Hard cast or Hornady xtp for hunting?

[Jaywmustang]

Decided to try and bag a deer maybe a bear if the opportunity presents itself next hunting season with my pistol. After some research I have decided on factory loaded hard cast 200 -220 GR or the Hornady xtp 200 GR. Anyone have any hunting experience with either? Or recommend a good hunting round.

The pistol is a Glock g40 10mm

 

[Marine Cpl]

10mm 180 gr XTP penetrates 17 inches in gel. A Hard Cast will will penetrate much deeper if it's not a perfect broadside shot.

 

[Jaywmustang]

10mm 180 gr XTP penetrates 17 inches in gel. A Hard Cast will will penetrate much deeper if it's not a perfect broadside shot.

The xtp does expand a little. I was leaning toward the hard cast but they don’t really expand. From what I have read, you want a exit hole when hunting with pistol rounds and the hard cast will definitely make it through.

 

[HighlandLofts]

I am going to load up 357 magnum hunting loads for four 357 revolvers and for my 357 magnum Ruger 77/357 magnum.
I have a stainless 6" Ruger GP100, stainless 7 1/2" Ruger Redhawk, a S&W 686 and a S&W 586. I will be using the Hornady 158 grain XTP in the revolvers and 180 grain Hornady XTP in the rifle.
I will be loading from the starting point on the different powders in increments up to the maximum. I have a pistol rest to shoot from so it will take most of the human factor away.
I made up a gallon milk jug slough that holds nine gallon jugs to shoot into to see the penetration of the accurate loads and then
I will have the bullets to see if any mushroom up.






So what distance will you be shooting targets. At?
I will probably start loading tomorrow night and Friday afternoon.
If I get them all loaded I will shoot them this weekend, if I don't get them all loaded I will test them the following weekend.

I will load six test bullets in each powder increment for each gun, and shoot five, I will save one from each test group to shoot in the water jugs if they are accurate in the guns. To see which performs better.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I’m not a reloaded so I have to buy factory ammo for now. Have you ever tried hard cast bullet? I did watch a YouTube vid of the Underwood 10mm 220 GR pass through 14 one gallon water jugs. I guess my range is whatever I feel comfortable and confident with. I hoping to be proficient up to 40-50 yards this year.

 

[JohnD13]

Since you are not reloading, yet, check out Buffalo Bore ammo. They have a decent selection of hard cast bullets in their line up.

XTP expands very well on whitetail size game, Hardcast is less of a meat waster, it does penetrate quite a way.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I was looking at Underwood ammo. Hope they will ship here to individual.

 

[Marine Cpl]

I was looking at Underwood ammo. Hope they will ship here to individual.

Underwood and Buffalo Bore ship and will continue to ship to your door until the ammo BGC comes into effect.

 

[Jaywmustang]

Underwood and Buffalo Bore ship and will continue to ship to your door until the ammo BGC comes into effect.

That’s good to know lol thanks. I was dreading ordering and have my order cancelled.

 

[Shoots100]

200 grain Speer gold dot.

 

[tony]

I have used Hornady .44 cal. 240 gr. XTP from a pistol on whitetail with excellent results. Keep in mind they are designed to work within a specific velocity range.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I have used Hornady .44 cal. 240 gr. XTP from a pistol on whitetail with excellent results. Keep in mind they are designed to work within a specific velocity range.

Did you get pass through?

 

[oc shooter]

was lucky enough to bag a nice 6 point white tail with a 45acp xtp it did the job what more can I say

 

[tony]

Did you get pass through?

Yes, entry behind shoulder facing me and exit in front of shoulder on far side.

 

[Jaywmustang]

was lucky enough to bag a nice 6 point white tail with a 45acp xtp it did the job what more can I say

Yes, entry behind shoulder facing me and exit in front of shoulder on far side.

How was the internal damage?

 

[tony]

It wasn't like the damage from a high velocity rifle bullet but it was certainly adequate enough to put it down solidly.

 

[Jaywmustang]

I just want to make sure I pick a appropriate round for big game. Underwood said they are 2-3 weeks out for the hard cast rounds. They have the xtp in stock the last I looked.

 

[HighlandLofts]

Last night I loaded 158 grain Rainer hollow points to test for accuracy. I made thes batches, I made fifteen bullets in each increment from starting load to maximum load. I used IMR 4227, WIN 296 and H 110.
I doubt I will get to shoot them all today. For two of the powders there are six powder charges, the other powder has four charges. Add them.up, it comes to 16, times that by 15 it comes up to 240 cartridges.
I split the bullets up in to thirds, one set for the Ruger 77/357 another set for the GP100, and a set for the redhawk.

I will be shooting five bullets, then clean the gun, shoot another five bullets and clean the gun. After I see which combination works for accuracy I will test them on the water jugs.

I used the 158 grain Rainer hollow points because they were available in a 500 piece boxafter the test run I will try out the Hornady XTP bullets.

I looked at my Lee Book and they have several powders listed that I have and the Hornady book has two powders that I want to pick up.

 

[Shoots100]

I just want to make sure I pick a appropriate round for big game. Underwood said they are 2-3 weeks out for the hard cast rounds. They have the xtp in stock the last I looked.

From what I'm reading about glock's and hard cast, is that the glock rifling doesn't do well with hard cast and it leads the barrel quickly.
It's meant to shoot jacketed bullets.
Razor Dobs has been hunting with the 10mm for awhile and has killed a lot of animals.
He uses a dan wesson with 200 grn hard cast from double tap for African game, and has had a total pass through on a freaking wildebeest at 100 yards with them.
That being said, I think your over thinking this.
The data and testing has been done, so Pick a couple of 180-200 grn bullet's, test them yourself and stop worrying.

 

[Marine Cpl]

Depends on the hard cast. If it's hard enough and not softer lead, it isn't a problem.

Buffalo Bore Ammunition | Strictly Big Bore - Strictly Business

 

[Jaywmustang]

From what I'm reading about glock's and hard cast, is that the glock rifling doesn't do well with hard cast and it leads the barrel quickly.
It's meant to shoot jacketed bullets.
Razor Dobs has been hunting with the 10mm for awhile and has killed a lot of animals.
He uses a dan wesson with 200 grn hard cast from double tap for African game, and has had a total pass through on a freaking wildebeest at 100 yards with them.
That being said, I think your over thinking this.
The data and testing has been done, so Pick a couple of 180-200 grn bullet's, test them yourself and stop worrying.

Underwood claims that their hardcast if fine with Glock barrels but I have a 7” kkm barrel in my g40 now. I may be overthinking it, just need to shoot it.

 

[Shoots100]

I've killed deer and bear with my 50 cal muzzle loader using cast bullets made from wheel weights and pure cast lead for a long time, and so did the first settlers of this great nation.
If your reloading, Missouri bullets sells a 10mm 200 grn coated bullet(18 Brinell), so you can push them a little faster.
Here's some info on "Leading" from their site.
I've been shooting their projo's for years.
A common conception is that when it comes to lead bullets, harder lead equals less leading. This is a false perception! To explain this surprising statement, it is necessary to discuss the physics of getting the bullet out of the barrel and how lead residue comes to be deposted in the bore. When the powder charge ignites, pressure is generated. This pressure is measured in “copper units of pressure” (CUPS) and expressed in thousand of pounds per square inch (PSI). The heavier the powder charge, the greater the PSI. Naturally, the purpose of generating pressure in the cartridge case is to force the bullet out of the case mouth and on down the barrel.

Lead is a soft metal. Its hardness is expressed on a standard scale, called the Brinell Hardness Number (BHN.) The BHN of the bullet interacts with the pressure generated by the burning powder. The mechanism of this involves the effect of the generation of thousands of pounds per square inch of pressure which causes the base of the bullet to expand, or “obturate”. Properly obturated, the base will have expanded beyond its original diameter which has the effect of “sealing the bore” against the explosive pressure of the gases burning behind it. Properly sealed, and working in conjunction with the lubricant in the lube groove, the bullet will thus not allow gases to escape forward from around the base of the bullets, which prevents it from shaving lead from the bullet body and forcing it into the bore grooves (otherwise known as “leading”.)

This failure to obturate (“seal the bore against onrushing gases”) causes leading which is a chore to clean and is a major obstacle to accuracy.