the Spartan - an interesting bullet (TSX Clone?)

Mr. Friendly

Mr. Friendly

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no doubt it will be argued it's nothing like the Barnes TSX...so it's not a clone. but perhaps a better description is the TSX's retarted relative? it's looks are similar. with a quick perusal, I can't find much in the way of info on it (the website is rather lacking on the bare essentials aside from 30.06 reload info under the FAQ), but I thought I could generate some conversation about it.

I messaged Gatehouse concerning it to see if he knew anything. he said he did not, but commented I should start a topic on it to consider some of the questions I asked him, which included one about whether or not the similar design to the Barnes TSX would mean it would fly and feel like the Barnes TSX. if so, reloaders might like to consider this as a practice round being Marstar has them listed as 50 for $10 at the starting weights they sell. $0.20/bullet is a heck of a lot cheaper then $1.00/bullet when compared against the TSX! :eek:

perhaps we can even generate enough interest in them that Marstar will bring in a broader selection? :)

http://www.frontierbullets.co.za/spartan.htm

http://www.marstar.ca/ammo-etc/rl-frontier-lg.shtm

of course, being this could be construed as a 'reloading' subject, if it's deemed necessary to move, do so. :)
 
Hmmmm... interesting. I would like to see more info on reloading, performance, etc. Do you think Barnes is paying attention? Really, $1/TSX bullet for a mass produced item?! Anyway, I do like the TSX bullet but if the Spartan (love the name!) performs as well as a TSX... I will definitely give them a try, if I can get a hold of them. Just like Lapua bullets... hard to get, but look interesting.
 
Ltbull01 said:
Hmmmm... interesting. I would like to see more info on reloading, performance, etc. Do you think Barnes is paying attention? Really, $1/TSX bullet for a mass produced item?! Anyway, I do like the TSX bullet but if the Spartan (love the name!) performs as well as a TSX... I will definitely give them a try, if I can get a hold of them. Just like Lapua bullets... hard to get, but look interesting.
Click to expand...
Marstar shows every weight in the caliber's they stock as available. I'm seriously considering purchasing some of these and get some TSX and see what happens once I find a nice load out on the Spartan's and compare them against identical in the TSX.

and I should comment on my pricing for the TSX. it stars at about $30+ish for 50 and then rises. prices are too high...$0.75/each...but still, my bad. :rolleyes:
 
Looks as f Marstar is selling Frontiers Game Ranger bullets, not Frontiers Spartan bullets.

The Spartans look like TSX bullets, the Game Rangers are flat point solids.
 
OK, I'm confused. That happens a lot lately so take it easy on me. The Spartan bullets that the first link points to are monos, and the Frontier bullets on the Marstar site are lead-core plated bullets. I thought the frontiers were considered a soft soft for plains game, and a low cost (but only by African standards) practice bullet for the big guns. The high tech bullets like JS Steward and Rhinos are priced, well lets just say they're real proud of them.
What is the price on the Spartans?
 
Gatehouse said:
Looks as f Marstar is selling Frontiers Game Ranger bullets, not Frontiers Spartan bullets.

The Spartans look like TSX bullets, the Game Rangers are flat point solids.
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whoops! you're absolutely right Gatehouse...what a flub-up on my part. I guess we need to petition Marstar to bring them in for us, eh? :rolleyes:
 
It is always nice to have competition with the TSX to keep their prices in line.

It is interesting to find out the pricing of the Spartans.

Another consideration is performance. There is no point to save money on buying the Spartans if they can't perform.

While we are on the topic of TSX, where do you get the best price these days? WSS and SIR raised the TSX prices by $6-7 a box in February/March 2008.
 
I fired off an email to Marstar to see if they will bring them in and get a price list. I'm interested to try them out, but not if the cost is close to the TSX.
 
FWIW, this African site has the Spartan bullets (75/box) priced the same as the TSX (50/box), at R520.00 ($68US) for .30 cal 168gr. Even though they have to import the TSX and the Spartan is local.

Me thinks if Marstar does bring them in they will be $60-$70 per box of 75, which is not a smoking deal...

http://neo-ccb.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_25
 
If you notice by the pictures the Spartans seem to mushroom and not petal like the Barnes bullets and doesn't retain as much weight as the barnes.

I thought I'd share my first experience with your Frontier Spartan bullets.
Last weekend I shot two wildebeest with my .375 using Frontier Spartan 300gr
bullets. Both shots were full frontals, both bullets penetrated the full length of the wildebeest and I recovered both bullets between the back legs. Weight retention in the first was 238gr (79%) and in the second was 253gr (84%). I also tested a number of bullets and these Frontiers are the most
accurate in my rifle by quite some margin.
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would the Barnes retain as much weight if it traveled through the entire length of the animal rather then the significantly shorter distance via the width of the animal?

my query was more about the possibility that they would shoot similar, in which case, if they did and were quite a bit cheaper then the TSX, might be a good one to test so you can shoot for cheaper and expect the same results in the field with the more expensive TSX.

of course, considering my gaffe with linking to the wrong bullet as reference, the pricing could indeed be on par, not making it worthwhile. :redface:
 
308BAR said:
If you notice by the pictures the Spartans seem to mushroom and not petal like the Barnes bullets and doesn't retain as much weight as the barnes.
Click to expand...

looks like petals and expansion to me....:confused:

spartan1.jpg

spartan2.jpg

spartan3.jpg
 
I've seen a number of grooved/driving banded bullets come from SOuth Africa. They shoot many animals there, so often they have very good bulelts.

My guess with the Spartan is that Frontier took a look at the TSX, listened to how many PH's were giving the TSX rave reviews, looked at the price of imported TSX bullets in Africa (if you think they are expensive here, just imagine how much they cost once they get shipped half way around the world and go through numerous brokers etc) and they figured if they could come close to duplicating the TSX, people would use them.

Just a hunch, but it makes sense to me..:p
 
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