.452 - Hornady 250gr XTP and 240gr XTP Mag (part 2)

[bdbrown66]

Next up, the 240gr XTP Mag.

As noted, this bullet is harder than the standard XTP, and designed for the bigger .45 caliber rounds, such as the .454 Casull, etc. Thus, the recommended MV for this bullet goes all the way up to about 2100 fps, instead of the recommended 1600 fps of the 250 XTP. This bullet shot thru the first 3 jugs and stopped in the 4th, so about an additional 3-4" of penetration in this test, plus the fact that it broke completely into the 4th jug.

Pics of the jugs, in order from 1-4:






The bullet mushroomed very well, expanding out to .768" but keeping a good section of the shank intact. This reflects that this bullet can be pushed quite a bit harder than I'm doing.





Retained weight was 220.5gr, or almost 92%. Very excellent.



In short, both of these bullets are excellent choices for deer hunting, and I would be plenty confident with them on black bear, pigs, or just about anything else east of the Mississippi. And other than Mr. Grizz, I can't think of anything west of the river that would not be included, within reasonable range.

The .452 XTP also comes in a 300gr bullet, which I suspect would perform like a fusion of the 250 XTP and the 240 XTP Mag: Quicker initial energy dump, with a larger shank to extend penetration further. The same might also be said for the .44 caliber XTP's, which are available in 240gr and 300gr. Sorry, I don't have a .44 mag, so someone else will have to do that test.

Looking forward to carrying my Henry .45 Colt in the woods this fall, and not worrying about whether it will do the job, if I do my part.

Brian

 

[JD338]

Thanks for doing the testing. Pretty good performance for sure. My buddy is going to be loading the 250 FTX in his 460 S&W. I tried to convince him to go with the 300 gr XTP Mag bullets but he wants the gummy tips for better long range ballistics.

JD338

 

[bdbrown66]

Thanks for doing the testing. Pretty good performance for sure. My buddy is going to be loading the 250 FTX in his 460 S&W. I tried to convince him to go with the 300 gr XTP Mag bullets but he wants the gummy tips for better long range ballistics.

JD338

What platform is he shooting the .460 in? Pistol or rifle?

 

[JD338]

S&W X frame revolver.

JD338

 

[bdbrown66]

S&W X frame revolver.

JD338

I don't think the gummy tips are going to do that much to help his trajectory in a handgun. Would be a nice test to compare accuracy, drop, etc. at distance.

 

[JD338]

I agree. Truth be told, I think he has bigger issues.
I've shot a couple of S&W revolvers in 460, they are a handful. I helped a fella once get his zeroed and after 3 cylinders, the web of my hand was tingling.
My neighbor buddy struggled to shoot my 629 3" with mid range loads. Most of our shooting here is less than 100 yards and many spots can be well under that, 45 Long Colt kind of shooting.
He wants to shoot a deer with it but he doesn't shoot it. It appears to me, and I could be wrong, but it's a little too much of a good thing for him.

JD338

 

[bdbrown66]

I agree. Truth be told, I think he has bigger issues.
I've shot a couple of S&W revolvers in 460, they are a handful. I helped a fella once get his zeroed and after 3 cylinders, the web of my hand was tingling.
My neighbor buddy struggled to shoot my 629 3" with mid range loads. Most of our shooting here is less than 100 yards and many spots can be well under that, 45 Long Colt kind of shooting.
He wants to shoot a deer with it but he doesn't shoot it. It appears to me, and I could be wrong, but it's a little too much of a good thing for him.

JD338

Aren't .460's able to shoot .454 and .45 Colt ammo? Maybe load up a few warm .45 Colt rounds, like what I've talked about in this thread, and let him shoot some of those thru his pistol. He might find that he enjoys that much better.

 

[JD338]

Aren't .460's able to shoot .454 and .45 Colt ammo? Maybe load up a few warm .45 Colt rounds, like what I've talked about in this thread, and let him shoot some of those thru his pistol. He might find that he enjoys that much better.

Totally agree with you. Unfortunately, he wants the raw HP of the 460.

JD338

 

[gerry]

Looks like a pretty tough bullet. I wonder if you could see a noticeable difference between this and the 250 gr in your other thread on deer sized game?

 

[bdbrown66]

Looks like a pretty tough bullet. I wonder if you could see a noticeable difference between this and the 250 gr in your other thread on deer sized game?

Gerry,

I have killed two deer, a buck and a doe, with each of these bullets. While I did not recover the bullet from any of them, I can make a few assumptions based on my observations at the time of the shot. All shots were the classic behind-the-front-leg shot to the vitals, at distances from 20-60 yards.

The first two were shot with the 250 XTP, and you could tell immediately that they had been hit hard. Both ran about 50 yards and piled up, and they were dead by the time I gathered my stuff and walked up on them.

The second two were killed with the XTP Mag. The doe ran off at the shot, and she went down about 75 yards away. The buck came along hot on her trail before I could climb down from my stand. At the first shot, he ran up out of a creek bottom and stopped on the hillside, as if he was confused. At the second shot he sort of turned in a circle but did not go down. The third shot put him on the ground for good.

I believe that all of those shots would have been fatal on their own, but I think they were passing thru without dumping much energy. That's a small sample set, I know, but that's what it seemed like to me. So if I use the XTP Mag bullets this year, I will likely put that shot into the shoulder instead of the vitals.

Cheers,
Brian

 

[gerry]

Makes sense. The XTP mag might be the ticket for bigger game at your speeds. Sounds like the 250 gr XTP is working quite well for deer.