.45 cal....180 or 200 grain?

Using sabots and at least granulated t7, maybe try some 209. 209 primed. I'd like to be poking 200 grain bullets down range but they are HARD to find. 180's all over creation. I really wanted the XTP's in 200 but will settle for 180 if they'll shoot. Any suggestions? What's a good starting load at 180/200 grains?

Hunting or shooting?

I have shockwave/sst and lehigh/bloodline in 200gr, and barnes in 195... for my .45's. Also 260 dead center but that is fast twist.
My choice for hunting : lehigh/bloodline. I have never personally shot any 180's.

Edit: My answers based on I assume you mean .45 cal rifle

What exactly are you talking about shooting? Is it a 50cal muzzeloader with 45cal bullets or is it a 45cal muzzeloader with 40cal bullets?

Both Grafs and MidwayUSA have the 10mm 200gr Nosler in stock. They are very similar to the XTP in terms of holding together but slightly better in consistency.
https://www.grafs.com/catalog/product/productId/22548

Start around 80gr but i got best accuracy from 90-100gr with the 200gr HP bullets. Even 110gr is not bad as far as accuracy but thats really pushing the limit of what that bullet can handle.

Oh wow try these, First time ive seen them in smaller boxes. Normally you got to buy a huge amount

Hornady Action Pistol 200gr. Its a XTP without the cuts in the HP. In theory they could hold together better.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/11651 ... llow-point

Gain the competitive edge with Hornady® HAP® (Hornady® Action Pistol) bullets. Modeled after the legendary XTP® bullet design, HAP® bullets are further refined into the perfect competition projectile. While XTP® bullets use serrations to aid in controlled expansion and terminal performance, we have eliminated these from HAP® bullets, creating a sleek and balanced projectile with a protected nose that aids in consistent and reliable feeding in auto loading pistols. Bullet jackets, featuring industry leading concentricity combined with precision swaged cores, deliver the very best in accuracy and performance.

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The core of the HAP® bullet is cold swaged from pure lead to deliver consistency, balance and stability in flight. It delivers pinpoint accuracy with every shot.

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I’ve been shooting the 195 grain Barnes bullets in my .45 in-lines, mostly with 90 grains of Pyrodex. I’m sure there are probably cheaper bullet options then the Barnes bullets though.

I should have been clearer for a couple guys....a .45 rifle. I'm not sure if this gun goes hunting or not but definitely going to be shooter as I love range time with any gun. I want a hunting type and weight of bullet just in case I get a wild hair and hunt it. The gun came with boocoo powerbelts and those won't see any powder unless I decide to send them at paper. The scope will go on hopefully tomorrow and if we can stay above zero for more than a day I'll do some range time on Friday.

On powder....will I get a crud ring using granulated T7? Thinking rs or pistol granulation.

GM54-120....that's exactly what I am looking for as far as charges go. I have been staring at that Nosler 200 grain for a while thinking it should be very similar to the XTP. Price-wise they're close too. The action pistol bullet I have considered as well. I'm thinking I'll do the Nosler but I'm checking with the company to find out what the opening speed range is on them first....what fps do they begin to expand at. Should I hunt the gun it'll be inside of 100 yards for shots so even that action pistol bullet could get the job done. A friend loads 200 grainers in the XTP for his 40 cal pistol and said I could get a box from him but if the bullets are that scarce I hate to take from his stash. For now I just want an accurate bullet for paper time.

Quinn, WV...I may try these Barnes bullets bullets as well. I have some 50 cal barnes fodder and they shoot great without having to dink with the sights at all, again this is at 100 yards. They actually shoot better out of my Optima Pistol. I'll be getting some Barnes bullets/sabots for the 45 a little later on when it warms up.

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the shortcuts here!

Double Tap ammo 10mm 200gr Nosler impacting denim/gel at close to 1100fps retained nearly all its weight. (over 190gr) Excellent penetration too. Those Noslers are really good shooting bullets but seriously try those HAPs and ask Ron to do a jug test with them. Im betting they hold together better than a 200gr XTP.

While I havn't shot a deer with them I've played with the 200gr Noslers and they shot as good as the XTP's. I was shooting 95gr of BH209. I'll have to check out the HAPs.

I'll add even tho you didn't ask about them. The reason I havn't shoot a deer with the noslers is because I'm having a hard time breaking away from the 200gr SST. It has worked flawlessly on deer.

The gun came with about a dozen 200 grain SST and sabots. That's what's going down range to sight it. There are a handful of lighter, nylon tipped bullets but the weight is unknown. Got sort of a buff colored sabot with those unknowns. The 200s have the light blue harvester. I'll be ordering sabots soon.

I have a brand new box of 200 Grain XTP’s but they are .44 Cal, .430

Personally I wouldn’t hunt with 180 or 200gr xtp’s. They was made for 40 S&W and 10mm pistols going between 1,100 and 1,250fps. I don’t believe they would stand up to muzzeloader velocity’s they wasn’t made for 2,000fps. The 200gr SST was designed for deer hunting with a muzzeloader that’s the bullet I would stick with for deer hunting if it was me.

WPrather said:

Personally I wouldn’t hunt with 180 or 200gr xtp’s. They was made for 40 S&W and 10mm pistols going between 1,100 and 1,250fps. I don’t believe they would stand up to muzzeloader velocity’s they wasn’t made for 2,000fps. The 200gr SST was designed for deer hunting with a muzzeloader that’s the bullet I would stick with for deer hunting if it was me.

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I'm not sure about that. I did shoot 1 deer this year with the 200gr Xtp with 95gr BH209. Shoot was 105 yards broke both shoulders and was recovered in off side shoulder nicely mushroomed and intact. The reason I normally shoot SSt is because normally my shoots could be up to 200 yards and the SST has a better BC, but after this deer I wouldn't have a issue with trying one out to 130 or 140 yards. Mr Tom ny SSt's came prepackaged with the Tan sabot. Not sure what the other bullets might be Shockwaves or some Midway bullet?

Yes, you will get a crud ring with T7 loose. Swab between shots and its not an issue.

My .45 Elite loves the 200 shockwave/sst. It shoots lights out with them and 100gr BH209. I have not shot a deer with them yet, many report they like them very well for hunting.

WPrather said:

Personally I wouldn’t hunt with 180 or 200gr xtp’s. They was made for 40 S&W and 10mm pistols going between 1,100 and 1,250fps. I don’t believe they would stand up to muzzeloader velocity’s they wasn’t made for 2,000fps. The 200gr SST was designed for deer hunting with a muzzeloader that’s the bullet I would stick with for deer hunting if it was me.

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I've used the 200 grain XTP on two deer, both does around 110 lbs. The first one was a neck shot at 85/90 yards and of course, she dropped on the spot. The second one was a mid chest double lung shot at 65 yards. The bullet exited the off side leaving a 2" exit hole and blew lung tissue on the brush ten feet behind where she was standing. She ran, but not far. The gun was a TC Renegade with a 1:30" twist Green Mountain barrel and the load was 85 grains GOEX FFFg. I would not hesitate using that bullet on any deer.

WPrather said:

Personally I wouldn’t hunt with 180 or 200gr xtp’s. They was made for 40 S&W and 10mm pistols going between 1,100 and 1,250fps. I don’t believe they would stand up to muzzeloader velocity’s they wasn’t made for 2,000fps. The 200gr SST was designed for deer hunting with a muzzeloader that’s the bullet I would stick with for deer hunting if it was me.

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What kind of luck have you had with the Hornady SST bullets on Game? I only have 1 experience with them and it was piss poor at best. They were 162 Grain SST’s in my 7MM Rem Mag, I shot a buck at 325 yards, perfect broadside through the heart shot, that bullet literally exploded upon entering, fragments were all over inside, it even busted his Gut! That bullet made an ABSOLUTE mess out of that deer, destroyed the majority of the meat in the front end (i eat what i shoot, so this was EXTREMELY sickening!) My dad took 1 look and asked me what in the heck kind of bullet did i use? I told him Hornady SST’s, his next words were ‘I would throw those in the Garbage’ which is TRULY what i did with them when i got home! I have NEVER considered Hornady for Big Game ever Again since that experience. Now the XTP pistol, At 44 Magnum velocities of 1300-1400 FPS REALLY perform well, i have recovered a bunch of the XTP’s from SOLID stuff like blocks of firewood, and hard packed sand banks, with perfect Mushroom Bullet performance every time.

I hunt with xtp .44 cal in my 50 cal rifles and my pistol and have great luck with them. I'm going to use an affordable bullet in 200 grain to sight in the 45 and get to know the gun. XTP, HAP, Nosler.....who knows. My last 45 was a deer killer and I have no doubt that this gun will drop deer right on the spot too, but before I get to that point I'm just going shoot for accuracy first and then fun.

Each gun is different mine likes 70 grains with a 180 grain bullet and that works for varmint around here for deer 120 grains of Blackhorn and I have used SST Shock Waves and Blood line 200 grain they will all stay with in a minute of angle ; I have come to prefer the Bloodline by Lehigh for deer and the Shock Wave for 250 yard silhouette.

Lee 9 said:

Each gun is different mine likes 70 grains with a 180 grain bullet and that works for varmint around here for deer 120 grains of Blackhorn and I have used SST Shock Waves and Blood line 200 grain they will all stay with in a minute of angle ; I have come to prefer the Bloodline by Lehigh for deer and the Shock Wave for 250 yard silhouette.

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After what I saw the 250 bloodlines do to a couple deer this year, its likely the 200 will be my go to bullet in my .45's also... assuming I can get it to shoot (which I am very confident I can). Amazing terminal performance for sure! :yeah:

I know I'm repeating myself but I have had success with hard cast (non- expanding)40 caliber 225 grain bullets in both 45 and 50 caliber muzzleloaders. My longest shot was 150 yards but had many in the 80-100 yard range. All one shot kills with complete pass thru as would be expected with a hard cast bullet.