Barnes Bullets Revisited

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pathfinder76

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I’ve long been a Barnes bullets fan. They have always worked well for me and give a lot of options for shot angle regardless of cartridge or bullet weight it seems. Two of my kids took whitetails this week with my 7MM Remington Magnum and 145 LRX’s at 3225fps. Both deer were between 260 and 275 yards away and both shots were double lung shots. I would even consider both further rearward than I like. I’m an aorta crowder.

Both deer ran about 15 yards after being hit and the damage to both of their lungs was significant. Both bullets exited and I did recover one petal at an exit wound. I have killed quite a bit of game with that rifle and bullet combination. Some ran a few yards and some piled up in a heap.

They have always seemed to shoot well in any rifle I’ve used them in. Too hard a bullet? I’ve never thought so. The other end of the bullet spectrum has never impressed me much. I guess I remain a fan.

Entrance side on one:

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Exit side on the other:

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I have always been a fan of bullets with lead in them but will confess to having bought Barnes bullets for the 6.5 and the 30's. I'll stick with lead cores (partitions) in the 338, because I have a lifetime supply. I'll stick with lead core in the 35 for the same reason.
When the Barnes X bullet first came out. I spoke with an Australian hunter who had shot upwards of 1500 of them (130 grain 270) and said they were the most reliable bullet he had ever used. The very rare failure to expand (which he never saw, by the way) only happens under weird circumstances. There is little doubt that the X bullet changed the bullet landscape. Today, almost everyone makes a monometal bullet. Barnes did that.
 
I'm a firm believer in Barnes. Ive taken numerous big game with them from Deer to Elk in numerous calibers from 243 all the way to 338 win mag and everything in between. I have yet to have one "fail" some have shed petals but those ones also went through a shoulder and a few ribs which is to be expected. I find they are a tad picky on seating depth if you reload and they shoot the best when they're pushed hard. My buddies Tikka T3X Lam/Stainless 270 wsm shoots them into clover leafs with a SPICY load of H4350. Hard on brass but its a hunting rifle and it sees 5 rounds every 2 years.
Congrats on the harvests. Good eating with minimum meat damage!
 
No "Leukemia bullet" BS there. They kill, pronto.

LRX does really seem softer than their comparable TTSX bullets as well
 
This heart shot was the result from 150 grain Barnes TSX .311 bullet on a white tail at 372 yards, with a muzzle velocity of 2774 FPS.
Deer slid down a bit of a slope into the bush and was recovered within 50 feet
I really like them.
Cat
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Used Barnes bullets since the heavy weight originals (still wish they would bring back that 195 gr 7mm). When x bullets came along, I climbed on the bandwagon for those, too. Never had a failure, but a friend that I handload for, had the petals come off on a mulie buck some years back. Buck died, he hit the spine, but we found the bullet when we skinned it out and it was basically a cylinder. - dan
 
dan belisle said:
Used Barnes bullets since the heavy weight originals (still wish they would bring back that 195 gr 7mm). When x bullets came along, I climbed on the bandwagon for those, too. Never had a failure, but a friend that I handload for, had the petals come off on a mulie buck some years back. Buck died, he hit the spine, but we found the bullet when we skinned it out and it was basically a cylinder. - dan
Click to expand...

No different than a lot of partitions. If a Barnes bullet loses its pedals I’d hate to see what a cup and core bullet would have looked like.
 
iron cat said:
This heart shot was the result from 150 grain Barnes TSX .311 bullet on a white tail at 372 yards, with a muzzle velocity of 2774 FPS.
Deer slid down a bit of a slope into the bush and was recovered within 50 feet
I really like them.
Cat
L7lnUdY.jpg

EAuldfE.jpg
Click to expand...

Great photos. Proof positive that you don’t need them going break neck speed.
 
Sorry, Chuck, I cannot, nor anyone else convince me to shoot Barnes. I love Nosler bullets, maybe because they only kill big bucks. :p;)
 
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