I've decided to buy either a 45 Colt or .357 mag. carbine. I've got a supply of Hornady XTP bullets for both and I'm considering buying gas checked cast bullets. For those of you who've used pistol caliber carbines for deer hunting, what do you prefer?

XTP’s are never a bad choice. It is my number one pistol caliber hunting bullet.

Pistol caliber carbine in 45 Colt?

I used pistol caliber as a generic way of saying handgun cartridges in a lever action carbine. Yes, I'm looking at a Henry in either 45 Colt or .357 magnum. They have options with barrel lengths from 16.5 to 20 inches.

I'm well stocked to load for either cartridge, but I'm inclined to go with the 45 Colt. This will not be a primary hunting rifle, but it will get used when I get the urge and I'm hunting a spot that shots will be 100 yards or less. In our old age, my brother and I are having a ball going back to our youth with the lever guns.

Why not a .357 Maximum?

I believe Brian Pearce wrote that he’s had very good success with 158xtp’s out of 357 rifles. I’ve shot several deer with 300xtp .452” bullets from muzzle loaders. They are extremely effective. But they are going probably 1800fps muzzle velocity. In 44 mag carbines I’ve had great success with nosler 240 soft points. My buddy uses 240xtp’s in his marlin lever action and it has been very effective as well.

240 gr XTPs out of my Marlin 44 are a proven deer killer at 10 to 150 yds. Never stretched one beyond that.

Not a lot of experience shooting them out of a carbine but killed quite a few white tails with the 240xtp with a sabot in a muzzleloader. Always had an exit. In fact I shot one old doe and my feeder with the same shot! All the deer killed with the XTP ran but were easily recovered within 20 to 30 yards with a good blood trails. Since the bulk bullets we used to get from Remington are long gone I plan to load 158gr XTPs for my Rossi M92 in 357Magnum. If I do my part then I know that the bullet will do the same!

158 xtps out of the .357 marlin or ruger 77 have been great for deer. All have exited.

17.5 grn of Lil'gun gets them to 1850fps, IIRC.

I found the Henry X model in 45 Colt at the Kittery Trading Post in Maine. I put a deposit on it and will drive up and get it tomorrow. I would have taken a .357 magnum if that's what was available.

Crazy thing is, I've been loading the 45 Colt for over fifteen years and I don't have one. My brother, uncle and SILs dad are all shooting my handloads. My turn now.
I've got Starline brass, Hornady 250gr. XTPs and for powders, Lil Gun, H110, A#9.

125 grain JSP in my Ruger 77 has been deadly on Coyotes and deer out to 100 yards. My nephews shoot 125 grain JHP (Remington). Dropped some nice deer out to about 125-150 yards. All factory ammo and I don’t see much need to change.

240gr. XTP in .44 magnum, H-110 powder kills whitetails with authority.

Not many choices out there and I have never seen a repeater

My boys started hunting with a marlin 94 in .357. The Buffalo Bore 158 gr Gold Dots worked great on everything they shot.

In the 45 the xtp gives you the standard 250g option or the magnum 240g or 300g. My brother killed an elk at just over 200 yards with the 240g mag in a sobot from an inline ml.

In the 357 it look at the 180 xtp or the 158 xtp flat nose soft point. The flat nose handles rifle speeds better than the 158 hp. I load lots of 158 xtp hps for our handguns and like it but haven't driven them really hard. It's surprisingly good at slower speeds so I'd worry about it driven fast.

Bb

I've loaded up test loads for the 45 Colt with 250gr. XTPs using H110 and Lil Gun. I've got a Leupold 1-4x20 shotgun scope due in Tuesday. I should be getting the loads tested this week.

My brother bought the .357 carbine. I bought the 158gr. XTP-FP to load for him.

My 44 Mag Ruger Carbine sees the 250 gr Nosler Partition. I have used them on three hogs. I bought a pile of them on clearance from Mid-South when Nosler stopped making them many years ago.

I have been using the 240 grain XTP out of my .44 magnum revolvers and my old Ruger carbine for decades. Also loaded them for friends for their.44 mag carbines. I think they’re as good as it gets for either platform. The buck I killed with a 629 last Tuesday would probably agree.

I always thought that Hornady should make a 400 grain .458 version of the XTP hp for use in the .45-70, rather than dick around with light-for-caliber, pointy, plastic tip nonsense. Steve Hornady didn’t agree, however.

I thought about buying one of these Hi Points for hunting drives. Lots of deer get shot at 30 feet so cartridge selection is somewhat moot.

Between those two I'd take a .429 or .452 bullet every time. Not that the .357 won't kill deer, but the bigger diameter bullets really do deliver a lot more smackdown. From personal experience at carbine velocities, both .429 and .452 diameter XTPs just knock the stuffing out of deer-sized game. Cast bullets also kill well in those diameters, but I haven't seen them kill quickly as quickly as JHPs.

I love my Marlin 357 carbine but mostly got it for new/young shooters. For .357/.358 bullets on game I like to launch them at higher velocities, typically from a .358 win.

The 45 Colt will launch a 250gr .452 bullet at the same speed as the 357 launches a 158gr .357 bullet. Recoil is mild either way.

cra,

I've loaded 405gr. Rem. bullets for my 45-70s, but I'd sign up for a 400gr. Hornady.

TX,

I was locked in on the 45 Colt myself, but my brother wanted the .357. I tried to talk him in to the Colt. I think part of his thinking was a lighter recoiling rifle for the ladies and grandkids. I'm thinking the 158gr. XTP-FP will serve him well.

Home cast softnoses.

Heat treated shanks, LFN or WLN designs.

They expand, will go lengthwise or broadside without deflecting or changing angles.

Larger calibers/larger noses expand easier with less impact speed, FWIW.

I simply prefer to make my own for handgun/carbines.

I have loaded 357 Magnum, 357 Maximum, 44 Magnum, and 45 Colt ammo for carbines since late 2008. Some pistol bullets are not designed for the velocities obtained in carbine and rifles. I had 225gr Barnes XPB fail on a 15yds chest shot of a medium sized deer. The MV was just over 1700fps. After spending half a day searching for the deer I finally discovered it dead. It had run over 500yds with a small thru and thru hole.

Later that week I spoke with Ty Herring at Barnes. He told me that bullet was designed with a maximum velocity of 1400fps.

All this is to say, consider how pistol bullets are designed before launching them at higher than their normal velocities.

The Hornady 250gr and 300gr standard XTPs work well in 45 Colt carbines at speeds of 1500 fps and less. The Speer 300gr DC bullet behaves very well at 1500-1600fps from my carbines.

The Hormady 240gr standard XTP operates across a wide band of 44 Magnum velocities but I found it's best kept under 1800fps. Over that and it comes apart quickly but that usually equates to a quick kill.

The Hornady 158gr standard XTP might be fine at low end 357 Magnum speeds but it fails to penetrate deeply and doesn't seem to kill quickly at 357 Maximum speeds. The 158gr XTP-FP is a better bullet at higher speeds.

I have extensively tested hundreds and maybe even more than 1000 bullets in a plastic corrugated bin filled with soaking wet newspapers. While it may not be the best media to test bullets I have gleened some valuable data from my tests.

"The Hornady 158gr standard XTP might be fine at low end 357 Magnum speeds but it fails to penetrate deeply and doesn't seem to kill quickly at 357 Maximum speeds. The 158gr XTP-FP is a better bullet at higher speeds."

And that's how they were designed.

Exactly my point. Use the right bullet!

Glad to hear. I have a B92 that shot Lever Revolutions well but I didn't like the on game performance and switched to a load with these.

I tried lighter bullets but it flinged them everywhere. I wonder if that is common with handgun caliber carbines?

You will NOT be disappointed with the XTP’s nor the 45 Colt. I have two Winchester 92’s in 45 Colt. I have yet to work up a load for them. Looking very forward to it though. It’ll be 250 or 300 XTP’s.

XTPs are what I use in mine. They work great on deer.

400 gr jsp out of a 20” katahdin barrel at 1700 fps should work well .

Just a follow up. I included AA#9 test loads to go with H110 and Lil'Gun. I was finally able to get to the range and tested those three loads with the Henry 45 Colt. I posted a range day thread in the lever gun forum, but I'm adding the link here to give further info on how the loads worked out.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...372/henry-45-colt-range-day#Post18903372

Yeah XTPs smoke deer reliably.

It's a darn shame that Nosler quit making 44 and 45 cal Partitions. Swift A Frames would be a good choice for someone who wants expansion and penetration. They aren't cheap and are hard to find though. I loaded some up for my 327 Federal. I want to try them out on a doe this year.

Thought I would post a follow up on the loads my brother and I used this season.

I loaded the 250gr. XTP in 45 Colt for my Henry X and in November took a doe at 78 paces. Impact was on the base of the neck and exited the right rib cage. The deer dropped at the shot. At the skinning shed I found a good exit hole. Very happy with that combo and will continue to use it. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, but it did happen.

Last Thursday, my brother took a young buck between 70-80 yards with his Henry .357. The deer dropped about 10 yards from where he was shot. He used the load I made up for him using Starline brass, H110, WSPM primers and the Hornady 158gr. XTP-FP. The bullet took the deer in the left flank and exited the right side just behind the shoulder. Upon exiting the shoulder, the bullet entered the right front leg and was caught. When skinning the deer, he found the bullet and forwarded a couple of pictures. I thought I would post them to show how well the .357 performed.