Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns 357 mag 158 XTP FP

Anyone useing this bullet for taking game?If so how did it perform? It says on the box recommended velocities 700-1500 fps and for medium game. Did Hornady recently change this bullet because I've read a lot of conflicting info on the internet claiming different recommended velocities that were much higher!

I'm planning to use it for a whitetail hunt unless there is any reason not to. I haven't cronoed my load yet but ended up at 17 gr of H110 and I don't want to push it any further.


Trystan

I am running it out of a 4 5/8” Blackhawk behind a full dose of 300MP. I can’t remember the velocity I clocked it at but it was within the window you state. I do seem to recall it was designed primarily for rifle velocities and I feel like the expansion window I read was faster that what you state. I haven’t hunted with it but I figured it would do a good job as a tough low expansion and high penetration trail load.

Chronoed mine today and out of 30 rounds most were between 1240 and 1260 so I'm thinking that should work for 50 yds or less. Shooting mine out of a 686 Smith 6" barrel

I killed a buck with the 180 grain version of that bullet. The 180 XTP out of my 8" Dan Wesson 357 flattened out against the spine. Still put the deer down.

I was talking to a friend who hunts with his GP100 and he told me that the 158 grain Aframe is his choice for deer hunting. I can’t remember if he said he was around 1300 FPS. But he said they drop quick and always get a pass through. Hope this helps.

The Hornady 9th ed. manual recommends 1150 - 1800 fps for the flat point, and 700 - 1400 fps for the hollow point, but nothing further about which one when. I decided to load the flat point for my carry around in the woods rounds to err on the side of penetration.

That's interesting! I'm assuming hornady must have made a change with the Flat Point because on the top of the box it says 700-1500 recommended fps

I've used the HP version with zero issues on deers

Can't think of a much better bullet for deer out of a .357.

I have loaned my Ruger M77/357 rifle to two young hunters, the 10 year old son of one friend and the 11 year old grandson of another, to take their first deer. I provided them with handloads using the 158 gr. XTP-HP over 15.0 grs. of H110. One boy took a spikehorn buck at 60 yards and the other took a nice doe at 90 yards. Both deer were hit tight behind the shoulder, both were pass throughs with exit holes about an inch across, and both deer were found dead within 50 yards. This particular rifle/bullet combination seems quite adequate for deer out to 100 yards. I would expect it to work fine out of a revolver to at least 50 yards as well.

That is wise since you are basically 1-1.5 grains over published and attaining velocity in the manufactures range of proper expansion. Don’t know what the hell your complaining for because those are hot, but seeings how it’s a S&W I wouldn’t expect it to last with a steady diet of those loads.

Thanks Steelhead

For Between the eyes bullet placement, i can attest to lethality.

Hey, I found this thread while searching around with the same question as you. I finally asked Hornady directly, and got a clear answer which I'll paste below. Hopefully it helps somebody else, too.

My original email to Hornady support:
> I have published Hornady data from a few years ago stating that the
> recommended impact velocity for the 38 cal 158gr FP/XTP (#35780) is
> 1150-1800 FPS, but the box I recently bought of the exact same bullet
> recommends 700-1500 FPS. Was the bullet design changed
> in the last few years? What's the reason for the difference in
> recommendation?

Their answer:
> Mr. (redacted), thank you for contacting us. Bullet #35780 has not been
> subjected to any recent changes and the velocities of 1150-1800fps still
> apply. The velocities of 700-1500fps are correct for item #35750 which is
> our 158 XTP HP. It sounds as if item #35750 was purchased, perhaps
> unintentionally, instead of #35780 or there may have been a labeling error.
> Please feel free to include the seven digit lot number from the box and we
> can look into this further if you would like. Thanks

My response:
> Thank you, I have 3 boxes and the lot number on all 3 is 2181754. All three
> are clearly labelled as item no. 35780 and as FP/XTP. The velocity
> recommendation is listed on the top of the box as, verbatim, "Recommended
> muzzle velocity range: 700 to 1500 fps." I would be happy to send a
> picture of the box if that would help.

Their answer:
> Mr. (redacted), thank you for the lot number and the offer to send a photo. A
> picture will not be necessary. The lot number you have provided allowed us
> to verify that you have the FP bullet which is rated for higher velocities, but the
> velocity recommendation on the label is incorrect. This has been forwarded to our
> packaging department for quality control purposes. We apologize for any
> inconvenience that this may have caused and appreciate you bringing this to our
> attention. Thank you!

So it sounds like 700-1500 is incorrect for the FP; it's actually 1150-1800, and Hornady just has a persistent labeling issue.

interesting bit of spam right there

Spam? Me? Well excuse me for trying to be helpful with info straight from the manufacturer which directly addresses OP's original question with real data instead of speculation. :P

Why do you call it spam, Sam?

I used a 158 RP JSP at 2050 mv from a Marlin using Lil Gun powder, flattened a doe DRT, at 75 yds.

That JSP, or the XTP FP are solid choices. The 180 is a nice one - perhaps the ideal weight in a rifle or contender handgun to get speeds up.

Layne Simpson liked the 180s in longer 686s on deer. It may have been the Federal factory load........

was referring to Scandiacus, not Trystan

Why do you call Hornady's answer "spam"?

Thank you for posting that email exchange and clarification on the velocity range direct from Hornady. A guy who shares good info like that is welcome here any time IMO.
Just ignore Mannlicher and other guys like that with nothing to contribute, I'm sorry that was your first experience with this forum.

Yondering, Thank you and well said... It is people like him that have driven off the best guys we have here...

No worries, I half wondered if Mannlicher doesn't even know the actual meaning of "spam" and maybe didn't even know what he was accusing me of. Anyway, in either case, I've lurked in this forum for a while as a non-user, and figured it was time I set up an account, log in, and contribute what info I could.

Along those lines, I shot a deer with the 158gr FP/XTP two days ago and thought I'd come back to comment on the performance. Shot was fired from an 18.5" barreled Marlin 1894C in 357 Magnum, using a near max load of Accurate No.9 that pushes the bullet at an average muzzle velocity of about 1750 FPS. Shot was broadside, or maybe slightly quartering away, on a doe at about 35 yards.

Bullet entered left side, perforated both lungs, and destroyed the two upper chambers of her heart. It broke through the ribs on her far side leaving about a 3/4" hole in them and, weirdly, then traveled about 6" forward under the skin before finally exiting. I was unable to recover the bullet because of the exit. She ran about 60 yards before collapsing, leaving a good blood trail from the entry wound the whole way. There was very little bleeding from the exit wound. Her field dressed weight was about 115 lbs.

Overall I'm happy with the performance of the bullet and this loading, and will keep using it. I think a longer shot's lower impact velocity would've resulted in slightly less expansion, and therefore better penetration and a cleaner exit with even more bleeding. Based on what I saw, I definitely wouldn't push it past Hornady's recommended max velocity of 1800 FPS, or it may expand too much for full penetration on larger deer.

That's my experience from a sample size of only 1, anyway. :-D

Yep, probably either that or he didn't bother to actually read what you posted. Either way, you'd think a grown man would come back and apologize after realizing his mistake.

Thanks again for your contribution though, and nice shot and autopsy on the deer! Sounds like the skin stretched a bit before letting the bullet out, it's weird how elastic it can be.