Barnes bullets

Your compressed loads wil work fine but in a .308 I don't see why you would want the 180 gr TSX.

Barnes bullets like velocity for optimum performance, and they are long for weight. The 130 and 150 gr TTSX are much more suitable for the .308 in my opinion. You might even be giving up some expansion with the 180's when you get around 300 yards.
 
I have another question-- where are you finding Barnes Bullets in Canada? Is there an online retailer who stocks them?

EDIT: Never mind. Grouse River has them.
 
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Boomer said:
My first experience with Barnes mono-metal bullets was with .416/350 gr Xs, several years before the TSX became available to the public. Every box was a surprise because the tips were never the same size, one box were like the hollow points on match bullets and the next were as big as an ashtray. When I worked up the maximum X Bullet load for my Rigby, I discovered that it was exactly the same as the maximum load for the Speer .416/350 gr Mag-Tip, 102 grs of H-4350. That was before the banded TSX, which in theory reduces pressure.
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Good, practical first hand information, Boomer, thanks.
It appears the Barnes bullet theory is just another of the very many unproven theories that regularly go the rounds on the CGN.
Parker Ackley showed long ago that any extra power required to get a bullet going down the barrel happened well before peak pressure, thus it didn't increase the peak pressure.
 
sunray said:
Solid copper bullets don't fly like lead cored bullets. That's why you need Barnes data. It has nothing to do with how slippery a bullet is or is not. Or frictional anything.
And to get the weight the bullet has to be longer due to the difference in mass.
Compressed load are definitely nothing to worry about though.
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Bwaaahaha! I count 1 for 5, anybody else score that differently?
 
HeavyTread said:
I have another question-- where are you finding Barnes Bullets in Canada? Is there an online retailer who stocks them?

EDIT: Never mind. Grouse River has them.
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Never assume that Grouse River has anything that they list on their site in stock. I have contacted them a few times in the past few months, about things that were listed in stock, and they didn't have any of them.
 
c-fbmi said:
I don't know where the idea originated that one must use Barnes data only for Barnes bullets............hogwash !! With the cut ridges now, the Barnes bullets present no greater frictional coefficient than any other bullet of the same weight. I have proven this out at least 50 different times with different weight Barnes bullets and different calibers. In fact in some cases the actually prove to be slightly slipperier than a regular jacketed bullet.

OP don't worry about compressed loads, I actually look for powders that will compress when working up loads as I find them to be more consistent and have a lower SD than loose powder loads. And in a lot of cases be more accurate.
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Also barns bullets build less pressure. In my 30/06, Weatherby 300 mag and Weatherby 338/378 I can load 2 grains over max indicated book load with no pressure signs on the case. I want to try em out in my M14, 168 grains TTSX should be a good bullet and not hard on the gas system if I keep my MV down to 2600=2700FPS. I do have a grooved gas piston to help reduce pressure as well.
 
No TN, I was not talking about Paul Orndorff..............I was talking about P.O.Ackley, the foremost authority on internal and external ballistics of the 20th century..............
 
HeavyTread said:
I have another question-- where are you finding Barnes Bullets in Canada? Is there an online retailer who stocks them?

EDIT: Never mind. Grouse River has them.
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Prophet River also has a lot of them. I am playing around with the 130 grain TSX for my 308. Picked up a couple boxes from them. I ordered them online. Also like to pop into their store whenever i'm in Lloydminster.
 
c-fbmi said:
I don't know where the idea originated that one must use Barnes data only for Barnes bullets............hogwash !! With the cut ridges now, the Barnes bullets present no greater frictional coefficient than any other bullet of the same weight. I have proven this out at least 50 different times with different weight Barnes bullets and different calibers. In fact in some cases the actually prove to be slightly slipperier than a regular jacketed bullet.

OP don't worry about compressed loads, I actually look for powders that will compress when working up loads as I find them to be more consistent and have a lower SD than loose powder loads. And in a lot of cases be more accurate.
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The comment I made was not for the uber-experienced, but rather for those that are newer reloaders, who might not know how to check for pressure signs, and so on. With the longer Barnes bullets (such as the 308/180gr) the Barnes max charge tends to be lower than those listed for jacketed bullets. For example, for the 200 gr TSX in 308 Winchester, the max charge of H4895 is a full 2 grains under the charge listed for a 200 grain jacketed bullet (39 vs 41 grains). Would you be comfortable telling a new reloader that exceeding the manufacturer's max load by 2 full grains is fine? Or worse, having the new reloader think that 41 grains is the listed max, and start (as many new reloaders tend to do) with a 39 or 40 grain load thinking there is no point in starting with lesser charges?

... and for the OP, I'll echo what others have said - try the 150 gr or 130 gr TTSX. The 110 gr TTSX even, for deer (works like a charm). The TTSX is meant for speed, and they shoot best (and have the best terminal performance) when they are going fast.
 
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Barnes 270........I don't advocate any loading practices to anyone, other than safety. But you will find greater discrepancies in 2 or 3 manuals using C+C bullets than 2 grns at max load, all I said was my findings were that the new ringed Barnes bullets have no greater frictional coefficient than any C+C bullet of the same weight. Most here who have done a lot of loading with both Barnes homogenous and C+C bullets, of the same weight, have found the same phenomenon.
 
cheier said:
Prophet River also has a lot of them. I am playing around with the 130 grain TSX for my 308. Picked up a couple boxes from them. I ordered them online. Also like to pop into their store whenever i'm in Lloydminster.
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I saw a bunch of TTSX in WS in Kelowna last week.
 
Barnes_270 said:
The comment I made was not for the uber-experienced, but rather for those that are newer reloaders, who might not know how to check for pressure signs, and so on. With the longer Barnes bullets (such as the 308/180gr) the Barnes max charge tends to be lower than those listed for jacketed bullets. For example, for the 200 gr TSX in 308 Winchester, the max charge of H4895 is a full 2 grains under the charge listed for a 200 grain jacketed bullet (39 vs 41 grains). Would you be comfortable telling a new reloader that exceeding the manufacturer's max load by 2 full grains is fine? Or worse, having the new reloader think that 41 grains is the listed max, and start (as many new reloaders tend to do) with a 39 or 40 grain load thinking there is no point in starting with lesser charges?

... and for the OP, I'll echo what others have said - try the 150 gr or 130 gr TTSX. The 110 gr TTSX even, for deer (works like a charm). The TTSX is meant for speed, and they shoot best (and have the best terminal performance) when they are going fast.
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Noted. I will save the ttsx 180's for the .300 Weatherby and 30/06. The .308 will get the last of my Nosler 180 partions. Thank you to everyone for all of your advice -Mark
 
c-fbmi said:
Barnes 270........I don't advocate any loading practices to anyone, other than safety. But you will find greater discrepancies in 2 or 3 manuals using C+C bullets than 2 grns at max load, all I said was my findings were that the new ringed Barnes bullets have no greater frictional coefficient than any C+C bullet of the same weight. Most here who have done a lot of loading with both Barnes homogenous and C+C bullets, of the same weight, have found the same phenomenon.
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Good to know, and thanks for the info. I'm well aware that manuals can (and do) vary by quite a lot. If (a) one knows how to check for pressure signs and (b) start low and work up, then pretty all one needs to know is a starting load. I typically just work the load up in a given rifle until I hit an accuracy node, and leave it there.
 
What kind of velocities are you guys getting with these bullets? What seems to work best, accurately on game? I'm working on a .308, 165gr load that will hopefully end up around 25-2600fps. Will that be good enough to put meat in the freezer?
 
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