Hornady FPB

I am curious about full bore bullets. Has anyone shot these? I have three different guns with all different bore diameters so I should get them to fit in one of them. I am looking at the 300grn.

I am a big fan of this bullet, actually the 350gr. My last couple deer gave dropped dead in their tracks or traveled very little .

Ron did a test on media with them and they performed nicely.
Steve

I like them. I think I have 3 brand new paks of the 350's I have not even opend yet. So many great bullets these days. I do like the full bore without sabot. Have not punched anything but paper and wood but they load nice in My Knights and shoot consistently out of those guns.

What gun did you shoot the FPB out of? It looks like you're shooting a White. Wondering if they will shoot out of a tight or loose bore or both. I have a triumph,Redemption and Optima.

How much of an issue would copper fouling be? Also it seems like I remember that full bore projectiles work best with lower powder charges.

They shoot great in both my whites , my new England fire arms and my tc x7. It might be the best grouping bullet i shoot

No copper fouling noticed by me ..
Steve

These start easily and shoot well in a Tc with the counterbore muzzle, but are really hard to start in my Knight rifles. I've read about pushing them throgh the barrel nose first to engrave the bullet and compress the skirt, but I'm half afraid to try it.

It seems they work for some and not for others. If you truly have three bore diameters that are significantly different, I think it unlikely that the FPB will shoot good in all of them. They shoot great in my Omega X7 and are no harder to load than a snug bullet/sabot combo. One of those things you are just going to have to check for yourself.

I also like the FPB, and like the 350 as it shoots accurately in my guns and really flies almost as flat at the 300. I have killed 4 elk with this bullet, so it is tough enough to take it. 300 should be more than adequate for deer. Also, the "lead" is a lead alloy, so it is tougher than pure lead.

Here are a few facts about the bullet: The bullet itself is 0.499 but the rear bell/skirt is .507. Therefore it has to be custom sized to each rifle bore. I do this with a short starter/loading tip like this:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... _104436180

In a T/C gun with a QLA (false muzzle) you just drop it in, set the starter/loading tip on top and give it a whap with your palm. that shoves it down in the barrel and sizes it to that particular bore. Then seat it the rest of the way with your ramrod

With my knight, I simply place it on top of the bore and wiggle it while pushing down with my fingers. You should be able to get it slightly started enough. To me this works better than running them through the barrel first. Then use the short starter with a "whap" to start it down the barrel.

They also shoot well in my T/C renegade. I start it the same way as in the knight (wiggle to get it started, etc)

When you pull the trigger, the explosion, "obturates" the bullet expanding it to bore size.

One more thing: the copper is just a outer skin, it does nothing to strengthen the bullet. Probably the copper fouling is less of a problem than lead.

I am just getting back into muzzle loading, these are they are the only bullet I have fired out of the new Thompson Center bone collector. Used the 350 grain ones over 120 grains of black horn. Only took 12 shots to be zeroed at 100 yards about 2 inch groups.

I cannot say how they perform on game as of yet. But wow they sure shoot nice. They load easy in my gun and group great.

Give them a try they worked for me.

That's interesting coma44 because I have two bone collectors and am hoping the FPB'S will fit in them. If not I have two other guns with looser bores Optima and Redemption. Should be able to get them to fit in at least one gun. I have been buying bullets at Midsouth shooters supply. However they are out of stock. They are also out of tez 290grn for the Optima.

I have not tried the 300 as the 350 will shoot in both my 50 calibers ,Encore Endeavor and the Triumph the Triumph will hold them in an inch group when I am shooting good the Endeavor will hold 1.5 inches. I go at it a bit different than some here as both guns have tight bores, I take out the BP and push them through the bore backwards to size them to the gun that I will use them in. I have them for states that I want to hunt that have full bore bullet laws. I have not used them on deer only boar and elk, I use 90 grains because it was the first load I tried and it shot well have never tried anything but 90 grains of Blackhorn. They have done an excellent job for me.

Let me understand you Lee9. The bullet is actually pushed into the breach with the bullet facing the breach? How far do you push it in? I would think just far enough for the rifling to imprint?

Rangerod

I just got 3 boxes from Cabela's they are. Getting here today. They were 17 a box.

Like I said they loaded great in my gun. Two others in my group also bought bone collectors and sighted in with the fpb 350 grain bullets. They had similar results as I did, but had found that 100 grains of powder worked better in both of their guns.

I got lucky and mine shoots great at 100 or 120 grains.

I am not sure exactly which way he faces the bullet, but generally they are pushed all the way through the bore till they come out the other end (when I did that I had a soft surface like a pillow for them to fall on).

These bullets should fit well in any Bone Collector. Whether or not they are accurate depends on the gun. You don't want to presize them if you have a T/C QLA because you can't line up the previously made rifling marks. Only in a rifle with a normal crown where the riflings go all the way to the end of the bore. In other words, don't presize them for a bone collector. Also CVAs generally have a smaller bore, and some people have said they won't work well in guns like the optima without a hammer to get them down the barrel.

A smarter muzzy guy than I once said a 300 gr well built bullet and 100 gr of blackpowder equivalent is enough to take any north American game except Griz. I believe him. BH 209 is somewhere between 15-20% stronger than real black, so anything over 90 gr of powder is at least 100 gr equivalent. I only shoot open sights with a max range of 150 yards, so I see no reason to try bigger powder loads. Saves money and my neck and shoulder!

My ELK load is 95 gr of BH 209 and the 350 gr FPB.

Thanks txhunter58 that was the info I was really looking for. I'm certainly hoping the FPB will shoot out of one or both of my triumphs. Can't wait to try them. Probably pick some up next trip to Cabela's. Might even try both sizes.

Be sure and pick up a short starter like the one I mentioned with a cone shaped bullet starter. It makes all the difference in the world. I also use a ramrod with an inline T handle like this one:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/shooting ... _104436180

Kind of pricy, but I love mine and it makes seating bullets so much easier

rangerod said:

Let me understand you Lee9. The bullet is actually pushed into the breach with the bullet facing the breach? How far do you push it in? I would think just far enough for the rifling to imprint?

Click to expand...

I push it all the way through my idea is to size the bullet to that particular gun, and yes it goes in point toward BP for sizing after sizing load normally. Its a bit different approach but it works in my tight TC. guns.