what bullet for a .41 mag

[Zeus]

If what he was shooting was the Federal Cast Core bullets,  it should be loaded with a Cast Performance bullet.  Those bullets are not supposed to really expand.  Hard Cast bullets are more for penetration rather than expansion.  A lot of people here seem to prefer the jacketed hollowpoints for deer sized game rather than the hard cast ones.  Hornady makes a 210 grain XTP that would probably work pretty well.  I don't personally use a 41 but the XTP has a good reputation.  Sierra makes a 210 JHC and Speer makes a 200.  I would probably try the XTP first.

[DB Leath]

I use the 210 Hornady.  I have not shot an animal with it but I did do alot of testing with 5 gallon oil jugs full of wet newspaper and water. It makes for a very reliable testing media for my use.  Everyone of the ones I shot mushroomed perfectly, out to at least 75 yards.   I carry it for backup mostly .  I load it with 20.5 grs of 296 Winchester .
I like it.
Cliff

[Zachary]

It should be noted that there are two types of Hornady XTPs - one is the regular XTP and the other is the XTP Mag.  If loaded to higher velocities, then you may need the XTP Mag.

I am not certain at what velocities your .41 shoots, but it can't be anything near .454 velocities.  As such, I would assume that you can stick with the regular XTP and it should perform great.

Zachary

[DB Leath]

1400 fps from my gun.

[Zeus]

I did not know that the smaller calibers had the mag bullets also.  I shoot the mags in my Freedom Arms but I thought they only made one in the 41.  Regardless, the regular one will be fine in the 1400 range.

[JOE MACK]

MDHunter, I use a Federal Premium load if using factory. It is the one with the 210gr.JHP, however. Otherwise, I've used the 210gr.JHP offerings from Sierra, Hornady, and Nosler. Speer's 200gr. half-jacketed hollowpoint works well on deer-sized game. I save the heavy hard-cast lead for hog, bear, and elk (at close range).  I really don't look for any hollowpoint to expand reliably in game. If it does, it's a plus. Good shooting with that .41. RKBA! :-)

[Bullseye]

I use the 210gr XTP.  I have shot two deer with it.  One fell in its tracks and the other took a couple of steps.  I do not know if they expanded or not, I do not examine my kills that closely.  As long as I hit them where I am supposed to and they die quickly I judge the bullet performance as acceptable so the XTP are good performers in my opinion.

[Dand]

Looks like the jacketed bullets are popular with the current posters but the old forum seemed to have a preponderance of people supporting hard cast bullets.  I took a very small caribou -smaller than many deer with Corbon 265 hard cast. The key, as Graybeard will tell you is shot placement - as it is with ANY caliber handgun or long gun.   From my observations and 41 mags (3) I think I'll stay with hard cast.

[sneekyhunter]

I Use the Federal cast cores in my 629 i shot a big 7 pointer and three does with it this year.I have found with the cast cores you have to hit bone,i always try to break the shoulders.only one doe went about 20 yards the other three deer dropped on the spot..My hunting buddy hit a doe in the lung area with a cast core ,we found the deer but he went about 150 yards..

[Zachary]

Zeus,

You are correct.  I just reviewed the Hornady brochure and there is only 1 type of XTP available for the 41 caliber, the regular XTP.  

I knew that Hornady made the regular and Mag types for the XTP, but wasn't sure about its availability in the .41.  Now we know for sure. :grin:

Zachary

[The Blade]

I have killed deer with the Cast Performance bullets and the Hornady XTPs.  I have found that the XTPs do expand a bit within a deer, and usually leave a good blood trail.  All of the XTPs that I have used on deer have exited.

The Cast Performance bullets that I have killed deer with have also all exited.  As they do not expand, the exit hole is smaller, and usually, the blood trail is minimal.  

That being said, I have found all of my handgun shot deer except one, a deer that was shot with the hard cast bullet.  (It' the only deer that I've shot and not found.)  The fault was not with the bullet, though.  We followed the blood trail for half a mile before she entered a swamp.  I truly believe the cause of the incident was poor bullet placement.

Both styles of bullet are deadly.  The most important factor is bullet placement.

The REAL key to handgun hunting is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!  And, if you're like me, you're always looking for a reason to shoot more!

The Blade