Hornady 158 gr FP/XTP in .357 mag

[t-reg]

  I recently picked up a box of these thinking they would be a soft nose design.  The intended was use for deer and hogs in a 4" .357 revolver over a near max, accurate, charge of W296 for modest expansion and good penetration.  Upon opening the box I found that they're not the soft point as was expected.  It  looks as though it would take a fairly high impact velocity to get them to upset.  Has anybody here used them on game or experimented with them?

[Ahab]

Yes, I only use the 180gr XTP in my 6" 686 because it does a great job and is the most accurate load in that revolver. My favorite for deer and hogs.

[Mohawk]

  XTP's expand slower for more penetration. I use the Remington 158gr SJHP (Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point) for whitetails and it does fine. Two-thirds of the bullet above the cannelure is soft swaged lead which expands quick and the penetration is fine due to the bullet weight. Both deer shot with it were through and through, broke the front leg of the second deer as the bullet was exiting. The 158 XTP would be fine too. Just hit him in the vitals and about anything that penetrates will work. Holes in the lungs are holes in the lungs and with either load you have a .60 caliber wound path through the vitals.

[Grumulkin]

Two Hornady 158 gr. HP/XTP bullets recovered from a Black Wildebeest taken with a 357 Herrett.

[irold]

t-reg ,

      In the Hornady manual , one of the newer editions , it has a listing of their bullets with the velocity that they perform at.  Very usefull , just pick the bullet you want to use , then pick a velocity that works with the bullet.   Good luck , irold

[t-reg]

Thanks irold, I'll try to find a manual.  I looked on line but thier site was not very informative.

BTW, I am refering to the FP (Flat Point?) XTP bullet.  It has a tiny cavity compared to thier  HP design.  The jacket is folded over the edges of the cavity and skived like the HP's are.  Looks like a tough design, possibly for rifle velocities.   I'm currently hunting with HP/XTP's because I was unsure of the FP bullets ability to expand and there isn't much for a meplat.  I am a believer in hard cast bullets but the gun doesn't like them.  By next summer I'll have it running on Keiths or LBT's.

[buck460XVR]

I have switched to the XTP/FP in 158grn .357 in my deer hunting loads in hope of better penetration, altho I'm sure the Remmie JSP I use for target shooting would perform just as well. I have found the FP to be very accurate(as most of Hornady's bullets are) outta my 6'' 686, but since I use the .357 very little for deer hunting anymore, I have yet to have a chance to see it's performance on deer size game. First coupla deer I shot with 158 HPs did not pass thru where as the last couple shot with JSPs had exit wounds. All deer were hit in the front shoulder/lungs.

[Sverre A.]

 "I looked on line but thier site was not very informative."

Not to me either!

With "our" calibers and bullets - we can only shoot small game 

[sk330lc]

The Hornady manual lists the 
158gr FP, XTP good for 1150FPS TO 1800FPS.  kinda hard for 357 mag velocities.
It also lists the 158GR HP, XTP'S good for 850FPS TO 1400FPS
Hope this is what your looking for.

[bull]

Those 158 gr. XTP-FP are excellent in my 357 max. From my 10" contender pushed by AA1680 at about 1750fps they shoot 3/4 inch groups at 50yds. And tonight I found out that they work well on whitetails. I shot an 11 point, bullet entered the left front shoulder, clipped one lung, and the heart, somehow got turned and exited the right rear ham. Buck ran 20 feet and plowed dirt. My first deer with a handgun.  And yeah, I know y'all want pictures. I'm workin' on it.

bull



Did this work?

[frankkj]

Dang Bull, looks like it worked to me. Good shootin'.
I just can't seem to get right on one this year. Still tryin' tho.

Congrats on a fine first handgun deer. Looks like you may have to go some to top that one.
Frank

[sk330lc]

Very Nice Buck !!   Nothing wrong with that!!
I'm in the works on buying a 10" 357 max barrel as I write this . I'll have to try them fp, xtps when I get it all together.

[t-reg]

  Thanks to all for the replies.  sk330lc that was exactly what I was looking for and my suspicions were right, they need more fps than a .357 w/ a 4" brl will provide to be reliable.  Guess I've got some nice pratice bullets or a need for a .357 rifle.
  Nice buck there bull, looks like them FP's work well for thier intended purpose.
  Thanks for the bullet picks Grumulkin, very interesting.  What do you estimate the impact velocity to be and how far did they penetrate?
 
 

[Mohawk]

  Wouldn't give up on the 4" barrel. Any self defense HP with a weight of 158grs and above will work fine. Doesn't matter what the box says, if it works it works....   I was amazed how well the 158gr Remington Semi-Jacketed hollow point worked. Two shots, two dead deer in the freezer. And both shots through and through. Granted, at rifle velocities I would toughen up the bullet but at 4" barrel velocities, 1200fps or so, it worked just fine.

[Jerry Lester]

The 158g XTP-FP is just about perfect for deer at revolver velocities (1200-1400 fps), but it's a little too fragile at rifle velocities in my opinion. I've killed several deer with it at around 1700-1800 fps(muzzle), but at those velocity levels it sometimes over expands, and can come completely apart on you.

[cwlongshot]

The 158g XTP-FP is just about perfect for deer at revolver velocities (1200-1400 fps), but it's a little too fragile at rifle velocities in my opinion. I've killed several deer with it at around 1700-1800 fps(muzzle), but at those velocity levels it sometimes over expands, and can come completely apart on you.

 Funny cause I find the exact opposite....

I have shot a number of deer with the 357mag, Max and Herrett from handguns and rifles. I would stick with the 140 & 158 XTP HP in handguns and go with the 158 XTP FP and the 170-180gr bullets in rifles. I think barrels under 8" in 357mag should stay with the 158 HP and 180 XTP bullets. The 158FP XTP will not relyably expand unless major bones are hit.
 The 140GR XTP is a really good performer from my 8" Whitetail-er. Yet it comes apart at top maxi and Herrett velocities. The 158FP penetrates like the dickens, with dime sized exits form the same revolver and a 10" contender in 357mag. Yet the same load from a 18" Marlin acts like a premium rifle bullet, quarter sized exits on whitetails. I find the 180 XTP OK in the 8" barreled whitetail-er, but I much prefer the 170 Sierra and 140XTP HP's in front of max loads of H110. My H&R 357Maxi LOVES the 170 GD SP in front of a stiff load of 1680. Only shot two IIRC so far but with excellent performace. I find the 180Hornady SSP to be a bit fragile @ 2200fps on bones, From the rifle Maxi. But very good at 1800fps from a 10" Herrett Contender.

All deer shot inside 100 most less than half that. If I had to pick one bullet for each caliber and barrel legnth, it would go like this...

 4-8" pistol in 357Mag  140XTP HP
 16-22" rifle in 357Mag  158FP or 180 XTP HP

 Step up to the maxi and Herrett and you need good, strongly constructed bullets. The 180SSP is good if kept under 2000. The Speer 180FP (.358 dia) is another good one for over 2000fps. Again, I would not recomend the 158FP for a hunting 357 handgun. IMHO, You will get much more consistant and relyable performance from a 158HP XTP bullet @ pistol velocities.

CW

[old geezer]

I use the 158gr FP with a full dose of Lil Gun out of both a Marlin and a Handi, and am very happy with the  performance.