Hornady 300XTP

[JPH45]

Anyone got any data for this in 44 mag?

Also, just how hard a bullet is the Hornady SST??? I am thinking of using it in the 30-30,  muzzle velocity will be about 2350 or so. Is this just Hornadys version of Noslers Ballistic Tip???

I am also going to try out some Sierra Pro Hunter 150 spire point but this appears to be a simple cup and core bullet. Anyone know for sure? Thanks, JP

[Fred M]

JPH45.
I used the SST in a 7mm at 3000 MV they are very frangible and make a big mess on a deer. So I quit using them. But at 2300 ft I think they may be quite good. They are different from the Nosler BT in that they have a rear lock same as the Interlock with a tapered jacket. I would try the 150gr in a 30-30 Handi. One thing they are super accurate. Load them 0.010" into the lands. I like all the Hornady Interlock SP bullets. My first choice for the 25-06 will be a 100 gr Interlock a most deadly game bullet. Fred M.

[Mitch in MI]

Load them 0.010" into the lands.

Fred, are you saying find where it touched the lands, and load 0.01" longer? Or shorter?

Mitch.

[JPH45]

Thanks Fred, it so happens that the cannalure of the SST is perfectly placed to hold the bullet right at the lands. I neck size only using Lees Collet die, so i'm pretty sure I've got a good handle starting the bullet straight. Thanks

[Fred M]

Mitch
Yes touch the lands and add 0.010". If you smoke a bullet and the lands engrave a square mark on the bullet, that should be about 0.010 into the lands. This will hold the bullet concentric with the bore. The little extra pressure it creates is nothing to worry about.

PS. the throat on the 25-06 is sooooooooooooooooooooo long and large in diameter that I will not be able to do that. I am testing the rifle tomorrow.
Fred M

[jeff223]

i tried seating a 150gr Sierra spitzer to the lands and the accuracy was poor .i then seated the bullet more like factory ammo length and i got good results out of my handi rifle 30-30.i did in fact reduce the load some though.the 125 gr Sierra spitzers shot good seated out near the lands with a max load.its hard to explain why?i cant :eek:

[handirifle]

I hate to disagree here but loading a bullet to touch the lands sets one up for many potential problems.  not the least of which is tthe "little bit of pressure increase".

Depending on how the case is loaded and with what powder and how much you could easily push pressure levels way over safe levels with the bullet on the lands.  Even if the pressure levels do remain safe, you still may not be able to chamber the round correctly.  If you do, you my not be able to remove an unfired round cause the bullet could get  stuck in the rifling and pull out when the case comes out.  

Most reloading dies/presses may not be able to keep that kind of tollerance and could easily seat it out another .0010 and this might be more than enough to cause problems.  Wanna play around with safety and chance of a stuck case, then go ahead, but I don't reccomend it.

Not only that, one of the biggest reasons NEF's won't close properly with reloads is the ammo is too long and the barrel won't latch up correctly.

It has ALWAYS been the reccomendations of experst to load a few thousandths OFF the lands for safety.

[jeff223]

handyrifle,im sure Fred isnt trying to post anything unsafe here and i am not either.i have been reloading for years and from what i have read so far it looks like Fred has too.

thanks for the warning

[Fred M]

It is standard practice to load bullets into the lands in the bench rest game.
Most of the cartridges are loaded above 60kpsi. With bores like the Handi's where you can throw a hat through the gap between the bullet and the bore it makes a lot of sense to load into the lands to catch some of the gas and align the bullet with the bore. But don't take my word for it.

I load my 25 Hunter and 30BR Bench guns up to 0.015" into the lands. This case with 42.5 gr of powder will shoot a 100 gr Hornady Interlock at 3195 ft/sec. With 43.0gr it will shoot a 75gr bullet at 3430 ft. I cant even get that much velocity with 60 gr of powder in the 25-06 H&R Ultra.

The bore is nearly 2 thou oversize and the lands are only 2thou high or grooves 2thou deep deep. How do you think you will build up pressure with so much slack. Go and measure you own barrel  and find out.

I think it is a sham to produce a rifle for a high intensity cartrige and then castrate it with sloppy bores and throats.
Fred M.

[handirifle]

You fellas might be right, but I have never seen it mentioned that way.  Never been a BR competitor so I wouldn't know about that part.  I do know I have sen bullets stuck in the lands when the bolt was opened to remove the case and seeting too deep was the cause.

Fred, you are talking a bolt gun I assume, for the BR and those will take far more pressure than the Handi.  These max out at 50,000 PSI.  Yes some of the bores are sloppy I agree.  I just wonder how fast overpressure indicators would show up if they were not.

I'm not one to push limits very often, but if you fellas feel comfortable with it, then have at it.

I'll experiment, but I try to stay within the limits of what I know, that to me, is safe.

[Fred M]

Handirifle.
Forgot to mention, when you load into the lands you have to test the cartridges you load so they wont get stuck and spill powder all over the place when you have to unload your rifle. I have a tool to remove the firing pin when testing loaded shells in the chamber. Even the best match bullets have variation.

Not a problem with the Handi, you don't cock the hammer so you can test live loads with no trouble.

Another item when you play with hand loads the chronograph is a must, any high pressure load will show up in higher velocity. Loading into the lands has not shown up in much of a velocity variation. Hence little extra pressure in most cases.

No, I am not loading ammo to the point of high pressure. I consider myself  a very careful handloader with proper tools to do a safe job, with accuracy being in the fore front.

When you see a load that is 200 ft below published velocities,you don't need a christal ball to figure out what the trouble is. The load is either a lie or you got low pressure for many various reasons.

But the fact is that the best accuracy comes mostly with the highest pressure the case can handle without expanding the primer pocket.
Cast bullets excepted.

Here is a tip. When developing loads for an unknown Wildcat I use Rem 9-1/2 primer they are just a bit smaller then most others. When there is the slightest loosness in the primer pocket that is the point to quit adding powder. Redude the charge by a 1/2 gr and you got a safe load. That is also when you see a pressure spike on your Chrono.  Fred M.

[Big Blue]

I may be wrong on this, but wasn't it Weatherby that always favored a long throat to allow bullets to gain momentum before hitting the rifling? When loading, COL is my second go to for accuracy, after playing with powder weights. It does seem that some rifles, especially the .223 Handis love that long jump to the lands. As for the 300 gr. Hornady XTP loads, I believe I was using 18.8 gr. of H110.
Don

[Ditchdigger]

My Ruger 77 has a long throat in 220 Swift and it sure does not hurt the accurcy one bit. My best load with a 40 gr. Balistic tip chrono' ed 4098 to 4101 fps. for 3 shots and made a hole that was .025 larger than the bullet at 100 yds. I was indeed a perfect day, and I could use the scope at 32 pr., It later turned in a 3 shot group of .3 group 2 times at 300 yds. So sometimes freebore is a good thing.  Digger