300 grain, .44 cal XTPs

[MrTom]

There's been lots of talk about various bullets and how well they perform on game. I've been hung on XTP bullets for years and have pared things down to where all of my .50 long guns take a .44 cal 300 grain XTP pushed by 77 weighed grains of 209 powder and all of these guns are 1" or less/5 shots at 100 yards. They all send those XTPs straight through the critters as a rule so I haven't got much to offer in the line of pictures of the spent round. I do have three bullets recovered from white tail kills that break from the "as a rule". All three came from neck shots. All three were shot from an elevated stand [22 feet] and all three came from deer shot less than 35 yards away.

The bullet on the right came from a deer shot quarter angling away from me at a walk and hit just ahead of the shoulder, then followed the spine thru the entire length of the neck and finally lodged in the jaw joint, all on the same side of the deer. 2014, 9 point.

The bullet in the middle came from a 9 point buck shot in 2015 as he was sneaking thru some tall grass/weeds down a grade and almost straight at me. This bullet hit right behind the jaw on the right side of his head and followed almost 15" of spine before hopping over to the rib cage, breaking five ribs before lodging under the hide on the opposite side right ahead of the rear leg.

The left bullet came from last years 10 point, entered midway in the neck and followed the spine for about nine inches before veering hard to the right, breaking two forward ribs and passing thru the rear portion of the front should but missing bone.

Needless to say, all of these critters hit the ground instantly. I haven't bothered weighing these bullets but know that they've each shed some substantial weight. In each case the damage was unreal in the neck. The 2014 buck had to be hung from the hind quarters as the neck won't not support him hanging by the neck. I did some digging after the deer were processed to retrieve the bullet and to see just how much damage was done. It was pretty incredible in each instance.

This last fall I shot both 300 grain XTPs and Deep Curls into a box target filled with really damp but not hard packed newspaper and old rags that were wet about the same. The box was 45" from end to end, about 20" wide, tall and both bullets shot with the hunting load. Both performed almost identical. I thought there was enough substance to check an A-frame 300 but that bullet spread rags and news paper all over and was never recovered. From what I saw though I have no doubt that whatever bullet I used from the three it would be a dead deer. Deer I've taken with heart/lung shots have usually dropped on the spot and the longest I have had to track was under 40 yards and that deer had no heart left.

While I most likely will stick with my XTPs I do find it very interesting to see the various bullets pictured that have been recovered.

 

[GM54-120]

The vast majority of the time i get 2 holes so obviously i have not recovered many. I have to go by looking at the internal damage and the exit hole to get an idea of performance.

 

[sheldonc]

What it the advantage to shooting the .44 300 grain XTP over the .452 300 gtain XTP.
It there a logical reason or shoot which one your gun prefers.

I like the Gold dot but my wife shoots the .452 300 grain XTP. She shoots 80 grains of BH209 I shoot 110 grains.
Very similar results.

 

[MrTom]

Maybe meaning the .452, 300 grain Sheldon?

My 50 cals all shoot the .451-.452 bullets well, but they also shoot the .44 cal 300's tighter using the same loads. My CVA Optima pistol really tightens up the group size with .44 cal 240 grain XTPs.

One of my 50s does well with the Gold Dots in 45 cal and 300 grain, at least I'm pretty sure its a 300. Deep curls are quite accurate in all of the guns too but until the XTPs fail me I'll be shooting those. I think Hornady hit a serious home run with those bullets and for me they work AOK. The bullet market is full of good bullets though and as far as .44 and .45 cal, my guns just shoot tighter with the narrower bullets at ranges I hunt them.

 

[2701jim]

MrTom: May I inquire how much powder you use for your Optima Pistol with the 240 gr XTPs?

 

[MrTom]

I'm using the 209 powder and I weigh all my loads. 63 grains is what I am pushing the 240 along with using a green Hornady sabot. 63 weighed grains equals very close to 90 grains by volume. Its a potent load and inside 50 yards does a big hurt on white tails.

I'm thinking of getting the sabots to let me use the 200 grain XTP's in 40 caliber and working up loads using this combo. I want to see where the accuracy is at with a narrower bullet yet, but still moving along at a decent clip. If I'm not happy with the outcome I'll just go right back to the 240 in .44 cal as I know what it can do on paper and on hide.

 

[Kraig]

MrTom - what sabots are you using? The supplied green sabots or something like a crush rib?


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[MrTom]

The 300 grain XTPs in .44 are shot using green crush ribs.

 

[doulos]

I have shot more than 25 deer with 300 grain XTPs. Only about 4 or 5 were .430 cal the rest were the .452 variety. I have only recovered 2. One went through a doe lengthwise from a 15 yrd frontal shot and lodged in the rear quarter. It was intact. The second was 161 yard shot on a buck that broke both scapulas and lodged under the hide on the far side. These were years ago when I used either black powder or Pyrodex Select out of my inlines. And I never used more than 100 grains, so velocity wasnt much north of 1600 fps. I have never found that bullet lacking in any reguard. Lately Ive been using the 250 grain XTP regulas or the 240 grain mags on top of 70 grains by weight B209out of an Encore.. And I havent recovered any of these bullets either. But I would not take any raking angle or point of the shoulder shot like I would with the 300 grainer. They just plain work.

 

[Kraig]

Do you guys feel these would be good at 100-150 yards? About to order some but wanted to check first.


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[MrTom]

I think that inside of 200 yards with a reasonable charge behind them they'd be fine. Either the .44 or .45 variety as long as you stay away from the mag stuff. That's my opinion on the mag stuff. I've shot and hunted the mags but had small exits on deer at less than 100 yards so I used them up on paper. The non mag bullets do very good on deer. And coyotes. And raccoons. And crows. lol

All of my long guns like around 70 to 77 WEIGHED grains of powder for accuracy and the bullets perform flawlessly inside 100 yards but I'd have no qualms about sticking out to 150 -175 yards using the XTPs at those charge weights. I have complete faith in the XTPs.

 

[Kraig]

That’s good to hear.

I ordered 50 .44 300 grain and 50 green crush rib sabots.

$30 for 50 rounds? I already like it.


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[bmfox30]

I've used the .430 240 xtps with great success, accurate and cheap to shoot. I use anywhere from 100 to 110 grains of Blackhorn or 777

 

[Far Sighted]

More power to you guys that are having great results using the XTP bullets.

I have been trying to get the great results you all report but didn't. At best they were fair.
I have used both the .430 and .452 with green and black sabots respectively on a 100 grains of pellets. It appears I should be using BH209 then discover the amount which suits my CVA Optima Pro fluted barrel.

The cost of the sabots and bullet is low when purchased at the right time and quantities. I have paid as low as $0.43 per bullet.

Recently I tested some Hornady SST low drag 250 gr sabot bullet that did well.

Always looking for better.

 

[dbowling]

Maybe your gun doesn't like pellets with the xtp`s or your gun just doesn't like xtps or pellets..Every Optima I've owned has shot the 300 gr XTP excellent with 90/100 gr of pyrodex RS.. Might try loose 777 or pyrodex RS anywhere from 80-90 gr.
Pick a sabot/bullet then start low on powder 70/75 gr and work your way up in 5 gr increments until you hit most accurate load, cant do this with pellets.

More power to you guys that are having great results using the XTP bullets.

I have been trying to get the great results you all report but didn't. At best they were fair.
I have used both the .430 and .452 with green and black sabots respectively on a 100 grains of pellets. It appears I should be using BH209 then discover the amount which suits my CVA Optima Pro fluted barrel.

The cost of the sabots and bullet is low when purchased at the right time and quantities. I have paid as low as $0.43 per bullet.

Recently I tested some Hornady SST low drag 250 gr sabot bullet that did well.

Always looking for better.

 

[MrTom]

That's what I do when starting to search a load dbowling. I want to know what shoots accurate starting at where the lightest load gets me reasonable accuracy then I continue in 5 grain increases until I have fairly well covered the loads. I can always go back on a load but one has to know what heavier will get him too. All of my 50 cal inlines except the pistol will shoot 77 weighed grains of 209 pushing the 300 grain .44 cal XTP very close to one hole for 5 shots at 100 yards. My .45 inline will handle the 77 grain weighed charge too using a 200 grain .40 cal XTP, but accuracy peaks at 63 grains weighed so I stick with that load. With these loads I have complete faith in bullet function in any of the inlines I own out to 150 yards using these loads and generally do not have to reach out that far. Most of my shots are well within 100 yards but knowing things work at the longer distances is a comfort. At best pellets offer very broad load adjustment. Granulated powders get you more working room and are less expensive.

 

[Far Sighted]

Thanks guys!

I will try those suggestions.

I wonder what happened to the loads when the accuracy drops off with more power?

Also most folks thinks part of the process that is so very important is what happens in the barrel prep before the loads are pushed in. Like cleaning and swabbing the bore. What are your thoughts on this?

 

[MrTom]

I shoot the 209 powder so barrel prep to me is popping a couple primers thru a clean barrel after running a damp patch thru it. When I hunt I have one week to get my critter. I primer foul the clean barrel the night before I start and load. Not prime. I do nothing with the barrel after this until the day after my season ends, and then the whole gun gets the treatment....same with a day at the range. I'm not big on lathering a pile of oil in the barrel when I have finished cleaning it. I will run a patch dampened with WD40 in and out one full pass. That's it. I do run a clean patch thru every gun once a month though, followed by the WD40 patch. When I am ready to shoot at the range I run an alcohol dampened patch thru the barrel, pop my primers and away I go.

Over the years I have tried I think every primer made in this country including all the so called muzzie primers. I have several partial boxes laying around here. When I want to primer foul the barrel, these get used and I'm not fussy about the brand being popped. Winchester Shotgun reloading primers in the blue box are what I use at the range and for hunting with no exception..

 

[dbowling]

Consistency is key when shooting your muzzleloader doing the same thing/process every time. If you swab every shot then do it all the time, if you swab every 3 shots same thing.. your gun will tell you what it likes but you have to try the processes to find out.. one size doesn't fit all, even with BH209 you need to be consistent on the amount of pressure you put on your load when seating the bullet, if not can cause slight velocity swings maybe resulting in poi shifts.

 

[GM54-120]

Ive never gotten the same level of consistency with 44s vs 45s. 50x44s were simply far more picky about what would shoot well and ive blown far more 50x44 sabots than anything else when working up hotter loads.