Has anyone tried the Hornady Flex Tip bullets in a 357 mag, either as a handloaded component or in the factory Leverolution loading? I just picked up a S&W 686 and I wanted to try these in that revolver and my 35 Remington contender barrel to. I know they are .357 instead of .358 for the 35 Rem, but I just think it would be fun to try.

This is interesting. I hadn't heard about the lighter weight yet.. Thanks. I sure like the 200 grainer for my .357 herrett.. I can't wait to try these..

Take care,

Todd

I don't know about the .357, but I handloaded the .44/.429 variant last year and tested it in wet telephone directories. Very good precision but abysmal terminal results; very shallow penetration and the bullet disintegrated. Would never try it on game. For competition, paper punching purposes it is very good but also very expensive.

Thanks Mike, my father uses the leverolution 265gr load in a 444 marlin and they seem to hold up pretty good on game (whitetail deer and wild hogs) but that may be different than the bullet you were using. Were you using the 240g version, they might be of a lighter construction for the 44 mag? I don't know, just a thought.

Well, I was using the 265gr FTX bullet in front of a pretty stiff load of VV N110. So I wouldn't consider them light. But again, wet telephone directories might be much tougher than a live whitetail - I don't know. In terms of bullet performance and rest weight the 300gr XTP bullet has worked much better for me. The FTX bullet was designed for leverguns though so it might be a construction issue.

Thanks Mikewin, I didn't know the 265s broke up that bad. I imagine they would preform poorly on bone to. I use the 265 interlocks and 300 XPTs in 44 caliber sabots in my muzzleloader and they both have preformed well. I was excited to try the 265 Flex Tips but I may just stick with what I am using based on your results.

the Hornady 300gr XTPs are IMHO an excellent choice for whitetail deer and medium sized game in general. For a .44mag revolver and that kind of game I see no real reason to load anything else. Don't want to discourage your testing of other bullets but I would certainly advise you to test the FTXs in dead media before you use them on live game.