.44 Mag Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator 220 gr meets steel gong at 1509 fps

[John E Davies]

1705521F-31A9-4ADC-9448-8A5527858C37.jpeg (274.7 KiB) Viewed 1587 times

Half a dozen shots actually blew out the weld on the back and sent the gong ten feet into the weeds, but it was a bad weld. It sure was startling to see. I am camping and have limited Internet, it comes and goes. I will post a pic now and when I get back home I will add some extras.

Xtreme Penetrator 220 gr with a near max load of 18.8 grains of AA9. I like these bullets! I was expecting a little more velocity but I guess my short 17” barrel is holding this load back. There is not room for more powder since the solid copper bullet is so very long.

I really wanted the 250 gr XP bullets to work but I am disappointed at the velocities I was getting. I am sure they would be truly spectacular in a .444 Marlin, with its much greater case capacity.

These bullets punch nice round holes in paper but they have a four leaf clover appearance. Unusual....

John Davies
Spokane WA

[runnin n gunnin]

Very nice !

[JEBar]

very interesting bullet .... thanks for posting your report on them

[Vaquero]

Would like to see what one would do to a deer.

RP

[Team Roper]

We sometimes get hung up on velocity but 1500 fps is nothing to sneeze about and the bullet designs are often more important. Looks to me like that bullet and that velocity will certainly get her done on a deer at the range the 44 mag is good for. That is an interesting bullet and if I wasn't dedicated to shooting my cast bullets I would definitely give that one a try.

[fortyshooter]

Have seen those but haven't loaded any yet. How well do they work at lower speeds like out of a short barrel revolver?

[John E Davies]

Have seen those but haven't loaded any yet. How well do they work at lower speeds like out of a short barrel revolver?

I have no personal experience other than with the 95 gr Underwood Xtreme Defense daily carry load for my .327 Federal Mag, it gets around 1500 fps out of a 4.2” barreled revolver. It is intended for lower velocities and the design strives to limit penetration to around 18” while leaving a huge wound cavity. The Xtreme Penetrator version creates less wound channel in exchange for massive penetration. Both are advertised to work at 750 fps to 4500 fps.

From watching videos, it appears that speed is what gets the job done with these bullets, one reason I am sticking with the 220 gr XP rather than the much slower but heavier 250 gr bullet. A hot loaded Hornady XTP 300 gr (1230 ft lbs vs 1112 Ft lbs for the Lehigh bullets)) hits the gong noticeably harder, but the wound channel won’t be comparable.

I have lots of trouble loading the XTPs because they are oversized at 0.430” and my die set resizes to 0.429. So I get lots of variation in seating depth and deformed bullet noses because of the exposed lead. The Lehigh bullets are very hard, don’t deform, and slip right in reliably and with consistent COL. Plus they are really sexy looking......

If Underwood doesn’t have a load you like, email Lehigh Defense and ask what they recommend for your intended use.
https://www.lehighdefense.com/index.ph ... pe,bullets

I like these enough that I ordered 200 9mm Xtreme Defense bullets from MidwayUSA because they have a terrific deal right now, half the regular street price.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1022 ... pid=346373

These feed very well through a BBX. Not quite as slick as a rounded JHP, but say 90% as slick. You can sometimes feeL a VERY slight hesitation, but nothing that matters.

John Davies
Spokane WA