My direct experience is quite limited, however there is one issue which has recently concerned me.

Some years ago I bought a quantity of XTP Mags for the .454 in preparation for my Africa hunt. Now the XTP Mags are stated to be a tougher jacket than the XTPs and indeed that's how they performed. All shots achieved complete penetration and no projectiles were recovered. Indeed the exit wounds suggested that they acted more like solids. It was more or less as I expected.

Now we come to the issue that concerns me, but for which I have no direct knowledge. On many forums I have read over the last year there have been complaints about Hornady components. Everything from jacket separation on projectiles to prematurely split case necks on rifle cases. In many cases the people who have complained have been long time Hornady users but its been recent production which they believe has let them down. We know that for the past several years, there has been a consumer run on everything shooting related. No sooner does it hit the shelves than its sold. Hornady publicly announced that it temporarily discontinued some of its range in order to cope with the demand for the most popular lines. The question is: as part of this process has the standard dropped. Does an XTP made in 2016 have the same jacket alloy and thickness as one made in 2010? Is the bonding process the same? Have short cuts been taken in order to get products to market? When we talk of XTP performance are we talking about the performance we obtained from old stock or new stock? I don't know the answers nor do I have any data, but its an issue of concern.