Based upon some of the posts I've seen around the forums, there appears to be a need for a concise comparison to the physical differences and similarities of the .452 diameter FTX bullets sold by Hornady. What follows are a series of comparative images for the benefit of those who wish to know more about their composition. I have loaded and fired all three both for group and for effect into water filled milk jugs. While the 200 and 250 gr bullets costs more than one would like for plinking, they are excellent bullets. The 225 costs half as much, while having a similar (not identical) form factor to them. The 225 is a good choice for plinking, running slightly less than the 240 gr .452 XTP Magnum bullets, but slightly more than the Magtech 230 gr FMJ. (Midway prices)
Lets start off with a close-up view of all three side by side. If you look closely, you'll notice the tip area of the 225 differs from the 200 and 250.
So, let's peel the onions. Here is my FTX "vegematic" setup.
First up. The 200 gr FTX.
"and delicious juliennes too!"
Here is an indicator of the thickness the wall at the midpoint
And at the tip
Next the 225 gr FTX
Here's the 225 cutaway
The 225 midpoint wall
And the 225 tip wall
Hang in there, it gets better.
Last but not least, the 250 gr FTX
Slipped a little with the saw. Notice the small step inside near the base. Your guess is as good as mine.
Notice the same midpoint wall thickness as the 200
But a little thicker on the tip wall
Okay, here are some relative comparison images up closer
All three side by side.
Here's all three bases
And all three tips. Note: the 225 tip sliced somewhat poorly and is more symmetrical than it appears. It was also not quite so far down in the hole originally, having that small air gap between it's bottom and the hole bottom. I just didn't want to fix and re-shoot that image.
Here's the tips without the plastic inserts
Hope nobody was viewing this with a dial-up connection.
Surprisingly, all three launched in the 2200-2400 fps range retain a similar percentage of weight (69-71%) when shot into identical, thin-walled milk bottles, filled with water at 100 yards. The 200 and 250 made it to the 5th bottle and the 225 to the 4th. Close examination of the preceding bottles in each string show small exit holes here and there consistent with the shed weight shards. Though images I've posted in other threads of the spent rounds show the lead still in their jackets, all three weight bullets were separated from their jacket in their final resting jugs. At least the jacket and lead wound up in the same jug.
An old saying goes "If you like sausage, don't watch it being made." Draw what you may from these images. All three are great bullets. In the case of the 225 gr not looking too much bigger than the 200 gr one. The thinner jacket results in more lead for a similar external area and lead weighs more than copper.
If someone want to send me a couple 240 gr XTP Magnum bullets and/or a couple of the Magtechs and/or a couple of the 300 gr FTXs, I'd be happy to slice and dice them and add those images to these. Actually I'm open to any comparable bullets appropriate for the 450b. PM me.
If these kinds of articles are too wasteful of bandwidth, be honest and let me know how I can improve my efforts.
Respectfully submitted,
Hoot