Another Real world bullet test. 7mm08 154gr interlocks. Failed!

Ok now in fairness to the 154 interlocks. I didn't loose any game but if I didnt have the gameness of a pitbull to keep looking I would have.
First kill Large doe 80 yrds aprox. Perfect behind shoulder shot Perfect performance. Deer left great blood trail went 25 yards. - Pass
Next test 3-1/2 yr old Buck Big cowhorn Ive been trying to cull for a year. He was making a scrape 110 yards this time I put it right in the worst spot on the shoulder to see how it did on a bigger bone. At the shot I thought he must of went straight down. Nope! Got to scrape white hair every where. No blood. At first I thought I must have shot low but I was so sure I made a good shot I kept looking. Its VERY thick here and one hop off the road hes gone. I went to the house got my blood light. After 2 hrs of looking for blood I kept looking where they run 95% of the time. Nothing. So I asked God to help me find that beautiful animal and started looking the other way and found him 65 yards in the worse thicket Ive been in this year. Well I get him loaded and the front shoulder is gone flapping! Get in undressed and really start looking. That 154gr bullet complete mess did not poke one hole through the ribcage. The impact must have filled his lungs with blood because the only blood was out his mouth where he lay. The biggest lessons of this were. Never question your shot if you know your rifle and know you hit it keep looking. 2And a bunch of white hair doesn't mean you hit him low. And 3rd if your going to use a cnc I dont care if it is heavy for cal dont count on the bone breaking penetration required for easy blood trail.
Now Again the 154 killed the deer but I could have told myself I just skimmed him if I wasn't so sure of my rife and shot. Next is the 120 gr Nosler Ballistic tip on pigs.they say they are tuff and give pass threws and great damage. So we will test there metal and see if it is hype or not. Happy new year and God be with all of you.

Did the bullet explode or were you able to find the base? I don't use those bullets, but at that distance it should have penetrated some. How fast are you pushing those bullets?

Headshot would've avoided all that ;)

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I agree with the OP, cup n core bullets like the innerlokt are not designed to shoot through bone like that. Results like those are exactly why bullets like the Partition, and Barnes TSX were developed. The only issue I would have with this test, is purposely using the bullets on live game and letting them possibly suffer the consequences of poor bullet design.

If you want a bullet that will do what it says, use a monolithic design, of a brand you pick. I have shot bucks at ranges of 15yds to 200yds with them and have yet to have one fail or be recovered. Nor have I lost a deer from them.

Barnes even used their 130gr .308 dia TTSX in a 300WM on Africa plains game, all sizes. Of some 20 odd animals shot, including Kudu, Gemsbok and Wildebeast, and recovered only one bullet. If I remember correctly, there were only 2 or 3 that required second shots and those circumstances were not because of bullet performance.

They were pushing speeds in excess of 3600 FPS. So if ya want performance, go monolithic. The only time I wouldn't use one, might be if I were a LONG range shooter (I am not) and something like 600+. Impact velocities need to be usually in the 1900-2100FPS range, depending on whether they are tipped or not.

Handi I understand completely Ive killed over 300 deer and no telling how many hogs. The reason I am testing and giving a honest report on them is I have seen So many "Computer" hunter experts say things like " a heavy for Caliber C-n-C bullet under 2800 fps is perfect things like that. Well its not true! And I dont care how good a shot you are if you hunt enough you Will hit that shoulder. So I decided to do a real world test on LIVE Game. Not some bull crap newspapers or gell or through water jugs. Because I have seen too many folks shoot a nice deer and think I must have grazed him or missed. Because they think that bullet will go on through "its a heavy for Cal and its only going 2700fps.
Oh and that buck was exactly 111 yards away bullet was going 2,700 fps at muzzle. So I would say at 111 yards that would put it right in the zone for "Perfect" for Heavy for Cal cnc bullet.
Now if you want to read how the nosler 120 B-tip performance was for us. Please do. But it was a test on live game.

I found the 140gr Berger VLD Hunting is a superb performer in the 7mm-08 on deer. It always pokes through the bones and grenades inside the vitals so explosively they stand no chance of moving more than a 25 yards MAX. And almost always fold on the spot.

What makes the 140 VLD Hunt. work so well is that it doesn't explode when hitting the shoulder due to it's pointy meplat.

On the other hand, I have never used it on wild pork, because there is none up here in Canada. And from what I read, wild pork has tough skin and bone, so I don't think the 140 vld hunt would do the job 100% of the time.