XTP MAG or Regular XTP for Deer

[WildBill]

I have shot two deer with 300 gr. XTP Mag bullets and was not really impressed with the results. The hits were both good but ,ribs no bone. Both deer were found but ran 100 yards or so,the bullet came out the same size it went in.I was just wondering if the regular 300 XTP's might open up a little more.I have a bad habit of staying off the front shoulder ,must be from bow hunting so many years. By the way blood trail wasn't all that great either. I have also loaded up some XPB Barnes 250 grain ,which are really way to darn EXPENSIVE. Have'nt tried them yet. I can't complain about the accuracy of any bullets I have shot. Also have been practicing with 300 Magnus Hardcast ,wow these shoot real well.By the way the gun I am using is a 6 inch Raging Bull 454. Should I try the Reg. XTP"S or just let the deer have it right square on the shoulder blade ,reguardless of how much meat it tears up.

[Zeus]

I really like the XTP Mags out of my FA.  I shot two deer with them last year, one at 65 yards and one at 110 yards.  Both fell where they were shot.  The second one was shot facing me and the bullet exited the rear hindquarter.  These bullets do not expand much like you said but.....how much expansion are you wanting?  I guess I look at it like this, its already .45 caliber and it doesn't take much to open it up to .5.  We like to see a rifle cartridge open up to .5.  I would put the bullets through the shoulder blades if you are wanting them to fall.  That will probably help and with the velocity and size of these bullets, I don't think that you will waste a whole lot of meat.  I would rather waste a little shoulder meat rather than lose a deer if they are running too far.  As far as bleeding, where behind the shoulder are you hitting them?  I've always tried to shoot for the offside shoulder.  At most angles, if you aim where the bullet will exit the offside shoulder, you should get your vitals and usually one heck of a blood trail if they run.  Just my .02  GS

[Raging480]

Was it a high lung hit?  If it was, :biggun:  :biggun:  the blood fills up the chest cavity first, then falls out, leaving a difficult trail, at first.  That happened to me with my .480.  The two deer taken prior to that were hit lower, and they travelled a LOT less.

[HoCoMDHunter]

I have used the 240gr XTP sabots in my ML as well.  They are very accurate but I didn't think that they expanded well either.  That said, they did their job well.  I guess I was just expecting a larger exit wound.  I haven't shot any deer with my 454 and 300gr XTP MAGS yet, but looking at them, I figured that I would get what you describe.  Best as I can tell (Can't find much info on Hornady's website) the regular XTPs are good up to about 1700 fps.  I was thinking that for deer I would keep the velocities under that and go with the regular XTPs.

[osceola]

I shoot the 240 gr XTP/Mag in my Taurus 454 w/ 35.5 gr of H110 using the Redding Profile Crimp for 1,750 fps, good accuracy and they do open.  I also use the 240gr/sabot also in my BP rifle at 1,600 and have satisfied with it as well.  The 250gr NON-Mag under these same conditions does not hold together and separates the jacket from the lead.  Be Safe.

[mparks]

Pretty tough to ask a big slow bullet to expand hitting only ribs and lungs and also expect it to hold together if you happen to hit the shoulder.  A .45 caliber hole through the vitals is a dead deer no matter what.

I've shot lots of deer with .50 cal muzzleloaders through the lungs with a .50 cal exit hole.  They usually run 50 yards or so.  Busting the off shoulder makes 'em go down quicker but I like following blood trails more than I like throwing out shoulder meat.

Sounds to me like your gun/bullet combo is performing pretty well.