I spoke to Hornady and they recommended their XTP-MAG bullet as did Freedom Arms. Both said they?d shot plenty of buffalo with them.

I had one of the gunsmith at Freedom arms tell me the reason they quite making bullets or should I say selling them is Hornady was making a great bullets for their 454's. IE: 300 xtp Mag.

It's cool to see the bigger animals, but the majority of us don't do that on a regular basis.

I know Freedom Arms gets ton`s of feedback from handgun hunters on how their guns and ammo they used had performed and found it interesting to read the above... I would think for a company like FA`s to make any recommendation they must done a little research into the numbers found them positive before they would commit... This does not mean the XTP is a perfect bullet because there is no such thing but for the 20 failures someone had with XTP`s...there is someone else with 20(maybe 19) successful hunts... As with people...you can find a little good in everyone if you look hard enough

I agree this is one of the best threads we've ever discussed here on the forum. It shows once again that there are lots of variables in our sport & that one time a bullet can succeed & the next time it can fail, even if the animal is smaller than the one where it was successful, go figure!
Maybe it's the angle, maybe the point of impact, mostly I think it goes back to velocity, just my thoughts but I'll give my reason for it.
On this Buffalo hunt the first 2 shots were at 75 yds with a muzzle velocity of just over 1600 fps. Not sure of the impact velocity but you math majors can figure it pretty quick. Maybe, just maybe that had something to do with the success of those 2 shots, just my thoughts.
Going back to one of Max's replies earlier on using a 400 gr hard cast at the Bovine Bash, he said it blew up on impact at close range, I'm not really surprised that it did, that's asking a lot of any bullet that's not pure copper, etc. Again, here's another maybe, what if that 400 gr hard cast had been going 200 fps slower on impact, would it have preformed better, I don't know, you guys have a lot more experience on those big animals than I do, I have no experience on them but every bullet except for the big solids has it's limits.
An XTP at the muzzle might have blown up just like that hard cast but at 75 yds had slowed down to where it was within the design limits of that bullet.
All of this is just asking questions, but velocity plays a factor in how a bullet fails or succeeds & this latest thread has really been a good read, I've enjoyed it very much.

Dick

Finding out those velocity levels and what point the bullets work well in and which bullets give the most margin of error is the question i seek an answer to.

I would question the veracity of that claim as frankly the old FA bullets were of a much higher quality than the XTP. I?m sorry they are no longer produced. I have to call FA this week and I?ll ask them about why they no longer produce this bullet. I will bet it was a financial decision.

Why don't bullet makers have published recommended speeds for each species? I know its not an absolute, but wouldn't that put a template down to kinda prevent some of the bullet failures? I know there are a lot of "what ifs" in this, but after all, it is a hypothetical question.

When FA stop producing their bullets Winchester picked them up.

Granted there are few bullets that deliver EVERY time, but I strive to find the one that will work like it is supposed to consistently. Simple concept.

Too many what ifs. And you couldn?t possibly replicate every animal in a lab. They publish or will provide recommended minimum and maximum speeds for general use.

Well, stand tall on that soap box and enjoy a cool glass of disappointment. Life is full of it and variables don?t help.

I believe they have been searching for the magic bullet since the Kennedy Assasination. Let me know when you find it. The one that does everything you want to everything you want.

We may never find it. But, the search is fun anyway.

Hey Zee.... Watch out....your experience is showing

Hey Zee.... Watch out....your experience is showing

However, one wonders when a recommendation is given on an expandable for cape buff why wouldnt someone with tons of experience mention the aframes.

This thread gets my vote for thread of the decade. Great stuff from those highly regarded!

DICK: I HAD A 300 gr FA BULLET BREAKUP ON THE POINT OF A KUDU's SHOULDER. THEY WERE VERY HARD BULLETS BUT HARD IS ALSO BRITTLE. THE SHOT SHUD HAVE BEEN A KILLER BUT THE BULLET DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE VITALS AND IT TOOK SOME TRACKING AND FOLLOW UP TO FINALLY ANCHOR HIM, AND IS ONE OF THE REASONS I GAVE UP ON THE FA BULLETS FOR BIG GAME HUNTING. THEY WORK GREAT ON WHITETAILS THOUGH AND WERE VERY ACCURATE BULLETS.