Getting XTP bullets to expand?

Precision One uses XTP in their 925 fps .380 and those expand well. Check out their site. There are some videos.

Hornady has a good graph of XTP recommended velocities on their web site. Though I don't know if the velocities listed are at the muzzle or out at impact ranges.

I use them all the time in a variety of calibers...but testing for expansion depends on the muzzle velocity and the testing medium as well. XTP's in .32 caliber, 85's do well on woodchucks to 50 yds with a muzzle velocity of 1100 fps.

In .357, 125's, 140's & 158's all do well if started at 1150 fps out to ~50 yds, again on woodchucks, & the 158 FP's have killed several deer for me inside 75 yds. Penetration with rib breakage was through and through.

In .41 Magnum, the 210 gr XTP is a sure fire deer killer, again with shots through the slats, out to 90 yds in my experience and with complete penetration/expansion. I load mine for a .41 Mag, Marlin 1894 so the muzzle velocity is up around 1500 fps however.

The comments regarding .32's and .357's showing good expansion on woodchucks and deer respectively, were also tested on water in a swimming pool....when Mrs. Rod was out shopping!

HTH's Rod

Rodfac said:

were also tested on water in a swimming pool....

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I'm glad I'm not your pool guy.... it's bad enough scooping leaves and pool noodles out, let alone bullets!

"Rod? Rod ?!? Would you like to explain why there are BULLETS in the pool strainer? ROD? Where do you think you're running off to, get back here!"

Well, copper is a good algaecide, but you don't have to SHOOT the bacteria with it!

jski said:

I reload for both 327 Fed Mag and 32 H&R Mag plus 357 Mag and use XTP bullets for self defense rounds, so this is an important issue for me. How fast must they driven to to get the desired expansions?

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Does it not say on the box?

I just loaded some 200grn .45 XTP's tonight... says right on the box...

jski said:

How hard must XTP bullets be driven to get them to expand? I watched a test using biogel where .32 cal XTP bullets were driven to 1150+ FPS and they failed to expand.

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Lucky Gunner tested a huge amount of factory ammo, including a bunch of XTPs. Their testing methodology is quite good.


They do have some 32 cal bullets listed, but no specific 32 cal XTPs unfortunately.

While this is factory ammo they are testing, they are showing velocities so you can see what the expansion is at that given velocity. As a general rule the XTPs like to see velocity on the higher end for a given bullet weight from pretty much all tests I've seen.

Myself? I have no issues with XTPs and I prefer a heavy bullet going right around 1000 fps in both 9 and 45. Easy to shoot, subsonic, and accurate for me.

It varies by bullet weight and caliber. Hornady use to publish a PDF that had recommended impact velocity ranges for the whole XTP line of bullets. Do a Google search, it usually comes up on third party websites. Though I can't find it on Hornady's actually website anymore.

In my own experience that chart seemed optimistic and to get reliable expansion I usually needed to be near the top end of the velocity range. I never did get 158 gr 38-cal XTPs to expand at 38 Special +P velocities despite being well into the recommend impact velocity range. Similar with 300 gr 45 caliber XTP in my muzzle loader it does not always expand. On the other hand I have had reliable expansion from 180 & 200 gr 40 cal XTP in my 10mm but I am pushing those at muzzle velocities right at the top if not slightly faster than top recommended impact velocity.

Your best off testing your particular load in your particular gun. Use water jugs and/or stacks of wet magazines/catalogs as targets if you don't want to buy expensive ballistic gel.


I swiped this copy from Glock Talk. It may or may not be current.

Charlie98 said:

I'm glad I'm not your pool guy.... it's bad enough scooping leaves and pool noodles out, let alone bullets!

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If you leave them in there, your wife will still find out but that’s what pool nets are for..,

NMexJim said:

There are some videos.

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jski said:

How fast must XTP bullets be driven to get good expansion?

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jski said:

That same boiler plate verbiage is on every XTP box meaning exactly what? Will an XTP bullet expand at 700 FPS? I don’t think so.

I’m looking for empirical data.

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I understand what you are driving at, but I think you're over-analyzing it. Like the video in post #2 above showed, even in a fairly controlled test, you never know what's going to happen, and add a variable... layers of denim in this case... and it completely changed the outcome. The guy in the video was not impressed, and neither was I... but at the end of the day, the 9mm bullet dumped all of it's energy into the target.

The XTP is a pretty robust bullet... mostly, I'm thinking, because it's also intended for hunting. You might be better off with a dedicated defense bullet like the GoldDot (which is what I carry,) the HST, or even the Hornady Critical Duty line (although I've see issues with those, because of the gummy plug in the cavity. I quit carrying those because of that, and switched back to the GoldDot, even though availability on those is sketchy.)

Charlie98 said:

I understand what you are driving at, but I think you're over-analyzing it. Like the video in post #2 above showed, even in a fairly controlled test, you never know what's going to happen, and add a variable... layers of denim in this case... and it completely changed the outcome. The guy in the video was not impressed, and neither was I... but at the end of the day, the 9mm bullet dumped all of it's energy into the target.

The XTP is a pretty robust bullet... mostly, I'm thinking, because it's also intended for hunting. You might be better off with a dedicated defense bullet like the GoldDot (which is what I carry,) the HST, or even the Hornady Critical Duty line (although I've see issues with those, because of the gummy plug in the cavity. I quit carrying those because of that, and switched back to the GoldDot, even though availability on those is sketchy.)

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Yep, I carry HST and like Gold Dot well enough in 9mm. I carry Critical Duty in my P380 Kahr because it feeds better and HST has stiffer recoil. But, I also carry Precision One in .380 with XTP bullet and all. No gripes on expansion from me. My favorite has been HST for years, but it's just too stiff in the little .380.

Since the expansion happens when/because fluids enter the void, your issue may have more to do with the small diameter of the void in a 32cal bullet.

I don't know that, it's just a SWAG.

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A bullet is designed for a platform and I don't know if the one you selected is for a snub pistol or a Henry carbine...

jski said:

Is there a threshold where suddenly it works?

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It sounds like, at least with your .32 bullet, that it really needs top window velocity to work effectively. There may also be other factors at work as well...

These .45ACP Zero brand fully expand at 800FPS.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?attachments/2023-03-17-png.1140579/

jski said:

View attachment 1177312

As you can see 1200+ FPS out of a 1.87” LCR and it did the trick.

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The issue here is requiring boutique max loads for proper function. That tells me that they can work, when driven to the very edge of cartridge pressure in the application your trying. For me that makes that particular bullet inappropriate for my needs. Maybe a lighter bullet in their product line can be driven to the required speed for proper function in a better pressure range or another company may better meet your needs.