Looking for reports on FTX bullets from this season?

[Canuck Bob]

I'm specifically interested in the 32 Special but realize the 30-30 is more common and can't be any different in terminal performance. I also shoot a 444 but doubt I'll ever use the FTX as I am switching to LBT styled cast. Still any stories and reports on these bullets of all sizes would be an education and I suspect of interest to many here. So please include any reports on FTX bullets. If you want please report on rifle and sight setup too.

The FTX for the 30-30 and 32 Special really makes sense for deer to me if they perform as required. Last seasons reports were encouraging. With good reports from Leverevolution powder and ammo for a little bigger punch I'm hoping some are reloading this combo as well.

[gcs]

My guns love them, (30-30), they are accurate, and devastating on deer, short range or longer don't matter, mostly bang flops. Unless neck shot, I've never seen such fast kills on deer from ANY other bullet types, and I've taken a barge load of deer over 42 years so yeah, I can tell the difference.

[93marshooter]

I took this doe at 150 with 160 gr leverevolution. My surprise is that the exit and entry wounds are very small but the deer dropped dead. Wound was a couple of inches above front right leg. I have always heard that good ammo will leave large exit wound. Nov. 12, 2011

[Canuck Bob]

Music to my ears GCS and 93mar. I had considered a hunting cast bullet but these things just make a ton of sense for a 30 cal size range. Looks like 32 cal 165 gr FTX at 2300 fps out of a 20" carbine is safe and common with the new powder. It is so exciting to see real new technology for us lever riflemen. I just never warmed up to those side handled contraptions with those finicky scope things most seem to like these days. Heart warming to know there are enough of us to make the industry take notice and produce bullets and powder tailored for the 30-30 and especially the 32 Special!!!!! Cartridges that are well over 100 years old.

93 mar.. Some fine eating there. I am gearing up for our generous doe season next year. I like ammo that leaves a double blood trail so the fact it did a through and through at 150 is important to me. What was the wound channel like?

[Marlin32]

Would like to see recovered bullets etc. A deer isn't necessarily hard to kill, and you can kill one in SPITE of poor bullet performance. Maybe the FTX ok on deer sized game, but I used the Remington cor-lokt in my 338ME because I have just heard too many reports (from people I trust, not internet or forum opinion) of FTX not holding together, wasn't going to risk that on a moose ( or an elk)

I used the 338ME on deer this year too, so didn't have chance to use them in the 32 Special.
Frankly, with what I use the 32 special for, don't need the FTX particularly.

I would like to shoot about 20 hogs with the FTX at varying ranges and examine bullets, wounds, and animal reaction. Just don't have that kind of time, or access.

[93marshooter]

I missed the heart but the lungs were shredded. The deer did not take a step. I shot one last year 50 yards from where this one was with bolt action .308 at 75 yards with Speer Nitrex 165 gr a little higher in lungs. It had a much bigger exit wound, with lots of blood. Really different wounds same result. I will stick with FTX for 30-30 for now.

[Canuck Bob]

I have been researching this for awhile and give credence only to folks who have used the bullets. Some reported jacket failures in the early bullets and some think that they were succesfuly upgraded.

Many 30-30 and 32 Specials report honest results and accuracy. There seems to be mixed reports on the 444 bullet but I have a slow twist rifle and they rarely shoot them well. I've yet to hear about the 45 cal FTXs. I have wondered about the 307 and 338 cartridges because of increased velocity but I have never seen either.

[gcs]

Bob, I'm still using ammo from the first available lot when they first came out, I did a not quite scientific test with them against 170 corelokts and 150 power points. The medium was a bale of stained craft paper bags, (compressed and very tough)
Range was 50 yds,
Rem 170 CL, 9" penetration, effective "wound channel" some bullet weight loss
Win 150PP 7" penetration, less wound channel and not much weight loss, this is a surprisingly tough bullet
Horn. 160 LE 11" penetration, MASSIVE wound channel, and quite a bit of jacket shearing and weight loss.

Though the bullet took a beating, it certainly did the job, I would use these on Elk at least, and in fact Hornaday did when they first came out.
Now to be totally honest, sometimes weird things happen when shooting game, Out of over 20 deer killed with the LE's, I had one that still mystify's me.
Small unalerted buck at about 70 yds, at the shot it just fell over and kicked, ok, just like most of the others. I took my eyes off him to gather my stuff and when I got to the site, the deer was GONE , like it was beamed up by Scotty. I started to follow the trail and it started to rain, well, it started to pour like it was never going to rain again.

I never found that deer, I searched in the direction it traveled for a long time, and covered a LOT of ground, nothing.
So.... stuff happens, if that had happened on the first deer I would have said the ammo was stuff, but I know better because of the testing and the other kill results. If you kill enough critters you'll see odd stuff with any ammo, but it still makes you scratch your head.

[John in MS]

A friend used 1 this year to kill his first deer (4-point) with his 1948 Win 94 in near mint condition. Used the issue iron sights. Range was only about 30 yards. Deer was not
alerted. Shot was at a downward angle and caught lungs but not the heart. Deer ran about 30
yards and fell, blood trail moderate. He reports extensive damage to lungs, and exit wound
about 1" in diameter. He was pleased and will keep using them.

John

[Les Staley]

I cheat a little.. load ftx 160s in my 308..(Ruger Hawkeye..sorry..) swung the scope on a flat-out-running-like-his-tails-on-fire whitetail buck in Idaho last week... passed his nose with the crosshairs, touched off, never broke stride, swung again just as he hit the timber, touched off and he cartwheeled. long story short.. blew his heart in half, and broke his neck for good measure(neck wound bloodless)... I have a few pictures and don't post pix, but could e-mail them to someone...if you know how to post... Les

[Bill in Oregon]

Les, that is some very fine shooting. Folks I have talked to seem pleased with the LR bullet in .30-30 and .35 Remington. I have heard of complaints about the 325 lacking penetration on elk in the .45-70, but have not heard first-hand details. Wish they made a gummy tip for .25-35 and .25 Remington shooters.

[Les Staley]

Bill, even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while...

[Warhawk]

I've written this up so many times, I should make a copy so I don't have to duplicate it next time.

I killed this deer in 2009 ... using my Marlin guide gun and the Hornady gummy tip ammo.



You can see the entrance wound in this pic ... there was no exit wound



As you can see, I hit him right on the point of the shoulder. Distance was about 75 yards and the deer was not spooked. He bolted at the shot and crashed into a thorn bush about 100 yards away. This is the first animal of any type that I've shot with a 45-70 that didn't go down in it's tracks, out of about 15-20 deer and a handful of wild hogs. It's also the first 45-70 bullet I've recovered, all the rest have been pass thrus.

I found the core of the bullet while skinning, as you can see it retained just over half of it's original weight of 325 grains.





The shoulder was broken, which I believe caused the buck's guidance system to be off, making him crash into the thorn bush. I waited a few minutes, listening, before I went looking for him. He was dead when I got to him. The internals were remarkably intact, the lung was busted up behind the shoulder and other than that there was a small hole in the right lung where the core went thru it.

A couple of weeks later my son used the same gun and load on this Texas hog... I was able to snap this pic just as he delivered the coup de gras with a 44 Magnum loaded with Keith loads. There was a lot of blood so I converted this pic to black & white.



This gummy tip broke up on the shoulder bones and did not penetrate past them. The boar took of with a front leg swinging. This hog went a LOOONG ways before we caught up with it. It took another round of the Hornady ammo thru the guts (running shot) that slowed it down enough to put a 44 slug in it's brain.

The gut shot was a pass thru, and we never found any part of the bullet that broke up on the shoulder.

Here is a better picture of the hog, its the black hog. I shot the red hog with my other Marlin 45-70 using Federal 300 grain JHPs. The bullet zipped right thru on a high shoulder shot and the hog never took another step.



My grandson provided backup with his Red Ryder .177 caliber magnum.

I had about 4 boxes of the Hornady ammo, it was a package deal and came with the stainless guide gun. After these two failures I sold the rest of the ammo and will stick with more solidly constructed bullets from now on.

[Streetstar]

I've probably said it before too, but Warhawk's experience with these is the reason i keep these things (in 45-70) reserved for deer and smaller pigs. Anything bigger and i use something different. They shoot too well out of my rifle to give up on them entirely

I've had a couple of pass-thru's - one that went North to south completely when i shot him in the front chest , but a couple on larger bodied deer that did not exit, - most were DRT's though- most any ran was 50 yards

[TMair]

I really can't add any information on how well these things work, but just for every ones information Hornady just released the gummy tip 348, yahoo!!!
I ordered two boxes from Midway, just waiting for them to get here.
Terry

[BigSky56]

FTX are just a cup&core bullet from what Ive seen they work on deer but not elk as Ive seen a failure in a 35 rem, the bullet came apart on the shoulder blade a second shot in the lungs solved the problem. hdy needs to either make it in a interlock, interbond or they could just thicken the jacket for elk sized game like they have done with the XTP mag pistol bullets. One of the things Ive found about elk hunting heavy for caliber solves alot of problems. danny
http://www.speer-bullets.com/products/r ... pcurl.aspx