What would be your opinion of this bullet from the 7.5 inch barrel of the 454 on Whitetail with max load of Lil'Gun?

Never used it in that caliber or gun, but extrapolating from my experience with XTP's in .357 (158), .41 mag (210), .44 mag(240 and 300) and .500 S&W (350) I would say you could do a lot worse. Lil Gun seems to work well for heavy loads in the magnum revolvers too.

Which 300 gr XTP? I suppose either would easily pass through and drop a whitetail pretty quickly. Certainly not necessary but you know that.

Lil gun is a very hot powder and can excessively erode the forcing cone FA will not warranty their revolvers that are eroded from lil gun. I'd use H-110/296 if it were me.

Don't shoot it enough to really worry about eroding the forcing cone. I have been want to try H110 but just haven't gotten around to it. I killed a Wild Boar with the Lil'Gun load and it only walked a few steps and sunk to the ground and died. Boars have the tough shoulder plates that help to open the Heavy HP Bullets unlike Whitetail.

I would bet you get complete pass through with that bullet on broadside shots. Might try the thinner jacketed version on the xtp's for a little more internal damage.

No time may use the pistol tomorrow.

I've loaded a bunch but never shot a deer with them.

One thing I can tell you though - do not substitute the standard 300 XTP for the XTP Mag! I made that mistake, had some decent mi-range loads worked up with the 300 XTP Mag bullet in my 454, and loaded some regular XTP bullets without realizing they were different - result was really high pressure, no Kaboom but there were definite pressure signs.

I load only the XTP Mag in the 454 and the standard XTP in my Ruger 45 Colt

As long as it's the XTP Mag, it will certainly work.
In my own Freedom Arms .454, with 10" barrel, I shoot the XTP Mag. in 240 gr., ahead of 20 gr. of HS-6. MV is 1650 fps. I used it last month to take a wild hog and a red deer, both shots were pass throughs and quick kills. For Whitetail, you don't need 300 gr. bullets and max powder loads of any kind out of the .454 Casull- I like the lighter bullets, pushed faster for flatter trajectory and less recoil.

I shot the regular 300 XPT's in my 454 before the Mag version was offered. I recovered a single 300 XTP (32.0 grains of 296) from the moose I killed with it. There wasn't any evidence of cupping of the base of the bullet.

It worked great today shot this one at around 30 yards and it dropped in it tracks and didn't even kick

CONGRATULATIONS!

Yes, great job Bea, did you find the bullet?

Would like to hear some retained weight, penetration and diameter numbers.

No didn't find the bullet

Congrats, Nice buck, and sweeter with a handgun. It's been a long time since I hunted with my handgun. Wanted to this year, but it didn't work out. Congrats again, memtb

10-4, I've rummaged gut piles more than I care to admit too.

I hear you on that one

Had a BIL helping me sort guts once looking for my bullet, he was gagging and spitting, I said, hey man, don't puke in my gut pile, he went green, then flush pale in the face.

fuggin city boys lmao.

The ONLY reason I recovered the 300 XTP from my moose was that it went lengthwise through at least five feet of moose.

Congratulations on your deer!

Thanks for this post.. I have a box of each and, like you, didn't notice the difference..

But why did the 'regular' ones give you higher pressure? They're both .452" Diam..

The Mag version is a bit harder, either with a thicker jacket or harder core, not sure which (or both?). I guess at high enough pressure, the softer regular XTP swells out into the rifling more, causing higher bore friction. I don't have any proof of "how", that's my guess, just proof of the end result.
IIRC, back when I was using them ~15 years ago Hornady had a warning not to interchange them, not sure if that's still in their newest manuals?

Not a bad 'guess', IYAM.




I'm thinking I need to update my Hornady manual - it doesn't even mention the magnum 300 gr. bullet..