What the Heck is up at Barnes Bullets ??

13 August 2011, 02:57

Allright.....I know this is NOT the reloading forum - but I KNOW that I will get better...."In the Bush and Up the Spout" info here that anywhere else. So........... here it is:
Remember a few threads back about the "What range to sight the rifle in for Elephants"???
Don't start that again - BUT....after getting my .416 Rigby, absolutely through the same hole accurate @ 50 yards - I go to buy some more .416 400 GR, FB Banded Solids (Barnes)

Notice the FB part.

WELL.....THEY AIN'T MAKING THE DAMN THINGS ANYMORE!!
What is this????? They are so accurate out of my old Ruger Mag it is scarry - Now they are not making them.

Suggestions????? Back to the Round Nose Solids or What? Thanks guys!

13 August 2011, 03:16

mike7mm08

First thing I would do is call Barnes. In the past when bullets have been discontinued they sometimes have some sitting on the self. I advise to anyone that shoots barnes in anything other than 30 caliber or 7mm in common weights to stock up. Barnes has for years been discontinuing things that seemed popular or that they offered for years. Now that they were bought out I see them streamlining their product line even more or only offering certain bullets in their loaded ammo line.

13 August 2011, 03:23

MikeBurke

They discontinued the flatnose early this year. We were told at the shows you could special order them. Supposedly there were some feeding issues.

I quit buying Barnes solids and switched to CEB.

This is the links to CEB for the .416 Bullets.

https://cuttingedgebullets.com...&key=DGBR_R03_BBW_13

13 August 2011, 03:30

PAPI

Just an " FYI ".. Lots of Bullet Testing going on over at the " Big Bore Forum : Terminal Bullet Performance "
http://forums.accuratereloadin...3/m/2861098911/p/172

DEEP PENETRATION BULLETS:
Cutting Edge Bullets
.416 400 GR. DGBR R03 BBW#13

https://cuttingedgebullets.com...&key=DGBR_R03_BBW_13

PAPI

13 August 2011, 05:47

LionHunter

+1 for the CEB #13, an all brass, large flat nosed bullet. I'm shooting the 480gr. at an average 2173 from my .458Lott RSM and getting cloverleafs at 25 yards.

I just came back from the range where I put 18 of them through my Lott for zero and checking feeding from the magazine. I polished the feed ramp and filed the right rail to get 100% feeding from a full magazine (the flat nose is so large that they tend to hang-up until everything is smoothed out). This will be my Ele load in 4.5 weeks.

Mike
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13 August 2011, 08:31

505ED

Bean Counters are what is up at Barnes...Cut down on the sku's...make more money...make more profit... if you don't make bottom line we cut something else...CERBERUS captial managment.

13 August 2011, 11:45

mike7mm08

quote:
Originally posted by SG Olds:
Call them. I don't think they know how to use email.

Since CERBERUS took over their email goes to some central location and some idiots might answer. In the past I would get email replies within a day. I would get all my questions answered plus a ton more info. In the past if I load or bullet questions I would get a email from the head ballistics guy that would be several paragraphs if not pages long. Every possible bit of info that he would be provided as well as all the things that did'nt work. There would be nothing left to ask. Now you email for similar info your lucky to a get response. That response will be two sentences referring you to their manual. Even if you told them the info you want is not in the manual.

Never has a big fan of Barnes. I like the bullet s but I could rarely find a rifle that shot them well. With the way things are going at Barnes now, I will only try their bullets as the last option.

13 August 2011, 11:51

Saeed

You might wish to try some of the newer BT bullets. They might shoot just as well in your rifle.

Also, if it is possible, try different seating depths. This does sometimes affect the accuracy of the load.

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13 August 2011, 17:08

bcolyer

Thank you gentlemen for all the replies. Come Monday I will be 'ON THE PHONE' to them. I hope they have a box left. IF I have to I will mess with a new bullet....and seating depth....etc. etc. But Damn.......my present load and Barnes flat nose banded solid is absolutely shooting through the same hole!!!!
ANYBODY GOT A BOX THEY WANT TO PART WITH???

There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.
– John Green, author

13 August 2011, 20:00

Jeff Wemmer

quote:
Bean Counters are what is up at Barnes...Cut down on the sku's...make more money...make more profit... if you don't make bottom line we cut something else...CERBERUS captial managment.

and THAT! is what is really up at Barnes Bullets!

13 August 2011, 20:13

surestrike

Once the bean counters take over product quality, customer service, and niche products are all gone.

They basically suck the personality right out of a company. Next thing you know Barnes bullets will be made out of plastic and built in produces in Vietnam.

13 August 2011, 20:20

rnovi

quote:
Originally posted by surestrike:
Next thing you know Barnes bullets will be made out of plastic and built in produces in Vietnam.

And then they will become more price competitive.

The sad truth is that for everyone who complains that something costs too much, the next person complains that they are made in a developing nation and not the USA.

It's a no win situation.

(PS: I total agree about the bean counter thing affecting quality. /sigh. Happened in the company I work for. Thankfully new management came in and fired the bean counters!)

Regards,

Robert

******************************
H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer!

13 August 2011, 20:36

Jeff Wemmer

quote:
And then they will become more price competitive.

No, not necessarily! Every instance I have seen when a company moves production from the US to an off-shore entity, quality suffers!

13 August 2011, 21:03

surestrike

Looks like there might be an opening for another high quality niche bullet maker opening up?

I don't think Barnes was suffering financially when it was sold. There was nothing wrong with the Barnes product. The problem now is that as Jeff stated it ain't gonna be a Barnes bullet much longer.

Look what happened to the Trophy Bonded line after it was sold out. they went from top notch bomb proof bullets to obscure bullets prone to failure in the course of one year.

At what point do the bean counters realize that destroying your product to save money will eventually put you out of business? American auto manufacturers have playing on that yo yo cycle for years. Why not just build a quality product and stick with it?

I guess I need to go get a Harvard MBA to learn the secrets of how to destroy a once good product or service in the name of proper business management?

-------------------------------

Some Pictures from Namibia

Some Pictures from Zimbabwe

An Elephant Story

13 August 2011, 21:22

JohnDL

I was able to order the flat meplat 300 gr 375's directly from Barnes. It is my understanding that the flat meplat ones can only be ordered directly from Barnes, not dealers.

Read the Barnes website. They imply that the round nosed solids are far better (they are clever in that "they" don't say this. They just quote others who do.)

As you will recall, the predecessor to the flat based bullet was round nose. I assume that they made the switch to flat base only after they researched this. They sold these bullets for years and now we hear they are sh*t.

If these bullets are so bad should they issue a recall for the flat bases???

This sounds to me as if lawyers have been involved. Are they worried about being sued over failure-to-feed issues?

If the flat bases are so bad, why in hell did they switch from round noses to them and sell them for years?

I guess this is good news for firms like NF and GS.

13 August 2011, 21:32

ddrhook

i posted a about barnes bullet problems and you would have thought i called some peoples baby's ugly and retarded, now were finding out I was right

the baby is ugly and retarded

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18 August 2011, 20:42

Indy

Barnes told my PH that they changed to round noses for "marketing reasons." I guess they look better. My PH also says that if a solid has a 30% flat meplat, it will penetrate at least 40% more.

Further, any failures to feed are due, he says, to the front of the feed area getting dinged up.

Both Barnes and North Fork flat meplat bullets feed with no problems in my .458 and .375.

Indy

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