HDY FTX 250 Coming apart

[FSJeeper]

Shot a deer this weekend with the 450 BM. I shoot high shoulder and they have always just dropped DRT with a nice large exit wound.

Yesterday, the one I shot at around 50 yards, did not have an exit wound. Found the cup and a little lead between the opposite shoulder and the hide. No Exit hole.

I had no idea these bullets come apart like that.

For hunting under 150 yards, what is the consensus on the best hunting bullet for the 450 Bushmaster?

I plan to start reloading this season for the 450 Bushmaster.

[Hoot]

Shot a deer this weekend with a Ruger Scout in 450 BM this weekend. I shoot high shoulder and they have always just dropped DRT with a nice large exit wound.

Yesterday, the one I shot at around 50 yards, did not have an exit wound. Found the cup and a little lead between the opposite shoulder and the hide. No Exit hole.

I had no idea these bullets come apart like that.

For hunting under 150 yards, what is the consensus on the best hunting bullet for the 450 Bushmaster?

I plan to start reloading this season for the 450 Bushmaster.

Hard to beat either the Barnes 200 or 275 XPB. IMHO. for whitetails, the 200 XPB over about 39gr Lil Gun are more than adeqate at 150 yds and in.

Hoot

[Al in Mi]

Your not the first one to have a FTX come apart and then there are reports they work flawlessly. Althou they are probably one of the most accurate bullets I've shot, I won't use them in the field.

Your in luck to get you thru the season before you get to reloading thou, Barnes and Remmy both have a monolithic factory round that I've read are very accurate, and being loaded with those Barnes bullets, failure is slim to less than 0

[coyote wacker]

Cutting Edge Bullets 160 gr Raptor with 20 deer and counting most are DRT...no problem get close to 2700 fps in a 16" barrel with a 20" upper 2700 fps in AR's....they are a little pricey but bullets are the cheapest part of a hunt...

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/452-160g ... ase-raptor

[DubbleTrubble]

I've never had an exit wound with an FTX in eight deer and never found more than fragments of the bullet in the animal... albeit in a chest cavity full of liquified lung tissue. In seven of those cases, the animal didn't take a step and was deceased before I got to it. In one, I missed the mark and he went 25 yards or so. In one of the remaining six, the animal dropped right away but didn't expire immediately.

I don't know what to think. On one hand, the FTXs get the job done and they are, by far, the most accurate bullet I have used, whether in factory ammo form or my handloads. On the other hand, it bothers me that a bullet fragments like that. I tested them in water and they came apart as well. Just bothers me.

I got hold of some of the Hornady Whitetail InterLock bullets and loaded them up with the same charge as FTXs (37.5 gn Lil Gun, 20" Barrel AR ~ 2300 FPS). In my rifle, there wasn't enough ballistic difference between them to worry about. The InterLock went out a skosh faster but hit within a 1/4 or 3/8 inch or so of the FTX @ 100-150 yards. If you were a bullseye competition shooter, you might be more worried about that, but in my real world of just getting the meat, it's nothing.

I have some other bullets called out by various Bushmaster fans but just didn't have the time to adequately test them.

I loaded up ten to-the-tenth-of-a-grain of each Hornady type and now have to agonize over which one to use this season. I guess I'll make that decision on the morning of November 30.

[FSJeeper]

All,

Thanks for your input.

2 things in favor of the FTX:

1. Both 450 BM rifles I have shoot one ragged hole groups with the factory HDY 250 grain loads. Much more satisfying target shooting than other calibers I have.
2. All of the deer I have shot have dropped in their tracks, DRT.

So they are accurate and kill even if they do frag. Problem is what if you missed the mark a bit and no exit wound, that would make tracking a whole lot harder and a PITA.

Our deer season in South Texas started last Saturday and I have three more deer to go.

I am all setup to load and bought the components back when the prices were much better than now. I have a lot FTX bullets for plinking and I guess I'll use for my 45 colt rifle and pistols now.

I think I am going to order Hoot's recommended Barnes bullet and finish out the season with those and 39 gns of Lil Gun.

[FSJeeper]

This is what it looks like. Empty cup with a little lead.

[Hoot]

That is definitely a first. Not that the FTX series separate but a 250 FTX with a cannelure!!! Finally!!!

Hoot

[plant_one]

That is definitely a first. Not that the FTX series separate but a 250 FTX with a cannelure!!! Finally!!!

Hoot

in a past discussion with hornady about a different projectile i didnt expect a cannelure on (loaded ammo) i was told that much of their ammo will have a cannelure bullet in it, especially the stuff most likely to be fired in a semi-auto rifle. match ammo is often the primary exception. its placed there to allow for proper crimping to prevent bullet movement under recoil/cycling. however for some reason if they attempt to sell them with a cannelure as a reloading component, reloaders lose their collective minds and abandon them (for the most part). apparently if there are two of the same on the shelf, side by side, with and without the cannelure, the non-cannelure model will sell out repeatedly before their ringed brethren move to get dusted.

apparently there is a misconception lingering for years in the shooting hobby (shocker i know, those never happens!) that cannelures effect accuracy and that all cannelures except on hunting bullets for purposes of an interlock ring, seem to scare reloaders away in droves.

so i wouldnt hold your breath on those becoming available as a regular component, unless we find them as a batch of blems

[Hoot]

...snip...So i wouldnt hold your breath on those becoming available as a regular component, unless we find them as a batch of blems...snip...

Hoot