I have a 5.5" barreled Ruger Blackhawk in 45 Colt with an extra 45 ACP cylinder. I also have some Swift Aframe 265 bullets that I was thinking of hunting with.

My question comes from reading somewhere that my pistol is a medium frame revolver on the 357 frame and should not be loaded with higher pressure loads.

I already load 300 Sierras at 1100 FPS so I think the 265 should do 1200 easily. If I load the A-frames at 1200 fps will they expand at all or just work like a solid?

My thought is that if that velocity doesn't make the bullet expand then I wont bother wasting them in my 45.

Check with Swift to see if they have data on the velocities particular A frames perform. Personally, .452" caliber bullets are pre expanded and need no further increases in diameter to take game.

I agree that if your revolver takes a 300 grain load at 1,300 fps, the 265 at 1,200 fps will be no problem.

What do you plan on hunting first and foremost?

Deer and possibly elk. If the 265's won't expand I would just use the 300 Sierras they are much cheaper.

You don't need expansion, you need penetration. Deer aren't hard to kill. The only A-frames I have experience with on game are the 300 and 325 grain bullets in .454 and they performed text book in my opinion. That said, you are planning on shooting lower velocities. I would emphasize penetration and not expansion.

I am thinking I will just have to try them and see what they do.

Shoot some rockchucks or whitetails and see. I use the 265s in my FA .454 and they are fantastic, but I have a lot more velocity than you.
Also, the way the Swifts are made they produce higher pressures than others. Have to keep off max loads.
Consider Speer 260 gr. HPs. They do great on deer. You can load them to max .45 loads.

I just did not want to waste them if they don't open at these speeds.

I have other loads for this gun. The 300 Sierra at 1100 with H110 and I am going to load some XTP 250's with CFE pistol which looks like it will be about 1050 fps.

I think the hornadays are suppose to open up down to 800fps.

I had a really bad experience with 250 grain Mag XTPs last October that gave me cause for pause. A friend shot a 350 lb (or thereabouts) red stag with a .45 Colt loaded with hand loads featuring the Mag XTPs and they were an abject failure. I think the Swift A-frames are a much better choice.

quote:

the Mag XTPs

I believe that the mag XTPs are designed for higher Velocities then one can obtain from the 45 long colt.

So again picking the right bullet for the job is critical.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:

quote:

the Mag XTPs

I believe that the mag XTPs are designed for higher Velocities then one can obtain from the 45 long colt.

So again picking the right bullet for the job is critical.

One grenaded and the other failed to open. I will post up more material later about this, but suffice to say it really was disappointing.

As far as core separation is concerned, even if the bullet kills the animal, in my eyes it has failed. In my eyes, you might have gotten lucky that the separation happened the way it did, but will it next time? Too many uncertainties with inconsistent bullet performance. I saw a bunch of different hard casts last October perform in various ways, that left an impression. All killed, but a number of them failed in my opinion. Nothing turns me off more than inconsistency.

For those who didn't see this before, these two 300 grain Mag XTPs (.45 Colt) were shot into a live Red Stag and they didn't perform as advertised in the least. The first one made it through a shoulder but the only piece we found was on the inside of the offside ribcage. The other hit shoulder, folded its nose over and hooked a hard right and still remained on the onside.







The stag only weighed about 350-lbs. Food for thought.

I would use a hard case Keith simi wadcutter for elk or deer for that matter. Penetration is first and foremost, I really like the 45 Colt over the 44 magnum, based on what Ive seen on big game..Ive only shot one deer with a pistol and killed it on the spot with a 41 mag. but Ive witnessed a lot of pistol kills.

Correction two deer, just remembered another one.

i would second what whitworth said. the sierra's are great and cheap. the swift's are awesome but i wouldn't waste em at that velocity. i would not hunt with xtp's. that red deer was killed by my gun and i was 2 feet away and pulled the xtps' out of that animal. same gun, same velocity, same placement. one grenaded and separated and the other failed to open and i have similiar results with my sons 480 ruger bfr. better but for sure not a frame level performance. at your velocity range a wide meplat hardcast or a sierra would be good.

Tho the bullet isnt identical.
I loaded a bunch of 300 gr Sierra for a friends 44 mag with 20 gr 296. He had to root out a black bear with his revolver it had been wounded by his dad who couldnt shoot a finisher because his A Bolt locked up. My friend got a straight on shot from about 15' away . The bullet penetrated thru the skull and smashed/pulverized more than a foot of neck and shoulder vertibrea and ended up in the lungs somewhere.
This was around 15 years ago so I dont know if Sierra has changed how they make their heavy weight handgun bullets.
The black bear squared around 6'8" so it wasnt huge but a very nice black bear.
Friend was shooting a 6" Model 29.

Whew! that stag looks pretty rough..sure he didn't die of blue tung..

I have some of those 300 grain Sierras for my 44 mag that are at least 15 years old.

I also have some 300 Sierras for my 45 colt the only thing that sucks is I have to shorten the cases to 1.240 for them to fit in my cylinder.