Barnes bullets

[frederick.208]

I have been shooting 140 grain Barnes bullets out of my 7mm RM with good success, with kills out to six hundred yards. I just bought a new gun and plan on shooting it out to 1000 yards. I was told that the Barnes were not acurate out past 800 yrds. Is this true. What if I went to a 180 grain bullet.

 

[RemingtonMagnum]

my buddy can shoot a can of grizzly with barns out to 700 yards with his 7mm RUM. idk if he has tried much further. so i would say they would still be good for longer ranges than that but i dont know for sure.

 

[Bob33]

This is an easy one. Try it for yourself.

 

[frederick.208]

Thanks bob I was hoping one of you pros could tell and save me the work, guess I will have to get out there and gun) Is there a reason nobody is using Barnes.

 

[Bob33]

I think only you can decide if the load meets your expectations and needs. A Barnes might work well for someone else in his gun, but not in yours. Good luck.

 

[Michael Eichele]

Is there a reason nobody is using Barnes.

BC's are too low and too much velocity is required to open them. In other words, with the low BCs and high velocity requirments, they arent optimum 800+ yard bullets. We use bullets that will open up at 1500-1800 FPS AND hold together at 3000+. Barnes will hold up at more than 3000 FPS but will not open reliably at 1800 FPS. Plus they are expensive and it is hard to find a load that they will group (in most rifles).

As far as them not being accurate past a given yardage is not true. Every bullet has optimum velocity and twist ratios. If you violate those paramiters, you will have loads that are accurate up to a given yardage and not worth a crap past that yardage. On the flip side, you can have crappy accuracy at closer yardages and phenominal accuracy at longer yardages. You can also have excellent accuracy from 100-1000 yards as well. Figuring out these optimum zones is tricky. It takes massive amounts of experimentation with YOUR rifle and an assortment of bullets at a wide range of velocities to really figure it out.

 

[jwp475]

Thanks bob I was hoping one of you pros could tell and save me the work, guess I will have to get out there and gun) Is there a reason nobody is using Barnes.

I have used the 180 TSX in my 300 win quite a lot and the bullet is very accurate out to 1,000 meters (as far as I have shot it) and very efftive terminal performance


I took the Doe Antelope in this picture at 777 yards with one shot and it was a DRT kill

 

[Limbic]

Try the MRX. Brutal accuracy with some IMR4831 in my 7RM.

 

[Bob33]

Frederick.208, what do you consider acceptable accuracy at 800 yards? What accuracy are you getting with non-Barnes bullets at 800 yards? What are you planning to shoot?

 

[Supertrucker]

BC's are too low and too much velocity is required to open them. In other words, with the low BCs and high velocity requirments, they arent optimum 800+ yard bullets. We use bullets that will open up at 1500-1800 FPS AND hold together at 3000+. Barnes will hold up at more than 3000 FPS but will not open reliably at 1800 FPS. Plus they are expensive and it is hard to find a load that they will group (in most rifles).

As far as them not being accurate past a given yardage is not true. Every bullet has optimum velocity and twist ratios. If you violate those paramiters, you will have loads that are accurate up to a given yardage and not worth a crap past that yardage. On the flip side, you can have crappy accuracy at closer yardages and phenominal accuracy at longer yardages. You can also have excellent accuracy from 100-1000 yards as well. Figuring out these optimum zones is tricky. It takes massive amounts of experimentation with YOUR rifle and an assortment of bullets at a wide range of velocities to really figure it out.

The BC's in the new Barnes manual are not accurate.
Here are the corrected BC's for the TSX (non-tipped) .284 cal.

120-.411
140-.477
150-.408
160-.508
175-.417

And the TSX's are one of the most accurate hunting bullets available. The Barnes got a bad rap because of their original X bullets.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

I think people have had trouble w/ the Barnes because they are unleaded. Mono-metal bullets are longer for the weight. So for a rough example the 180g class bullet will have similar dimensions to a 200g class conventional bullet. Lead is heavier than copper. So, the mono-metal bullet will require a higher twist rate for the heaver bullets in order to be accurate. We have lived so long in the lead bullet world that it is difficult for some people to compare the apple to the orange, so to speak. The mono-metal bullet sheds very little weight, if any, on impact. Thus it's terminal performance is that of a much heavier conventional lead core bullet

The big thing in my opinion, is you have got to have enough twist for the size of the bullet you are shooting. The companies that build the Mono-metal bullets will help you figure out the necessary twist for the selected bullet.

Steve

 

[J E Custom]

I have had mixed results with the barnes bullets.

In the big bores .375,.416 and .454 I have had very good results with the 300grs up
to 500gr bullets by barnes .

Uniform expansion, good weight retention and accurace.

But fouling is an issue with all barnes except the coated ones.

On lighter high velocity bullets ,Expansion was inconsistant shot to shot,weight retension
remained good even tho some petals were shed and accuracy was good.

Twist can be an issue and in fareness to the barnes bullets I don't build a rifle around a bullet
that requires special twist because it may limmit the ability to find the best load for the rifle and
use.

The alloy used in the barns is very prone to fouling but not all mono metal bullets have the
same alloy and they are not as prone to foul.

They are tremendous in my 416 buff and retain 98 to 100% of there weight (400gr @
2700FT/SEC ) And double there size.An to address the fouling issue I molly coat them.

I have and still use a lot of barnes bullets in the big bores but not in the smaller calibre
and weights.

This is just my experance with them.
J E CUSTOM

 

[jwp475]

I have seen no fouling issues with the TSX or TTSX bullets and accuracy and terminal performance in my experience has been superb

 

[Bob33]

I've experienced significantly less fouling with TSXs shot through my .257 Weatherby than from conventional jacketed bullets.