50calty

Can someone please explain this to me. Whats the difference between the reg XTPS and XTP MAG. I've been shooting the mags, but the reg are alittle cheaper. Cant seem to find any info on Hornady's website. Also anybody use the 240 XTP MAGS. Did alittle reading last night and alot of people have had the same results like me. The 300 just pass through and the game runs off a few or more yards. Yet the people that use 240 grains it stops them in thier tracks. Alot of people think its the fpe. Too much that the 300 grain takes the enegry with it while the 240 transfers the enegry to the deer. There is a hugh price difference. So if the 240 works good for deer I may buy those bullets for plunking and deer hunting and save the more expensive 300 for elk. But that would depend on how they shoot and if i could adj my scope to shoot both. Also anyone use a lead cast 300 grain wade cutter? I can buy those from a local cast at 25 dollars a hundred or $100 for five hundred rounds. I wouldn't think my barrel would lead up due to sabot. Sorry for the long post I hope I kept your attention through it.

lemoyne

The magnum is designed for higher velocity. I used the lead bullets for my first inlines they killed the deer, I cast my own to get the right alloy so they would expand, some cast out of very hard lead for target shooting do not expand and will pencil through a deer and the deer will run much longer. The main draw back I found with the lead bullets was a problem getting the to shoot accurate with more than 90 or 100 gr, at the time I was using Pyrodex RS, the faster strong powder may be more limited than that.

cayugad

My understand of the difference is the way the two bullets are made. The magnum are supposed to hold together better and take a larger powder charge. The standard will get the job done though. I heard they expand better and one draw back... they may not give you a pass through.

Let me first state.. I have never killed a deer with a sabot/xtp. My friend who shoots a Bighorn started out with the 240 grain standard XTP and 85 grains of powder and dropped deer where they stood. He said the wound channel was impressive. He then started testing the 300 grain standard XTP with the same powder charge. As he explained to me... when they expand they really do damage and the deer never go far and bleed real well. So I started shooting the standard 300 grain XTP because I like bigger bullets and they are so accurate in most rifles.. I just ordered 200 more of them, so I must like them. And one of these deer seasons, I will leave my roundball rifles behind and actually use these fancy inline rifles.

sbuff

As stated I would switch to the standard and not use the Mag.They are for faster speeds then you will see out of your Muzzle loader.I asked Hornady the same thing a while back and got a great responce from them,wish I saved it to copy it for you.But you get the speed idea.They are actually two different style bullets on the nose of it.I have noticed them along with every other bullet going up in price.Try Graffs,wholesale hunter or even Cabelas.

I was going to use the .452 300gr XTP this year as my hunting round but I am going to stick to ole faithfull 350gr FPB.

Steve

pluckit

The 240 grain XTP are what I shoot. I hit a doe 2 years ago with one at about 40 yards and she dropped where she stood with it being pushed by 83 grains of fffg Goex. I just sighted in my 21 inch Green Mountain carbine with the 300 grain but I'm only pushing it with 70 grains fffg Goex. Time will tell how that works on a deer because the barrel is new.

Landngroove

When you say 240 grain, are they .45 caliber, .452" bullets, or are they .44 caliber .430" bullets? Hornady makes both XTP's. I use the .44 caliber 240 gr. XTP's, with geen Hornady sabots .50/.44, and have taken several deer with them. As always, shot placement is the key.

nchawkeye

My hunting buddy and I both use the .429 Hornady XTPS...He uses the 240, I use the 300...His gun likes 85grs 777, I use 80grs Goex FFF...We both use the Harvester plain green sabots...

We both kill deer, very little difference...I may get a few more pass throughs but it really doesn't matter as they don't go far...I'd say 75% drop within sight...

Dutch

Gents,

I was reading the posts and thinking about all my muzzleloader deer over the years. It occured to me that I have never shot a deer with anything other than a XTP! This is not to say that I havent tried them all. In fact I have approximately 8 different bullets in my range box right now. I have hunted with other bullets numerous times. It has just always happened that every time I took a shot, I happen to have loaded an XTP that day. (Semisane has got to have a theory about that one!)

My go to XTP is typically a 44 caliber, 300 grain bullet with the green MMP sabot. The first box I bought was the bullet-sabot combo pack. After that I always bought the bullets and sabots sepeerately becasue they are so economical. I have read that the thicker sabot (i.e. smaller bullet) combinations are not quite as accurate as bullets closer to the bore size. I don't know if this is true because I have not experienced that phenominon. I actually shot my farthest deer with this bullet. It was a doe at exactly 100 yards. It was a complete pass through with a sizeable wound channel. I recall the powder was 100 grains of T7. I use BH209 almost exclusively now, but have found the same accuracy results.

This year I got a nice buck at about 30 yards down in a river bottom. This time I happened to be using a 375 caliber 325 grain XTP over 100 grains of BH209. For the first time I was slightly disappointed. The ephasis is on the word slightly. I did not get a pass through. The lethality was as good as always. However I think at that range the velocity exceeded the design intent of the bullet. This is not Hornady's fault. In a perfect world, and hunting in the same spot, I might reduce the charge to about 85 grains. I suspect this would result in the bullet holding together better to give me the pass through I want.

I should note that the 375 caliber XTP's were a find in the bargain cave at Kabula's.

Those bullets are all gone now. I suspect I will go back to the 44/300 grain version this fall.

Finally I would say that I am really anxious to try the new Bloodline bullets from Knight/Lehigh. One thing is for sure: it is a whole lot of fun trying all the different combinations in the muzzleloaders. I hardly ever shot cartridge rifles anymore! )

50calty

Right now I'm using the 300 XTP MAG. Just didn't know if the reg XTP would hold together. Might have to switch now. Maybe I'll email hornady too and ask them.

nchawkeye

But are you using the .429s or .451s???

(Are the sabots green or black)???