Hornady .45 cal - 250gr XTP input wanted

[jefo1]

Just ordered a pile of the 45 cal 250gr XTP's & the black crush rib sabots. Have had problems in the past with the .44 240gr XTP's & 110gr 777 leaving VERY poor blood trails & a 50/50 shot at best of pass thru shots. Plan on using BH209 next fall if it's everything folks say it is. I'm hoping the slightly bigger diameter & 10gr extra weight make a difference.

 

[sabotloader]

jefo1

The XTP's have probably taken more game than most any other bullet stuffed down a ML and they normally work very well.

I THINK there might be a better inexpensive bullet on the market that will and does work better.

Take a look at this thread there is lot of discussion on XTP's and I added my 2 cents at the end...

http://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/phpBB ... hp?t=11501

 

[jefo1]

I agree about the XTP's killin the snot out of critters...BUT,..during the last two seasons,..I've had a very good amount of deer with well placed shots give me alot of grief during the recovery process,..2 of which went un-found. I practice as much if not more than the average shooter & have nothing but good to say about the accuracy the XTP's offer. I've taken countless deer with shotgun, rifle, bow, handgun & muzzleloaders, and through out it all,...the .44 - 240grs have given me more trouble than all others combined as far as quick recovery & blood trails are concerned. Maybe I haven't spent enough time looking for the optimum powder charge/bullet combo,..and will spend time in the off season playing around with stuff. For the rest of the season I've gone into my bullet collection & will use the Barnes 220gr red hots for the rest of my season (this is gonna be the last weekend) & see what 2009 brings. Thanks for the tip on the other thread,..I'll go give it a look now :shock:

 

[paia]

IMO, if you want exits and blood trails, quit shooting the "little" XTP's and start shooting the 300 grain XTP's. I have killed about a dozen deer with them, including some big bodied Iowa bucks, and they always exit unless it is a head-on or sharply quartering-to shot. Over half have dropped on the spot and none have gone far. I have tons of confidence in the 300 XTP, whether it's the .430 or the .452--if you do your part with a good shot, there isn't a deer on the continent that can stand up to a 300XTP.

 

[alphaburnt]

I agree 100 percent with paia's statements!

 

[jefo1]

May have to test drive the 300's too,....I started with the 240's for the most part because of my primary areas I hunt being field hunting. Shots in the 150-200 yard mark aren't unheard of,..I guess initially I was uneasy of the 300's at this range.

 

[paia]

May have to test drive the 300's too,....I started with the 240's for the most part because of my primary areas I hunt being field hunting. Shots in the 150-200 yard mark aren't unheard of,..I guess initially I was uneasy of the 300's at this range.

I thought the same way in the past, but the 300's carry their energy better and with the same powder charges are not really much behind the lighter XTP's in velocity, especially with BH209, which seems to like heavier bullets anyway. Check out the chart on their web site--I don't know how to attach it here.

I have killed deer to 170 yards with a .430/300 XTP and 100 grns of 777--quartering-to angle entered the left side just behind the shoulder, and found the bullet against the pelvic bone on the right side. That's impressive penetration to me, and the deer went 40 yds with a good blood trail (that I did not need--he fell in plain sight in a cut corn field).

I like the 300's and with a good rest I am confident to 200 yds. JMO--have fun with your bullet testing. That's the kind of stuff I do this time of year also.

 

[Okie Hog]

The OP may want to re-think the use of the 250 grain .452 bullet on deer. Have several friends who tried this bullet. They had a lot of bullets fragment on close close in shots on deer and especially hogs. This bullet is more fragile than the 240 grain .430 XTP.

For many years I have used the 240 grain .430 XTP on hogs and deer. Have killed about 20 deer and dozens of hogs with that bullet. Over 90 percent of those kills were bang flops: I have never lost an animal shot with that bullet. If you put it in the right place the 240 grain .430 XTP will do an outstanding job on deer and hogs.

You may want to look at the 240 grain .452 XTP Magnum bullet.

Hornady XTP bullet specs:

http://www.hornady.com/media/Handgun_Bullets.pdf

 

[Doohan]

The XTP Mag is generally less accurate... I would suggest moving to the 300 if you had any doubts.

 

[Grouse]

The 250grn XTP is one of the best Deer hunting bullets you could use inside 200yds.

 

[TJJ]

+1 for the 300gr xtp's, the .452's are well liked by my encore.

 

[Reese]

Using 80 to 90 gr of ffg T7, Harvester smooth black sabot, 250 gr .452 XTP and CCI #11 cap has worked just fine on harvesting seven deer using my Ruger 77/50. When I shot wet phone books, the Harvester smooth green sabot and .430 300 gr XTP would barely expand in this setup.

Something that I find helpful when I am using a pistol or rifle (444 300 gr .430 XTP) bullet in a muzzleloader, is to look up the specs for that bullet in a reloading manual. When kept close to the velocites that these bullets were designed, they work pretty well.

 

[MOdeer]

Using 80 to 90 gr of ffg T7, Harvester smooth black sabot, 250 gr .452 XTP and CCI #11 cap has worked just fine on harvesting seven deer using my Ruger 77/50. When I shot wet phone books, the Harvester smooth green sabot and .430 300 gr XTP would barely expand in this setup.

Something that I find helpful when I am using a pistol or rifle (444 300 gr .430 XTP) bullet in a muzzleloader, is to look up the specs for that bullet in a reloading manual. When kept close to the velocites that these bullets were designed, they work pretty well.

I agree with what Reese posted. I only can relate on deer harvest with the 250 XTP, but pushed by 80 grains of 777, I got a complete pass through on a large bodied buck this year. Granted it was only at 25 yards, but the exit wound didn't indicate fragmentation. Just a nice hole about 3/4 of an inch through the rib cage. Personally, I think folks try to push them too fast, and that's when they start to blow up. Just my humble opinion.

 

[funman]

I have found little if any fragment coming from 240gr xtp , 300gr xtp 44s i also shoot 250 xtp 45 and found none. I get best accuracy out of the 300gr 430 with crush ribs. I have shot two deer with the 300gr .430 and they were dropped instantly , both pass thrus. Since all shots are pass thrus i shoot i never get to see how the bullet held up. Yesterday i shot all three of these in a 5gallon buket filled with dirt just to see how they would look ill post some pictures. I know dirt and flesh are two different ball fields but it just gives an idea of how they can hold up under extreme pressure. I also shot a power belt i had left over , but you dont want to see that one.

 

[younghunter_86]

I would not hesiate to use the 250 gr XTP on deer. I think it's a great bullet as long as you aren't looking for pass throughs EVERY time. Last year we exclusively used the 200 gr and 250 gr XTP's on deer. This year switched over to the 300 gr SST, because I found a bunch of them real cheap. NOT because of performance issues with the 250 gr XTP. In fact it might be the other way around...

Deer seasons are still going on here so I haven't had a lot of everning/weekend time to post. I Have A LOT of observations/thoughts from hunting since Thanksgiving that I'll eventually get around to sharing. Hopefully someone will find them usefull.

 

[funman]

The first three from left to right 1. 250gr .452 xtp,.2 power belt(i forget the weight pretty sure it was close to 300gr) , last .3 is 300gr .430 xtp. the next row is same order but front side of bullet. I do not have a scale so i cant tell what weight they retained. The power belt felt the lightest from its original weight. These were all shot with 90gr of Bh209. I really like the xtp line up, i have shot thru other materials water news papers, phone books and others. the bullet always holds up good with plenty of penetration. Im not a powerbelt hater by no means it has its uses, i just dont use it, the cost and limitations dont justify me buying them. I know thier are other bullets they out perform the xtp but you cant beat these for the price. Its nice to practice with the same bullet you hunt with, and not break the bank. I have not tried the 300gr .452 i would like to know how they shoot out of my gun.

 

[jefo1]

Funman,..you da man,...or you da funman :lol:

This is our last weekend of deer season in Illinois...it's our late season anterless. I've sighted in with the Barnes RedHot 220gr's instead of the 240 XTP's because of my previous experiences. I know for a fact what the 220gr Barnes will do. I've got two I've recovered from deer over the last few years...ya wanna talk expansion & 100% weight retention...I'll post a pic of those one day soon.
After seeing your test results,..I'm excited about trying the 250 XTP's & some BH209 for next season...and I strongly agree with practicing with what ya hunt with...the Barnes would run me into the poor house..that's what originally attracted me to the XTP line.

 

[TJJ]

nice pics funman, thanks.

 

[Lee 9]

I shot them in my Thunderhawk, System One and Omega with good success, I believe the 250 Gold Dot is a bit better and shoot it as my Triumph just don't like the XTP 250 when it comes to accuracy. Lee

 

[Pappy]

I just recieved my first ML Monday (CVA Accura). It's to cold here to shot yet. I notice a lot of people saying the powerbelts are so expensive. I cannot find any cheaper except the Barnes. All others seem the same or more expensive. What am I missing?

Dave