.40 200XTP's and 50/40 Sabots

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cljohnson24

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Hornady advertises this bullet with a BC of .199, Does anyone have any "real" world numbers or velocity/drops/ranges with this bullet?

2 of my guns(.45) seem to love them in Harvester Smooth Blue for some reason and a 3rd gun(.50) tolerates them in a MMP 50/40 blue.
I think the .50's groups might tighten up with the Harvester 50/40 sabot but I've never shot them/heard much about them.
Has anyone tried them and how did they work in high temps?
 
How much and what powder are you using with those XTPs in your 45s? It's a soft tissue bullet for rifle-hunting. Run them into bone with speed and they come apart and fragment. Or do you just plan-on target-shooting these?

The 180s are rated a wee-bit tougher. The 200s are a wee-bit more coefficient. Last December, I've shot the 180s/45-cal XTPs into soft pine and they pretty-much disappear, only leave an white impact mark in the tree. Their Muzzle Velocity Range (fps) is the same as the 180s/40s, a couple hundred ahead of those 200s you're seeking info on.

You-guys that own the 45-cal MLs don't have a good selection of quality bullets at bulk price-rates. Precision (prbullet.com) has some options in lead. Lehigh Defense has some nice custom options for you in copper/brass. But both will set your wallet back a little more. I suppose you have already read the recent thread on the SSTs. That's another option, as our a few different Barnes in 40-cal. But they aren't 30 cents per shot either.

I feel ya'. My wallet has been empty lately and I'm always searching for bulk bullets. Just bought 100 Deep Curls with mixed reviews here. I'm married to them now, until death do us part.... :d'oh!: :wall:
 
I tried the Harvester 50/40 crushrib in an Extreme. They loaded too loose to shoot well for me. I also had a few sabots fail with hot loads during the warmer months. IMO this sabot might be better in a smooth version.
 
120gr Blackhorn for 2375fps out of my Elite .45 w 200XTP/HSB sabot group right at .9"@100yds(Might try 125gr/130gr next session for 2400+).
The MMP Tan sabots and SST's were over 6" and just under 2.0" w/HSB.
The Tans load tighter(32# vs 25#) in my rifle but definitely don't shoot as well(at least in these temps).

The .50 Knight is pushing them with 100gr BH209 @ 1950fps with MMP Blue 50/40 but it's breaking petals off sabots and only getting 2" -2.5" groups.
OPf course the heat(90 degrees) might be the problem. They are tough to start, but load easily(maybe 20#) the rest of the way.
Sounds like the Harvester 50/40 would be even looser.
Is 100grn enough to open this sabot quickly for clean breakaway? I'm not sure if it's that or just the temp.
I plan on waiting for a cooler day with same load and if no improvement, try 120 to see if it improves or worsens the groups.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
If you look at the base of the 200gr XTP you will probably see that its "flatter" than the 200gr SST. The edge of the base is less rounded than the SST. This was a huge problem with the Barnes 195gr a few years ago. It was so bad they blew sabots much easier than a SST.

Its not uncommon for the 200gr XTP to shoot more accurately than the 200gr SST. The SST though holds up much better when pushed that fast.

I never had very good luck with any 50/40 compared to 50x45. Thicker petals are often more problematic. Its kinda funny because my 54cal will shoot a Barnes 300gr 458SOCOM in a Harvester 54x45 sabot with excellent accuracy when using a max recommended load of BH209. They load very very tight too.

This gives me an idea IF your 50cal loads very loose with a 40cal bullet. Try a 210gr 41 mag bullet in the 50x40 Harvester crushrib sabot.
 
GM54-120 said:
This gives me an idea IF your 50cal loads very loose with a 40cal bullet. Try a 210gr 41 mag bullet in the 50x40 Harvester crushrib sabot.

IF the cooler temps/hotter loads don't shrink those groups , I'll probably just keep the 50/40s for my kids MZ and "revert" back to the .452 250grXTP/Short MMP over 80-100gr BH209 that was giving me sub MOA groups. I was just trying these out when I purchased them for use in my kids .50 Huntsman "Shorty" (he's 9)to reduce recoil.
Funny thing is that his gun is cut down to 16.25" and weighs 6.5# with the scope and youth stock. It loves the MMP 50/40-XTP 200 combo anywhere between 50-80 grns of BH209 and prints less than an 1" @75 yds without any fliers, even in 90 degree weather. @50gr=1250fps, 60gr=1400fps, 80gr=1565fps.
This was my primary scope for this 50/40 adventure and I'm pretty happy with those results.

The more I thnk about this, the more I think I need to LIGHTEN that load up to get similar accuracy..and honestly I don't want to do that.
It's great for my kid and light recoil over a feeder @25yds, but I definitely like the way that .452 250grn XTP knocks those deer down at ALL ranges. If there is no benefit in flatter trajectory or reduced recoil, then I'll go back to a "known" formula for success:)
 
One of my favorite close range loadings for deer is the .40 SST at 200 gr. lightly knurled in the dark blue sabot on top of a sub-base. I shoot it in one of my Savage MLII.......... deleted SML data as requested by mod........ It is accurate enough to shoot deer with any kind of opportunity out to 150 but most of my shots are under 65 yds. I hot glue the sub-base to the bottom of the sabot and knurl all bullets shot in sabots. It is extremely light recoil and I use it for youth and smaller persons introduction SML shooting and hunting and use it often myself. Out of the SS factory Savage .50 barrel, JB polished, it gives a very consistent 2 MOA. (2" groups) and isn't the most accurate load for that gun but "good enough"! 300 Speer .458 or Nosler 300 grain ML bullets out of black crush rib sabot the best. I have killed 5 deer and a bunch of turkeys with the .40 X 200 SST load. I have come to prefer the .40 X 200 SST over the XTP for terminal performance. Out to 100 yds the two bullets shoot about the same but past that the SST is more accurate. The XTP is also more "explosive" at close range and on hard bone, ask how I know. My experience, yours may be different. W


PS: for load data I am shooting the SST .40 X 200gr. bullet at about 2300 to 2400 fps MV. XTP needs to be in the 2000 to 2100 fps range for best terminal performance in my opinion.

This post edited to remove SML load data as requested by mod, a reasonable request considering the safety issue of using smokeless in barrels/guns not approved for it and this being an "inline" forum with a SML specific forum available. As always mark your ramrod and safety first.
 
For my own curiousity, I tried low doses of XXXX in it for the same speeds as it's getting with 50-60 gr BH209(1350fps). The recoil was non-existent compared to the BH209, but the groups were slightly better with the BH209. Anything above that blew sabots.
I will definitely revisit this option when the weather cools, but for right now, he's putting 3 inside of 2" at 50 yds off a "field pod"(best thing I ever bought for a kid).
 
Guys can we please remove SML load data references from your posts in this section. They are fine in the smokeless section but in the regular ML section we are very cautious. We don't want a newcomer to get the wrong idea and have an accident.

BTW im pretty sure you both are talking about a SML. We just like to keep that load info separate to avoid confusion.

Thank you
 
After talking to several others on another board and my own shooting results I've come up with a real world BC for the XTP of .125-.13 in the 2100-2300fps range. My personal drops @ 2265fps avg were inline with the BC of .125 out to 200 yds (2.25"high@ 100/6.75" low@ 200)and the others reporting the .13 number were shooting about 100fps slower. I imagine that this number will continue to decrease as velocity increases proportionally.
 

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