Hornady 180 gr xtp 44 mag

[fortyshooter]

I hate the XTPs for .44 Mag, they are oversized at 0.430” compared to almost all other jacketed bullets and they are a 100% PITA to load with Lee dies. I can’t get consistent OAL, the bullets grab and jump instead of going into the cases smoothly. The OAL varies by up to 0.020”! Maybe my resizing die is undersized, I dunno, but I would be interested to know if other brands of dies have this same problem.

I absolutely LOVE the 220 gr Lehigh Extreme Penetrators (0.429”), they are a joy to load (they slide into the cases as smooth as silk) and are very accurate from my BBX. I do not hunt, that is my bear defense load.

John Davies
Spokane WA

What does your barrel slug out to? Mine is .431 !

[Johnnyjr]

The Rossi is also a rifle with 20 inch barrel

[Headhog]

I wonder where these tails originate about cast bullets not being good for game. Maybe the bullet manufacturers start this stuff to sell more of their fancy expensive jacketed bullets. I've taken several deer with a .50 cal muzzle loader using a cast lead round ball. It has less to do with the bullet type and more to do with shot placement. If you can't hit the heart-lung area of the animal then you shouldn't be taking the shot.

Paul

[fortyshooter]

Yep...cast bullets around a lot longer than JHP and not many went hungry about it!

[Headhog]

Yep...cast bullets around a lot longer than JHP and not many went hungry about it!

Forty, aint that the truth.

[220]

Forget about 180gr for anything other than small game and paper.
I tried them years ago and they just blow up, slip them between the ribs and they would probably be spectacular killers, hit any muscle or bone and they dont make it to the vitals.

[fortyshooter]

Forget about 180gr for anything other than small game and paper.
I tried them years ago and they just blow up, slip them between the ribs and they would probably be spectacular killers, hit any muscle or bone and they dont make it to the vitals.

Think I will try one in the ballistic gel and see what it does. Now when shot out of my Ruger SBH with 7.5 barrel I was getting 1500 FPS so that should help keep it together for more penetration. I believe the hot 10mm pistol rounds are 180's going around 1200 FPS?

[220]

Think I will try one in the ballistic gel and see what it does. Now when shot out of my Ruger SBH with 7.5 barrel I was getting 1500 FPS so that should help keep it together for more penetration. I believe the hot 10mm pistol rounds are 180's going around 1200 FPS?

Interested in your results if you do, I used them in a rifle and velocity was 600fps faster so may have been a contributor to the performance I got.

[PJM]

Hardened gas check 260 grain Cast Performance bullets are penetrators for sure.