hi folks,
does anyone shoot the hornady 125 xtp's in their 357 marlin lever guns? and if so, how do they shoot? thanks....dan

i know several people that use them and they like them. for me i use the e-xtreme plated 38-158 gr fp and it does the same for less money. i also used the e-xtreme plated 38-125 gr fp with the same results. there is no different in my sight setting between the two with my loads. i also used the 125 gr in the hunter pistol match in two different thompson center contenders. but the guys/gals that use the hornady bullet likes them.

I don't know if you have to get anything sophisticated with these guns at the ranges were shooting them for PC, My choices are Riener's 125's & 158's plated bullets and they work fine at a good $$. I'm using 4227 & Unique powder loads.
ppkny

The Hornady 125 is my "go-to" bullet. I load it with Unique and sometimes 4227. Shot a match yesterday using a cast/coated 125 and 6 gr of Unique. And just for the heck of it I shot chickens with the XTPs and 4227 - a center hit really sent them flying!

Yes, the Hornady XTP is somewhat the standard for .357 loads. Same point of aim as the Missouri cast/coat bullet.

I'll use the cast/coated for "local" matches and save the XTPs for the Texas State and the Oklahoma Regional Matches.

Michael

I use this bullets in my Henry steel in 357 mag. I use 6.5 gr of n320. The powder is more than others but is cleaner and has a mild recoil. my wife and I shoot Saturday with this gun for the first time . She shot a 20/40 this being her first time to shoot a centerfire rifle. I got 1 inch groups at 40 meters with 10 shots off a bag.

The XTPs shot great for me, but so did every other jacketed and most plated, as long as I crimped the plated VERY lightly. Xtreme and Rainier plated shot equally well, and Berrys would shoot similarly BUT throw a flyer about 10-20% of the time.

My .02,

- Tim

Tim.... Hello....what crimp die are you using..... What Berry bullet.... Plated? I just ordered some coated Precision 38-147 from Kemp, TX... be a while before I try them... Also I forget what powder you favor in that 357.... Hal

OK.... just saw the other thread

Hal wrote:Tim.... Hello....what crimp die are you using..... What Berry bullet.... Plated? I just ordered some coated Precision 38-147 from Kemp, TX... be a while before I try them... Also I forget what powder you favor in that 357.... Hal

Hal -

With plated I typically use a very slight taper crimp... Basically just enough to remove the neck flare. I do prefer that the case lengths are consistent if I taper crimp. On occasion if I'm in a hurry and too lazy to check case length I'll use a Lee FCD (again lightly). Both methods seem to shoot the same, it's just logic that tells me the taper crimp has less chance of breaking down the plating. The only thing I roll crimp anymore are jacketed and gas checked lead loads for my revolver using a magnum powder such as H110/W296.

Yes, it was the Berrys plated that shot most inconsistent for me, regardless of crimp type, pressure, or load. I never could get them to quit throwing flyers, even single loading with zero crimp. In plated, both Xtreme and Rainiers seem to shoot the same for me.

I've tried very few powder coated bullets yet. What I've tried so far appears to shoot identical to plain lead, which in my particular rifle is not good at all, even though gas checked lead regularly shoots better 3 shot groups than anything else, with 5+ shot groups on par with jacketed.

Although the point of impact may vary a bit, the XTPs, Sierras, and Remington jacketed typically group similarly, regardless of load.

Powders I use with plated are basically whatever pistol/shotgun powder I have the most of at the moment. Currently it's GreenDot, but I've had excellent results with 700X, HP38/W231, SR4756, WSF, amongst a few others that don't occur to me at the moment. My "go to" powder for magnum loads is LilGun, (except for the revolver where I use H110/W296).

My .02,



- Tim

Tim .... Thanks.... I taper crimp those to.. Have a Lee FCD ... brand new .. not used yet. Green Dot is good.... Great in the 38-55..... In her 38 Spec Marlin ...GD is about the only powder that works with the 36-185..... Bout ready to give up on cast in the 357... I had Accurate Molds make me a 36-185 PB mold for Pistol Cartridge ...best groups so far is with AA2... (Per C E Harris instructions..... heavy bullet /fast powder in the Marlin).... lighter cast will not cut it at all... Bulls Eye will throw the first shot 3" above the paper target, then put a 2" group in the center.... wait 10 min.... first shot almost off the paper then finish's in the center again...... most other powders not so bad , but there is a barrel condition problem... Not good enough for competition. I have tried everything, lubes, sizing, hardness, etc...... Jacketed.... different story... loves 180's with more H110 than I will type here. Fast 125's very accurate.... and at medium speed for PC.... they still shoot under 2" at 100M.... The gun is perfect... For some reason I shoot it better in the long range game with heavy loads than in PC.