 fps impact images are little more expanded than what I see with my friends Krag loads. Might be due to the close range and differing rifling, or differences in media (water vs game). I think he said he was comfortable with impact velocities down around 1700 fps; from what I recall him telling me the expansion isn't as strong but it still is adequate sub 1800 fps. Honestly he usually loads pretty light to begin with to avoid meat damage / "max expansion" of bullets.

Glad the velocity mystery was solved.

Any reason to not re-post the OP or move this to the bullet test section of the forum?

Yeah not sure what the difference would be for sure? I will say based on what I seen from jugs exploding, at full speed and close range, a person would want to try and stay off the shoulder or there's likely to be a big mess.

I can copy and paste the initial write up and post the pics in the bullet test section.

 

[Cleveland48]

I wish you could find for RN bullets these days. It seems the spitzers have almost made them extinct. I’ve always though the round nose design made beautiful mushrooms. Would love to find som 175 grain RN for my little 275 rigby. Unfortunately I have had zero luck.


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[ShadeTree]

I wish you could find for RN bullets these days. It seems the spitzers have almost made them extinct. I’ve always though the round nose design made beautiful mushrooms. Would love to find som 175 grain RN for my little 275 rigby. Unfortunately I have had zero luck.


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They definitely have their use depending on the application, and in the right application are not inferior but a benefit IMO.

Problem is in my view the public is convinced they need a slicked up high B.C bullet for 150 yd shots. Who would want to use that old log wagon of a bullet when better is well, just better in most views. So manufacture's produce what follows the hype and sells.

Speer is down to just 1 RN hunting bullet, and that is in .311. Sierra makes 2, both in 30 caliber, a 150 and a 180. Nosler 2 that I know of, both in 30 caliber. Hornady I think still makes the most but they dropped a bunch of them. The 30 caliber 180 RN is a limited production deal.