If I understand this correctly, Hornady XTP are the stronger bullet of the big four, Hornady, Speer, Nosler, & Sierra. Which of these manufacturers make the most fragile hunting bullet? I am looking to use a 240 gr bullet, but get the most expansion. Thx

I have not tried them but the "Deer Grenade" bullet is manufactured and offered by Rimrock Bullets and sold as loaded ammunition for .44 mag and .45 Colt by Buffalo Bore Ammunition. The following is how Buffalo Bore describes the bullets performance on game at various speed. I would definitely do a lot of penetration tests with this bullet before trying them on game.

"This load is designed as the world's premier deer load for 44 Mag. The cast bullet is not considered soft, but it is not really a HARD cast bullet either as it only has a BHN (Brinell Hardness Number) of 12 so, it could be termed a medium/hard cast bullet. It performs as follows:

◼︎ At an impact velocity of 1,100 fps it will mushroom to about 75 Cal. and should push right through any deer with a broadside shot.

◼︎ At an impact velocity of 1,500 fps it will mushroom and some of the mushroom will fragment off and send bullet particles flying through the deer, but much of the mushroom and shank will remain intact and should push through any deer hit broadside.

◼︎ At an impact velocity of 1,900 fps the entire mushroom will turn into shrapnel and send bullet particles all throughout the deer. The shank will remain intact, but will re-mushroom and do horrific damage inside the deer and will probably push through any deer hit broadside.

◼︎ Of course all these results will vary depending on how much bone, if any, you hit, etc. This load was designed specifically to do horrific damage to deer sized game and as such does not penetrate like a hard cast flat nosed bullet. This bullet only penetrates about 30% as deep as a typical flat nosed hard cast bullet, which is perfect penetration for a shallow game like deer, and medium-sized pigs or black bear. This load is your best bet for immediately anchoring any deer with the 44 Mag. cartridge that is not CNS (central nervous system) hit."

GSJ: IMHO YOU ARE GOING THE WRONG WAY UNLESS YOU ARE TRYING TO BLOW UP VARMINTS. TOO FRAGILE A BULLET IS A RECIPE FOR FAILURE ON DEER, HOGS AND ON UP.

For hunting what?

Thank you for the information. I will be hunting deer, antelope, and coyotes. I have shot my last elk, too much hard work getting them off the mountain. At this point I am gathering information, trying to learn as much as possible from people that have more experience than I do.
I shot a hog 20yrs ago with a 44 mag, at about 30 yards. Was using a 240 gr Black Talon Winchester factory load. Perfect mushroom, no exit. It worked well, but I know that is not the answer.
My only load I use now is my practice load....240 grain Keith style SWC with 10 gr of unique. I?m guessing 1100 FPS or so. I know this load would work for anything I want to do, but I would like something better. Thinking a hard cast 300 grain bullet at 1100-1200 FPS for my go-to load, but I would also like to find a jacketed load .
I am asking questions, trying to find a good expanding bullet load, mostly for coyotes, but I would also like to have no worries if I used this load on deer.
Again.... I?m gathering information, so I can make good, informed choices.

I believe the Nosler JHP may be the "softest" of the big name brands. The cores are pure soft lead and the jackets are thin copper alloy. They make it in a soft (not hollow) point as well, but I have no experience with that one.

Thx N-frame....... that is good to hear. I have loaded a lot of partitions for rifles, best hunting bullet made in my opinion. I assume that a nosler 240 gr bullet loaded to speed will be plenty for any deer?

Well, "fragile" is not a characteristic that I desire in a deer hunting bullet. Expansion is good, but the bullet must stay together to penetrate sufficiently.

I never used Nosler handgun bullets, but I've used a bunch of the others over the years.
The "softest" with best expansion have been Rem. 240 gr. HPs.
Sierra 240/180 gr. JHCs are tougher, penetrate more, and cause less damage than the Rems. (Not true for Sierra rifle bullets. They seem much softer than other brands).
Gold Dots are much harder than the ones mentioned. Very little expansion in deer and none in groundhogs.
XTPs are the hardest of all. I've recovered a lot from angled shots on deer that were minimally expanded with little damage in the bullet track. The only one that ever worked good for me was the 200 gr. XTP in .45 auto. It put deer down extremely well. I don't know why it was good and the others weren't. I don't use XTPs on game.
Good ol' Kieth 250 gr. .44s do a surprisingly good job on most animals with decent internal damage especially in larger animals.

Wvhitman has far more experience with this bullet than I do. I have only taken one deer with it but I was very impressed with its performance. This doe was shot at 70 yards using my 5" 44 mag BFR and a 240gr Remington SJHP over W296. The damage to the lungs was impressive. On the rib cage shot the entrance hole is on the left.

Good photos, pab1.

Pab, Your right...that is impressive.....

In my experience the Rem 240 grain SJHP mushrooms are very large and damage has to be seen to be believed. They would make an awesome self defense bullet as well.

When in doubt about bullet performance, listen to wvhitman.