240 gr bullets and white-tailed deer

[rickyp]

anyone shoot a whitetailed-deer deer with 240 gr bullets 45 or 44 moving around 1500-1600 FPS

what are the results on the whitetailed deer? did it drop in its tracks run off or what?

what brand of bullet did you use?

Right now I am usign Hornady 45 cal 204 gr XTP mag and am very unhappy with them.  so I am looking for a new bullet.

I am thinking about dropping back to 225 gr and using the Barnes 45 Long Colt .451 225 gr. XPB Pistol (45120) bullets.

[Graybeard]

I've shot a whole buncha deer using the .44 Magnum and most with 240 JHPs. I shot one with an old pre XTP Hornady JHP over 12.5 grains of Unique (not near max) and didn't like the way the bullet performed. Oh it killed the deer fine but failed to exit and I like exit holes. That was my first deer with the .44 Mag.


Next I tried a hard cast 240 and it sure enough exited and did a fine job on the deer. Neither went out of my sight and probably didn't go 25 yards and both were down in five seconds max.

Next I moved to the old pre XTP Hornady 240 JHPs and from there to the Nosler 240 JHPs and then to the 240 XTPs. I've used all several times on deer at ranges from a few yards to about 100 yards. In all cases but one the deer have gone down in sight of me with an average movement of maybe 25-30 yards. One hit on the move at near 100 yards was hit too far back and caught more liver than lung. It went maybe 200 yards or so. Maybe less. Left an excellent blood trail a blind man could follow. I did.  :-D

All 240 grain bullets have exited and left good blood trails should it have been needed but in only one case has one ever been needed. Damage inside in all cases with the JHPs has been enormous. These days I use the XTP and Nosler interchangeably and can't see either is that much better than the other. Velocity of none has been much if any over 1350 fps at the muzzle.

I've really not used my .454 Casull that much and have taken only one deer with it. Just way more gun than needed so it doesn't go deer hunting often. I used a Sierra 300 JSP at about 1600 fps and as far as I could tell from way deer reacted and damage internally it acted just like a hard cast. That deer ran about as far as any I've ever recovered. It was maybe 40 yards in front of me at the shot, ran past me and I almost put in another but saw the bright red just right for a lung hit so didn't. He ran passed me and on another 150 or more yards and then turned a 180 and came back and fell less than 20 yards from me. I didn't realize he had so followed the blood trail back to him. Internal damge was less than with any of the many I've taken with the .44 mag. I've not used it on deer since but likely will again but not with that bullet. It is just too tough for deer in my opinion.

I've recovered many of the 240 and 300 MAG XTPs from the clay back stop and all have mushroomed nicely. Perfectly in fact whether at the 25 or 100 yard line. Looks very comparable to the way the JHPs do in the .44 mag shot into same medium.

What's your problem with them?

GB

[rickyp]

this goes back to last hunting season. I was not happy with my hornady 240 xtp mag.

I think I will try the Barnes45 cal. 225 gr. XPB. they open as slow as 900 and will stay together at well over 1500 FPS maybe they will work better for my hunting situation.

[newfalguy101]

The only  type of bullet I use for deer out of my .44 is a 240 hardcast semi-wadcutter ( keith type when I can find em) at around 1350fps, and have had good luck.

The only time I have been disappointed with my .44's performance was the one and only time I have used factory WW 240 soft points.  That time the bullet didn't exit, and I like exit holes.  

In the Winchester bullets defence it DID destroy the shoulder I hit, and it DID break the off-side shoulder,it just stopped under the skin on the off-side, like I said, I like exit holes for blood trails.