Better Bullet?

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Better Bullet?

Postby Andrew065 » Thu Jan 16, 2020 12:35 pm

Been playing with my 450BM AR 10.5 pistol. Tested Hornady 300grn XTP Mags for accuracy and terminal performance.

Accuracy- well, from a 10.5 bbl, soft rested on bags at 50 yds, 32 grn LilGun with an optic makes a big hole after 4 or more shots, reddot or irons, 2 inches; so yes, accurate enough for what I intend.

I am looking for a heavy(er) bullet that holds up well for deep penetration ( think bears or a bison or....)

Terminal Perf? Well, water jugs at 25 yds- complete blow up, but destroys 4 out of 5 gallon milk jugs, with the 5th leaking; just fragments remaining, no bullet to be found in the backer box. Wet newsprint- massive cavity at 3-7 inches, but again, little to no bullet intact ( maybe a 30-50 grn lead particle).

External ballistics show this bullet travelling at 1785 fps with about 13 fps SD. So, why are they blowing up?

Next-has anyone tried out the Hawk 452/300-350 grn soft jacketed bullets they offer? Not as expensive as Swift or Barnes, but pretty expensive compared to Hornady FTX/XTP etc.

Custom Performance Hard lead gas checks, but short checks, not too interested for an AR, half jackets- yeah I could talk to Corbin, lay out about $2 grand and make my own, but that is not in the checking account.

Not really a fan of monometal bullets-not really sure why though.
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Re: Better Bullet?

Postby Al in Mi » Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:44 pm

Odd those 300gr xtp mags are shedding jackets but water can be hard on bullets. I've recovered a couple from deer that I shot a ML and perfect expansion.

That 275gr TSX or those Swifts be hard to beat all around but yea not as cheap as the XTP.

I have shot hawks in various calibers, ok accuracy but never did a hair test on them
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Re: Better Bullet?

Postby Bmt85 » Thu Jan 16, 2020 5:50 pm

Honestly haven't tried any jacketed bullets for hunting. I stick to monolithic coppers. So, I'm probably not too much help.

The 275 TSX is IMO, one if the best bullets for this cartridge. I went on a black bear hunt a few years ago, and from what I can tell, it held together. That's with it loaded long, and it ended up way over pressure because of copper build up in the barrel. So it had to be moving pretty dang fast. Left a exit hole the size of a cue ball, and just started to suck the lung out. Very effective bullet.

As to the Swift's, they should be an effective bullet. From Swift's website, they show the expansion at different velocities for one of the bullets you would use. One thing to notice is that the expansion isn't that great, however, the front area of expansion is very flat. It's been shown that flat nose bullets can cause an extreme amount of damage.

Another soft point to look at is the new Interlock for the 450B. Should be a better option than the FTX's.

You could also try the newer Fusion ammo. They don't sell just the bullet that I know of, but the rest of the fusion line of ammo and bullet's have a very good track record.
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Re: Better Bullet?

Postby Decoy Defender » Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:53 pm

All through I have not found a load that MY bolt gun likes with this bullet, Speer Deep Curl 300gr's are supposed to hold up very well upon impact and stay together, unlike hornady bullets.
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