Hey guys I wanted to get some opinions on the ftx bullet for the 45 colt. Does anyone have any experiance with them. if so how do they perform ? I really like speer bullets but about the only thing left in stock at Midway usa is the hornady ftx bullets. Is it possible to load ftx bullet for the 45lc or 460 in the 454 casull ? I cant find much information on anyone doing it. Thanks in advance, SS.

I haven't used them but in the LC for deer they may be alright. I've heard mostly bad about them for the 454 and 460, they have a high rate of failures and they are light for caliber.

I know the factory stuff in the 44 mag over expands on deer. I would say loading them to 454 and above levels would only multiply that effect. They will kill deer but I have seen few exit and have seen them perform poorly on hogs.

they don't even have a significant improvement on ballistic coefficient over several normal hollow points. though my brother did use the 44 mags to kill a bison once.

that's because they are so underweight, if the 45 cal was 250-300gr it would be different but you'd have to seat it so deep to fit in a cylinder that you'd lose all your powder capacity.

I have referred to the ftx bullets as "scam" bullets when it comes to the 460. They used that bullet to achieve the claim of highest velocity yada yada yada...

That being said, I took my first handgun buck at +/- 100 yards with the ftx 200grain bullet out of a 460. The bullet entered the left side ribs, and exited the right side ribs. The exit hole was almost the same size as the entrance hole. It never touched any bone. The deer stood up on its back legs, and fell over DRT. I like to think it was the "shockwave" of the bullet that killed the deer cause that bullet sure didn't slow down much! :-)

Also, just to make sure we are on the same page, in your original post, you asked if it was possible to load 45 colt and 460 bullets in the 454. You can put all three of those rounds in a 460, but only the 45 colt and 454 can go in a 454. If you are asking if they can all use the same "projectile" in the loads for each of those calibers, then yes, you can. Although, like they stated above, the 200 grain bullets are light for the 454 and the 460.

Depending on the cylinder length of your gun you may have to trim the brass shorter to crimp in the cannelure and maintain an OAL that will fit. Hornady shortens the cases on all of their FTX loaded ammo. Personally, I would stick with a more "normal" projectile.

Thanks for the output guys, I think I will stick it out and wait till the Speer 300 grain 454 deepcurl and 260 grain JHP come back in stock. I have been shooting hornady xtp mags in 240 and 300 grain but I feel they are to tough for deer and groundhogs. Hopefully the Speers will be a nice mix of expansion and penetration.

.451 250 ftx for the bushmaster works very well for me in my muzzle loader rifle and pistol.

I have never recovered a FTX bullet from any of the deer I have killed.

That is the bullet I load in my 460 S&W TC barrel

I have never had any luck with the 45 225gr FTX bullet in either the 45 colt or my 454. I even tried the 45 300gr FTX-ML bullet in my black powder rifle, and I got a complete pass through with no expansion at 60 yards (minimum blood trail, deer ran for a mile and I lost her in a field, not happy). I managed to dig the bullet out of the ground and it was almost pristine, couple of file strokes to clean up the tip and I could have loaded it again. Stick to the hollow points from Hornady or Speer if you want something that expands.

250 gr. FTX shot from 450 Bushmaster after passing through and killing two pigs. Not big, in 125-150# range. Both DOA at 135 yds.

Claimbuster, that is the same bullet I use in my 17in Encore in 460 S&W. Having the capability of shooting it at 2400fps, I needed a heavily constructed bullet. After seeing Hornady's websight where the Bushmasters took a mature bull elk with that bullet I called them to get there .02. In my platform and application it is a great choice. I backed it down to 2300fps for accuracy. I don't think game will know the difference.

One of the biggest problem we have as handgunners is taking bullets out of their parameters in which they were designed and then still expect them to work.

Point in fact, I am shooting the 35cal 200gr FTX out of my 357 Herrett barrel in my 26in Encore barrel at 2400fps. I called Hornady about the bullet and they told me it was designed for the 35Rem and the rep suggested that I back it off 100fps.

Just saying what everyone else is, just in a different way. We as handgun hunters have to be more selective of bullets because of our application.

Duane

The 4570 rounds blew a massive hole in a doe I shot last year. Blew the off side shoulder completely apart. I have shot them in both my marlin rifle and my BFR revolver.

Does anyone have any results actual kills with this in 44 Mag from TC Contender 10" barrel?

I've never tried the FTX bullet on game but I did extensive experimenting with it a few years ago in wet newsprint. The 265 gr FTX is the bullet to the far left after penetrating some 17" of print.


Rest weight about 93%, not very impressive performance compared to the other bullets tested. So that is a reason why I never used it for hunting - the 300gr XTP (second left) is IMHO much better if you want an expanding bullet. But again, if you have a lever action rifle in .44 the FTX might be your ticket.

well said....