44 SPL defense load - XTP or LSWC ?

Use a SWAGED 240 gr. HP SWC like a Hornady. You won't be driving it fast enough to lead up your barrel, it will obturate at these lower pressures for better accuracy and they will expand at these lower velocities. Read up on 38+p LSWCHP and you will understand my reasoning.
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I believed that myself until I used and tested the 240 grain lead HP mentioned. Hornady used to make a 44 Mag factory load with that bullet rated at 1000 fps. Expansion was minimal, just a small belling of the nose, when fired from a 4" Model 29 into wet paper or water jugs. I even bought some to handload and it took north of 1100 fps for the to expand, blow the ring off and send the shank on as a wadcutter. By then they were leading to beat hell and I eventually gave up on them.

IMO the XTP is the best thing to happen to conventional handgun ammo in a long time. I've handloaded them in the 357, 44 Mag, 45 ACP and 45 Colt. If you are in the velocity range for an XTP, you are going to get some expansion. Bullet integrity at high speed is just as good as Gold Dots. And XTP's have produced some of the finest accuracy I've seen from jacketed handgun loads.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys ! lots of good information that i can research into. i have some 200gr gold dots coming to compare against the XTP's.
 
"Good luck getting a 240 XTP to expand best think big lead "

My experience with XTP and Nosler 240 JHP in 44SP was dismal. No expansion seen in recovered bullets-some of which had penetrated 15-18" of deer. As noted, the only bullets I found to expand were the 200 GoldDot as loaded in the Blazer ammo. I currently carry a 4 5/8" 44 mag with handloads using Nosler 200 JHP at the extreme upper end of safe 44 SP printed loads. These will expand a little(maybe to .5") in wet newsprint.
Moral of the story:if you want expansion, use a swaged lead HP and deal with the bore leading(if it happens) or just don't expect expansion and use whatever you like.
 
I load 429421 cast bullets 10-12bnh and about 250gr.for my social loads. Actually, they are about all I shoot in any of my 44 spl handguns. I load for about 800fps. I love the 44spl. round.
 
I do not understand the all the talk about semi wadcutter bullets (like the 429421). I thought that the current wisdom is that a wide flat nose portion of a cast bullet is what disrupts flesh (the bigger the better), not the sharp shoulder. I remember a few years back when they smeared bullet lube onto the semi wadcutter bullets to demonstrate that the shoulder did not even contact the ballistic mediums when fired into it. They would show that the bullet lube was still intact on the recovered bullets, which led to the conclusion that a sharp semi wadcutter shoulder on a defensive or hunting round was superfluous. Have I missed something? Has anything changed?
 
You are correct. I believe it was Veral Smith (Lead Bullet Tech) who concluded it was the meplat and not the shoulder, and proved it out by shooting LSWC's with a paint and shooting them into a medium that took the paint off of the areas where force was applied.

The reason I like the Keith bullet with the larger meplat is they tend to shoot well at variable speeds, and are supposed to be accurate at longer distances...plus I have a bunch already.

I have some calculations in one of my notebooks for calculating the crush cavity on soft tissue with a reasonable hard cast flat point bullet;

FPS X meplat diameter / 225 - 0.725 = hole size
This is an approximation and minimum speed is somewhere are 800-900 fps where this formula works.

I have one for calculating penetration depth too, but in my testing it seems less reliable.

I'll have to see if I can find the source.

EDIT TO ADD:
Here are some rabbit holes to fall into if you like. They are very informative and utterly fascinating:

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/ask-veral-smith-of-lbt-qa/swc-myths/

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/mechanics.html#cavitation
http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/wounding.html
http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/methods.html#flat-nosed
(Found it, this is where I got that formula)
 
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Whatever you decide, a heavy .44 slug moving at a reasonable velocity, will most likely discourage most opponents, two or four legged.
 
Just a little more information. Got off the phone with charter arms, they said the buffalo bore stuff, way too heavy.

Any loads up to 800fps is good to go.
 
I have the one my wife carries loaded up with some 240 grain LSWC, I use a 90% case fill of Trail Boss. They get the job done, and you can shoot 50 of them at the range, and not have a sore hand, or wrist.

It is the only load I have run though it. Well I think I did some with Red Dot, that would be close to the Trail Boss loads. The thing is they were nowhere near as clean as the Trail Boss loads.
 
Personally, for a short barreled revolver like the Charter, I'd go with a 200 or 180 gr bullet for personal defense on the trail. I like the Speer Gold Dot for this purpose and find it shoots great from my S&W 696. I use PowerPistol for my load and get great velocity out of a 3" barrel. You are more likely to encounter 2 legged threats while hiking than 4 legged ones, unless you are in bear country, which would dictate a bigger caliber.
 
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