barnes vs nosler vs berger

[TXAoudadKlr]

Anyone else feel the Barnes are almost too controlled? The more kills I observe with Barnes the more I ponder switching back to a good bonded bullet. For instance my dad drilled a medium size aoudad knocking it to the ground just to have it stand back up. He shot it a second time for good measure. Shot 1 put a thumb size hole though the lungs 2nd shot was more forward. Always kinda liked the idea of the vitals being turned to mush myself.

 

[Plinker147]

Nosler accubonds are a great combo of a good BC long range and all around hunting bullet. They are easy to get accurate loads for and average about 60-70% retention in the elk and deer I have shot. They are my most used hunting bullet. I have shot 10 plus elk and Oryx (distances 70-500 yards) with 180 gr ballistic tips from a 300 win mag. Bullets fragment like Berger's with about 40-50% retention. They are also a descent BC and good hunting bullet at a lower cost.

I too do not prefer the real high retention bullets like Barnes for hunting (unless dangerous game), I prefer the fragmenting. In my experience Barnes have been harder to get to shoot accurately seem to be more picky or just my guns? Animals I have seen shot with Barnes bullets performed just as advertised.

I haven't shot any animals with Berger's yet but the only knock I have heard is they can do some major fragmenting. That might be a concern.

Another good all around bullet is the Sirocco 2. They have a good BC and perform well. I shot a Coues deer at 650 yards with out of a 6.5-06 wit the 130 gr and bullet performed well with good trauma. I was concerned the bullet wouldn't mushroom good at that distance but it did.

 

[rooster721]

I shoot all the above.. different rifles, different calibres and different applications. Generally speaking, all three work and definitely ALL group with good handloading practies, but as already stated they each hold their own style of expansion and perform certain degrees differently than each other


- Barnes suits a rifle intended for more aggressive/heavier boned/BIG more dangerous game where deepest penetration and weight retention are required.
- Berger/Matrix* suits applications where an entry/then grenade-ing effect is preferred, they basically unload their entire retained-energy into the animal and tend to show higher one-shot drops because of that... BUT are limited to application because of exactly-that too.. for example, nobody is going to take a Berger for Cape Buffalo or Elephants (to be blunt about it) They're more suited for the ungulate variety.. Elk, deer & even bears in cases.. thick skins and heavy bones though will likely cause their design to grenade before proper penetration has occurred (in those heavy-danger instances) Solids and bonded bullets trumph them that-way
- Nosler bullets in a nutshell (namely the ABLR line) fill a niche between both of the above. They're a bit of an all-arounder. Don't really "shine" or excel anywhere, but work well-enough everywhere.

Bullets from every one of the mentioned manufacturers do work at long range with proper placement and caliber selection*

So... "for hunting purposes which bullets do you have the best combination of grouping with clean harvest of game" ...first consider the animals you intend to hunt and with what caliber, then choose your bullet from there[/I]

 

[Nomosendero]

Anyone else feel the Barnes are almost too controlled? The more kills I observe with Barnes the more I ponder switching back to a good bonded bullet. For instance my dad drilled a medium size aoudad knocking it to the ground just to have it stand back up. He shot it a second time for good measure. Shot 1 put a thumb size hole though the lungs 2nd shot was more forward. Always kinda liked the idea of the vitals being turned to mush myself.

I am curious, was it a TSX, TTSX or LRX ?

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

Ttsx

 

[MudRunner2005]

I am curious, was it a TSX, TTSX or LRX ?

I used to smack-down whitetails with my 7mm RemMags with factory Federal Premium that had the Barnes 160 TSX XLC coated bullets in them, until Federal discontinued them. The ammo part number was P7RK, and the bullets had a blue coating on them. They were bad medicine for whitetails. Like I said, only reason I drifted away was because Federal discontinued them, and I wasn't reloading at the time.

 

[257scramjet]

I have used the barnes bullets exclusively since they came out with the original barnes X bullet years ago. Here in the non-lead state of california i have shot alot of deer, tons of hogs, elk and my buddy shot an antelope last year with the original X bullets i had loaded out of his 7mm mag and all have worked awesome! big exit holes on game. Heck i even shot my first tule elk with a 50 cal. muzzeloader hunt in 2010 with the barnes 250 gr. bullet and it worked great. Only animal i have ever lost was a big hog that i shot at about 250 yds across a canyon with my 300 win mag but i was shooting the old factory winchester 150gr failsafe and that bullet failed on its shoulder. Also had good luck in late 1990's shooting the nosler ballistic tip (blew a massive hole) but liked the nosler partitions better. Once i found the barnes bullets i have never looked back.. Do want to try the berger bullets though....gun)

 

[Nomosendero]

Ttsx

And it seems to expand better than the other Barnes bullets, but I have heard the Aoudad was pretty "stubborn" !

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

They can be, as was this one. Now was the second shot needed maybe, maybe not. My dad said he sent the additional round for insurance to keep it from running off too far since he had just had knee surgery in March.

 

[jonthomps]

For LR hunting the Berger bullets can't be beat.

 

[revturbo9967]

im not experienced with the accubond but have used the good ole partition on whitetails enough to keep using them.

im far from a barnes fan . ive had no personal experience but have read about and seen many failures to expand. im not sure what the issue is but i plan to stay away

 

[257scramjet]

Well you should try the barnes before you knock them. I have seen the good old nosler partitions fail 2 times and come apart like a varmint bullet. The barnes have never failed me they mushroom 100% retention and dump all of their energy into the animal. To each his own and good luckgun)

 

[jonthomps]

A lot of it really depends on your individual rifle. Some rifles like some bullets, and hate others. Try them on and settle on the one that shoots best.

 

[revturbo9967]

Well you should try the barnes before you knock them. I have seen the good old nosler partitions fail 2 times and come apart like a varmint bullet. The barnes have never failed me they mushroom 100% retention and dump all of their energy into the animal. To each his own and good luckgun)

i guess im not on the copper wagon yet. it will be a long time before i give them a try