BULLET BULLETIN: GOING FROM GOOD TO GREAT

BULLET BULLETIN

Hornady’s engineers made revisions to the GMX bullet to arrive at the new CX bullet.

GOING FROM GOOD TO GREAT

Hornady’s new CX expanding copper bullets are a step up from their GMX line and a solid choice for pursuing big game where lead-free ammo is required.

STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP

There is no doubt about it: the lead-free monometal bullet is here to stay. It is a legal requirement in the state of California, and my home state of New York is pushing to require lead-free ammunition on our plentiful public lands. Whether required or not, the lead-free copper alloy projectiles offer excellent performance, with the rifle bullets giving deep penetration with high weight retention; there is no jacket and core to separate.

While Hornady was not the first to develop a successful monometal copper alloy projectile – that distinction belongs to Barnes – they have, like many other companies, developed a great monometal. Their GMX – standing for Gilding Metal eXpanding – was equipped with the signature Hornady red polymer tip over a hollow cavity; during flight the polymer tip helps to maintain a consistent ballistic coefficient, and upon impact, it acts as a wedge to initiate expansion. The GMX was a good bullet, and proved to be accurate and consistent in both component form – where I handloaded it in a whole bunch of different cartridges – as well as the Hornady Outfitter and Full Boar lines of factory-loaded ammunition.

The Hornady CX bullet shown in profile and in section; note the hollow cavity below the polymer tip and the rounded design of the grooves on the bullet’s shank. (HORNADY)

I use the past tense when referring to the excellent GMX because, somewhat sadly, it has been discontinued. When the news was released, a number of my handloading pals who have come to rely on the GMX were panicked, for obvious reasons. But Hornady wasn’t just pulling out of the monometal game; they had put the time into R&D to improve their design, resulting in a whole new bullet: the CX, or Copper eXpanding.

THE NEW CX has a number of improvements over the GMX, and is a testament to Hornady not being willing to rest upon their laurels. Much like the work that went into the development of the ELD Match and ELD-X bullets, Hornady has looked at the entire package that was the GMX, and sought to make the best design possible.

Beginning with the polymer tip, Hornady’s engineers brought over the Heat Shield Tip from the ELD line to give the new CX the most consistent BC throughout the bullet’s flight. You see, the engineers used Doppler radar to demonstrate that the polymer tips were falling victim to heat deterioration from friction in flight, and that was degrading the ballistic coefficient downrange. The polymer formula was changed, and the Heat Shield Tip was the result, which solved the problem.

Next, engineers looked at grooves in the shank of the GMX bullet in order to improve the BC even further. As it is constructed of a copper alloy and has no lead core, the monometal bullet will be longer than a traditional lead-core/ copper jacket bullet, when comparing bullets of the same caliber and weight. In order to prevent excessive copper fouling – and also to keep pressures low – grooves were cut in the shank of the bullet to reduce bearing surface. But the geometry of those grooves can play a role in the BC values and drag coefficients downrange, so that was the next place Hornady turned their attention. Comparing the two bullets, the CX has grooves that appear to have rounded edges, presumably to further reduce drag.

DID THE IMPROVEMENTS to the CX show themselves at the bench? Well,

For those fans of the 6.5mm bore, the 120-grain Hornady CX bullet will give the velocity and penetrative qualities to deliver a quick, humane kill. (HORNADY)

Author Phil Massaro handloaded the 7mm 150-grain CX in his 7mm08 Remington with good results.

to begin with, I had good results with the GMX, but I feel the CX is a better design, or at the very least the improvements were worthwhile.

I had the opportunity to test both the component CX bullets, as well as a few different cartridges in the Outfitter line. For testing, I had component bullets in 7mm caliber (at 150 grains) and .30 caliber (at 165 grains), and factory ammunition in 6.5 Creedmoor with the 120-grain CX, the .308 Winchester with the 165-grain CX and the .300 Winchester Magnum with the 180-grain CX. Rifles for testing included a Legendary Arms Works for the Creedmoor, a Ruger M77 MKII in .308 Winchester, a Winchester Model 70 Classic Stainless in .300 Winchester Magnum, and my little Tikka T3X Lite in 7mm-08 Remington; all in all, a wellrounded selection of big game rifles.

For the 7mm-08 Remington, I used a pair of ball powders – Hodgdon H414 and H380 – in order to offset the lack of case capacity and that long 150-grain CX bullet encroaching on what space

Massaro’s Winchester Model 70 Classic Stainless in .300 Winchester Magnum is well-served by the Hornady Outfitter ammo featuring the 180-grain CX bullet, a sound all-around choice.

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Hornady’s Outfitter ammo line features nickel-plated cases to resist corrosion and sealed primer pockets and case

mouths. (HORNADY) there was. The Tikka liked both these powders, showing a slight preference for H380, printing three shots into a ¾-inch group at 100 yards. Though a 150-grain monometal might be considered on the heavy side for the 7mm-08, there aren’t too many hunts that are suitable for a 7mm bullet that wouldn’t be handled by a 150-grain CX, especially considering that weight retention will run above 95 percent in most situations.

I handloaded the .30-caliber 165-grain CXs in my .300 Winchester, over a healthy dose of Reloder 19, and saw sub-MOA groups at 3,110 feet per second. This rifle isn’t particularly finicky, and that same load has worked in a number of rifles, so that result wasn’t especially surprising. Looking back at my notes, the group size did slightly improve in comparison to the GMX, and the extreme spread of velocities was more consistent. That .300 Winnie also liked the 180-grain factory load, printing three-shot groups measuring just under ¾-inch at 2,985 fps.

My old .308 Winchester gave MOA performance with the 165-grain CX bullet in the Outfitter ammo, averaging 2,590 fps on the Oehler 35P. I feel this load would be a perfect match for any fan of the .308 Winchester, as the 165-grain bullet represents just about a perfect balance of case capacity and bullet weight. From the Creedmoor, I saw the 120-grain CX load print groups averaging 0.85 inch at a velocity of 2,912 fps. All in all, the CX performs very well at the range, engendering all sorts of confidence.

THE OUTFITTER LINE of ammunition is loaded in nickel-plated cases, with sealed primers and case mouths, in order to keep things both free from corrosion and nice and dry during your hunting adventures. The Outfitter loaded ammo line is available in the following: .243 Winchester (80-grain CX), .257 Weatherby Magnum (90-grain CX), 6.5 Creedmoor (120-grain CX), 6.5 PRC (130-grain CX), .270 WSM

The 10MM cartridge is more than 30 years old, but its popularity has not waned. It’s one of the top three self-defense cartridg-es in America, as well as hunting. But most 10MM loads are designed for personal protection using bullets weighing between 100 and 220 grains. They work well, with a very deep wound and penetration channels. Underwood Ammunition is well-known for innovative ammunition offerings. In 2022, Underwood is featuring a lightweight, high-velocity round for 10MM, for hunting. This Xtreme Hunter load features a 150-grain solid-copper bullet that will penetrate around 25 inches. The Xtreme Hunt-er is designed with wider flutes than the Xtreme Penetrator to slow down faster and to perform a massive energy dump faster, close to 700 pounds of energy while hunting. The Xtreme Hunter has Underwood Ammo’s trademark nickel plated brass, along with state of the art 100% copper projectile, with Underwood’s famous flutes.

The Hornady Outfitter load in .308 Winchester is loaded with the 165-grain CX bullet, a perfect choice for this case and fully capable of taking all but the very largest North American game.

(130-grain CX), 7mm Remington Magnum (150-grain CX), 7mm WSM (150-grain CX), .308 Winchester (165-grain CX), .30-06 Springfield (180-grain CX), .300 WSM (180-grain CX), .300 Winchester Magnum (180-grain CX), .300 Weatherby Magnum (180-grain CX), .300 PRC (190-grain CX), .300 Remington Ultra Magnum (180-grain CX), .338 Winchester Magnum (225-grain CX), .375 Ruger (250-grain CX), and .375 H&H Magnum (250-grain CX). All are sold in 20-count boxes.

Hornady now offers the CX in their Custom line, with the 6.8 SPC featuring the 100-grain CX and the .300 Blackout featuring the 110-grain CX.

In component form, Hornady offers the CX bullet in the following configurations: 6mm (80- and 90-grain), .257-inch (90-grain), 6.5mm (120- and 130-grain), .277-inch (100- and 130-grain), 7mm (139- and 150-grain), .308-inch (110-, 165-, 180- and 190-grain), .338-inch (185- and 225-grain), and .375-inch (250-grain). The projectiles are sold in 50-count boxes. This lineup gives a wide variety of choices for just about any North American hunting scenario, from small southern whitetails up to and including Alaska’s biggest bears, and covers everything worldwide with the exception of the African heavyweights.

While there will always be those who oppose change of any sort when it comes to the design of their chosen projectiles, I think Hornady made the right move here in improving the GMX. With all the research they’ve invested in their proprietary Heat Shield Tip, and the wonderful accuracy that is in some part attributed to that tip, it made perfect sense to include it in their monometal hunting bullet.

With the lead-free movement gaining momentum, it would behoove any hunter to at least find one monometal load that will work in their rifle should the regulations in your area change, or should the opportunity for a hunt in one of those areas requiring lead-free projectiles present itself. The Hornady CX is a great choice for just that role. 

Hornady builds their Outfitter ammo for the worst conditions, so you can count on it in any weather. (HORNADY)