So I have a bunch of 155 gr coming my way from Hornadys "Get Loaded" promotion and just wondering if anyone uses them to hunt, well, anything?
Purchased a Glock 40 with the intention of hunting whitetail in thick Mn woods as well as woods carry. Was figuring 180-200 grain would cover all my bases. Got into reloading and now I have 500, 155 grain coming my way (only grain promotion listed in 10mm) that I dont know what to do with other than plinking or decimating squirrels.
I'd use the 155's for plinking, or maybe sell them and put the money towards 180 or 200 grain bullets to hunt with.
I'm sure 155's will kill even large northern deer if shots are chosen carefully (broadside, behind the shoulder).... But, I myself wouldn't be comfortable with the generally accepted level of penetration a 155 grain hollow point will provide.
Congratulations on the Glock 40, fine weapon, I really like mine.
Unless you enjoy shooting coyotes....
If so, those 155's will be excellent for that.
Yotes might be fun if I can get close enough. I have some on my trail cams but have never tried to hunt them.
The bullet weight is not the deciding factor here. Up at 10mm velocities the 155gr Hornady XTP is known for deep penetration. I have not taken game with this bullet but all the ballistic gel tests say that, for example, it trades some expansion to get deeper penetration. So for deer and hog the 155gr XTP is a decent choice. The 155gr Speer Gold Dot expands more and gives less penetration. I honestly don't know exactly when each bullet is better but when hunting I default to penetration.
My 155gr XTP factory loads chrono out of my G20 at (5 shot average) 1,338 fps. Though I have not shot this load out of my G40, it probably does around 1,370 fps and that is quite a punch that still gives a lot of penetration.
The G40 is a great choice. The 155 XTP is not my personal choice but is powerful, accurate and quite capable with medium game. Good hunting!
Penetration and the ability to pass through a rib or shoulder blade are my main concerns. When it comes to expansion, my personal thoughts is that 10mm are already wider that most of the .270 bullets I have recovered from deer, so speed and penetration are priority.
If I could have my way I would get some JSP's in 180 and 200 to see what I shoot better, to bad nobody makes them... unless you want to dismantle Federals factory ammo. Now I am stuck deciding between flat nose or hollow point...
That said, I have plenty of other critters to dispatch as practice with these.
SIG makes a 155 that runs 1500 FPS should work for hunting at close range and shot placement
You did not say if it is the XTP?
If it is, deer and under you will be fine under these conditions;
Using 6" barrel to get the velocity up.
Keeping your shots on deer 75 yards and under.
Broadside or quarting away aiming for the heart and lungs.
I have taken deer with the 155 XTP but they were all under 50 yards the resorts were really good.
practice practice practice
I have a Hornady progressive press set up for 10mm only and shoot 7000 + pre year from various 10mm platforms. I am confident in my ability and absolutely love shooting.
Why is there so much concern over the weight of a 155 grain 10mm? I'm not a hunter but it seems to me the 357 mag at 157 grain was likely used for years before the current crop of whatevers???
Quote from: ram1000 on December 10 2017 04:49:31 PM MST
Why is there so much concern over the weight of a 155 grain 10mm? I'm not a hunter but it seems to me the 357 mag at 157 grain was likely used for years before the current crop of whatevers???
My rules would apply to the 357 158 grain load as well from a handgun.
I've had the same question and thoughts recently. I have quite a bit of Hornady 155 bullets I've gotten free from Hornady with die purchases. I've seen people write they (155s) don't have the sectional density to penetrate effectively for self defense or hunting. However, I had the same thought about the 125 and 158 gr .357 magnum loads that have been popular. Seems like the 155 10mm loads would be similarly effective, especially for self defense.
My .02.....
Keep the velocity in the 1250fps to 1300fgs range for .52 to .60 expansion and decent pentration. Don't over-juice them. The Chpping Block tested the 155gr XTP by Underwood zipping along at 1450+fps and he got 10 pr 11" of penetration and .82 expansion. Great for a coyote but far too shallow for medium size game.
Just my 2 cents but I haven't seen many deer that are thicker than 10 or 11 inches broadside so I'd say they would work purty awesome.
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Quote from: anthaynes96 on March 19 2018 07:39:01 PM MDT
Just my 2 cents but I haven't seen many deer that are thicker than 10 or 11 inches broadside so I'd say they would work purty awesome.
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Calibrated ballistics gel is a consistent analog media which permits reasonable comparisons of different projectiles (and velocities) terminal performance on a reasonably level playing field. Which as discussed on this forum many, many times is anything but analogous to the performance on real world living creatures which are anything but consistent and uniform.
Labrat:
I've never hunted MN whitetail but I understand they grow big up there. Good luck hunting with your G40!
Quote from: ram1000 on December 10 2017 04:49:31 PM MST
Why is there so much concern over the weight of a 155 grain 10mm? I'm not a hunter but it seems to me the 357 mag at 157 grain was likely used for years before the current crop of whatevers???
Because penetration is predicted by sectional density and velocity, not weight and velocity.
A 155 grain 10mm will be similar as far as penetration to a 125 grain .357, velocity being the same with no expansion. The 10mm, due to it's weight, will arrive with more energy, again if velocity is the same.
Ballistics by the inch shows that 357 mag in a 5" barrel, including chamber, will make about 1500 fps with premium JHP loads in the 125 grain range. Underwood also makes 1500 fps with premium 10mm loads in 155 grain. So, we have apples to apples on velocity and sectional density, but the 10mm has a larger un-expanded diameter and a 150 lb-ft energy advantage.
In 158 grain JHP's, the 357 Mag has velocity advantage of 150 fps compared to the 200 grain 10mm, which pretty much normalizes out the energy budget at 688 to 684. Apples to apples for sectional density and energy, but not velocity.
I would expect the 155 grain 10mm to perform more like a 125 grain 357, which is not a super common hunting load. That said, the 155 grain has a huge energy advantage and is larger out of the gate, which will result in better terminal performance than the 125 grain 357.
No reason not to use those heads since that is what the OP has. They will perform fine on whitetail as long as you take good shots.
I'm not the OP but appreciate the information.
So what are the 150-155's and 135's good for in 10mm applications?
There seems to be a velocity range where bullets expand adequately and penetrate as much as possible. Any velocity more than that seems to result in more expansion but not more and maybe less penetration.
The tests I've seen on YouTube seem to favor the 180 grain bullets for expansion and best penetration.
So what are the 155's and 135's good for?
Lots of different opinions about what is ideal as far as terminal performance.
I favor 180 to 200 grain JHP or cast lead WFN, but I live in the mountain west. Though I am in a metropolitan area, bear country is only about a 3 minute drive from my home. It is not unusual to hear reports of bears in the city from time to time.
If I were in an urban environment with less dangerous animal presence I would look hard at 155-165 grain bullets for self defense. Which HP to select becomes very important as bullets that fully expand in the 40 S&W in these weights may fragment when pushed to 10mm Auto velocities. OTOH, those same bullets that fragment from a 5" or longer 10mm Auto may be spot on as far as velocity and terminal performance if fired from a Glock 29 or Witness Compact. That is a big benefit of the Glock 29 that I frequently carry. It still offers a terminal performance profile that exceeds 40 S&W in a service sized gun, but is packed into a gun about the size of a Glock 19. I run a +2 basepad with the pinky extension and carry standard Glock 20 15 round mags with +2 baseplates for backup.
Among other uses the 135 grains bullets are great varmint rounds. There are those here that like it's soft tissue profile for personal defense and while I personally favor heavier bullets, the 135's do produce some pretty spectacular results in gel. A couple of advantages of the lighter bullets are more shock value due to higher velocity and energy, and less momentum means they will stop easier/faster against barriers.
Finally, the solids are not to be discounted. Traditional JHP profile solids like the Barnes TAC-XP are great performers which will defeat clothing and barriers that would clog a lead/copper jhp and still expand.
For me the jury is out on the new breed of solids with screw-driver tips. The first generation penetrated about like a FMJ, with a slightly better wound channel. The second generation rounds I have seen results for in 9mm offer great promise as the penetration is more in line with a typical JHP. This is physics at work. If the two bullets arrive at the target with the same energy, both penetrate to the same depth and stop, but one deforms and the other doesn't, then the one that didn't deform had to do more damage to the target. That energy that didn't deform the bullet had to go somewhere. I keep looking for some of these to be tested.
As I said in my first post, the 155 grain matches the SD and the velocity of the vaunted 125 grain JHP 357 rounds. They just have more diameter and energy budget. They are gonna be very solid personal defense rounds if you carefully select bullets that hold together at your velocities.
I have shot 155, 180, and 200 grain XTP, plus 135, 180, and 200 grain Nosler Sporting Handgun bullets. I will tell you the two best bar none for hunting anything up to Moose and Bear is the 155 grain XTP and the Nosler 200 grain Sporting Handgun. These two bullets for my TRP 10mm are more accurate, and stabilize better than anything else out there. But hands down the 155 grain XTP is my go to for hunting pigs, deer, and bear. Oh yeah, also Turkey are great game for this pistol. The 155 grain XTP has plenty of knock down power, it holds ballistic performance for longer distances than any other bullet....and before arguing that. Go to Vortex LRBC, they have an awesome reloading calculator that gives you a breakdown in yardage increments of whatever you want, that breaks down drop, bullet energy, and velocity in every range listed. The 155 grain wins hands down out to 100 yards. It also penetrates enough to take down even the biggest moose or bear out there, even if hitting bone. Don't believe me still, watch Razor Dobbs and listen to him on multiple episodes. He uses 155 grain Double Tap ammo more than just about anything else. Sometimes he'll use 180 grain. But other than when he's in Africa with hard cast bullets, he pretty much readily uses 155 grain to kill. And he kills everything with it.
Welcome to the forum jkelly.
Thanks for your insight.
Just a side note; the 10mm 155gr Double Tap round that RD raves about is the solid copper Barnes TACXP projectile.
The 155's will work great for coyotes, providing you can call them in close enough...which I have several times. Put down the shotgun or AR and letem have it : )
Quick update, about 6 months late... used some Federal 180 grain JSP from the factory to dispatch a little buck in November. Found the lead just under the skin on the exit side, so I personally feel like the 155 grain xtp's would make it to the vitals but I would feel better using 180s. Smaller critters and targets are in the future for the boxes of 155 grains I have.