That certainly has been my feelings - right up until yesterday when I bought those Sierra's. They shoot really well for with about the same flight path as my normal Lehigh's and even $30 they are less expensive than the Lehigh's but I really like the $20 price they were as to what they are now...

So I thought I would check... even a box of Hornady .458x300 gr. is now $30! I remember when????

Nice shooting Ron. My target stand is an old real estate sign. I can step on the lower bar and it drives the legs into even slightly frozen ground or snow. I replace the cardboard for a paper target base every year or as needed if I shoot it out.

I don't want to get into a war on words with bullets because we all have our own opinions.
I shoot those 300 gr XTPs in .451" and .429" out of my 50s and also the 200 gr 10mm from my .45.
I've shot 10-12 deer with them and the farthest any one went was about 50 yard or so. So I have no complaints. As for performance, I've never found a bullet as they were all pass throughs but the internal damage was severe.
One buck I shot with a 200 gr 10mm bullet was a legitimate 200+ lb 10 point that only ran 35 yards before piling up. Both lugs destroyed and top of heart busted up.
For some reason, again my opinion, people think they need a premium bullet for deer size game. I don't believe they have evolved into some kind of armored super deer. Now if you get significantly better accuracy from a bullet like the Lehigh or if your state does not allow lead projectiles then by all means I'm all for using them.

Those Lehigh are too expensive to throw. Me, i can't throw them any where near 200 yard. Seems like i could throw one of them XTP about 100'.



Actually the XTP was more accurate than the Lehigh if one tosses out the first shot from a cold, squeaky clean barrel. See the photo with the shots numbered in order. The Lehigh should be devastating on a deer, but then again the XTP does horrible things to deers too.















Just last week 10 boxes of them XTP were placed on our door step for just $188, which is about what they cost 5 years ago. This is a good thing, because the cardboard in the target stand gets replaced about twice a month, except during hunting season.

Not everybody is talking about deer when they mention terminal performance. I know in the case of me, grouse, or Mike we're probably thinking about elk. What works on deer may not be good for elk.

Or even deer in another part of the country that have some really massive body size in comparison to average Southern deer. When you have Bucks around that average 300+ pounds on the hoof, you want terminal performance to be excessive. Not to mention you want the deer to expire as close to the shot as possible on public land in places that have a lot of hunters and will jump on your deer and claim it as theirs. Been there, done that.

I've never run into that, but if someone needs an animal bad enough to steal it. They can have it and i'll just keep hunting for another one.

I wouldn't hesitate to use a 300 gr XTP on a 300+ lb deer or even an elk for that matter.
Muley I believe that most in here are deer oriented. You and a few others I can understand your reasoning for a bullet that will perform well on elk. And IMO the XTP would stand up to the task. And as I recall you like to get close like me and prefer the .54 PRB and traditional gear.

Me thinks a better option for elk would be the 300g XTP magnum, but i sure wouldn't use it on deer.

Possibly Ron but even better yet would be a .458" 300 gr bullet.
for .45-70