Hornady 9mm XTP ongoing experiments

[1168]

Those bullets look pretty beat up for just water jugs, asymmetrical expansion and what looks like chipping on the petals looks more like it went thru auto glass first. Water should be the ideal medium for expansion with bullets looking like they came out of the catalog book, not looking they were shot through auto glass. This kind of mirrors what I think of about XTP bullets, they suck unless you use them for BUGs where the fact that they suck at expansion actually aids the weaker weaker BUG loads in penetrating.

XTPs (and Critical Duty to a lesser extent) are infamous for needing a bit extra velocity to work well.

Every factory Hornady load Ive ever chronoed was not near whats advertised on the box.
Some were way off. Ive posted some info here before on this.

And paradoxically, Hornady factory ammo always seems a bit on the light side. I normally feel that +p is unnecessary, but……

[Ron3]

Every factory Hornady load Ive ever chronoed was not near whats advertised on the box.
Some were way off. Ive posted some info here before on this.

I've shot 10mm that was, and .357 sig. .357 mag Critical Duty was very close, too.

But everything else, especially 9x19, yea, slower than even the mild advertised velocities. This includes their +p ammo.

[Straight Shooter]

I've shot 10mm that was, and .357 sig. .357 mag Critical Duty was very close, too.

But everything else, especially 9x19, yea, slower than even the mild advertised velocities. This includes their +p ammo.

My experience is with 9mm & .45 ACP. Yes, the +P loads in those too were slow.

[ST911]

The XTPs feed and fly very well. Depending on the particular bullet and loading, they're reliable in some guns when other JHPs aren't. Older/conventional tech bullet but an great one. They do seem to have a velocity window they prefer by barrier.

In several shootings, 9mm 147s, fast 124s, and 40 180s removed from people in street clothes opened wide and penetrated deep.

[C-grunt]

I can recall a few shootings using XTP bullets. Couldn't tell you the manufacturer of the round or the guns used anymore though. They tend to have mediocre expansion and lots of penetration. I wouldn't trade out Gold Dots or HSTs for them, but I wouldn't feel bad about carrying it either. I think it would be a decent "woods" gun round that would give you a good mix of expansion and penetration for both two legged and 4 legged threats.

[Ron3]

I agree they tend to be very accurate and feed well.

While they arent big expanders they do turn themselves into a wadcutter-like shape. That's a good thing.

[Waylander]

Appreciate all the knowledgeable comments. I plan to raise the velocity to see if they open up better and hopefully get a chronograph by the next range trip. I’ll probably add some barriers just to see what happens. At worst I can keep these for BUG rounds as vicious_cb mentioned.

[Ron3]

oops..wrong quote

[Ron3]

Appreciate all the knowledgeable comments. I plan to raise the velocity to see if they open up better and hopefully get a chronograph by the next range trip. I’ll probably add some barriers just to see what happens. At worst I can keep these for BUG rounds as vicious_cb mentioned.

Isn't #7 a little slow for your 4 inch barrel? Maybe #5 or CFE-P or similar would get you more velocity?

[DG23]

Isn't #7 a little slow for your 4 inch barrel? Maybe #5 or CFE-P or similar would get you more velocity?

Not at all.

Especially so if he is looking for the most speed he can get at the lowest pressures...

He is on the money with respect to the powder and bullets both being able to handle a LOT of speed.