Funny that the topic of 180 grain XTPs came up in regards to the .44 mag.
It is not something that I normally load, but a number of years back, I am guessing 13 or 14 years ago someone had given me a number of them and I had loaded them up over stout loads of H110.
Just recently I found a plastic ammo box 3/4 full of them (about 35 rounds or so). I ran a few through my 6.5" 29-2.
Pretty smooth, recoil wise, but BIG muzzle flash, even in the mid afternoon. I recall about 10 years or so I had blasted some big desert Jacks with this load and it essentially gutted them on the spot.
Not a good night time defense load, but fun as heck for bowling jacks.
I came home and looked under my bench to see what I had, in regards to lightweight 44 projectiles. I forgot that I still have a batch of 180 grain full wadcutters. Those will make some great small game busters too.
Now all I need is spare time to load, hunt, shoot......
The 180 XTPs would make a good self defense load in a .44 Special or Mag, though in the mag, I would not run them full throttle unless lighting people on fire was part of your defense pre planning..