Lehigh 245 Grain Controlled Fracturing Bullet
 

Last summer this Lehigh 245g controlled fracturing bullet was tested by shooting it through carpet, plywood, and water jugs. Performance was superlative. Recently, it occurred to me, that i had no knowledge about the accuracy of this bullet. This morning there was a chance to beat an incoming storm. Temperature was 30. Wind was almost zero.

The Omega Dream Season, with a 1.5-5 scope, did the shooting. The load was 110g Blackhorn, black crush rib sabot, W209 primer. The Lehigh bullet had never before, been shot through the Dream Season. The first shot from the cold clean barrel was made using the XTP bullet, to see if the bullet would hit paper. The next three shots were made using the Lehigh bullet. These three shots measure 1 3/4" center to center. The smoke from the powder drifted left. Then the next two shots were made using the XTP bullet. The three holes made by the XTP measure 2 3/8" center to center.

Then two more shots were taken using the Lehigh bullet, from a warming barrel. The smoke from these shots drifted to the right for the one, and away for the other. The five shots measure 3 3/8" center. One vial of powder remained, and the last shot was made using the XTP bullet. Every shot went higher higher, and it seems i could have waited longer between shots; it was cold.

Good shoot'n.

I like your portable target stand. How long are the legs on that?

The legs are cut from a 6 foot length of tube steel. Front are cut 32" long, leaving 40" for the back. All thread are 2' long, spaced 2' apart.

Thanks. Nice portable.

very good shooting. That is a long way to throw a muzzle loader bullet. That scope you mention sounds about perfect.

All these Win209 primer threads are getting old. :p

Ron I don't know about you but those less expensive XTPs shot good enough for me. And like Cayugad said, 200 yards is a long way to throw a ML bullet.
The Lehighs are nice but......at just 5/8" difference in group size at 200 yards that ain't enough to justify buying them.

Anyway, that is some nice shooting. I like that stand too. I have one similar made out of 2x4s and 3/8" threaded rod. But I like yours better. I've also found that those threaded rods don't stay very straight when you hit one square with a .58 caliber PRB during sighting in.

I made my target stands out of 3/4 inch CPVC. Its very light weight, comes apart easy (Unless you glue it) and its amazing how it will stand up to wind. Just some big office clips hold the target nice and sturdy. I have three of them, and set them on the range at different ranges, when friends want to shoot. That way they have to guess distances too.

This one pictured was too close to my steel back stop and a ricochet if lead will break it. I never have actually front on shot it. But some duct tape and a stick is a quick fix. This spring I will fix the joints much better.

I would hope that you are not just judging the value of a bullet by it accuracy. Terminal Performance carries a bigger value for me than just accuracy.

Also and I am not sure about other places but bullets seem to have take a leap in price lately. A month ago I bought a box of Sierra .452x300's for just over $20 today buying that same bullet the price has jumped to $31. A box of Hornady .308x150 gr. bullets is $44... Geez I am glad I am not reloading anymore!

Absolutely. To me, that is the MOST important thing. For target shooting, sure... about any bullet is fine. The cheaper the better if you shoot a ton. But for hunting, I want the best money can buy. I know for me personally, if I have a great year I might be shooting 3-4 bullets during hunting season with a ML... typically more like 1 or 2. Certainly not cost prohibitive.


Great shooting Ron! Sub MOA grouping is impressive for sure... not only the rifle/load but the shooter as well :cool2:

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

Why? I don't see why.

Because they are rifle bullets designed for 45-70 velocities, which pretty well match moderate muzzleloader loads.

The 300gr XTP MAG is likely tougher than many of the 458 300gr HPs. The Sierra, Remington and Hornady 300gr 458s are all kinda fragile for a 300gr rifle bullet. If you want a tougher one, the Speer 300gr 458 is the one to pick.

^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^

According to Hornady the 300 grain XTP magnum bullet is good to 2,100 fps. i've shot several 275 pound+ boars with that bullet. Bullet goes through both shoulders and i've never recovered one.

Correction - I mean the 350 gr .458" bullet. And the reason I was saying the .458 bullet is that I shot a 300 and 350 lb black bear with the 350 gr Hornady HP with my 45-70 guide gun. One was DRT and the other only ran about 25 yards. The chest cavity looked like jelly in both.

I do, but i'll be using an inline to hunt this year for the first time. I'll use a Bloodline if I hunt the rifle season. Not sure what i'll use if I hunt the muzzy season.

That Bloodline seems like a good bullet. It should work well for you should you get the opportunity. Good luck.

Ummmm, which Hornady 350gr HP? I see a 350gr flat point and round nose only.

http://www.hornady.com/store/.458-45-CAL

I've used those FP 350gr in the socom. They sure put the ouch on hogs. Never seen a 350gr HP hornady in .458 though. Might used to have had them and I never ran across them or tried them but as long as I've been using Hornady products (about as long as Hornady has been making them) I never ran across them.

You're right. Its the 300 gr HP. I'm confused. I'm in FL and all my loading data is in PA. At my age I don't load anything without consulting my load data book. I do know they knock the snot out of a blackie.
I also use a 300 gr FP I think they are Sierra. I remember trying the 350 RN in my Winchester 78 (.45-70) but they didn't shoot all that great out of that rifle.