barns 285 gr spitfire bullets

[pressman]

i need some help and i can not think of a better place then here to find the real answer. all comments are welcome.
I have a 50 cal pro hunter, I started shooting the blackhorn 209 powder and bought some 285 gr barns spitfire bullets with 115 grains of the 209 i was getting 3/4 inch groups for 3 shots at 100 yards. I was very happy but then i dug up some of the slugs out of the dirt behind my target to find that they were not even expanded? one out of four bullets thati found looks like it started but for the most part they looked just about like they do when i loaded them?? If they do not expand in the dirt how well are they going to work on deer? i emailed barnes a few days ago for their comment on these i even sent them pictures of the shot bullets but they have not responded. does anyone have any ideas of what is going on here?

thanks

 

[TheHardWay]

Interested in what others have to say as I was considering these bullets. Subscribing.

 

[ENCORE]

i need some help and i can not think of a better place then here to find the real answer. all comments are welcome.
I have a 50 cal pro hunter, I started shooting the blackhorn 209 powder and bought some 285 gr barns spitfire bullets with 115 grains of the 209 i was getting 3/4 inch groups for 3 shots at 100 yards. I was very happy but then i dug up some of the slugs out of the dirt behind my target to find that they were not even expanded? one out of four bullets thati found looks like it started but for the most part they looked just about like they do when i loaded them?? If they do not expand in the dirt how well are they going to work on deer? i emailed barnes a few days ago for their comment on these i even sent them pictures of the shot bullets but they have not responded. does anyone have any ideas of what is going on here?

thanks

I've been shooting Barnes bullets for years. Many many years. You're going to be extremely hard pressed to find the bullet's (saboted) equal out of the muzz IMO. In general, most bullets..... MAY..... need something other than dirt to start expansion, such as body fluids, muscle, bone, etc. There are exceptions, such as would be the case with the Expander or any larger hollow point bullet, such as the Hornady XTP bullet. The Expander has a huge hollow point opening, which would allow dirt to expand the bullet prior to stopping it. If.... its the dirt testing results your looking for.

You're certainly shooting enough propellent for the MZ bullet to open up reliabily on game. If you have a concern, then you could switch to the TMZ or the T-EZ if they load hard. The polymer tip will help to create more immediate expansion.

If you do your part, ANY Barnes bullet will do exactly what its supposed to do and do it with 100% reliability. I've shot thousnds of them and more deer than most would ever believe and I've NEVER had one fail. Those that claim a Barnes bullet failed on a whitetail, mearly made a poor shot and are trying to blame the bullet.

I shoot these things like they're .22 rimfire ammuniton. Really "ticks" the wife off when I get the credit card out and head to this computer. I also shoot a Pro Hunter but, I prefer the 250gr. TMZ bullet for quicker expansion along with its tragectory over the MZ. But, both the bullets work perfectly on game. My Pro Hunter gives me exceptional results and actually shoots better than my old eyes any more. I've found, as with many others, that the 110gr VOLUME charge and the 250gr TMZ appears to work out of most rifles. Certainly the Encores and Pro Hunters. I happen to load by weight to 75grs (WEIGHED on scales), which equals 107.1grs VOLUME. The ol'eyes aren't what they used to be but, on my good days she'll do 1/4" groups at 100yds and 3/4" groups at 150yds.

These are examples of how the Barnes 250gr TMZ work. The single bullet on black, was given to my my one of the guys that shoots here. He took a running doe, very close to 90yds, directly in the chest. The bullet stopped just under the hide on one of the hind quarters. Dropped the deer in its tracks and you can tell by the bullet, it did just what it was supposed to do. The second picture/s, are of the bullets pulled from the backstop here on the range. They're still covered in dirt.......

 

[flyin lizard]

Not uncommon for them to NOT expand on dirt or wood, but they will expand on flesh and petel out like the pics above almost every time.

 

[BountyHunter]

I have a standard Encore 209, shoot 110 BH209 and the T-EX Spitfires and I can tell you for sure they expand in deer!!