I have come to expect very little from Hornady bullets anyway.

Hey Craig... do you base this from what WE saw at the Bovine Bash??

....I know we both saw some real "eye openers" on that expedition.......

No, I base it on what I've seen and experienced before that. Not saying they're all crap but I've seen more Hornady bullet failures than any other. They seem to be more lightly constructed than they should be.

I guess you had poor performance on animals you shot for which I could`ent blame you for feeling that way....

You experienced poor performance as well, so why are you still clinging to them?

The n 2008 I tested quite a few defensive bullets in the 45 ACP in +P loading in the 45 ACP. The Hornady 230 grain XTP penetrated well enough but fragmented and left a smaller frontal area than the other bullets tested. I shot them through 4 layers of denim and wet pack. About 4 or 5 years ago I tried the 230 XTP in the 45 Super at 1130 FPS. The bullet obviously change since the bullet lost little to no weight and expanded extremely well with excellent penetration.

The bullet definately changed for the better, but when I run out o& these will the new ones perform the same? Only time will tell.

Whit, Wish you could see my reload room and all the different calibers, makes, styles and weights of bullets I have already used and will continue to use on game from small to large.... I try and load a different make bullet in a different caliber every time I hunt with my handguns....I`ve used just about every brand out there on 100+ boar I`ve taken..."Clinging to them"??? I don`t know if I would put it that way.... More like "another reload component"... I do know where to draw a line when using XTP`s and for most of it they have served me well...Gees Max...I used the same bullet to take my Cape buff as you will use when you take yours

A good way to show how I fell about bullets is to read the the results shown in the XTP`s vs Swift in 41 caliber write-up from a few years....They all have their place...

No Max.....I don`t put XTP bullets above all others... Only use them if I feel they can do the job....

PS-Besides Max....I`ve been known to use other bullet brands in the past

Just foolin with the .700...

anyway......

Thanks Whit....that was a good question....

240 gr Speer Gold Dot 44 mag, 240 gr PMC Star Fire 44 mag, 400 gr Hornady XTP 475/350 Mag, 400 gr Speer Deep Curl 475/350 Mag, 350 gr Speer Uni Cor 50 AE, 370 gr Cast Performance 50 AE, 385 gr Remington CL 50 AE, 375 gr Barnes XPB 500 S&W

125 gr Nosler BT 30/221, 100 gr FP 327 Federal, 300 gr Hornady 376 Steyr, 300 gr Nosler Accubond 376 Steyr, 350 gr Hawk 416 Barnes, 350 gr Speer Mag Tip 416 Barnes, 340 gr Woodleigh Weldcore PP 416 Barnes

Left to right: Cast Performance 525 WLN, DT 320 WFN, Rimrock 440 WFN, CEB 340 grain solid, 300 grain Punch, 380 grain Punch, 420 grain Punch, 300 grain CEB solid......none recovered.....

Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!

Ok, I don't have a dog in this, but that was funny!!!

Whit is a revolver guy, I'm a single shot guy. Whit was always a big Hardcast guy, I like jacketed bullets..I show recovered bullets, he shows a blank screen showing complete pass thru...it's just a rib...the history makes it funny

I gave Whit lip about having to shoot animals several times, he gave me lip about shooting hand rifles...just friendly ribbing

Yeah, I got it when I saw it. I know you two well enough to know what was going on. That was good stuff.

Yeah, it's all in good fun -- the way it should always be.

That XTP looks pretty good there.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A LOUSY PICTURE

You should know me better than that Rey!

Whit, ya cant have pics of the cast bullets ya shot into animals when theyre running around still with them rattling around in the animals stomach like a spray paint can.

Hey, at least I connected -- that's got to count for something....

Yeah. Thats what bill clinton used to say

Somewhere I have the pellet that's all that's left of the 300gr .405WCF Hornady bullet that made a fist sized entrance wound on the shoulder of an 80lb doe. I had to brain her to keep her from getting up.

This used to be a 225gr .338 SST. Thought it 'might' be a good elk bullet but it only penetrated 11" in SIMTEST. Which is dismal but at least it's 2" better than the 300gr .45 XTP that separated. I guess the 185gr is just a varmint bullet.

How far was the Simtest from the Muzzle with that .338cal SST? Any idea the impact velocity?

Same question for the 300gr XTP if you can.

James, who makes that HPFB cast bullet you pictured?

Any more info on that you can provide? Cartridge? What did you shoot it with? Etc.

I like the looks of that one!

1267fps for the XTP.

The .338RCM was a Hornady factory load out of a 20" barrel. Never chronographed it.

Here's some of the Midway reviews on the .338WinMag version, which is advertised at 100fps faster. To me, these failures ring a lot louder than any of the successes.

"after reading some of the 1 star bullet failures reviews here, I decided to shoot some magazines with them. Now I now that is tough on a bullet, but I've done it before with smaller calibers so just looking at previous experience. Have to say at close range these bullets break up into powder, maybe Hornady should think about using less tin in the lead portion. I won't be using these for moose this fall, ranges will range from 30 feet to 300 yards? I have to believe the experiences of previous reviewers on poor penetration. Well the brass is good, I think I'll roll some old 250 gr hornady RN. and 4350"

"I used this ammo 3 years ago on a solo elk hunt. I had an angry 6 point bull run in at me stopping 30 yards away. I shot him in he shoulder and he ran about 75 yards and stopped. His side looked different but I couldn't figure out why. He had his back to me when I came up to him the second time. He turned to the right and I shot him in the same spot a second time. The second shot brought him down. When I walked up to him I noticed the hair was missing from around the wound. It looked as if the hair was shaved off in a star pattern. I recovered the second bullet inches under the skin. The first round exploded on impact. Not cool. The second round was flat like paper. This was my first bull and almost wasn't. It scored 317 3/4 BC. I went with a different ammo for my second bull, and that one only went 50 feet. Sorry guys, but never again will I shoot these no matter how low the price."


"Bullets seperated upon impact. Wounded 2 Gemsbok with solid shoulder hits and could not understand what went wrong, then took 4 shots to drop Blue Wildebeest. Upon skinning Wildebeest found shrapnel and seperated bullet housing. No penetration after contact with bone! Will never use again!"


Here's part of one from somebody happy with bullet failure.

"The bullet jacket was found stuck in the off side hide, while the core had exited. This was the only animal on which I didn't get full penetration. Would definitely recommend."

Thanks.
How far was the Simtest from the gun on both? That will help me estimate the impact velocity. Or at least, get an idea of real world application.

I use both of those bullets, by the way. So, the information is pertinent to me. Not asking to pick on you or personally ?attack?.

SST?s. that I have tried are way too soft for my liking and i?ll Never use them again on any animal larger than a coyote.

About three feet.



That's about it for me as well.

I have used them in a .25-06 with great results on deer.
I have used them in a .243 Win with less than pleasing results as it appeared to not expand as much as I like on deer.
I tried to load them for my .338 WM but couldn?t get the accuracy I wanted. So, I have a box and a half of the bullets I am trying to figure out what to do with.

I am not a big fan of crimp rings on rifle bullets. So, I usually stay away from the SST.

I won?t use them anymore in the .25-06 because I have a more accurate bullet now with equal terminal performance. And I won?t use them in the .243 Win because they were too tough for me.

Wow! Yeah.............I?m not likely to shoot an animal at 3 feet. That?s a little unrealistic for my application.

Thanks.

Anybody else see the crack pipe on this particular Midway reviewer's desk?

So, the first bullet "exploded on impact", but only knocked the hair off as though shaved and left a star pattern in the skin. From a .338 Win Mag?!? Shaved hair.........and left a star impact. Hmmmmm

So, he "shot him in the same spot a second time".

The second bullet.......that hit the same spot........only penetrated inches under the skin..........but yet brought down a bull elk.

If a .338 WM round can "explode" on impact and only knock the hair off with a tiny star pattern.........We need to be using .50 BMGs on elk.

Conversely, if the very same cartridge can bring down an elk after only penetrating "inches under the skin"...........we can all throw our hard cast bullets away. Who needs penetration!?!

Craig........I ain't pointing at you on this. I'm pointing at the conflicting and unrealistic information from that reviewer.

The flags are flying and they ain't range flags.

Just trying to get us to think.

Zee, this is the same reason why I copy and pasted the 500 gr Hornady review from Midway and screenshot the B&M rifles take on the bullet...they are good between 1,800 - 2,100 fps, but suck out of a pistol at much lower velocities ...there are some inconsistencies

That's why I've always said test bullets yourself. Unfortunately, some folks are not always honest...like "I hit em in the gizzard, and the bullet blew up" in real life, they couldn't hit the "gizzard" at 2 feet..LOL....

before anyone thinks I'm talking about them, that was just an analogy

Franchise, this is from the Hornady web site

50 cal 500 gr InterLock? Flat Point
Item #50105 | 50/Box
Delivering a Better Performance
Hornady Traditional and FMJ bullets are built with a rugged AMP? bullet jacket (Advanced Manufacturing Process) that clearly delivers better performance. The thin-plated full metal jacket offered by other manufacturers is easily distorted and often breaks or separates when the bullet impacts the target.

The Hornady AMP bullet jacket features virtually zero tolerance for concentricity and near-zero wall thickness variation, punching through targets without deforming or breaking.


Notice they call that bullet an interlock, which I believe is the bullet being discussed in your screen shot.

To be 100 percent honest, I truly don't really care what Hornady calls or labels there 500 gr FP bullet. I've held the loaded round and component bullet in my hand...they are identical twins. Either way, I think that they are using sheer weight and mass to try to make the bullet function properly. I have been unable to get the bullet to blow apart or fall apart at single shot pistol velocities. I do wish that it was bonded though...I need to order some 450 gr Spitzers (bonded) .500 from Fury Bullets to test...the 300 gr RN (bonded) 44 cals that I've tested in my Super Redhawk are pretty dang stout (I love em)