Hornady .357 JFP/XTP 158 Grain ??????

[J.Solo]

Hornady .357 JFP/XTP 158 Grain ??????

Has anyone used this bullet on game or read any reports on its performance on game?

It is for a .357 Magnum, and has a slight hollw point with the serated jacket all the way to the end of the bullet and weighs 158 grains. (Almost looks like a Winchester Silver Tip Bullet but with a copper jacket)

I'm going lighter for deer this year and want to use something with good penetration, and expansion that will leave an exit wound.

I usually load the Hornady 158 grain Hollow Point for "every day" use but I'm concerned about the penetration/expansion factor and the ability of a good exit wound with this bullet.

I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone with experience or comments about the Hornady, Jacketed Flat Point, 158 Grain, XTP bullet.

Thanks - J.Solo

[dave hall]

I personally do'nt use .357,but a friend of mine does .He told me before that the XTP works good,but the 357 mag. hydra-shok works better . I do'nt know why federal does'nt list it as hunting bullet. from what I heard it works.
357 mag./158/hydra-shokJPH/vel.muzz.1240/ene.muzz535. thats factory.  hope it helps.

[Mikey]

J. Solo:  The only 357 load I have used on Whitetail in the northeast is the 200 grain SWC and that penetrates T&T the chest at 50 yds.  I have a friend who has used the 158 grain Remington factory load from a 4" Model 19 and has achieved T&T penetration at 25 yds, which indicates it might perform the same at close to 50 yds.  HTH.  Mikey.

[BH]

J.Solo,

I've taken 2 deer with the 158gr XTP/FP over 19grs of H110 (about 1500fps) out of a 6 1/2" Blackhawk (~ 40 & 60 yards). Both rounds passed through the lungs with a good blood trail.  One was a quartering front shot entering through the front of the shoulder and exiting just behind the ribs so penetration does not appear to be an issue.  I did not recover either bullet but the exit wounds indicated decent expansion had occured.

Bob

[J.Solo]

BH:

That's great news!
I'm going to use Federal Primers and 17.5 grains of W-296.
This load is very accurate with the standard 158 grain Hollow Point XTP's but I see you are loading a little hotter.

I'm wondering if I should go 19 grains of W-296 to get a little closer to your H-110 load.
Of course that would mean I would have to re-zero my gun that is set up for the 158 HP's.  

I'm now looking forward to trying the .357 Mag. on deer this year. Of course I will still have my Freedom Arms .454 and SBH .44mags in the cabin, that I have used for the past 15 years, just in case.

I'm also looking forward to using my new .50 caliber Black Powder Rifle on deer this year to. I have three NYS permits to fill and plan on being in the woods a lot this year.

Thanks to all - J.Solo

[BH]

J. Solo,

That 19gr H110 load is very hot.  I use that load only on cold winter hunts since it does start sticking case in the Blackhawk at temps above about 50 F.  I'd be carful and approach it slowly.  Also put the loads over a crony if you have one.  Some gun/load combinations don't gain much if anything in velocity after a certain point, you just get more noise and can actually see a reduction in velocity sometimes.

Bob

[HappyHunter]

Hornady also makes the xtp/hp in 180 grains.  That is the load I will be hunting with when my Smith 686 gets the nod this year.  I use a stiff load of H-110 and the accuracy is excellent!

Stay safe, shoot straight!

Fred

[Capt Hamp Cox]

Happy Hunter's load combo in my 8 3/8" 586 w/2X scope gives me slightly less than 3" groups at 100 yds (bench rest).  Hope to use it on a sausage doe this season, but will limit my shot to 50 yards or less.  Anyone had experience with the 180 gr HP XTP on deer?  Our Central Texas bucks generally field dress less that 110 lbs, and does are less than 90.  Have already taken deer with my Contender in both .44 Mag and 7-30 Waters, but want to take one with the Smith.

[Arkinsaw Huntr]

I've used the 180 XTP on one 6 point that weighed 147 lbs. The load chronoed at 1350 fps out of a 6.5 inch Blackhawk. 2400 achieved this velocity. Its hot but you can read about it in one of Paco's articles.

The deer was 30 yards quartering towards me. The bullet went through the shoulder breaking the leg bone, pierced the heart and exited the opposite rib cage. The hole in the heart was very small. Just about bullet diameter. The exit hole was fairly small also. With the heart shot the buck only went about 40 yards but I still wonder about that small hole had it only caught the lungs.

For penetration this bullet seems very good but personally I want more expansion than this round displayed. It will probably be a good bullet at a higher velocity like a 10 inch Contender. From what I've read the Remington 180 expands a little more.

[Capt Hamp Cox]

Thanks for your comments Arkinsaw Huntr.  The 180 Rem. gives me accuracy comparable to the 180 XTP and will shoot into the same group without sight changes.  However, I haven't shot anything larger than jack rabbits with it, and they didn't provide enough resistance for much expansion (if any).

[BH]

Arkinsaw Huntr,

Can you give me a little more info on that 2400 load or point me to the Paco's articles you referenced?

Bob

[Capt Hamp Cox]

Not sure this is the Paco article referred to by Arkansaw Huntr, but it does provide considerable .357 Mag data (most of which is for cast bullet loads) as well as some interesting narrative.

http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/paco/large_slugs1.htm
 
http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/paco/large_slugs2.htm

[Arkinsaw Huntr]

I dont recall the exact article that I got this load data from but it is in one of Paco's articles. Cruise the back issues of Sixgunner.com and there is a lot of info on the .357 and a ton of other cartridges.

I might add that this 6.5 inch Blackhawk had the barrel treated with Moly. I dont know if this added any velocity as I treated it before I shot it but the Moly is supposed to increase velocity.

In the Blackhawk I seated to the second cannelure for the longest possible OAL. I increased powder and cases just fell out of the cylinder. When the cases no longer fell out I stopped. They were not hard to extract but needed a tap with the ejector rod and then they would fall out.

As I recall the load I settled on was still below what Paco was using. I'll not give the actual charge as you would have to work up to it anyway.