As is usually the case with that website, nearly everything he says is wrong. The FTX is not a particularly good performer, and especially not on elk and larger game. Try the 250 Weldcore or Hawk (both of which he apparently forgot to mention).
If you do feel compelled to run the 200gr FTX, RL-16 is your top temp insensitive powder. For the 250s it's RL-16 again.
As is usually the case with that website, nearly everything he says is wrong. The FTX is not a particularly good performer, and especially not on elk and larger game. Try the 250 Weldcore or Hawk (both of which he apparently forgot to mention).
If you do feel compelled to run the 200gr FTX, RL-16 is your top temp insensitive powder. For the 250s it's RL-16 again.
Interesting. That is the exact opposite of what our own North61 reported and SHOWED in his videos regarding the Hornady. He took a very nice moose at 150 yards (or so) with one shot and the Hornady. He went on to video EXTENSIVE tests on myriad 348 bullets and he selected it as his go to bullet.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
The FTXs blow up. If they happen to hit something vital with the fragments, the animal can go down very fast. But the typical penetration is crap, and that's what matters to get reliable stops on larger animals. The Weldcore is a top bullet for this application.
Repeat after me: frangible bullets are for coyotes.
The FTXs blow up. If they happen to hit something vital with the fragments, the animal can go down very fast. But the typical penetration is crap, and that's what matters to get reliable stops on larger animals. The Weldcore is a top bullet for this application.
Repeat after me: frangible bullets are for coyotes.
Were you born a penile implant or did you go to school for it? Whilst there are myriad ways to present a counter argument to a specific topic, your phallic approach is not only irritating, but it also happens to be wrong. I SAW the results of North 61s tests on You Tube (ever heard of that?) on both penetration AND actual game and the Hornady did quite well on both medium AND game. Is the Woodleigh a great and better bullet? you bet, but you should at least check other sources OR show actual experiences before coming across as a know it all DICK. DICK
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
The reason the medium bores have had such a good reputation over the last 100 years or so is that at the moderate velocities they impact at, bullets generally behave themselves. The Hornady's can core separate, near the end of travel. If they hit massive bone (bison) I guess bad things could happen, but I'll still take them Moose hunting because at 2500fps and less they work pretty well.
The FTX in my experience doesn't act that much different than the FN but it expands better at long range because it is going faster.
I have had excellent luck with the 160 grain FTX at 300 savage loading on elk.
I have not had much luck with the SST at 3006 loading or the 308. But I think it is coincidence or a bad SST batch. I believe this as I have friends who love using the SST.
The Hornady FTX bullet is pretty nice deal for tube fed magazines!
I only wish they would make em a little heavier.
Last edited by Angus1895; 05/31/19.
"Shoot low sheriff, I think he's riding a shetland!" B. Wills
The 200gr FTX expands and holds together very well in packed, wet newspaper. I'll add some 1/2" plywood the next chance I get to see if it has any affect on the bullet.
Thanks, Dinny
One of these FTXs was fired at 2392fps MV and the other was fired at 2293fps MV. They both weigh 120gr now and penetrated 13" of wet and packed newspaper. For you math nerds out there that's 60% weight retention.
From actual hunting experience with a series of Model 71's , I have found that deer and moose don't travel far when hit with Hornady 200 gr FP, or 225 gr FP Hawk Bullets. Its not always necessary to use premium bullets, but if an outstanding bull elk gives you one opportunity, I would go with Woodleigh or Alaska Bullet Works bonded core 250 gr bullets. All of my deer, elk and moose were shot under 125 yards, as I prefer to stalk closer.
I also tend to value the opinions of hunters and guides in the West, the Rockies in particular-along with Canada and Alaska. The game is bigger, and guides have seen a cross-section of game taken with .348/35 caliber rifles, and other calibers.. Most agree that with well-constructed bullets like the previously mentioned and good bullet placement-the game animal does not travel far, if at all.
Even with the few that might be scoped, the Model 71 in .348 is really a 150 yard rifle. For these ranges, a flat point bullet is a superior stopping design, and has for decades been successful.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena-not the critic"-T. Roosevelt There are no atheists in fox holes or in the open doors of a para's aircraft.....
