Just wondering how the 225 FTX bullet will work on deer out of a Super RedHawk 9-1/2. My brother just got his first serious deer hunting revolver yesterday. We looked over the jacketed bullet selection at the store and was not real impressed. He ended up getting a 500 round box of 240 grain SWC's and a 100 round box of the Hornady 225 grain FTX Flex Tips to get started.

Already wondering about them. Hornady 8th Edition says to trim the cases to 1.255 CRITICAL using this bullet.
Hornady shows Max loads from 1200 to 1450 depending on powders.
They have the bullet listed under handgun data, so I am guessing it should shoot out of a revolver.

Need some experiance here.

Bob

Which screws up your brass for anything else. A good ole 240 XTP would be a better choice IMO.

The biggest issue with them is the long pointy tip. Thus you need to trim cases. On A side note I have noticed Hornady brass being shorter than normal length, presumably to account for this.

s4s4u, It doesn't really screw up the brass, as long as one would trim all brass to accept the longer bullets and recognize that with the SWCs, charges will change due to decreased case capacity.

Personally I would look for some xtps......or just use the SWCs, they have been killing deer for a while.

Which screws things up. I unknowingly bought some once fired 45 Colt from a fellow, Hornady. And they were all short. Worthless to me.

The local gun shop does not have any XTP's or Noslers HP's heavier than 200.
We ended up swapping them back in for an ancient box of Hornady Half Jacket semi wadcutter 240's. They should get him up and running. I may still get a good day to cast before deer season.
I have a perfectly good RCBS 240 SWC-GC mold, as well as a Lee 6 cavity 310 SWC-GC mold. I also have a 375 grain WFP-GC 480 Mountain Mold I need to break in.

I will let someone else play with the FTX bullets.

Bob

I'd prefer XTPs over the FTX bullets.

Have killed many deer bear and boar with Hornady 265 gr. FP. Best Jacketed .429. Second best Hornady 240gr. XTP.

I had a good day yesterday to cast, Sunshine, light wind, and the temperature was in the 50's. I broke out the Casting Pot. Things went pretty normal. My Fish Cooker/Turkey Fryer/Lead Melting Burner had the Rubber O'Ring missing off the hose end. That brought on a 34 mile round trip to town for a new 50 cent O'Ring. I swapped out my little propane tank while I in town. I figured this was the best way to keep my 100 pound propane cylinder from run out of gas in the middle of things.

After finally getting everything sorted out, and the pot up and running, I started making bullets. For the 44 Mag Super RedHawk I cast the Lee 310 Hammer Heads. I did not do a count, but I probably ended up with 200 - 300 keepers after sorting out the culls.

I also broke in my new Mountain Mold for my 480 Ruger Super RedHawk. I think I said 385 grain above. I must have meant 375, it has been a while since I designed the bullet, and ordered it. I weighed one when done and it was 375 grains on the money with Hornady Gas Check and a lot of Blue Angel Bullet Lube.

The 310 grain 44's sure do not look as big setting next to a pan of 375 grain 475's.

My gas checks for the 44 are some ancient Lyman Brand ones I bought years ago. I had forgotten from the last 310's I had made up, but I have to seat the 310 gas checks in a vise first. They fit snugger than I want to lean on the handle of my old RCBS Lubrasizer that I bought new close to 40 years ago. Buying a new one was not on my short list.

After a while I will need to plug in the Heater on the Lubrasizer to get the old Blue Angel flowing for todays sizing sesion. That takes a couple hours. The Blue Angel is like melting crayons, but I have confidence in it getting the job done.

I got done casting late in the afternoon yesterday, and ended up leaving the hot pot out all night. This might be a good reason to fire it back up, and cast some 240 grain gas check bullets from my 2 cavity RCBS mold today.

Looks like the ancient half jacket Hornadys might stay on the shelf. I did some research, and they have been discontinued for ever. One source said 1965. The original price on the box is $4.50.

I still have a little while to get things all together. The Weigand "480 Ruger" scope base should not get here till Saturday per the tracking number. We need it before we mount the 30mm MatchDot II. That gives me close to 26 hours before we need loaded ammo.

Bob

Bob,

Check the overall cartridge length with the 225 FTX seated to the cannelure with standard length 44 Mag brass. The length of the SRH cylinder may accommodate that COL and save the trimming issue. I don't have any here to check; however, it may save time and trouble.

Doc