Shooting .45 200 gr bullets

[bronko220002]

Dang I'm hearing opinions from both sides of the fence here. I thought the Gold Dots were good bullets for deer and 200 gr should be OK so long as you don't hit bone (shoulder) which I always avoid. I can get 4 boxes for $70.
I killed the biggest whitetail of my life with a 200 gr Hornady 10mm XTP. A main fram 10 pt, 200+ pounds, through both lungs and he only ran 40-50 yards.

 

[GM54-120]

45cal 200gr GoldDots are probably made for 45ACP. Even in a +P load from a carbine you are looking at well under 1500fps. They will be very fragile at 1600fps+.

200gr 10mm has a better SD and its made for 10mm auto. They get very fragile too at typical ML speeds. They make a 200gr 10mm "partition" type bullet if you want a much tougher bullet.

 

[Okie Hog]

The 200 grain XTP does a great job on big hogs. My TC Black Diamond uses that bullet and 100 grains of Black MZ.

 

[CatamountRob]

The 10mm Swift A Frame is a great bullet but they’re expensive. Barnes 195 grain MZ Ezpanders are considerably cheaper but they aren’t available anywhere.

 

[GM54-120]

Yeah, them A-Frames are like $85/50 at Midway but you can get them in a 200 or a 180. They probably make them in a 45cal too for ACP.

 

[CatamountRob]

Yeah, them A-Frames are like $85/50 at Midway but you can get them in a 200 or a 180. They probably make them in a 45cal too for ACP.

They definitely are available in 200 grains, I just bought 100 of them.

 

[LBAhunter]

Im a big fan of the 225gr XPB. Great bullet for rifles like the NULA or Ultra Lites. I shoot those around 2300fps. They are all kinds of nasty at that speed but they will do fine much slower too. Load them up to roughly 45LC +P+ type loads. In a little ML the recoil would be almost nothing.

You ever try the Barnes 45ACP 185gr TAC-XP? A pinch of N110 and that 185gr in the Nula would be really NASTY!!!!

 

[Brayhaven]

200gr FTX is supposed to handle 2300fps+ 460S&W speeds. The 225gr is made for 45LC in lever guns. Huge difference how the two perform at 2000fps+ impacts. I shot them 225s at 2300ish FPS and they grenade on virtually anything they hit

BTW Hornady has a 200gr 45cal MonoFlex but im not seeing them available as components yet.

They do indeed. This is why. That cavity apparently pushes everything out on impact: even at moderate velocities.
didn’t get good accuracy from them either. Might be a good handgun bullet, but not a ML choice.

 

[GM54-120]

Thats not a FTX, its a Hornady 245gr 450BM bullet isnt it?....A FTX or SST would have a red poly tip.

They look like this inside.

Ive shot all these at ML and SML speeds. So have the guys on the 450BM type forums. The 225gr grenades because the jacket is so thin and the alloy is probably softer. Its designed for 45LC lever gun speeds that wont even break 1400fps unless load to +P or above. The Hornady ammo is even way less than that. Their 460S&W 200gr loads are a claimed 2200fps. So its very close to 450BM and ML speeds.

I like shooting the 225gr just for recreation in my NULA since its the same weight as my Barnes hunting load. Down loaded A LOT to more like 44mag speeds it might be fine for close range deer hunting.

 

[Confederate rifleman]

A word about pistol bullets at muzzleloader speeds.
I've long thought, and my experience proves ( so far), that these bullet hold together better than expected due to their jackets being in perfect condition, due to the sabot, and not compromised by rifling.
I've shot deer with 180 and 200 grain .40 caliber Hornady XTPs at velocities up to 1800 fps, from a .45 caliber Black Diamond. That is well above their ratings, especially the 200 grain, and got pass throughs in all but two. One was a 200 grain that left at 1800 fps ( chrono'd) and hit the shoulder ball and a rib on a big doe at 12 yards. A quartering to shot, she hauled up her landing gear and dropped. Her chest was... gooey. The Hornady didn't exit and couldn't be found.
The other, a broken rack 8 pointer, was kinda bent when I shot. Got a rib going in, totalled the lungs and liver and, LORD only knows how, wound up under the hide on the outside of his right ham. Sans jacket, but still weighing 131 grains. That 180 grain left the muzzle at 1700 fps. Chrono'd. It was a 50 yard shot. He went 50 yards, all wobbly and leaking badly, before giving up the ghost.
I have no scientific data to back this theory up. But if you look at slow motion bullet impacts, you see the jackets rupture along the rifling grooves before it all goes to bitty shards. Perhaps no grooves means it holds together just a little better?

 

[HC]

Totally agree.

 

[CatamountRob]

They do indeed. This is why. That cavity apparently pushes everything out on impact: even at moderate velocities.
didn’t get good accuracy from them either. Might be a good handgun bullet, but not a ML choice.

What bullet is that? I’ve never seen anything like that?

 

[Brayhaven]

Thats not a FTX, its a Hornady 245gr 450BM bullet isnt it?....A FTX or SST would have a red poly tip.

They look like this inside.

Ive shot all these at ML and SML speeds. So have the guys on the 450BM type forums. The 225gr grenades because the jacket is so thin and the alloy is probably softer. Its designed for 45LC lever gun speeds that wont even break 1400fps unless load to +P or above. The Hornady ammo is even way less than that. Their 460S&W 200gr loads are a claimed 2200fps. So its very close to 450BM and ML speeds.

I like shooting the 225gr just for recreation in my NULA since its the same weight as my Barnes hunting load. Down loaded A LOT to more like 44mag speeds it might be fine for close range deer hunting.

Yep wrong pic. The sst does the same thing at velocity. Loaded sone for a friends 45 LC rifle and they blew up on hogs.

 

[Brayhaven]

What bullet is that? I’ve never seen anything like that?

What bullet is that? I’ve never seen anything like that?

I posted the wrong pic. That’s a 245 gr hornady interlock they made for the 450 bushmaster. It explodes at higher velocity also. Like the 225 FTX.

 

[Brayhaven]

A word about pistol bullets at muzzleloader speeds.
I've long thought, and my experience proves ( so far), that these bullet hold together better than expected due to their jackets being in perfect condition, due to the sabot, and not compromised by rifling.
I've shot deer with 180 and 200 grain .40 caliber Hornady XTPs at velocities up to 1800 fps, from a .45 caliber Black Diamond. That is well above their ratings, especially the 200 grain, and got pass throughs in all but two. One was a 200 grain that left at 1800 fps ( chrono'd) and hit the shoulder ball and a rib on a big doe at 12 yards. A quartering to shot, she hauled up her landing gear and dropped. Her chest was... gooey. The Hornady didn't exit and couldn't be found.
The other, a broken rack 8 pointer, was kinda bent when I shot. Got a rib going in, totalled the lungs and liver and, LORD only knows how, wound up under the hide on the outside of his right ham. Sans jacket, but still weighing 131 grains. That 180 grain left the muzzle at 1700 fps. Chrono'd. It was a 50 yard shot. He went 50 yards, all wobbly and leaking badly, before giving up the ghost.
I have no scientific data to back this theory up. But if you look at slow motion bullet impacts, you see the jackets rupture along the rifling grooves before it all goes to bitty shards. Perhaps no grooves means it holds together just a little better?

I used XTP 44 & 45 200-225 for awhile. They worked ok on heart lung shots, but tended to blow apart in (my preferred) shoulder shots. Have gone to all copper bullets for hunting, now that stay together regardless of where you choose to hit em. Barnes XPBs are what I use now. The accuracy was always great with those XTPs though and I still target shoot with them.