Any one use the new Hornady FPB.
 

Although I have been successful hunting elk in Colorado using the powerbelt bullets (any bullet will kill an elk at 15 feet) I am wanting a bullet that does not have the reputation of breaking apart. Can't use sabots in colorado. Any one use the Hornady FPB?

Tried them.
Loaded hard (hard to start in the bore) in my rifle and accuracy wasn't that good (not bad, just not as good as some lead bullets or sabots).
Never hunted with them.

I tried the 350 gr last year. They shot good out to 200 yards. with a 100 gr powder . As far as loading hard, give them a good smack to get started and they slide down easy after that. They load about like a lot of conicals. Accuracy for me was excellent. I just picked up 3 packs of the 300 gr yesterday to try. I think you will like them . They are definitely better than powerbelts. Then again what isn't.

I have had excellent results with the FPB 350, with 90 gr I can get groups well under an inch. I do use a sort of unconventional way of loading them or should I say preparing them for loading. Since they are designed for the flared skirt to hold on to the bore and they make them so they will fit some off brands with an out sized bore I flattened a round ball and forced it into the bore of my gun,then measured across the rifling [not the groves] and bored a hole in a 1 inch brass bar that size mounted the bass on a block of wood with the area under the hole cut out and pushed a bunch of FPB through when having a few minutes free time. this keeps the skirt round and with the right tension to the bore.
This is the first target I shot at 100yds with Blackhorn 90 gr after I decided what would work best for me. Also they do mushroom very well and stay together, I have only used them on a feral pig and a small bear so far but was quite satisfied with there terminal result. Lee
PS. I flared the top of the hole in the brass so it would form with out cutting or scraping.

I love them. Very accurate in every gun I've shot them out of. They do have a trick to loading them as someone mentioned. Line them up in the bore then give them a quick smack with the short starter. After that, they just slide right down.

Here's the first ever group I shot with them out of my 700ML.



Give them a try. They will work better than the powerbelts for sure. Another option, and what I use for CO elk, is a 460g Bullshop.

try these out, these wont come apart. www.thorbullets.com the price is cheap when it comes to hunting with them.

MD, are you saying the FPB's come apart inside an elk? Have you experienced this, know someone who has or is it just conjecture? I'm curious cause the FPB's look like they would be a perfect CO elk round but if they are coming apart inside of elk then maybe not....

there are reports of them coming apart in game, TX had one do it but is happy with the performance. I prefer to spend a few $ more and buy a high quality bullet that will NOT come apart. For elk and bigger game, you want the bullet to penetrate, not come apart.

"Now that the FPB bullets have been out there for a couple of seasons, what kind of results have you had on elk. Our party shot 2 elk with them last year and the results were not as good as I had hoped. Both elk were shot with a load of 95gr of BH209.
Elk #1 was a cow that was shot at a range of about 100 yds. The bullet hit at the base of the neck and blew up into small pieces on the neck bone. There was a fist sized hole in the neck on the entrance side and no exit hole. When we cut up the elk, the near side front shoulder was full of small pieces of lead and jacket for several inches close to the impact area. Elk went down immediately, but no part of the bullet appeared to have made it through the neck.
Elk #2 was a 4x5 bull. This elk was shot at a range of 50yds with a high shoulder shot. The bullet put a large hole in the top of the shoulder blate and again appeared to come apart. There were marks in the bottom of the spinal column where several fragments struck it, but nothing big enough to cause the spine much damage. The bigest pieces were found inside the off shoulder and nothing penetrated the far shoulder. The elk went about 100 yds after the shot.
Although both elk were killed, I was hoping for a little better penetration from the bullets. On one elk, the tip was cut off and on the other, the tip was pulled out to comply with Colorado's laws."

Some would say, They died didnt they? Well it comes back to what i said earlier, spend the extra $6 and get a superb conical.

I shot one through the shoulder of a bear and it did not come apart hit the bone to.
MD is just trying to steal threads again.

lmao right lee.

Which is why he shoots powerbelts :s13: :s2:

couldn't resist...

i shoot everything, including round balls. My .530 round ball didnt come apart on the elk i shot :D and it was super cheap.

MD, do you pull the tips out of the thor bullets to comply with CO law? IF so, how does that effect it's accuracy?

they got rid of that law this year. no bullet length restrictions now. hornady said pulling them out or cutting them flush wouldnt hurt the bullets performance.

I have used them the last two years and killed two elk. First one totally lived up to billing: passed through (three bones): the shoulder blade, rib, chest, another rib and lodged under the skin on the far side with 85% retention. This year the bullet went through the big bone just above the elbow (very large bone) shattered it and the bullet did come apart, but one big chunk went through the heart and she went down in short order.

I have had good accuracy and good terminal performance on the two elk I have taken (both cows) and would not hesitate to use them again. However, I have 2 boxes of 300 gr Thor bullets ordered. If they fly well, I may use them for elk next time. A solid copper Barnes bullet of 300 gr with a reliable expansion and solid rear core just seems to be about the best you can do for an elk.

I shoot them in my Knight Vision with BH209 and get great results!!! I was getting less then an inch at 50 yds @ about 2" high and within an inch and a half @ 1" high at 100 yds.

They are little hard to get started, but will slide down the bore very easily once you get them started. I am trying to get my hands on some of the new 300 gr bullets. These should be a little better for deer sized game. But the 350 gr bullets will work just great on hogs!

i shoot the FPB bullet out of my Encore using 110 grains of 2F Goex Pinnacle. They load easily after i give the short starter a good whack. Accuracy is not all that great, about 2.5" at 100 yards.

i have killed 8-10 hogs with the 350 grain FPB bullet, some were really big hogs. Earlier this month a young US Army officer i was hunting with shot a hog at a feeder that weighed 285 pounds field dressed. The man was using an Omega that we had sighted in that morning using the 350 grain FPB bullet. The powder charge was 100 grains of 2F JSG. The bullet went through over 3" of gristle in the shield and 12-14 inches of innards, muscle and bone.

I shoot the 350s in my Genesis, with 100 gr loose Pyrodex. They shoot well for me, meaning they seem to average about an inch at the 50 yd range. I've never shot them any further at the range. I really like the idea of not needing a sabot.

I've shot 5 deer with the FPBs, at ranges from about 40 to 100 yds. All pass-throughs, some hit bones, some did not, no signs of bullets coming apart. I have no second thoughts about taking whatever shot angle is needed to get the bullet into the vitals of a deer.

Pre-sizing them to your gun is the trick to loading these bullets. A sizing block (like mentioned above) works fine, but I simply remove the breechplug and push them nose-first through my bore with a cleaning rod. They need something soft to land on when they fall from the breech. Once sized they load with finger pressure. I think folks that don't get at least good accuracy with FPBs may be damaging the skirts when they load the bullet.

I have enough 350 gr bullets to last a few seasons now, but the 300s interest me.

I tried some of the Thor they seemed to shoot decent[not as good as the FPB but good enough] I made up some jell and they went through the first block and into the second before they opened up. I think they might be designed for elk and bigger game.

250gr thor is perfect for deer size game and elk +

this thor opened up on this buck at 175 yards with only a 105gr RS charge.

I tried them in my white rifle this past fall and I couldnt seem to get a good group with them. I'm not done trying yet though. Gonna try some different pwd on them and see what happens.

gregrn43

Which bullets did you try, since MD/FG changed the subject I am unsure what bullet you were talking about.

Which model of White do you have... I see you say 'White Shooting System 50' I am not aware of that gun/system...

from which end of the barrel are you pushing the bullets from? Seems to me from the muzzle end, because you have them falling from the breech, but I can't picture it.

Also, when you load them for firing, do you start the bullet so that it is alined with the rifling?

I tried that method before I made a block. I pushed the from the muzzle end, because some guns have sharp edges where the breach plug mates to the barrel. It works just fine makes loading quick and simple. Never messed with lining up the rifling , when the skirt expands it takes care of that part.

looks like something I'll have to try.

i shot a small doe w/ the fpb this fall at 45yds. hit hard and exited w/ minimal meat damage. did not exit though. still weighed 310grs however.

im also shooting this out of a 18" t/c katahdin bbl ahead of 90 gr of goex 2FG.

I push mine from the muzzle, and out the breech. My gun has a "QLA" type muzzle. I don't bother trying to align the rifling marks made on the bullet to the bore when loading.

I guess I lucked out. I have an Omega (X7), normally known for their tight barrels, but I have no problem loading the FPBs, without pre-sizing them at all. No harder to load than most sabots I use. I sometimes use a short starter but it's not really necessary.

The old adage, "depends on how YOUR gun loads/shoots them," applies.

I love em! I started useing them last year,took 1 doe last year with it..This year took an 8pt and a 12pt with the FPB..I can easily get 1.5 inch groups at 100 yds all day long without swabing between shots..Thats 2 777 pellets,im sure if I switched to loose I could shrink them down,but who needs better than 1.5inch groups?? Not me..I'll post some pics of them when I get home from work tonight,i'll make a seperate thread..