Barnes 45 ACP 185gr TAC-XP

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LBAhunter

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Anybody done any testing/shooting with the Barnes 45 ACP 185gr TAC-XP?
 
I have thought about it too. They also make a 165gr TAC-XP for the 45 GAP. I think either would be a great bullet for reduced loads but I don't know how well it would stabilize.
 
If it’s made specifically for the 45acp then it’s not made to be a hunting bullet. The 45acp only shoots a 185gr bullet 900fps. Most bullets made for the 45acp are personal defense bullets and there not made for penetration.
 
The TAC XP will hold together FAR better than a standard cup and core bullet. Petals might shear off but the base will remain intact. IMO the largest issue is not that. Its the low sectional density. The bullet will tend to tumble after impact and expanding due to the low SD.

Other than that the .451 185gr TAC-XP should work in a 1-28 twist and possibly even slower twist. Copper Only Projectile aka General Bullet also makes a similar bullet for less $$$$$s.
 
I got some coming from Barnes that I'm gonna try. I have been doing some looking at "youth/low recoil loads". I'm thinking if it shoots accurately, it will be great load for my wife or sons. I'm gonna start with probably about 49gr (weight) of Blackhorn, thinking MMP short black will be the better sabot(?) I can't wait for them to get here and the weather to cooperate, so I can do some accuracy testing. :)
 
General Bullet uses the standard F.B.I protocol, ten feet from muzzle to gelatin block, to test the potential of all their solid copper handgun bullets. General Bullet also tests using various barriers including quilted denim and leather jackets to simulate winter dress. They have performed tests on harder (intermediate) targets such as car doors, windshields, and plywood. The General Bullet solid copper hollow point maintains its weight and tracks straight while defeating these intermediate barriers.

Why load General Bullets? The General Bullet 185 grain .451 copper hollowpoint has the same profile as the Barnes bullet that COR-BON uses in their 45 ACP 185 grain DPX ammunition. If you carry COR-BON's 45 ACP 185 grain DPX ammunition, loading the 185 grain General Bullet allows you to practice with less expensive ammunition while simultaneously providing the confidence that your pistol will reliably feed the CORBON DPX.

We have also used the 185 grain General Bullet in .45 Carbines to hunt hogs in south Texas. They performed flawlessly.

GM54-120
Thanks for the heads up. I found the above reading^^^^ :)
 
Something to consider is the COP aka GB might be rated as a .451 but many reviews suggest they are smaller. The MMP Short black should work well with that bullet. I use that sabot with bullets sized to .449 in a .500 land to land bore. They work just fine in mine.

I see no reason why the TAC-XP or COP 185gr bullet wont work just fine with reduced recoil loads. My preference is the 225gr XPB made for 45 Colt. It is also offered in a 200gr by Barnes.
 
I really like the 200 grain XPBs . I killed a decent 10 ptr a couple of years ago with the 200 grain XPBs . Shot was (if I remember correctly) about 125 yards . I was only pushing the bullet a little over 2000 fps. I had complete pass through with good blood trail . I shot the buck through the vitals not a shoulder shot . The 200 and 225 Barnes XPBs are just a mini Barnes Expander . I personally love Barnes bullets . I've yet to have one fail .
 
I pushed a couple Barnes Bullets to the point I considered it a fail. But it took a aweful big gun to do it. I tried some 130gr TTSX bullets out of a 300 Ultra Mag. At the range out to 300yds these bullets shot unbelievably good. They was running just under 3,800fps if I remember right. I shot 2 deer deer season with them about 80-90yds on the other side of a hollow comeing off the hill. I thought they was both doe’s so I shot the closest one first. The second deer hoped back up the hill about 20yds and stopped looking back. I could see he was a pretty good 10 point then so I shot him too. The 10 point run back over the hill about 100-125yds and the doe ran off in the bottom of the hollow and died where I could see her. I hit both deer exactly where I was aiming right thru both lungs. But the bullet blew the pedals off and just poked a 30cal hole straight thru them. There was hardly any blood at all and the buck was hard to find. You couldn’t even hardly tell where the bullet exited until I skinned them. The 165gr TTSX bullets at 3,300fps work fine but the 130gr bullets can’t handle Ultra Mag velocities. If you push them to hard they will fail.
 
Ive shot the 225gr XPB to over 2300fps in my NULA. After impacting water jugs and soaked phone books it retained 204gr with some of the petals missing. I have total confidence in that bullet to perform excellent on deer sized game no matter how fast a ML can shoot it. They are a favorite of several NULA owners. A few of them shoot the 200gr version also.
 
I shoot a Barnes TTSX 7mm 110gr in a 280AI at over 3500 fps. It is pure devastation on whitetails :D . I shot a deer at almost 150 yards and it penetrated.(quartering to me, high shoulder entrance, exited between rear legs, in front of his jewels). It makes 2 holes. Everything in between mush. Depending on shot placement, they either drop where they stand or no more than 35 yards. When I was working up the load, called Barnes, the guy (Ryan, I think) told me that I would probably blow the petals off it on close shots (<100yds). I guess I do, never found one in a deer to inspect a bullet. If I hit/clip shoulder/rib bone the entrance and exit are substantially larger. The first deer I shot with the load was small buck (120lbs) at about 100yds, entrance was caliber size (in skin) exit was half an inch (in skin). When skinned, Entrance was 1 1/2 to 2 inches, exit was 2 1/2 to 3 inches (rib cage), needless to say, he dropped in his tracks.
 
I don't think, I will be able to blow the petals off. I don't think, I will be able to stress it that much. Even If I do (maybe a small amount of petals), it is going on through, doing some serious internal damage.
 
I think they blew off on impact. Because the entrance hole was bigger than the exit hole was on both deer. After the entrance it looked like a straight 30cal hole all the way thru there wasn’t much internal damage. They run off like they wasn’t hit hard and that’s not normal for a 300 Ultra Mag. I was second guessing myself on the buck thinking I must of missed before I found him. I couldn’t find a exit hole until I skinned them. The 165gr TTSX you can tell opens up because it leaves a hole the size of a 50 cent piece on the exit. I had several of the 130gr bullets loaded but I shot them at the range. I didn’t hunt with them any more.
 
I thought that bullet going almost 3800 FPS would shut them off like a lightning bolt hit them. It kinda left me sitting there in my stand with my mouth open scratching my head. Thinking what just happened when they both run off. I have shot that same 130gr ttsx out of a 308 since then at about 3150fps and it worked great. But it didn’t like 3800 at all!lol
 
I pushed a little 80 grain Barnes TTSX out of my .257 Roy at 3,650-3,700 FPS and seen similar experience on a Deer, i let a young guy that had never killed a deer use my rifle that year, he made a perfect shot behind the front shoulder on a perfectly broadside Whitetail Doe, there was a perfect little skiff of white powder snow, I seen the deer jump and ‘Mule Kick’ after the shot, That deer went 70-80 Yards and never bled a single drop! Perfect little hole straight through the boiler room. I think they are fine in bigger calibers, but I’d never use them again in anything small. I never found any pedals? The no blood trail is what ended them for me, a guy could easily lose a dead deer over a deal like that!
 
That's interesting all of the Barnes bullets that I have used in a muzzleloader has worked perfect . I've never experienced anything like that but then again I've never pushed them faster than 2500 fps and they have all been .45 cal bullets . Normally you can push a .40 or .45 cal bullet all the way up to 2700 to 2800 fps without the pedals coming off . At least that is what I've been told I've never done this . What I really like about Barnes is the work well at low velocities also 1100 fps . They are great for kids and women .

I have had the same experience with XTPs and Powerbelt not opening at all at reduced loads . Yes even a Powerbelt won't flatten out if not pushed hard enough . Several of us use to shoot XTPs with only 70 grains of FFF out of Knight rifles. They were extremely accurate but if the deer was any distance at all they would not flatten out . We found a couple of bullets in the deer that were quartering shots . You could of put the XTP back in a sabot and shot it again ! That's why I'm a Barnes fan more for the lower velosites .

You can kill a deer with about anything but sometimes need that blood trail to find them . I guess that's why 52 cal posted the question on the perfect bullet . I'm not sure there is one ?
 
Use the non magnum 45 caliber XTP's for lower powered loads. They open up very nicely indeed! The 250 grain is rated from 750-1500 fps. I've clobbered 8 deer with that bullet driven by 70 grains of Swiss 3f. Chrono'd velocity 1600 fps. Nothing went past 50 yards. Those that moved at all were wobbling like a drunk.
One deer I shot with a Winchester 230 grain hp at 1450fps. Tore her chest UP! And exited too. She went a wobbly 30 feet or so. NEVER saw a bullet hold its core like those. Fired one into the dirt at 20 feet. There it was. A lead donut inside a FLAT jacket. Locked in there good and tight too! 200 grains remaining...
Something to keep in mind when shooting handgun bullets from muzzleloaders at higher velocities than they were ever meant to go. As they do not engage the rifling and their jackets are undeformed in any way, they CAN withstand higher velocities because there are no stress risers cut into the jacket by the rifling. You can read of some bullets being shot at 500 to1000 fps faster than rated and they perform well. The 250 and 300 grain non magnum 45' s and the 200 grain 40 caliber comes to mind. I'll put a vote in for the 180 grain 40 as well. I hit an 8 pointer with a 180 at 1750 fps. He was bent like a banana and the little pea got the left lung, the tip of the right, followed the abdominal cavity and wound up, (sans jacket) under the hide on the outside of the right ham. Still weighed 122 grains. I got one with a 200 grain 40 XTP at 1800 fps ( rated max 1250). 25 yard BOOMflop. IIRC, it got the ball of the shoulder, a rib, went like a blender through the lungs and wasn't found but did not exist. Not a bullet fail at all after hitting bone like that. She went 3 feet. Straight down. For economy, accuracy, consistency and lethality, it's VERY difficult to beat a well placed XTP. That Hornady is kind enough to publish expansion parameters is extremely helpful in choosing loads and very much appreciated!
 
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