Hornady bullets

[bushog]

Seems I recall reading here that the pre-XTP Hornady bullets were better than the newer version.

I found some 280gn Hornady .44 bullets at a yard sale.

Are they any good?

[pleadthe2nd]

Did you buy them? If not buy them for me. I know how to dispose of them properly, thanks

[bigbrowndog]

Never knew Hornady made a 280gr. 44 bullet, 265gr. but not 280gr. Bradshaw I believe liked the accuracy from the older Hornady’s not sure about terminal performance differences. I recall using them (preXTP’s) in my 44’s and never had any issues on game, but my recollection was that XTP’s were more accurate.

Trapr

[bamagreg]

I picked up a box of the old 265’s at a yard sale a while back. Haven’t loaded any yet

[bradshaw]

Nov 12, 2021 17:25:36 GMT -5 bushog said:

Seems I recall reading here that the pre-XTP Hornady bullets were better than the newer version.

I found some 280gn Hornady .44 bullets at a yard sale.

Are they any good?

*****

To be crass, coarse, and tread dangerously close to stereotyping, most 1st generation jacketed hollow point handgun bullets rank low on predictable performance. Joyce Hornady ranks as a prime instigator of predictable performance in handgun as well as rifle projectiles. My late shooting partner Ed Verge with his S&W M-57 8-3/8” .41 Mag and me with various M-29 .44 Mags did our best to support Hornady bullet production. Verge with the Hornady .41 210 JHP, me with the Hornady .44 240 JHP. We branched into other weights, but these were mainframe deer slayers, as well as proof pills of proper S&W accuracy. Handgun Silhouette popped up half a decade into this shooting and I stepped in to wet my feet. Arrived at my first IHMSA match with a 6-1/2” 29----slung from a 3” belt looped full of Hornady bullets. Hornady 240’s crimped over Hodgdon 110 ball powder. Since nearly all my shooting was done off the hind legs, that’s how I threw down on steel.

A little vignette on the Hornady .44 240 Jacketed Hollow Point.
The story begins the night before, driving dirt roads around a mountain, cotton ball snow descending... Looking for sign of deer movement with a stout track represented, finding it. Loathe to fire up a motor vehicle, the land dark as the inside of a cow, I set out to find a buck track and take it. Well into the woods; stop, wait for enough light to read tracks in the soft white blanket. Eventually picking up a track, a good one. Since this is a vignette not a story, we dispense with the intervening hours of tracking, a clash of bucks in mountain hardwoods.

Two hours beyond the patch torn in a clash of testosterone, easing still higher through open hardwoods, I jump the buck out of bed. Him tucked in a little bowl. Best place to nest a machine gun undetected. He jumps. I snatch the sheep wool glove off my right hand. “Take your time as fast as possible...” says mind to hand----sweeping to snatch revolver, which butt juts from the skirt of a Johnson wool coat. Between leather & sights, the Model 29 cocks smooth as cream----“and leade, leade, leade."

A ring a hair puffs off his chest. Otherwise, no visible sign of a hit. Two or three strides... he slumps as if trying to run with a safe on his back, collapsing. I reholster the .44, an act I probably haven’t repeated. Following his track to his bed molded in snow. Then follow his short flight. Dress him off. Tie a rope harness with two shoulder loops and drag stick. Drag & sled him down the mountain. Not the way we came, but a shorter route to a snowy dirt road. A long drag back to the farm.

The buck hung seven days. Then I skun him. Commencing to hacksaw his spine, the torso jerks as the saw passes where the lungs would be. The Hornady JHP passed at the very top of the lungs, 2-inches below the spine. The vertebra 2-inches above the bullet broke on a 45-degree angle. Curtains. Hydrostatic shock? The load: Hornady .44 240 JHP over 22 grains H110, CCI 350 mag primer, Winchester brass.

An old silhouette buddy still uses the Hornady 240 JHP in his Super Blackhawk on deer. He uses the old Hornady .44 265 Flat Point in his .444 Marlin. My old brass grip Super used the Hornady 265 FP over 23.2/H110 for rams @ 200 meters. I would not use that ram load in the Smith & Wesson.
David Bradshaw

[zeus]

That 265 was a harder bullet for the 444 if I remember right. Good bullet.

GS

[contender]

I started using Hornady bullets long, long ago. Once I started casting,, I eased off SOME of my jacketed bullet use. But I still found the Hornady's to be excellent performers. I used plenty of the "old" 44 JHP's & JSP's in my Rugers. And as noted,, the 265's were set up for the .444. I loaded those for a good friend as he watched & "helped." He still shoots those old reloads whenever he breaks out his Marlin.
I haven't used many of the "new" XTP's in the 44 cal,, as my casting increased,, as my jacketed use decreased. So, I can't comment one way or another as to which one is better.

I still use a lot of Hornady rifle bullets along with Nosler bullets when I do use rifle stuff.

I'd NEVER hesitate to buying ANY Hornady bullets I found at a yard sale at yard sale pricing.

[jeffer]

I have hunted deer with XTPs for years in 44, 45 and 50. All performed as intended. Great bullet for me!

[bula]

Have only taken one deer with the XTP's, back in the late '80's. I have used Hornady by preference sometimes in my 44's over the years. A perceived, or assumed edge for accuracy due to .430" vs others smaller diameter per their figures. They seem to fit most of my Ruger cylinders a hair better. I do not know if this pans out in reality. I have started to play with the 265gr Hornady and the 270gr Speer. Anyone have standing over gutpile opinions of those 2 bullets ? The goal to be a big deer, bear load for the SBHH that is my only scoped revolver. The 430JDJ is another matter but those bullets not a BAD choice for that but am looking heavier for that beast.

[blackmamba]

I killed one big Illinois whitetail buck with the Speer 270 Deep Curl bullet over a dose of 4100 in my 629 Classic for about 1175 fps muzzle velocity. Range was very close, but the buck went a long way and was only found a few days later. This bullet is very stout, and needs more velocity than most handguns can supply.

[bradshaw]

Nov 14, 2021 9:12:33 GMT -5 bula said:

Have only taken one deer with the XTP's, back in the late '80's. I have used Hornady by preference sometimes in my 44's over the years. A perceived, or assumed edge for accuracy due to .430" vs others smaller diameter per their figures. They seem to fit most of my Ruger cylinders a hair better. I do not know if this pans out in reality. I have started to play with the 265gr Hornady and the 270gr Speer. Anyone have standing over gutpile opinions of those 2 bullets ? The goal to be a big deer, bear load for the SBHH that is my only scoped revolver. The 430JDJ is another matter but those bullets not a BAD choice for that but am looking heavier for that beast.

*****

Groove diameter among revolver barrels varies more than the diameter of jacketed bullets. That said, it is better to pinch a bullet than rattle it. Uneven jacket thickness or an uneven core deprives a bullet of dynamic balance. Another factor: to separate COF (Center of Form) from COG (Center of Gravity), increases the distance of stabile flight. Thus, a good SWC (semi wad cutter) or JHP (Jacketed Hollow Point) has vastly great accurate range than a WC (wad cutter). A solid wadcutter pins both COF and COG in the longitudinal center of the bullet. Whereas, the SWC or JHP pushes COF & COG apart, stability which holds whether the target is near or far, accurate whether pushed fast or slow; and able to transit supersonic to subsonic flight without accuracy loss.

Fired from a revolver, the Hornady .44 265 FP is not my idea of a deer bullet. I would favor the Speer 270 SP (soft point) for its wider meplat. I would test it for accuracy @ 100 yards and test it on water jugs.
David Bradshaw

[bigbrowndog]

I’d prefer to go with a stouter 240gr. bullet than a heavier one for deer, something like a partition type or bonded core. Heavier makes for less velocity, which requires more resistance in order to get good performance and deer are relatively light boned and muscled.

Trapr

[bushog]

Sounds like they might not actually be Hornady bullets and the comment about the 444 makes sense.

[zeus]

Nov 14, 2021 10:27:28 GMT -5 blackmamba said:

I killed one big Illinois whitetail buck with the Speer 270 Deep Curl bullet over a dose of 4100 in my 629 Classic for about 1175 fps muzzle velocity. Range was very close, but the buck went a long way and was only found a few days later. This bullet is very stout, and needs more velocity than most handguns can supply.

That’s interesting. I’ve found that 270 Gold Dot bullet to be softer than I imagined. It holds together well though. I’ve shot coyotes with it at 80 yards and the exit is the size of a coke can. Song dog DOA.

I’ve used them on a few deer. Nothing monsterous but 115-225 lb deer. All great expansion and didn’t move or if they did, they didn’t go far. Just goes to show how different each animal is when hit.

[blackmamba]

The 270 gr Deep Curl bullet is a flat nose SP with very little lead showing, while the Gold Dot bullets are big, wide HPs mainly for self defense. I didn't know they made a Gold Dot in .429 270 gr., but any Gold Dot would open much more readily than the Deep Curl.