New bullet designs , what have they changed for you

I have been a bullet "picker" all my life. A lot of bullets pass through [75% of partitions do]
But I have collected a lot that stayed in. I will post pictures of some in my collection.
First, Partitions and bonded cores, plus one TTSX that expanded.
20201224_172248.jpg
A couple of TSX/TTSX that failed to expand:
20141210_184341.jpg
A few cup & cores that did the job. {note some jacket parts of C&C bullets that blew up]
20201224_172706 (1).jpg
An A-Frame with typical expansion.
Swift A Frame.png
Scirocco II from moose with comparison [unfired bullet, loaded 308 Norma Mag round]
20141028_183637 (2).jpg
 

Attachments

  • 20201224_172248.jpg
    20201224_172248.jpg
    83.8 KB · Views: 173
  • 20141210_184341.jpg
    20141210_184341.jpg
    18.7 KB · Views: 173
  • 20201224_172706 (1).jpg
    20201224_172706 (1).jpg
    113.6 KB · Views: 170
  • Swift A Frame.png
    Swift A Frame.png
    14.6 KB · Views: 167
  • 20141028_183637 (2).jpg
    20141028_183637 (2).jpg
    78.6 KB · Views: 171
Holy cow, nice array of bullets there EE!

What was the story on the TSX bullets that failed? :(
 
Holy cow, nice array of bullets there EE!

What was the story on the TSX bullets that failed? :(

Both animals required another shot to put them down for the count.
In all fairness, none were at close range. One is a 250 grain TSX 338 Winchester,
The other is a 165 grain TTSX from a 30-06.
The 338 was recovered from a moose, the '06 from a feral hog. Both were
laying sideways when found.
It looks like the 338 tried to expand, but perhaps low velocity was the issue
The 165 30 cal only is missing the plastic tip. Not sure why no expansion, but
it makes one cautious, particularly on longer shots where expansion may not
be optimal. Dave.
 
Holy cow...definitely does! How far out were the animals and any idea what speed the bullets were going?

Barnes says the 165 TTSX is tougher and ideal for 300 magnum class rifles and the 168 is ideal for 308 or 30-06 but still.
 
Bullets don’t have to be fancy to perform. This went 100 yards and mostly through a moose
xDb7cF7l.jpg
 
So far I never had a TTSX/tsx/gmx fail on moose, list petals a few times if I recall!
That said they have been so hard to get a hold of that I switch to nosler partiton, accubond or Swift Aframe… some Speer hotcore too!
 
So far I never had a TTSX/tsx/gmx fail on moose, list petals a few times if I recall!
That said they have been so hard to get a hold of that I switch to nosler partiton, accubond or Swift Aframe… some Speer hotcore too!

there is no bad bullets in what you listed and some are not made anymore like the gmx ... i can find tsx more than i can find nosler partition accubond or a swift frame.
 
North Forks are solid copper as well. The fouling issues with both are almost non existent.

The North Forks I've seen are definitely ones with lead in them.


Thanks for the suggestion Medved...never used them but heard good things.

Since once a load is worked up, I really only shoot Barnes bullets when doing a sight in or actually hunting, I've never noticed a fouling issue.

Clean before and after hunting season and I'm all good.

The jackets on North Forks are solid copper. In other words, they are not made of gilding metal.

i had witnessed some fouling with the barnes tsx in my 9.3x62 barrel during the test on the bullets and i did not shoot more than 12 bullets of different barnes. from north fork they said their design reduced the fouling which i will trust. and there is less controversy with them compared to the barnes tsx/ttsx.
 
The reduction in fouling is accomplished by the driving bands. Both bullets have them. It allows displacement of the bullet as it goes down the bore. Hornady does it also. Barnes bullets foul no more or no less than any other bullet. North Fork included. That observation comes from shooting thousands of them down an enormous variety of rifle barrels.
 
The reduction in fouling is accomplished by the driving bands. Both bullets have them. It allows displacement of the bullet as it goes down the bore. Hornady does it also. Barnes bullets foul no more or no less than any other bullet. North Fork included. That observation comes from shooting thousands of them down an enormous variety of rifle barrels.

then you are more lucky than i was. did you shoot them in .366 or .375 calibers?
 
Geez, that's quite the collection of recovered bullets, Dave. Good old spitzer/cup and core know how to do they're job. Of course, monolithic bullets have shown they're true colour of not expanding....he he he! I've only recovered two or three spitzer/CC bullets from big game, most of the time they passed straight through.
 
All the ones I killed stuff with or shot other media to see their expansion with musta been defective or hiding their true colours so very well lol

This year's deer load: 110gr Hornady CX at 2400 fps muzzle velocity. Seems to be doing just great at 100 yards.

20230403-130619.jpg


I'll be taking a few with it this year and consider it to be up there with a 30-30 level of performanc. Same with the 110 and 120gr Barnes Tac-Tx.

Would say more about what those can do but so far, only data point is my bud shooting them in the head and we all know that's not really going to show off failure. Does a number though lol.

barnesdeer.jpg


In this case I'd say they really do help a small round (300 Blackout) punch above its weight. Would love to see what they do from a 7.62x39mm as well but besides shooting paper, haven't done much. Replaced them with 123gr E-Tips and 123gr TSX in that caliber. Which also seem to be expanding just fine. Again. Hundred yard result.

20210913-183221.jpg


How will they do on non headshots? Excited to find out! And I'd also consider the 7.62x39 with that load to be solidly into 30-30 performance.
 
Last edited:
I mostly hunted with Interlocks, Hotcors, Gamekings, Ballistic Tips and Partitions in the past. They all seemed to do a fine job in that the game ended up very dead. I still have a stash of most of them in the reloading cabinet. I have had good luck with the Accubond and Scirocco bullets, but I do like driving the Barnes bullets as fast as I can. With the reduced obturation, I find I get slightly reduced velocity out of them but when a rifle likes shooting them, they are incredibly consistent. I suspect it will be similar with the Hornady CX (I've not tried the GMX) and Nosler E-tip (never tried this one either).

As the designs evolved (TSX to TTSX to LRX) I find they keep adding small ballistic advantages at a given bullet weight. I wouldn't say it's enough to "change the game". but it's nice to have a bullet that will perform on tough game across a wide impact velocity range and be able to carry that velocity further downrange. I'm shooting the 100gr TTSX in my .257 Weatherby Mag and will be loading the 175gr LRX in my .300 Weatherby Mag as well. I've not settled on the perfect high-BC monometal for my 7mm Rem Mag, but I'm waiting on the details for the 160 CX and if it'll stabilize in a 9.5-twist (otherwise I'll start with the 145gr LRX which shot awesome out of my 280 AI).
 
Partitions are expensive if you can get them and allways do the job in my 7-08 and I am not likely to change. However good old factory core-loct have done that for years in the past in a lot of rifles.
Just as a point of interest Sierre Pro Hunters work quite well as a cheaper replacement for bench practice. Sadly they quit making then in .308 cal.
 
Bullets for me . I am a factory ammo guy and will say it's been good
I like and have had good success
-Terminal Ascent - great bullet, just 1 elk and 2 deer so far
-Federal trophy bond . pretty much same thing
-partition in any cal
The one I wish they still made is the Barnes MRX . I have about 6 boxes left in the 308 . Actually got a new supply from Prophet last year .It's a 165 grain for the 308 . They had 20 left in the Ted Nugent ammo .
In the 45-70 the barnes 300 grain vor-tx is deadly

What has changed for me is
I prolly will never fire the 325 WSM again because of recoil . I have been to an eye specialist and a detached retina is possible .This comes with age alone .
New bullet designs have made my hunting safer and more enjoyable with smaller and less recoiling cartridges
 
Guys going on about no Barnes or no shoulder shots have clearly never used or done either. Cup and cores and standard bullets kill just fine, but a TTSX is death by lightning. Shoulder shots have a tendency to drop animals dead on the spot they where standing. Someone will now chime in saying that’s rubbish etc. they just haven’t done it and they don’t know any better.

I prefer the shoulder shot myself. However my experience with Barnes bullets is not favorable. I haven't used them in diameters greater than .308 though.
 
I have never been able to get Barnes to shoot well in any of my hunting rifles...and with the cost and time of working up a load, and always finding a good load for a Nosler/Berger/ELDX fairly quickly and easily I never had the urge to shoot more Barnes.

Had nothing but excellent results from Partitions, Accubonds, ELDX and HVLD.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top Bottom