No offense taken...
Skeeter,
The only reason I'm reluctant to use jacketed bullets is because of an experience my Dad had three years ago with the very same Hornady XTP 240gr sabots w/90grains of FFg BP. He took a broadside shot at a medium sized six-pointer at about 50 yards. He said that after the smoke cleared the buck was still standing there like nothing happened for a couple seconds, before it bounded up over hill and out of sight. He tracked it, by his estimate, half a mile before finding him. Turns out the shot wasn't perfectly placed (in one side at an angle only grasing between two ribs and punching one lung) and went clean through without expanding. Both holes were just big enough to fit a pinky finger into. The bullet didn't eapand, so there was little shock and peripheral tissue damage. The next year he switched back to big Hornady HP conicals whith which such a shot would have been almost instantly fatal.
Now, that being said, I'm not dead set against using a jacketed pistol bullet (I still have about 25 300 grain PTX sabots that I plan to try, if only to plink with), but I want one that will perform as well or better than the big conicals I know work.
I appreciate your advice, thank you.
Mike
Gun control means putting the second bullet through the same hole as the first- Ted Nugent
NRA Member