This year I will be hunting with a 44 magnum and have narrowed my hand loads to either 225 gr Barnes XPB or 240 gr Hornady XTP. My gun is a Dan Wesson 8" barrel with an ultra dot.

I am limiting shots to no more than 50 yards, since this is my comfort zone. For this range which bullets would be best (assuming both group the same)? I would like to hear about real world performance on both.

Barnes are unquestionably better in my experience but should be run fast. They need to run fast, but they are way more expensive. A great way to spoit thendifference is the bonded speer. Way better than hornady but actuallybusually cheaper.

No contest. BARNES !!!

At 50 yards......i could kill a deer with either one. It wouldnt make any difference to me whatsoever. I also would not pay any appreciable amount for one over the other.

Do what makes you happy. Dont worry what others think or do. You cant look at reviews on ANYthing online. It will drive you crazy. Peoples opinions and experiences vary so widely. For every yay, there is a nay. Dont be afraid to try stuff on your own.

No terminal experience with either, but if I had to choose between the two I'd probably go with the Barnes for hunting and the XTP for practice.

I have killed about 15 Whitetail deer with the 240XTP in 44Mag revolvers. It has worked fine for me and I will continue to use it. My load is 23gr H-110. Because of its market popularity I am guessing that the 240 XTP has killed more deer sized game in revolvers and muzzleloaders than any other jacketed bullet ever. Any of the bullets mentioned in this post will effectively kill a deer at 50 yards with a well placed shot. I suggest pick the bullet / load that shoots well in your gun and hunt with that one.

Choose the one that shoots best in your gun.. Remember that SHOT PLACEMENT is number ONE. Put the bullet where you want it.. EITHER will do the rest

I just finished putting a few loads together to try out for this season myslelf.

For what its worth, I get more piece of mind when using the "ultra Premium" bullets (Barnes XPB, Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition) when it comes to the rounds I will be sending toward a creature.
I spend all year thinking about hunting, planning for hunting, and spending time and effort while actually in pursuit, so when it comes time, $1 or so a bullet is well worth it to me.

50 yards on a deer makes almost an easy situation... Shot enough deer at that distance with so many different bullets that there should be no problem with whatever your choice..... Just shot a 250lb boar at 40 or so yards with a 210gr XTP... Broke the shoulder to hell and the bullet exited leaving a dead animal.

However, the bottom line is accuracy...Remember loading up some 325gr Speer and XTP bullets for my five shot 475... The Speer shot so good at 40 yards I did not bother shooting the XTP`s and went on to take one of the best boar for me at 50 or so yards.. Whatever your choice... best of luck...

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X3 on this for me.

I have no experience with the Barnes pistol line of bullets, but quite a bit with the XTPs. In .44 cal. the 240gr. driven much over 1200 FPS didn't really stay together for me. . .dead critter non the less, but doesn't have my confidence with quartering shots or possible bone contact. I am really fond of the 300gr. XTP and have shot this from .44 Mag, 445 Super Mag and a sabot 50 cal. muzzleloader with velocities ranging from 1250 FPS to as hot as 1985 FPS out to ranges of 175 yards. This bullet has worked flawlessly for me on MANY deer (whitetail/mullies), thick shielded hogs, 1 cow elk and other critters of opportunity. As stated above. . .ACCURACY IS KING! Good luck with your hunting this season.

Amen.

200 XTP's shoot like lasers through my Encore ... be very hard for me to move to something else. A light load I was shooting last year at 1300 fps drilled a sow at 50 yards and dropped her in short order with a complete pass through.

The 240gr XTP from 1,400-2,400 fps have been killing deer and pigs in my various guns for years. I have hundreds in stock and no reason to change.

They work for me.