Watch out for bullet failure

Maximizing the performance of your Rossi firearm.
phonejack
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Watch out for bullet failure

Post by phonejack »

In the July-August issue of AmericanHandgunner/The Insider the author cautions against using bullets designed for pistol use in rifles. He advises using bullets designed for rifles in the .44 mags (this applies to .357 also). Bullet failure will occur if velocity exceeds 1500 fps. Think hollow points. This has happened to me twice recently using .44/240 grain hollow points in a muzzle loader and the velocity exceeded 1700 fps.I will have to reduce my load or go to a different bullet before next fall. This apparently does not apply to flat nosed bullets.
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Tazman1602
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Tazman1602 »

What exactly happens? I've shot a couple hundred Hornady XTP's in 158 and 125 grain out of my 92 and though POA was off due to sights they still grouped nice at 100 yards with no evidence of failure and some of those loads were fairly close to max.

The one thing I REALLY like about my .357 rifle is I can shoot the same load out of it as I do my .357 pistols but from the rifle it just comes screaming out of the barrel.............<grin> I will look for that article though. Thank you.

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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Zippidydoodah »

I shot a deer with a saboted 50 cal muzzleloader with 44 cal keith style 240 grain bullet. They asked me back at camp how many times I shot the deer because there were three exit holes.the bullet broke up but I was satisfied with the performance and would not hesitate to use the same combo again.

I think muzzle velocity was about 18-1900 fps
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Wills Point Pete »

Back when I still had hair and a flat(ter) stomache I had a Marlin .357 carbine stoked with the same ammo as my service revolver. That bullet that worked well out of my four inch service revolver blew up when fired from the rifle. Switching to a 158 grain bullet did the trick. I kept my revolver with those same 125 grain bullets.

A Hornady 158 gr XTP would exit on our Texas whitetails at anything like a broadside shot from that carbine. It's like any other thing, match the bullet to the gun and game and you're fine. As a matter of fact, now that coyote furs are near worthless I'd like to load some of those Speer short barrel 135 grain Gold Dots at 2,000+ fps and see what they'd do. I suspect they'd be impressive, but I wouldn't use 'em on anything bigger.
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Warhawk »

Saturday I shot a cow elk on a Texas game ranch. I really wanted to use a handgun, as I've hunted with handguns exclusively the last few years (haven't hunted a lot though). I used my S&W 629 Classic with a 6 1/2 inch barrel, I've been using Keith loads (cast 250 grain "Keith" SWC). I had laid out a box of these loads, plus a partial box of 300 grain wide flat nose cast bullet loads. Of course I ran off and left them on the work bench at home, luckily I did have two speed loaders full of a load using the Hornady 240 XTP, which I thought would be OK. Unfortunately the XTP bullets came apart and didn't penetrate well.

She was a big critter for sure, a protein fed elk. She was as big as most of the adult bulls. I don't know the live weight, guessing 600 - 700. They killed a cow elk there last year that went 975.

First shot hit the shoulder, broke the shoulder but only tiny fragments went into the chest cavity. Second shot hit the crease of skin behind the shoulder. Same thing, the bullet broke up and did not penetrate to the vitals. But the cow wasn't going anywhere now so I got closer and put one in her neck, broke the spine and she went down like a sack of potatoes.

The moral of this story is to leave the JHP bullets to deer hunting, and use a tougher bullet on bigger game.

My two 9 year old grandsons were able to come along, and give a size perspective on the hanging elk.

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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Ranch Dog »

Very nice elk!
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by akuser47 »

Way to go out with a bang for 2012 nice elk.
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by pricedo »

I have to marvel at the guys who spend thousands of dollars on guided hunts to Alaska/Maine and bring expensive top of the line Sako rifles with Schmidt & Bender scopes on top and then pull the cheapest box of dime store shells they could find on sale out of their rucksacks to load into that gun.
The ballistic chain is a strong as its weakest link and the bullet placement & performance often decides whether it's elk tenderloin or Kraft dinner & fried SPAM for supper.
Of all the expensive stuff that goes into the hunt the bullet is the only thing that makes contact with the animal........so don't go "el cheapo" on the ammo.
They have nobody but themselves to blame when that B&C trophy moose, bear or elk walks away :shock: after the gun goes (or doesn't go) bang and the opportunity of a lifetime they paid big bucks for evaporates into another "if I'd only have".

Nice fat looking elk cow.........should be might fine eatin.
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Rooster59 »

Nice elk Warhawk.

I guess we can assume those XTP's are OK for self defense, up to the point an assailant exceeds 600lbs? :)



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Warhawk
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Re: Watch out for bullet failure

Post by Warhawk »

Rooster59 wrote:Nice elk Warhawk.

I guess we can assume those XTP's are OK for self defense, up to the point an assailant exceeds 600lbs? :)



Jeff

I'd say that's just about exactly what they are good for.

And here I sit with 400 of them, maybe I can trade them for some decent cast bullets.
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