Hornady 300gr .50 FTX

[rangeball]

Has anyone tried this bullet yet sabotless from a .50? I seem to recall someone posting that it fragged at smokeless speeds, but was thinking they pushed it faster than I would want to and I can't find what I think I read, and may be confusing what I think I remember with a report on the FBP

I was hoping since hornady loads these at 2000 fps+ in the 500 S&W, they'd have potential sabotless? I'd shoot them up to 2300 fps, and would not want them to frag on close shots.

Thanks

[DHinMN]

Hi range ball, I didn't see your thread till after I posted mine. I had been thinking about asking this question for a couple weeks and just did it. We might be ahead of our time on this one, or everyone else is too busy screwing on pac nor barrels. I can't justify a new barrel to shoot one deer a year. According to Dave W there is a good chance that they might work with some knurling and probably would not have to resize. With 300 grains of lead I would think it should quite terminal. Midsouth has them listed but not in stock so maybe that is why no one has tried them yet. I don't think I'm going to jump on them too fast, there are some other things I want to try first. We have had a lot of snow and my range is buried. The idea of them still intrigues me. DH

[rangeball]

I have them on my list of stuff to order. I'm like you, I have other things to get working first but I'm being optimistic that due to the big heads up this board gives that won't take too long

[rangeball]

I had sent hornady an email about this bullet. They responded-

Q- I have a few questions about your .50 300 gr FTX bullet. I'd
like to shoot it from my smokeless muzzleloader between 2200 to 2300
fps. My question is about the terminal performance at these speeds on
close shots. Will the bullet expand when encountering both soft and
hard tissue, or will it frag?

A- you should expect to see approx. 65% weight retention at real
close ranges. As the bullet slows down the weight retention will
increase. Thanks.

I have no idea if that's enough for bone on close shots...