Hornady FTX load deveopment

[sabinajiles]

I did some shooting this afternoon to work up a couple of hunting loads for my Accura V2 using the Hornady .430 265 gr & .458 325gr FTX bullets. I had tried a few of the .458 325 gr FTXs before, using a Harvester BCR over 100 gr BH 209 and they really shot well and showed some promise. The problem is they are a battle to get down my bore with a range rod and reloading in the field with the rifles ramrod is out of the question. I ordered some of the MMP orange sabots and tried them today. Loading was much easier, but still stiff enough to expect good accuracy. I loaded them over 110 gr of BH 209, the same as I used with the BCRs, but 12 shots were pretty well scattered in a 7"-8" group in my 100 yd target. Then I noticed shed petals from the sabots all over the ground between 2'-6' in front of my shooting table but never did find any bases. It appears they are breaking apart almost immediately after leaving the barrel. I did not take time to back down the charge and see what happens and will have to try that another day.

The afternoon was not a total disappointment, however, as I then switched to the .430 265 gr FTX, with a plain green(not crush rib) Harvester sabot and 100 gr BH 209. They loaded stiff, but not so stiff to be difficult to reload in the field. It only took 6 shots to see that this combination is a winner. The results are in the photo below. I had a stiff cross wind from left to right, gusting over 20 mph, so the POI to the right was expected but the grouping was terrific. This is a load you might want to look at. That's a 6 shot group from the .430 265s & the stickers are covering 12 shots using the .458 325s, which you can see needs some work to get tightened up.

 

[BuckDoeHunter]

That's some nice shooting with the 265 grainers especially with that wind :yeah:

 

[sabinajiles]

That's some nice shooting with the 265 grainers especially with that wind :yeah:

Yeah, I was really pleased with how they shot, especially since that's the first time I've tried them. I still need to check them out at 150 & 200 yds but I expect the accuracy should hold up well. I'll shoot them through my chronograph the next time, too, to get a muzzle velocity. My best guess is the 100 gns of BH 209 is pushing them around 1900 fps, maybe a bit more. Using the Hornady ballistics calculator and 1930 fps muzzle velocity, you come up with this:

RANGE (YDS) VELOCITY (FPS) ENERGY (FT.-LB.) TRAJECTORY (IN)
Muzzle-----------1930---------------2192---------------(-1.5)
50 ---------------1768--------------1839------------------0.7
100--------------1617--------------1539---------------------0
150--------------1478--------------1285-------------------(-4)
200--------------1351--------------1075------------------(-12)
250--------------1241---------------907------------------(-24.7)

If terminal performance is good, and from the reports I've read from lever gun and other muzzleloader shooters who have used this bullet, it is very good, this should be a great load for whitetail.

 

[LarryBud]

Good shooting and thanks for sharing.

I shoot the 325 FTX out of the .52 with good accuracy. I'm confident they will do the job on game.

 

[Hulions]

I have shot the .430 265 gr. FTX out of my Encore Endeavor with the same results. I also use a harvester green sabot with 110 gr. of BH209. This load shoots very accurate out of my rifle. I haven't had a chance to use this load on any game yet but I hope that changes this year. If they work as well on game as they do on paper this will be a great load.

 

[sabinajiles]

I had a chance yesterday to do some more shooting with the 265 gr FTX bullet and it is definitely a superbly accurate load out of my Accura V2. The following 100 yd target is 4 shots using the 265 gr FTX and a Harvester smooth green sabot over 100 gr BH 209 and a Winchester 209A primer. Velocity averaged 1910 fps at 10 ft from the muzzle. This looks like it is going to be my hunting load.

I also again tried the 300 gr FTX, using both 100 gr and 110 gr of BH 209 and the MMP orange sabot, and I just can't get it to hold a group together. I could get a couple of shots out of 4 to shoot pretty much where I aim, but a couple are always about 3' off and never in the same spot. They could be high, low, left or right. I'm going to keep working with it, but it just seems my rifle doesn't like that bullet and sabot and I can't find another sabot that's not too difficult to load with that bullet. The MMP orange loads stiff enough that it should do the job. I have noticed that the sabot is breaking off all its petals almost immediately after exiting the muzzle. I read from others who say this is not uncommon with the MMP orange and doesn't necessarily affect accuracy but it's not working for me. My rifle shoots 300 gr Scorpion PT Golds, with a Harvester red crush rib sabot very accurately. I just can't figure what is going on with the 325 gr FTX, if it isn't the sabot. Any thoughts from anyone else who has tried them?

 

[Yotehunter243]

I have been wanting to try the FTX in my .52 . Great shooting