Hornady .452" XTP Success!

[sendit]

Newbie with muzzle loading here.

I took the first critter with my new .50 cal CVA Accura V2 today. I have not shot a bunch of different loads in the rifle due to lack of time and components. I settled on a Hornady .45 cal XTP with a T/C yellow sabot pushed by 80grs(weighed) of BH209 for now. I have yet to chrono it but it shoots decent enough.

This evening just after dark thirty I shot this young 125lb boar at 75 yards with it slightly quartering towards me. The Zeiss allowed me just a few more minutes of usable light I believe. The Z plex reticle could easily be seen even though everything was dark and black.
You can see the entrance below the ear, the bullet was found under the hide just in front of the opposite shoulder. It was DRT. The recovered XTP weighed 257grs and mushroomed like a champ.I would have thought that the heavy slug would have passed through. Would increasing the powder charge help penetration or hurt it by more expansion?

 

[Widude]

Looks like it worked well. That bullet could of easily pushed through some bone on the way, which would slow down most. A bullet inside means all the energy of the bullet was absorbed, not a bad thing. Had you hit only soft tissue may likely of gone through.

Just back after seeing it was a 'weighed' 80 grain charge. That should be plenty.

 

[WV Hunter]

Congrats! Definitely did the job! :applause: XTP's just work.

Truthfully, I wouldn't worry about the fact that you didn't get an exit. That happens sometimes regardless of the load. 80gr of blackhorn by weight is certainly enough. Much higher you are bumping on the max recommended. Nice job :yeah:

 

[Squeeze]

NICE! I think of the .452 XTP as the classic standard for muzzleloaders. Been contemplatiing a trip for a pig hunt for a while myself.

 

[cljohnson24]

Have taken lots of large deer with this bullet at impact speeds of everywhere from 1500-2250fps(inline & smokeless speeds). Sometimes the bullet exits, sometimes it doesn't depending upon what it encounters. IME the faster you push it the LESS likely it will pass through. In either case the animal has ALWAYS fallen within 2 yards of where it was shot. I believe it is the perfect .452 whitetail bullet if you don't need a high bc trajectory.
IF you want a pass through and your gun likes the 250 XTP, you'll find the .452 300 XTP will pass through 99 percent of the time regardless of what it hits and has about the same trajectory as the 250xtp with the same load. Another bonus is the 300xtp is the same bullet as the 250xtp with a longer shank(aka more bearing surface) so not only does it have more integrity with the same expansion, but also usually shoots even better groups with the exact same sabots you are currently getting good groups with. The recoil difference in mild 80-100grn loads isn't that significant and the price is still pretty cheap.

Try the 300 XTP, it has everything you like about that 250 and gives you the peace of mind knowing it will pass through from just about any angle or bone impact.

 

[Lee 9]

I noticed he said 80 grains weighed not volume this is plenty for that gun, if it groups there I would leave it alone if not then I would tend to try a few grains less.

 

[cayuga]

first off congratulations on the harvest of the hog! Looks like real good eating. I think the bullet did real well. Even though there is no pass through. DRT is always a good thing. Its always hard to say what a bullet will do . You might shoot one identical tomorrow and it might pass through with ease. Nice shooting.

 

[Okie Hog]

Good shooting on the hog.

The bullet you used is a good one. There is also a .452 300 grain XTP Magnum bullet: i've killed numerous wild hogs with that one. Driven at 1,700-1,800 fps, It reliably penetrates both shoulders of a 300-350 pound wild hog. That's 15-18" of flesh, innards and bone.

http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Cal-.45 ... r-XTP-Mag/

 

[GM54-120]

Yes, the XTP MAG is tougher. Better penetration but a bit less expansion. You should be able to interchange the two with little effect on your point of impact. It would be a good idea to verify that though in your gun and load.

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

So the picture shown is a 300, not a 250?
My favorite for expansion is the 44-cal (.430) XTP in 300gr. Most accurate for me too.
That was a mighty fine shot you made there.

Question: Is that the Zeiss Z-Plex Conquest or the Optical Conquest?, which are 600 Bones BTW..... ouch!

 

[GM54-120]

It appears to be a 300gr XTP. The recovered weight was 257gr which sounds about right.

The Zeiss Conquest 3x9x40 Zplex was recently on sale for $299

It appears it still is on sale too if you want a deal on a $500 scope.
http://www.eurooptic.com/zeiss-conquest ... 09920.aspx

 

[jims]

The XTPs are proven bullets.

 

[GoexBlackhorn]

Yep, that appears to be the same scope the OP has mounted. That's a nice buy at $299.

If I had that scope mounted on November 19th, I would have harvested this season. A really big doe was very slowly crossing the dirt road @ about 75 yards away as I walked to my deer blind for the morning hunt. I needed a wee-bit more light in my scope. Sounds like that Zeiss woulda' worked.

 

[sendit]

I looked back at my post and realized I didn't state the bullet weight. Sorry for the confusion but it's a 300gr.

The scope has a 50mm objective which is just a tad bit brighter than the 40mm. Thinking it was $600ish a few years ago. With the medium mount that the Accura came with there is just enough clearance to attach the bikini covers on.

Have a Zeiss 3x12x56 first focal plane #8 reticle on a 375 H&H that's the cat's meow in low light.
Your eyes are drawn to the intersection with the thick section. You can see the reticle in really low light.

This mornings hunt closed my first ML deer season. Saw a couple of does and 2 bobcats but I was after a spike. Next year I will be more prepared. Hope to do some experimenting with different sabots but will probably stay with the XTP.

Thanks everyone for the positive remarks!

 

[GM54-120]

Yeah the 3x9x50 Conquest at Euro Optics is still around $550.

Another excellent scope for the money are the Weaver Super Slams at Natchez. Made in Japan IIRC. A 2x10x42 is well under $300. I think they have 1 or 2 50mm objective for under $400 also.

 

[rangerod]

Yep. 300 grn xtp 451.-452. Shoots unbelievable out of my Optima. Going to try 429.-430. They might be even better.

 

[cljohnson24]

Re: Hornady .452" XTP Success!

I obviously misread the first post and thought he said he used the 250 gr Xtp but after re-reading he stated it weighed 257gr after recovery. I should've caught the dual cannelures in the pic but just glossed over it.

As said there is a Magnum version which is known for minimum expansion on deer, however it might be just what your looking for in regards to hogs. I personally would not select the mag version of the XTP in either 250 or. 300 gr on deer.


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[ShawnT]

Congrads on the hog! That load sounds like it is plenty stout with the XTP. It is a good bullet and has taken plenty of game. The slight Quartering shot may be part of the reason for it not passing though. Add in the neck bone and the tough neck muscle and it don't suprize me it did not exit. But like mentioned sometimes bullets do some strange things when passing though muscle and bone. The Bear in my avatar was taken with a 300 grain Swift A-frame over 100 grainsV of Pyrodex, so it was a bit slower than your load. It hit the neck bone and shattered it and was found under the hide on the opposite side. Now that I think about it I never weighed the recovered bullet. Shot was broadside but the neck was my only shot due to brush. Like yours he was DRT.

 

[Dutch]

Wow that is a nice pig. Congratulations!

 

[doulos]

Congrats
The 300 grain XTP is a great bullet. Accurate out of most inlines. Penetrates like crazy. Very reliable and predictable results. Its a killer.