For those of you who have used both, which do you prefer?

I've been using the Hornady 240gr XTP with a max charge of W296. Have shot three deer with it this year.

The first was a small doe, at 65 yards, with my Ruger 77/44. Deer took about 10 steps and fell over dead. Bullet didn't exit and left no blood trail, however I watched it go down.

The second was a large doe, at 50 yards, with my S&W 629 with a 4in. barrel. This deer got nailed through the heart and this time the bullet did exit and left a great blood trail all the way to the deer which made it about 30 yards.

The third was a medium size buck, at 20 yards, again with the 629. I am certain that I made a good shot on him, being close, and taking my time to really line up the sights on the boiler room. When this deer was shot, he jumped straight up, mule kicking his back legs and tore out into some dence brush. I just knew I had him, however, when looking at the area where he was when I shot, I could find nothing. No blood, no hair, no flesh, no guts, no bones nothing. I followed the path he took, getting on my hands and knees looking for any sign, still no blood to be found anywhere. So I started making progressively larger circles in the area that he was headed. Ended up coming home empty handed and quite frustrated.

I've got some Leadhead 250gr Keith hard cast lead bullets and was thinking about giving them a try.

For you guys that have used hard cast, do you always get a blood trail?

I don't mind passing up a few DRT deer in exchange for always having a solid blood trail to follow.

TIA

I don't think there is a bullet made that will always give a solid blood trail. There are too many variables to contend with. Shot angle, how high you hit, matter pluging the hole,and just plain ole Murphy sticking his nose in saying this one won't bleed.D.R.T. is still the best way and that don't work all the time.

In my experience, two holes tend to bleed more than one. That said, your semiwadcutters should exit. However, I would personally opt for a cast bullet with a larger meplat as it will produce a larger wound channel than the typical "Keith-style " semiwadcutter.

I always had good luck with the Hornady components,BUT there are always variables,the deer woods are always a challenge.

I have shot a lot of deer with revolvers and single shots. I've never shot a deer at 20 yards that I didn't find and that didn't bleed. Deer are thin skinned & relatively easy to put down. My concern would be shot placement. I've never had a deer that I've shot not leave some type of blood trail, some are better than others, but all leave blood, even if it's not bucket loads. If you hit them right, you probably won't need much of a blood trail to follow 😉

This is an entrance wound side of one of my typical WT deer kills. This is the entrance side from a 475/350 Mag....400 gr. XTP. This bullet does not expand on deer even at 1800 fps...keep that in mind

Here's another one of my WT kills..exit wound this time...deer bleed easily

Even with a shot taken that was a little too far back, this young WT left a nice blood trail. 240 gr. Starfire HP bullet. My wife killed this one.

My point is use either type of bullet. A properly placed shot with either bullet type will leave blood & kill your deer.

The problem with not finding the deer is you can't call the shot. We've all tried to do it but without the deer thats not possible. I agree with Whitworth that something other than a SWC leaves a better blood trail but in this case if I were playing detective I'd say you shot low, missing the vitals. You had to hit the deer because it bucked & kicked & if you were shooting at a white tail at 20 yds the XTP would surely exit, giving you a good blood trail, its a fine bullet. Having said that, I only shoot cast & I've shot a lot of deer & almost all of those deer have been shot with a Keith SWC & 100% of those taken had 2 holes & were dead with 5-6 seconds, as mentionded above, they aren't hard to kill with correct placement & good bullets.
With your first kill you were running the bullet 1800 fps which is on the fast side for a 240 gr. XTP, so you got expansion beyond normal & no exit, on the second deer everything went like a Hornady advertisement. Deer #3, & again I'm guessing here but to me it was bullet placement, not bullet failure. XTP's are excellent on deer, to me SWC cast is better & LBT style cast is better yet! I think you hit it low.

Dick

Pics to come up but i shot a muley with an a aframe out of a 41 mag. Instant blood trail and it just plain blew thru the deer. Huge entrance and exit hole for a 41. I was quite impressed. That said either will work and either should exit. On deer pretty much anything will kill em and exit but since you mentioned a smith and wesson id use the cast since u can get an exit at a moderate velocity and not tear up the gun. That said i think a frames are a much more reliable performer on game and xtps are a world unto themselves. The 400gr 475 bullets are just super tough. The 300 gr xtp mags are tough as well but the regular 300xtps in the 45 caliber are soft and can come apart while the 300's in the 44 are quite tough at the velocities theyre shot at typically. The 240 44 mag bullets are soft and can and do come apart in my experience. I have no doubt on a deer if ya hit the vitals you would have a dead deer. Id go with cast if hogs or anything that can bite back is getting shot as well. I also 2nd whitworths opinion on the lbt style. Meplat size means everything.

shot a buck once that reacted the same as yours did to the hit. It was pure luck that I later found him and finished the job. That first shot was bad, hitting low in the chest. As the guys said above...it seems like a case of shot placement and not the bullet you were using.....Good luck

I shoot a similar load to yours with the XTP over 296 in my FA 44. Haven't had an issue yet out to about 100 yds.

Sorry same 240 XTP not the 300. Very accurate out of that gun as well. Moreno than the arame I usually shoot out of my 454

A friend of mine has been hunting White Tail Deer for years with my favorite Silh load which is a H&G #503 Keith 255gr swc with the square grease groove. Loaded at app 1000fps one of his kills a few years back was on a 140 pound buck with a ''Texas Heart Shot''. Complete penetration of the buck lengthwise...Up the exhaust-out his chest...Good 30 yard blood trail

Ive shot a lot of deer with XTPs both .45 cal 250 and 300 grainers and .44 cal 240 and 300. Most with inline muzzleloaders with all charges 100 grains or less. Probably driving them about 1750 fps. Probably .454 Casull velocity. Ive probably killed more than 35 deer with XTPS. The majority ( about 28) with the 300 grainer. Recovered only ONE bullet. This was a 160 yard shot that went through both scapulas and lodged under the offside hide. Have never recovered a 250 including a 140 yard shot on doe. Blood trails were sometimes monstrous with the 300 grainers. Some weren't but the deer never went that far. Almost all down within 50 yards , some less. In handguns Ive used Sierras last year but have used 180 grain XTPs in 357 Maximum years ago with a lot of success and blood trails. Years ago I had some bad results with lighter bullets in .44 mags before I knew better.

All in all I think the XTP is a pretty good bullet for deer. The 300 grain XTP will probably penetrate for you every time with out using the Mag XTP. It is a absolute deer killer. Period.
It put an awful lot of venison in my freezer. The only reason Im using the 250s this year is because they shoot so well out of this inline.

In my .44mag G2 this year Im shooting Nosler soft points. Another bullet to try. I just haven't killed anything with them yet. But they shoot great.

You ever see this video? This was Lynn Thompson owner of Cold Steel knives handgun hunting. Using a .44 Redhawk loaded with 300 grain XTPs on some tough game animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKTeEmNUkjw

There was also a thread here about his hunting.---http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/83991/page/1

Both work.Shot placement is critical. I've taken deer with both cast and jacketed and sometimes the blood trail Ray Charles could follow and others have been a hands and knees slow methodical tracking job. Like franchise said if the bullet went through something vital there's some evidence somewhere. Good luck and keep shooting.

I know Lynn, and I've talked to his outfitter in Australia, and he told me that the factory 300 grain Hornady loads worked so well because they expanded so little if at all, aiding in their deep penetration. Hornady doesn't load those very hot at all. I just think there are better choices if someone seeks maximum penetration. I'm sure they would expand better if you drove them faster.