Hey Barnes fans

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

I appreciate all the responses. I did a lot of research before trying the Barnes. I even contacted Barnes about minimum velocities that would still cause expansion. I'd have to dig up the email, but I'm pretty sure they said the TTSX would expand down to 1600 fps, and I figured 1800 fps would be a safer bet. And if I remember correctly that gave me 450yds, which is actually a pretty far shot for around here. I was just really curious to see exactly what other people thought. And I do appreciate all the responses.

 

[KEB0]

JW, I've shot many critters in Alaska over 20 yrs with Barnes, from .223 up to .338's; they work. Have not shot em past 400 ish though. The performance and meat savings were amazing in the .22-250 for caribou. Did not shoot the .22-250 past 300 at bou. I even finished off a wounded moose with it, neck shot, lights out. In the 30 cals, (.308 and .06) nearly every one has passed through and out on moose, black, and brown bears. On moose, several of the .06 kills traveled nearly the entire length of the critter causing very quick death. Average distance: 40-180 yds. Early on I used the heavies, but settled on the 165's as the overall best. The Barnes will really shine in those situations where you have poor angles and need to bring home the meat. I have shot many critters right through the rear end or gut shot, with consistent results ("problem" brown bears at night for example) Good luck. Good hunting. kb

 

[Antonio m]

I believe if you use there product for deer a lighter faster load is better and in most cases a hunter shoulder go to a smaller chambering. I base my rifle choices based on our most common game animal around here elk. The mono's turn your 280 rem into an ideal big Bull elk slayer .GS custom make a 110 grain bullet that they will recommend to for elk or Kudu and I believe them.This machined bore rider gets higher velocities than all traditional bullets.I have to respectfully disagree that whitetails are hard to kill ,they are small, narrow ,light framed animals and if a guy hunts them, a 100 grain bullet is a better choice than a 160 with the mono's out there(at close to medium ranges).Lately,I have been using 130 gmx's for elk and 130 sst's for everything else in my .270 win.(same p.o.i.)We hunt all game at the same time elk,moose,both deer,sheep,goats etc .Yes ,If I could get Hammer bullets I would but I cannot import these from the USA,can't get the GS custom product either.This is not Canada import issue but America policy matter. America is our greatest friend by the way so why not sell these things to us?I am just a right of center, Catholic ,Italian Canadian.God bless.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

I appreciate all the responses. I did a lot of research before trying the Barnes. I even contacted Barnes about minimum velocities that would still cause expansion. I'd have to dig up the email, but I'm pretty sure they said the TTSX would expand down to 1600 fps, and I figured 1800 fps would be a safer bet. And if I remember correctly that gave me 450yds, which is actually a pretty far shot for around here. I was just really curious to see exactly what other people thought. And I do appreciate all the responses.

There are so many threads here discussing the merits of Barnes; and almost as many cussing a lack of expansion/lost animal etc. Personally I think you did it right, do your research, take it with a grain of salt and try it for yourself. Real world results always trump internet banter.


Personally, I've taken or been on hand during the taking of enough game animals with Barnes bullets to fill a semi trailer. I won't call myself an expert but I have a sound idea of what works and what doesn't.


I have no reservations about recommending the Barnes to a hunter shooting <500yds. Choose the weight that'll give you the required velocity at the maximum distance you intend to shoot, and go to town.


Are they perfect? No, there isn't a bullet that is. We're getting close for sure, but not there yet IMHO. Keep testing your recipe, one and done isn't the best data to quantify results however, in your circumstances I doubt you'll find any negative reasons (related to bullet performance) to search for a different bullet.

From the 6mm 85grain TSX to the 500grain 458, I've shot most of them. They work- Period.




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[JOHNNIE WALKER]

I've also came to the understanding that there is no perfect bullet, and things will go wrong when you least expect it. I've also seen people make a bad shot, and blame the bullet for not killing the animal on the spot. I have no idea how many critters I've killed with lead core bullets, but I'm very confident that I've exerianced all the pros and cons of using them. The solid copper idea has interested me for a while, and I wanted to experiment. The research I did on the Barnes lead me to believe it was a solid bullet that held together, had potential for decent accuracy, but required a certain amount of velocity to expand. I spent a lot of time reading different posts about them, and still came to the conclusion that I wanted to try them in the 30/06. I don't feel they would be practical in my 260, but I will continue playing with them in the 30/06. Out here, 500yds is an extremely far shot. And that rifle really isn't set up to shoot past that anyway. I have a feeling the Barnes bullets will do exactly what I was wanting them to do in that rifle, but time will tell. It's a shame next year is so far away.

 

[doverpack12]

I've also came to the understanding that there is no perfect bullet, and things will go wrong when you least expect it. I've also seen people make a bad shot, and blame the bullet for not killing the animal on the spot. I have no idea how many critters I've killed with lead core bullets, but I'm very confident that I've exerianced all the pros and cons of using them. The solid copper idea has interested me for a while, and I wanted to experiment. The research I did on the Barnes lead me to believe it was a solid bullet that held together, had potential for decent accuracy, but required a certain amount of velocity to expand. I spent a lot of time reading different posts about them, and still came to the conclusion that I wanted to try them in the 30/06. I don't feel they would be practical in my 260, but I will continue playing with them in the 30/06. Out here, 500yds is an extremely far shot. And that rifle really isn't set up to shoot past that anyway. I have a feeling the Barnes bullets will do exactly what I was wanting them to do in that rifle, but time will tell. It's a shame next year is so far away.

Don't be so quick to rule out the 260. The Barnes 127 LRX shoots fantastic in my 260. I ran out of time on my load and had a dime sized group so loaded those up to hunt with and had to settle for 2850+ fps. I'm going to keep working and see if I can get another 100 fps out of the 127 and if so should be great. It worked well on a good size mature mule deer this year for me. From my experience barnes or any mono metal bullet work best when pushed as fast as possible. I for sure wouldn't want to start much below 2750 fps or so if shooting very far beyond 200 yards. If you go down in weight to get the speed they absolutely hammer animals and don't destroy meat while doing it.

 

[Garycrow]

Personally I think the smaller rounds are where the barnes shine. My go to deer rifle is a 6.5x47L that I had throated to shoot the 100 TTSX. I run them at 3100 fps, it shoots them into tiny groups, has almost no recoil, and is an absolute hammer on deer. Keep in mind that where I hunt there is no place I can shoot over 300 yds and this rifle was built with that in mind.

15 years ago there was no bigger barnes hater than me. I hunted with a bunch of guys that shot the original X bullets and spent a lot of time trailing deer shot with them. They were a defective design because they didn't open 100% of the time. Fast forward to now and I love the TTSX and LRX, the plastic tips make all the difference in my mind in initiating expansion and the problem is solved as far as I'm concerned. I still won't shoot the hollow point TSX version, they're supposed to be better than the original X but I want something up there to start expansion. I'm sold on the plastic tipped ones.

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

If they weren't almost twice as expensive as other bullets, I might try them in my 260. I actually shoot my 260 a fair amount, and SSTs are cheap, accurate, and plenty deadly. My 260 is set up to shoot farther, and the SST will open up at lower velocity.

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

Honestly, one of the things that got this whole thing started, was Indiana legalizing rifles for deer hunting this year. We can shoot 6mm/243 or .308/7.62 bullets. Nothing in the middle. Kind of a weird law, but what ever. I was annoyed that I couldn't use my 260. But seeing how I wanted to develope a load in my 30/06 to use on an elk hunt, I saw this as an opportunity. I hadn't shot my 30/06 in over 10 years. It was kind of nice to get reacquainted with it.

 

[Wedgy]

johnnie Walker, I live in a lead free state and have been shooting the Barnes for a while and it seems a little lighter and faster is the way to go. I posted this a little bit ago.
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I have had great success making some great hunting rifles by picking up old Savages for $250-$300 and putting some work into them. My girlfriend wanted that "Muddy Girl" camo pattern she saw some where on her gun so I did a pink Duracoat then the oak crackle stencil in black over it, put a Harrells Precision 4 port brake(cut down to 2 ports), trigger job, better pad, fluted bolt, etc. Then set to working up a hard hitting 130 grain Barnes TTSX for the time tested 30-06. Varget looked like it would give a pretty good case fill so I ran a ladder and found a high node at a little over 3,300fps with no pressure. I just finished trajectory validation at 650 yards 10MOA with a 200 yard zero. It shot 4 out of 5 hits on the 12" plate, first was a bit low at 9.5 MOA
She leaves Thursday for a cow hunt in New Mexico that unfortunately I can't get time off to go. That thing is a hammer regardless if it look like a bottle of Pepto Bismol. I was shooting my 6.5x284 and this thing hit quite a bit harder. I've got 2 more Savage 30-06's I was going to use as donors for a build but right now I'm kind of wanting my own 30-06.
The plate is at the base of the hill to the right of the people. There are three, the one in the video is the 3rd on the right

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So this morning she drew 1st blood on the new build. The herd was grazing towards them from ~700 yards, not a lot of cover between them and the wind was good so they just waited....and waited. A cow out front got to 270 yards quartering towards her when she let it rip, and let it RIP. Dropped in its tracks. I wish they had taken more pictures of the exit and damage but it did a number on the shoulder, heart, and exited the far ribs. That 130 grain at 3300fps hits hard.
I think I'll name it Hillary, the elk, not the gun.
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[Laelkhunter]

Congrats to her for the fine Elk, and congrats to you for building a fine killing machine. I shoot the 168 TTSX out of my 30/06, but I worked up the load several years ago before I knew about the "lighter is better" concept for the Barnes. I have shot two whitetails, a 7 point and a spike with the 168, and they worked fine. Extremely accurate out of my T/C Venture.

 

[JOHNNIE WALKER]

I read your post about her elk. I enjoyed it.