44 Caliber 180 Grain XTP--50g BH
 

Range was 25 yard. Powder charge of 50 grain Blackhorn was the load. The bullet is the 44 caliber 180 grain XTP.




















This bullet didn't do much to the jugs, just poked holes is about all. The jacket was found in the second jug. The lead penetrated through 4 jugs; bounced off the fifth jug, leaving it undamaged. The lead was found on the ground in front of, and to the side of the horse, about three feet. The combined weight of the lead and the jacket is 179.6 grain.

Even with the separation I am pretty sure that bullet would do the job. The lead expanded and penetrated more than enough to be lethal even with that light load.

I agree Bronko. That little el-cheapo bullet did real well. Plus the 200 gr in 44-cal is built noticeably tougher.

Well, i guess one had to be here, and see the results with one's own eyes,. This bullet did awful!. The jugs could have been refilled if one repaired them with a little duct tape. This bullet did virtually no damage. Did you fellas watch the video??

You fellas are missing something. Compare the video of the Lehigh 185g with the video of this bullet; maybe you will realize how poorly this bullet worked. The front two jugs hit by the Lehigh 185g were beyond repair; all the jugs hit by the xtp had small repairable holes. PLease don't take this bullet hunting.

So.....what does that have to do with how this bullet worked?

I agree. Try the 44-cal 200 grain, that's rated for higher speeds and not coming apart so quickly and see more damage with those jugs.

Myself and XTPs?..... I go more serious using the 300 gr. 45-cal XTP Mag. But this week I am testing the itsy-bitsy 200 gr. Hornady FTX in 200 grain / 45-cal. I am not sure if I will wake up on Opening Day of Muzzleloader season a wuss and use the 200 grainer, or wake-up bearish and use the 300 grainer. :)

Same with Opening day of rifle season. Not sure if I will use my soft 130 gr. bullet in my .270, or yank out the .300 WSM and it's 180 gr. bullet.

All I know right now is I boxed-up all my 40-cal ML bullets and put them away in a shoe-box. I will go strictly by the firearms rules of Michigan and use a required 45-cal ML bullet.

Ron - no need to get offensive. All I said was even with the separation that bullet would do the job. It may not have had the explosive performance of the Lehigh but it would still have resulted in a dead deer.

Interesting. I cant seem to easily find that 45cal requirement. IIRC Busta has been using the 40cal 200gr SST to harvest deer in Michigan. Im not sure of the zone or season he uses them.

that bullet would have knocked down a deer without a doubt. Nice mushroom and weight retention. Deer are not water jugs, so I don't think the comparison is good.

Ron, while it didn't seem to have the same hydrostatic shock effect that a lot of other bullets do, the bullet would still have resulted in a dead deer if put in the heart lung region. Still had good mushrooming and held together somewhat okay. I would say not to use it at the loads I generally shoot at as I would have to imagine it would blow all to hell, but for a light load low recoil hunting setup for nothing over 75-100 yards I would feel moderately comfortable with the performance. Maybe try to avoid full contact of shoulder bone and go for a poke through the ribs.

If you are stating I am wrong, please post the correct law here. But be sure it's a 2015 Law, not 2014.