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45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

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fortyshooter
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45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by fortyshooter » Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:06 pm

This test had some great results considering the 200 gr. FTX bullet was designed for use as a S&W 460 bullet for much higher pressures and speed.
Looking for a 200 gr. JHP type bullet for use in my S&W M-25 revolver and my other Ruger .45 revolvers there isn't much available now due to the ammo shortage. So I found some of these at my LGS.
3 loads were tested which were 9.5 gr. of Unique.....20 gr. and 22.3 gr. of Alliant 2400 powder. The loads were based off of similar type bullets of weight and JHP construction since there are no listed loads in the manuals for this particular bullet in 45 Colt.
All shots were from a distance of 20 ft. from the ballistic gel block which is 6x6x16 inches in size. ALL 3 test loads penetrated the FULL 16 inch gel block with first test round landing in 2nd magazine and the other tests 2 and 3 stopping in the first magazine.

From the data here I decided to go with the 2nd load which is 20 gr. of the Alliant 2400 powder since there wasn't any noted gain with the higher load of 22.3 gr. of 2400 and the bullet started to fragment at that speed. Note...due to length of bullet I trimmed the tip back to the head of bullet.

Test revolver was my Ruger SBH Bisley with 5.5 inch barrel. Will load up more of these and try some for accuracy at a later date.
Part 2 video shows the recovered bullets and speed data.

Enjoy!

Part 1 Test https://youtu.be/IcDblmHztjE

Part 2 Test data and bullet recovery https://youtu.be/OeWNtpWEaxs
Attachments
45 colt 200 gr ftx bullet test.jpg
45 colt 200 gr ftx bullet test.jpg (150.99 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
200 gr ftw 9.5 unique.jpg
200 gr ftw 9.5 unique.jpg (92.03 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
200 gr ftx with 20 gr alliant 2400.jpg
200 gr ftx with 20 gr alliant 2400.jpg (89.35 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
200 gr ftx 45 colt bullet with 22.3 gr of alliant 2400.jpg
200 gr ftx 45 colt bullet with 22.3 gr of alliant 2400.jpg (84.96 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
rear side of 200 ftx with 20 gr. of alliant 2400.jpg
rear side of 200 ftx with 20 gr. of alliant 2400.jpg (107.42 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
entry of 3 test shots.jpg
entry of 3 test shots.jpg (95.42 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
side view of gel block from 45 colt 200 gr ftx test.jpg
side view of gel block from 45 colt 200 gr ftx test.jpg (161.5 KiB) Viewed 1195 times
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Rifletom
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by Rifletom » Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:24 pm

Dang forty, those puppies got some oomph to 'em! Nice test. How was the recoil?
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by JEBar » Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:51 pm

nicely done, nicely reported .... question, was the gel recycled from earlier use :?:
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by Oldbrass » Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:59 pm

Holy crap Forty that's a thumper
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by fortyshooter » Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:44 pm

Rifletom wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:24 pm
Dang forty, those puppies got some oomph to 'em! Nice test. How was the recoil?
Recoil not bad at all. I shot a couple thru my Alaskan after the test and that soaks any recoil up very well.
I didn't bother shooting them thru my Henry .45 carbine at this time since it was getting late in the afternoon.
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by fortyshooter » Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:47 pm

JEBar wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 8:51 pm
nicely done, nicely reported .... question, was the gel recycled from earlier use :?:
I haven't recycled it yet....fresh out the box and the stuff was easy to handle and setup. Well worth the cost of $ 65 bucks plus the shipping.
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by BigAl52 » Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:05 pm

Nice test Forty. I can probably help you out with some 250gr XTP bullets but I wont be home for a couple months.
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by fortyshooter » Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:10 pm

Weight of bullets.... 199.9 out the box. 197.2 for Test 1 196.7 for Test 2 194 for Test 3.
Note actual weight with the tips cut back to bullet head is 198.9 gr.

Watching the video again you can see the gel block jump up more with the hotter loads of #2 and 3.

Think there were another couple boxes of these bullets at the gun shop and I will pick those up!

The actual measured with calipers bullet diameter of Shot 2 was .650 and Shot 3 .665 Shot 1 was .535
Last edited by fortyshooter on Thu Jan 07, 2021 11:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by fortyshooter » Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:17 pm

BigAl52 wrote:
Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:05 pm
Nice test Forty. I can probably help you out with some 250gr XTP bullets but I wont be home for a couple months.
Thanks Al ! I do have 100 of the XTP 250 gr. bullets sitting on the shelf. I was really looking for the 230 gr XTP bullet that is used for .45 ACP which gave great results with speeds in the 850 FPS range in my jug tests. These would work great in .45 Colt also at same speeds. I have loaded all of those in .45 ACP as main carry load and can't find those anyplace right now....Back order is what you see!
These 200 gr. FTX bullets look like good substitute for use in 45 Colt. I was impressed ! Hornady sent me an email stating they had no load data for use in 45 Colt but I have some now!
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Re: 45 Colt 200 gr Hornady FTX bullet tests in ballistic gel

Post by BigAl52 » Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:21 pm

No problem Forty. I have some cleaning out to do when I get home and I have some bullets Im not going to use because I dont own those calibers anymore. 45-70 being one and 45 Colt being the other. I think I also have some 44 mag XTP bullets Im going to sell.
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