xtp vs deep curl bullets?

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ohihunter2014

New member
looking for a 44mag handi rifle bullet and also for a 50cal ML and looking at xtp and speer deep curl. whats the real difference and what do you suggest?
 
I haven't used the Speers, the XTP's don't expand much but penetrate well.

If you're hunting whitetail I would opt for the more expansion. I know there's a .45 185gr XTP shot from a 460 Rowland sitting on my buddies reloading bench. Deer was shot straight in the chest and the bullet was recovered somewhere in the small intestines. The few other XTP's I've seen shot at deer (230gr & 185gr)from 460 Rowland have been broad side shots and complete pass throughs. I will try to get a picture up of the recovered bullet but I don't have photobucket anymore so I'm not sure how to post pics.

On a shot in the vitals the deer don't make it more than 50 yards but I think the penetration is a little extreme for whitetail.
 
The XTP’s do penetrate thats for sure. I down loaded a 44mag handi rifle with 180gr XTP’s for my son when he was 8. The 3 deer he killed all got pass throughs from 50 to 90yds.

I got a pass through on a big doe at 60yds out of a .357 mag carbine. The one in my avatar with a 125gr XTP.
 
The pass thoughs are great for tracking but I think a 230gr from the 460 rowland could go through two medium size does. Just checked the .45 185gr and the expansion was .67" at the max, I think there's room for more expansion and still get pass throughs with better blood trails.
 
Try a hard cast lead bullet with a big wide meplat. Like an LBT Wide flat nose. you will get a tremendous knockdown and amazing penetration.
 
I always liked the concept of the XTP's, and have gotten good accuracy from them. How far are these deer traveling after hit in the goods with one? Dont know that I've actually put one into a deer.
 
I really like the xtp's for my muzzle loader. They penetrate really well and I have had pretty good expansion from them as well. They are starting from my muzzle at around 1900 fps with 100 grains of Blackhorn 209. Bull was 209 yards and the buck was facing head on at 189 yards. This bullet went in the buck just inside the front shoulder and I found it on his back leg while butchering.





 
Was that a MAG version of the XTP? I experienced a standard .452" 250 gr. XTP blowing up on a smallish bucks shoulder fired from my muzzleloader at about 1,850 fps. Looking for a bit more information I realized my velocity was about 400 fps over the velocity threshold the bullet was designed for by Hornady. There is a chart online somewhere that shows the designed velocity for each XTP bullet. Exceeding that is very likely to give a blow up and bad end result. There are MAG versions of the XTP that can withstand more velocity. I have since moved to the 300 gr. MAG version and get excellent results on deer from my muzzleloader at about 1,800 fps. It gives the same wallop as the factory non-+P .45-70 300 gr. hollow points. Very accurate also.
 
more importantly than it being beyond the terminal threshold for the 250 XTP (#45200) and getting poor porformance on target, there's a safeey issue to be considered with that bullet in a rifle platform with higher pressure/velocity than the 45 colt it was designed for use in

per hornady when i contacted them about its use in general in a rifle platform

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food for thought!
 
I shoot the Speer 270 grain Deepcurls in my S&W 629 8" barrel scoped with a Leupold 2-7. I get excellent groups at 100 yards. Have shot a few deer with it and get complete pass threw out to 75 yards.
 
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