Praise the 300 XTP
 

For years i never looked at this bullet. Always used the Deep Curl for hunting, and practicing. These days now, the Deep Curl is unavailable for purchase; i looked at other bullets. Prior to this past hunting season, i sighted in my rifles with two bullets. The plan was to use a well thought of tipped bullet, because it was accurate. However, as season neared, i began leaning toward using the XTP, because it seemed more consistent/ accurate. Because our son was to join me for the hunt, i readied two rifles. The two rifles shot the 300 XTP, 75 (weighed) grain Blackhorn, black crush rib, W209 primer. The two rifles were equipped with 1X glass, as per regulation. The same load was accurate in each rifle.

The boy killed a deer first at 157 yard, using the X7 with 1X glass. Strangely the 300 XTP didn't hit much of anything. The bullet hit behind the diaphragm, kinda hit stomach, and went through the diaphragm, hit no lung, and exited. The deer went up some, and fell over. When we reached the deer it was dead. When he gutted it, there was no blood in the chest. It sure puzzled me what killed the deer. It seemed the deer had no vital injury. We decided the deer couldn't breath, because of the hole in the diaphragm........ :confused:

About three weeks later, using the same rifle, i gut hit a deer with the 300 XTP, at about 100 yard. It ran off a short distance, and fell down; i thought it was dead. When i was ten feet away, it got up, and ran off; wow was i surprised. It ran a short ways down to the bottom, and up the other side a short distance, where it quit. Another hit by the XTP; the deer expired. Thinking about it, i was impressed the bullet hurt the deer so badly with such a poor hit. Two deer, two poor hits, two deer in the freezer, 300 XTP......... :happy0001:

This morning i had an opportunity to shoot the bullet out 200 yard with negligible breeze. The rifle was the rust pitted Omega with a 2.5-8 scope mounted. The load was 300 XTP, 60 (weighed) grain Blackhorn, black crush rib sabot, W209 primer. Elevation is about 4600 feet. Temperature was about 60 degree. First shot of three was from a clean cold barrel. Range was about exactly 200 yard.
































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Great shoot'n!

When we first started having a few sabots available, I used the 300gr XTP from a Knight MK85 with what we could find and it just hammered whitetails.

So, if we want to take gut shots we should use the 300gr XTP? :p

I always liked that bullet. for accuracy. I do like the .44 caliber .430 model and they shoot real good in most my rifles.

I too am a fan of the 300 gr XTP in both the .44 and the .45 calibers. I could not notice a difference in accuracy between the two. And I used the green and black CR sabots also. The shot good out of my Accura and my GM LRH barreled sidelocks.

Darn good shootin Ron! Glad I'm not the only one to hit the target frame...cept the .451 430gr. White conical went through the right front leg!! :eek2:

There is a hit on the lower left, the upper right, and the bottom horizontal all thread needed replacing not long ago.

Look on the bright side, your shoot'n is improving :)

HaHa! I still don't know why I hit my right target frame leg. The first shot was far right so I adjusted left, or thought I did, second shot was in same place...more adjustment to left and then I hit the leg. Crapola...shot went through left jagged edges to boot. I was shooting a White Model 97 in .451 finally got the group to move left and 1/2 inch high at 25yds. just wanted to get it on paper for the grandson so he had a place to start.

Next day I took a hack saw an cut off the sharp edges an wrapped the hole in camo duck tape, at least it won't cut me again...

That's very good shooting.

There are three 300 grain XTP bullets: The .430, the .452 XTP and the .452 XTP magnum. All three are excellent bullets. i get the best accuracy from the 300 grain .430 XTP. All three bullets knock the stuffing out of 300+ pound hogs.

Which bullet are you using?

The 300 grain XTP has been my go to bullet in all of my 50 calibers for several years now. Many deer - no failures.

Same bullet, different conditions
 

Wednesday morning the bullet was shot some more. The rifle was the same as the OP, as was the load, and the location, and the shooter. There were some changes. The scope was replaced with a fixed 4 power scope. It was very much warmer than it was in the OP; it was hot. Still, the three shots were made without waiting, and done as quickly as the rifle could be reloaded. The first shot was from a dirty breech plug, and barrel. Shame on me, but because the barrel is already pitted, i don't seem to care much about keeping it clean. This time the range ended up being 201 yard.















What's not to like about the bullet??












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You're getting better Ron.

300 xtp -- different rifle
 

Yesterday morning i made it out in the hills, and did some shooting. Two rifles came with. An Omega Dream Season with a 2-7 power scope mounted. An AR with a 1.5-5 power scope. It was a nice 56° up there at 4600'. At first there was a breeze, but after awhile the breeze quit; that is when i took advantage and shot three 300 XTP at the bottom target. Load was 72 (weighed) grain Blackhorn, black crush rib sabot, Federal 209A primer. The shots were from a fouled barrel. The rifle isn't sighted in for this bullet, but is just another rifle that shoots the 300 xtp bullet well.















The distance to the target i forgot to measure, but it has to be 200 yard or slightly more. The holes in the top target were made whilst there was a slight breeze. The .22 holes were made just having a little fun emptying 9 cartridges from a 10 round magazine as fast as i could aim, and pull the trigger.

The 300 xtp sure is accurate, and deadly.












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I have used them they work well with medium loads for me but the 250 Bloodline is my first choice. Speaking of Gold Dots they call them Deep Curl now I just got some the local sport shop owner is a friend and he called and ask if I still wanted some he had 3 boxes so now I have 3 boxes.

The XTP is probably the most popular ML bullet on the market more for price than Terminal Performance!


Terminal Performance is far more important to me especially at my age not to mention the fairness to the animal.

Every deer i ever hit with an xtp was hurt severely. Every deer i ever hit with the xtp ended in our freezer. The xtp is accurate. The xtp happens to be priced fair. In tests, the 300 xtp penetrated through 4 jugs, the 300 Deep Curl penetrated through 3 jugs. Yes it is 'fair' for old people, to kill deer with the xtp. Youngsters too can be 'fair', and use the 300xtp to stock their freezer.


:D


Every deer i ever killed with the xtp was hurt severely.













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Ron, since you have done a lot of testing would you give use your opinion on how many jugs it takes to be the equivalent of a pass through on an average adult buck on a good broadside hit behind the shoulder?
I realize not everybody is wanting pass troughs but some of us like to have a good blood trail.

Lee,

It seems to me your guess is better than mine........


:D



Umm..............You asked...........With the carpet, and plywood first, my wag is if a bullet passes through two jugs after the carpet/plywood, it will pass through a deer behind the shoulders. What do you think?














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My opinion on that is probably the same as ronlaughlin's, behind the shoulder, 2 jugs after plywood and carpet. On the shoulder or scapula as in a high shoulder hit I'd give it another jug for full pass through scapula to scapula. On the heavy bones and joint points would be anyones guess really. That would be dependent upon angle of entry and so many other variables. Like lemoyn, I'm greedy and want pass through performance. 2 holes is always better than one. I've personally never had a bullet failure from the XTP's with either the 250gr or the 300gr. But I've never pushed them as hard as some of you guys do with inlines. I'm not in the old people club yet but at 50 I'm surely not in the young peoples class either.

Most of the bullets I have used have passed through with the exception of a couple of gold dots that hit the off shoulder on deer, bear has been a different category for me,
I have never lost one but the bigger blacks have stopped most of the bullets I have used on them if they were in the 300 pound range field dressed. They were difficult to track some times it took most of a day to track one down and get him out.

And with that you know why I say a bullet with accuracy and Terminal Performance are the important factors. Almost any bullet or most reasonable bullets or round balls can, in time, harvest in a given range. I choose to use a bullet that I know will work for me from 0 - 200+ yards, with immediate results. If I can make my shot and have the animal go down on the spot (defeat the flight response) I know I have a bullet that will work for me.


In that same description I agree - I want a pass through!

Which is why I choose to go for the shoulders sabotloader. The old man favored the high shoulder shot and I use that occasionally on perfectly motionless animals but my preferred shot is right in the basket breaking down both shoulders if at all possible. At the speeds my bullets are going, and the size of them, I really don't damage as much meat as some want to think. You know, the powerbelt users that have to stay off the shoulder because of bullet failure. But with both shoulders busted, that deer isn't going far, if anywhere. 0 cartilage in my knees from many years of football makes long tracking and dragging jobs a nightmare anymore. Like you, I want to put that animal down as close to me as possible.

I can identify with all of that! + plus add the degenerative joint disease that has hastened things along.


At one time - I did strive for a disabling shoulder shot but over the years and first with the discovery of Nosler Partition bullets and then with the newer more developed 'Controlled Fracture' bullets it really has become - not necessary to shoot the shoulders.


With the Noslers and the velocity can shoot them and not worry about separation - their mushrooming and combined with the velocity they are traveling - they create a tremendous amount of 'hydrostatic shock' and destruction in the chest cavity. The degree of this shock tends to override any flight response the animal can muster. Then with the advent of the CF you get the same features and more often than not if the shot placement is high heart - you will get a petal that pierces the spinal cord and even if you don't the other petals loose in the chest destroying organs +hydro shock of the core of the bullet make soup out of the internals in the chest.


The big benefit - no 'flight response' and a near immediate dead animal - I like that now days. Not only because of tracking - but in some of the areas we hunt a matter 50 yards could put the animal in an unreachable spot or on someone else's land.

I've seen the results of those Lehigh bullets both from the old man and Alex both. The only smoker I own that will shoot a sabot is my Renegade and only XTP's will shoot worth a flip out of it. I tried some of Alex's 220gr .458 CF's out of it. Not good results at all. The best group I got out of it was well over 3.5 inches with a 90 grain Swiss FFG load. Maybe those 230gr new ones you recommended will do better. I have dad's Thompson Center and that smokeless demon spawn as well but I'm just not that into inlines. They just don't twist my crank. I do have to admit that smokeless is fun to shoot and I will most definitely take it on an Elk hunt but my main focus is my smoke poles.

I was going to say you should try some of those new Lehigh .451x230 grain bullets from your Rene.. In a note to Lehigh Dave when he started talking about building this bullet I asked about it possibly being able to shoot from a slow 1-48 twist and he in his positive nature indicated he felt that it could be done. He did and it does.






I gotta say I really do not shoot the older side-hammers like I use to. But every time I get one out I marvel at their appearance. I just like their lines - especially the Renegades - just plain shooters.





And this one certainly handled the new Lehigh copper good enough for me... even though it is only a 75 yard target and it was the very first time I shot the bullet.






Awhile back Dave created a .458x220 grain Bloodline - I did out of curiosity try that through one of my Rene's and it did not go so good either.



You would think... as much as I was into rifles and reloading I would jump all-over a smokeless ML - but for some reason I have just not gotten the urge at all. Probably because of the terrain I hunt in and my age and physical abilities - I really have no need for the extra range.

I have several side hammers and flinters. That Rene is in the top 2 of my favorites. It just plain shoots. With one of my molded 275 grain conical bullets, you can cover a 3 shot group at 100 yards with a quarter and have some room to wiggle. You just don't argue with that kind of shooter. It can certainly shoot better than I can aim it anymore.
Tom sent my little sister Alex a buttload of those 220gr Lehighs. I am assuming they are the ones you were referring to. They sure do the damage. They also shoot fantastically out of that smokeless screaming along at around 2700 fps+. They flew great out to 200 but at around 300 they started to open up a good bit. Just not enough BC for the long shots.
When they are available I will get some of those 230's for the Renegade. Which sabot did you use?

They are on the web site now...


https://www.lehighdefense.com/collec...nt=36101510216


They are 451 but have a very aggressive knurling to lock themselves in the sabot so they do not slip in the sabot.


I was using the normal black MMP HPH 24


Crap! those 220's at 2700fps would be truly devastating! on about anything!

lol, yeah I said the same thing to Alex. Seeing what they do out of her little Thompson Center Impact over 95 grains of that Blackhorn to a very large bodied buck at a little over 210 yards, just imagine them hitting something from that demon spawn. I'm actually looking forward to taking it on an Elk hunt. But I am torn between those 220's and the 300gr Nosler that shoots MOA out to 300 yards from it. I doubt I'll have a long shot but I like to cover my bases.
I think Tom was planning on sending Alex some of those 230's to test out of her Impact. I'll stuff a few down the Renegade and if they fly as well from mine as they did your's I'll definitely buy a few boxes. Don't get me wrong here, the XTP's have always served me well but those Lehigh bullets impressed the hell out of me with their terminal performance. If I can get them to fly as well as I can the XTP then I am all for the switch.

Which is why we chose to use the 300 xtp last hunting season, and it did not disappoint. We would use it again, for sure, this upcoming season, but..................
there are five unopened boxes of free bullets on the shelf which may get the nod for hunting.
Kind of ironic is it not? The xtp would get beat out because of price.....















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I've been using the 300 XTP for hunting in three of my ML's. Great shooting and reliability! I have put more deer in the cooler with this bullet then any other.