C'mon now, y'all ''fess-up. Has anyone else looked at the new(?) Barnes triple-shock bullet, and wondered what lube would do in those ever-so-thoughtfully-provided grooves? I mean, what the heck else are they for??? As I haven't actually bit the bullet, so to speak, and bought any of these all-condom projectiles, I'm wondering if anyone has actually tried it? Results??? Inquiring minds want to know!

BUY BULLETS? Are you crazy, or just a trouble maker!
They are obviously trying to sucker in good upright honest bullet casters, by making a design that may catch the eye. Then, when you discover they can be shot without lube on them, you will begin a tumble down a slippery slope, until you are shooting (shudder) condum bullets on a regular basis.
Now, you just get such thoughts out of your head, before you hurt yourself.

Actually, I think you're on to something. I need to feed an 8x56R but have always been leery of sizing jacketed bullets down due to concerns of the core seperating from the jacket. These Barnes bullets are solid copper, aren't they? Seems they would be prime candidates for swaging down.

I think you're the only one, Bug.

Howdy Bug.....I thinkI read somewere(?)that the groves are there to relieve the pressure when firing. The nature of the solid bullet is that they don't "give" at all, and the groves provided the needed "give" to keep the presure down!
This is not the "gospel", but only the rememberance of my failing mind.

Reloaderman,
According to Barnes:
"These grooved rings act as relief valve as bullet metal flows under pressure while traveling down the bore. Instead of flowing from the front to the base of the bullet, the copper material expands into the grooves. This results in reduced pressures and less copper fouling. Reduced pressures mean the bullet can be safely loaded to higher velocities. The rings also alter barrel harmonics, which can result in improved accuracy."
My question was more a tongue-in-cheek gibe at cast bullet shooters. Really dedicated cast bullet fanatics/addicts can go on and on about lube grooves, their number, location, profile, and the lube recipes that fill them. The addition of "lube grooves" to Barnes' bullets had to start some of them (like me!) thinking along those lines.
Of course, there are those (ref:Waksupi, above) that are in worse shape than I am!

Yea, Bug. Ricochet is right, and so is Waksupi.... sundog

Hi Bug, I'm gonna jump in here with my .02 worth and you may agree with that. First let me make this disclaimer. I've become a cast boolit convert, zealot, in fact. I really don't think anything else is required for anything on this continent under 200 yrs. with the right gun and boolit. Having said that, I'm hunting Saskatchewan again this fall, where I've taken 4 deer so far. My average shot has been just over 200 yrds with my longest well over 300. Now I know some of youse guys are gonna tell me to learn to shoot because I don't feel comfortable taking a shot at a running deer at 250 yrds. with a boolit doing around 2200'/s. just chicken I guess. Anyway, to get off topic, I've done some research on various bullets with grooves. So far I've found GS Custom out of South Africa, where the first bullets with grooves were made to the best of my knowledge. The reason I didn't go with them was because all the problems too many people had in getting their orders filled in anything resembling a resonable time. I'll be taking my .270 with me, so all this info pertains to that caliber. Their .270 comes in 110 gr. weight and they claim a BC of .470 with a G5 drag function. Pretty amazing, hope they're right. Next came Groove bullets with a 113 gr. bullet with a BC of .433. Then I think Barnes found that they'd be bringing up the rear if they didn't get on this band wagon and came out with their triple shocks. Their offering is a 130 gr. bullet with a BC of 466. I've followed the forums where guys have been trying these for the past few yrs. now and the concesus I get is that most people are generally pretty impressed with them, from all 3 companies.They claim very easy load developement, good accuracy, and good on game performance. These bullets frequently lose their petals at high velocity impact, however penetration is great and predictable with what amounts to a boad flat nose remaining, which gives a good wound channel without destroying an excessive amount of meat. I've decided to try the groove bullets for my Sask. trip this yr. good luck with whatever you go with. Ron.D

Bug..I certainly hope you are the only one! I never think about those little yellow thingies. It is just plain heresey that all!! If nobody thinks about those gawd awful thing, then nobody will buy them and the world will be a better place. You need to get your head screwed on straight and stop that muddled thinking.:-)

Then again,

If someone were to run those things through a lubrisizer and put a little FWFL in those (lube?) grooves??

I wonder