I finally got a camera with a macro lens so I can post bullet pictures and add my data to the great "best bullet" debate. These are from a plains game hunt in May of 2007 in Namibia.

.416 Remington Magnum, 350 gr TSX at 2550 fps




From the left side:
1) unfired
2) gemsbok shoulder finishing shot at 10 yards
3) zebra 275 yards, entered thoracic inlet and found under skin by last rib
4) warthog 50 yards, entered forehead and found under skin on rump
5) gemsbok 150 yards, high shoulder shot found under skin on off side

Can you weigh them for weight retention?

I'm going to take a stab at the weight of the bullets..

first 350grs, 2nd 303grs, 3rd 345grs,
4th 340 grs., 5th 344 grs.


Mike

Mike,

I think your being conversative. I bet they are mostly 99% except for the obvious bullet that has lost petals.

Mark

All I know is the Barnes is a great bullet. I've used Fail Safes, TBBC, TBSH, Hornady (solids and softs) as well as the Barnes in Africa, and I swear by the Barnes. My Buffalo, Hippo, Sable hunt this year will be with only Barnes (softs and solids) in the .458 Lott and the .375 H&H.

Using my RCBS scale the weights are:

1) 350 grains, unfired
2) 295 grains, 2 petals missing
3) 345 grains, I can't see where it lost the 5 grains
4) 350 grains, I would have thought less but I double checked it
5) 348 grains

That is excellent performance fairly consistent with the manufacturer's claims.

I'll bet you had quite a few that expanded and then exited as well.

84% weight retention and blew off 2 petals?

man, they need to make 400 or 425 fr (1.2") .458 and .475 bullets

Dr. Scott is this cartridge available commercially or did you load it? Thanks in advance.

I handloaded these. The brass is Remington. The primers are CCI magnum. The powder is RL-15 (I think it is 82 grains but I don't have my records at work).

These 4 are the only bullets recovered out of the 15 that hit animals. All but one animal went down within 30 yards of where they stood when struck by the bullet. One gemsbok went about 100 yards.

Excellent results you could not ask for better.

Kudu4u- yes, Federal has the TSX ammo under their CapeShok brand. Don't know about the 350 grainer but I have used the 400 grain in my .416 and have the same results as Dr. Scott. It really is a terrific bullet!

John

Thank you, I've used the 400gr as well even on small stuff with solids and been most pleased.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
I'm going to take a stab at the weight of the bullets..

first 350grs, 2nd 303grs, 3rd 345grs,
4th 340 grs., 5th 344 grs.


Mike

Not bad can you try the lotto nrs for me

......Thank you for posting those ....Its fun seeing recovered bullets .....and reading the stories ....

Excellent results and it shows the effect of impact velocity at range on the bullets. Thanks for sharing.

Warrior

I used the same bullet (Barnes) in 7 mm Rem.Mag. factory PMP-DENNEL South african Ammo, 12 trophys taked from 40 to 570 yards, no bullet recovered, all trophys with exit hole !!! include blue wildesbest and Kudu.that bullet save me of lost a big cebra stalion from a missplaced shot at 470 yards in a windy day (passed trought boths femur bones and exit!!! ).Good Choice!!! Regards.

Dr. Scott, thanks for the pictures and the discussion. You and I shoot exactly the same load with the same powder and bullet. I find that the TSX may not be as indestructable as the origiinal Barnes-X, but the TSX more than makes up for that deficiency in accuracy. I use it on all game from impala right up to dangerous game. In a fast .416 you have all the range you need, and you carry knock-down power right out to the limit of your shooting ability. The .416 is in a class of its own.

Wherever I go, I always carry extra loads with 350 grain Barnes banded solids as well. If anything the banded solids are even more accurate. They can be used on heavy animals for penetration or on light animals for minimum skin damage. They have one other advantage too, they won't deflect no matter what they hit.

If you carry that combination of rounds with you I suspect you will need no other caliber while you are hunting Africa. On shots at Cape Buffalo I alternate TSX with Banded solids. You really need the penetration with that animal, especially on follow-up shots where you want it to penetrate rump to neck or stem to stern. On elephant I use 400 grain solids for maximum penetration with no deflection.

By the way, even the best bullet will do no good if you can't see the target. I have learned that (more often than not) I must remove my scope when hunting elephant because the range is too close and the scope (even at 1.5 power) will only confuse you as to where the gun is pointed. But the other great thing about a .416 is that open iron sights work great with it. I think you'll find out as I did that when you sight in with open sights you are a lot more accurate than you would have thought. You'll begin to trust your .416 and your shooting ability even more. Good hunting.

I bought a bunch of 350 gr .416 original X bullets as they were being phased out for the TSX. My Rigby pushed them at 2700 fps and shoots them accurately.

Have taken Gemsbock, Hartebeast, Cape Buffalo and Bison with them. All but one bullet blew completely through.

On the Bison it was a perfect behind the leg shot. .416 entrance. Picked up a piece of rib and made a 3" exit. One shot, one kill.

The one recovered bullet was a followup shot of a Cape Buffalo on the ground. Could not see the Buf well and hit him in the right rump. The bullet squarely impacted the femor ... destroying it. The bullet then proceeded through the gut and the chest. It came to rest in the front wall of the chest. Penetration was something like 6 feet of Buf! By itself, it would have been a lethal shot.

The petals did blow off. So what! The retained weight was something like 70% ... about like a Nosler Partition.

I really like the 350 gr Barnes .416 bullet. It just works. The TSX is just gonna be better.