I know Hornady BTHP Match ammo (75 gr.) is designed for long range match shooting, so basically paper punching. But it is a hollow point. How suitable would the performance of this bullet be for PD or hunting? I compared the other stats to Hornady TAP 75 gr., and everything is identical in terms of velocity, muzzlle energy, etc. The reason I would like to know is it is cheaper than the TAP ammo. Some things the TAP does do that this doesn’t are: nickel plated case, and flashless propellant for less muzzle signature.
Here is a cutaway of the Hornady BTHP bullet. http://www.hornady.com/store/Match-c-379/
Hmm. Seems I’ve answered my own question. On the link to the cutaway, there is an asterisk that says that Hornady does not reccomend Match bullets for hunting large or medium size game, so Varmint only I would assume would be all you could use this for in actual hunting, and that at ranges far enough your 40 gr. Vmax won’t reach effectively. For instance, if I were going to plug a Coyote at 600+ yards.
Yes it is hollow-point, but it does not mushroom like handgun HP rounds–the HP on these bullets are to aid ballistic coefficient and fragmentation.
Its fragmentation properties (i.e. not mushrooming or remaining intact) are what keep it from penetrating deep enough to be recommended for hunting on large game.
However, it does not have explosive fragmentation properties like the thin-jacketed HPs used for varmint hunting…therefore you won’t likely get explosive results on small varmint (prairie dogs, ground squirrels) like plastic-tipped bullets or dedicated varmint bullets.
For coyote at long ranges, these may just work well enough for a solid stop without damaging too much fur. I’d think it would be worth a try.
Match bullets need a bit more target thickness to fragment–you likely just punched a hole in the smaller critters. I would imagine for a 'yote the Hornady 75 BTHP would work quite well.