Hi - I have a box of Barnes XBT bullets for my .270 they are 130 gr.
Will they explode like my ballistic tips or are they like a soft point or partition? Never used Barnes before and not to sure if I should use them on deer. Any one use Barnes? I only push my other 130 grs at 2700 fps. will these perform well at that speed? Thanks for any help or tips. Brent

flinter,
The XBT is a controlled-expansion bullet made of copper. It will not explode. Very likely, it will penetrate clear through a whitetail, especially on broadside shots.

The Barnes X/XBT/XLC bullets do not always group well (Barnes recommends cleaning your bore down to bare metal before shooting them), but their performance on game has been reported as impressive.

Since you already have them, give them a try. You should load them so they are at least 0.50" off the lands, to keep pressures down.

George

As GeorgeS said, they are a premium,controlled expansion bullet. I use a 225 gr Barnes X bullet over a max load of IMR-4350 or RL-22 in my .338 Tikka, and it loves them. But I have used them since it was brand new and I do clean all the copper out.

"A lot of people say" that you can use a lighter weight Barnes bullet for larger game since it penetrates better than a conventional bullet. For example, they would recommend a .270 Barnes 130 gr load for elk and moose, like using a 150 gr .277 conventional copper jacketed lead core bullet. Call me old-fashioned or even stupid if you like, but I still llike the thump of a big bullet for large animals. For my .338, I will use the 225 gr Barnes for everything since it shoots well. I doubt that I will use my .338 for deer, though.

Okay - here is the silly question of the day...
How do I get "all the copper" out of the bore??? I usually clean my gun but not to that degree. If it is a real pain I might just stick with Speer and Nosler. What would you do? The Bullets were a gift so I am not out anything, I just wouldn't want to tell my friend I wasted his money. Brent

If you put a handful in an old sock, it'll make a good paperweight.

Flinter, here's what you do. Go to Midway.com and buy a can of Wipe-out cleaner. It's kinda like shaving cream. You plug the chamber with something like a foam earplug, squirt the stuff into the muzzle for 1 second, and put your finger over the muzzle for one minute. Let sit for 24 hours. Patch out. In 95% of the cases, you will have cleaned ALL the copper out. If not, repeat. Much easier than what you have done so far, and much better.

Then, load the bullets with RL22, .05" off the lands, or to maximum magazine length, whichever is less. Go to the range. If they will shoot, it will probably be at the maximum load listed.

As far as performance, my wife has the annoying habit of shooting through cow elk with her 270 and XLC's, and convincing me to pack them out..... They are among the very best of bullets, if you can get them to shoot. Fortunately, I've never had a problem getting them under 1.5" for five in the five rifles I have tried. HTH, Dutch.

A good copper remover will do it.Though I hear that Wipeout does a great job,I use Barnes CR10,follow the directions and get the job done in 5 minutes or less. Whether you'r gonna use the Xs or not your rifle will thank you for it.
Jeff

Flinter

People love or hate X bullets. The can have more fouling issue and accuracy in some guns. I have had great sucess with them. I hope I can answer some of your questiions.

For the best accuracy the barrel should be cleaned. I use Sweets for the solvant. Some use wipe out or Shoote choice Copper solvant, or Barnes own cleaner. I have not had the problem with fouling. (Some of the orginal one were bad for fouling but Barnes has made long strides in the last few years) Anothe big key is not to shoot alot of these through the barrel with out cleaning. I will only shoot 40 round ebfore cleaning when load testing. I usually only shoot 20. I have shot other bullets when testing at the same time. The fouling has never been a big issue for me as with other.

For loading they can be very accurate, or not. No I am not talking in riddles. They have to be tried. Some barrel with love them. I have a 30/06 the is a 1/2 to 3/4 group for three shot when I do my part with 150 grain. (It doesn't shoot the heavier one as well) My 25/06 is a great 3/4 3 shot grouper too. The 25/06 doesn't like the heavier 115 gr. My 300 mag isn't quite as accurate (in fact I am still tring to look for the majic load in that. It likes 165 grainers) Barnes need to be off the land as was said earier. Different than lots of bullets. As for accuracy, this is my theory, it has to do with barrel inside dimensions. Some will be too tight. The X is solid copper so it can't be squished into the land like regular bullets, and it can't be bumped up either. Remember that this is a Hunting bullet, not a target bullet. You will not be shooting tons of these through you bore once you have found a load. Too price to practice. Use regular bullets for that. Barnes do love speed. They can be devistating. I have shot two deer bucks in two years and one dropped in its tracks and the other went 20 yards with a huge blood trail. This was a 25/06 90 gr XBT at 3400 fps. Your 270 will love the speed too. The bullet wil act like a partition, some time peneratration is more. This is because the pedals have less surface are than a standard lead mushroom. They will peneratrate well because that can not over expand.


Give them a shot. Any question give a shout on the board or privately

Hcliff

Flintner:

Several years ago I was given some Barnes X bullets in .277, 130 grain. The bloody things wouldn't hold 8" at 100 yds. Since Barnes had given me the bullets to try, (through a friend) I gave them a call and asked what should I do. The gave me the clean the bore, and seat the bullets off the lands.050, routine. I asked was all that work necessary? The response was yes. Heck I threw um out.

Partitions and Grand Slams work very well in the 270, with no fuss or muss. Since I shoot my rifles on paper much more than on game, I look for accuracy first. I have never had a critter get up and run after a shot, with any bullet I have used. Luck? No, just the most accurate ammo I can assemble.

Jerry

Flinter,

You'll have to count me in on the love them group. The reason I chose to try them is because of the extreme velocity out of my rifle. My rifle likes them...meaning accuracy is good. Results on game have always been double holes, coming and going. Every one of them. I've yet to recover a bullet because they are nowhere to be found. If your gun likes them, use them and you will like them too. If you gun doesn't...well, you know...you won't.

-tlfw

Count me in the "Love Them" category too. I shoot almost exclusively the Barnes X bullet in everything from 25-06 to .458 and several handguns also. They will not blow up and the .458 300 gr. out of a .45-70 Contender is absolutely the last question on deer. So long as you slip the bullet into the chest cavity deer just drop, no CNS shot needed. The only rifle I have that does not particularly like the X bullet is the .22-250. I toyed around with some 53 gr. bullets but my rifle didn't like them. The other dozen or so guns I shoot them like them very much, all turning in MOA or better. I use MPRO-7 followed by CR-10. It seems the MPRO-7 gets 90% of the copper out without the harsh ammonia of the CR-10. Then just one or two patches with CR-10 and I am done. Start with a perfectly clean bore and it has been my experience that the bore does not foul any faster with the X bullet than say a Nosler or Hornady, but you must start clean, no exceptions.

By the way, they open up at slower speeds (1600 fps) than most any lead-core bullet (usually in the 2000 fps range) and usually retain between 98-100% of their weight. They expand like a super hollow point but penetrate like a solid. IMO, best of both worlds.

Blowing through critters?
I cheated a little bit and coated mine but listen to what the fellas above typed about Wipe-Out and seating them well off of you lands.then go out and shoot through some animals and not have to worry about trailing.
Dont worry about your mv because I use them out of a 15" 308 and a 24" 300WSM..140xbt.the results are the same!

I'm on the love'um side also. They have always shot very well for me and there performance on game has always been super. I hunt mostly in the mountains of NC so most shots are short range (under 200 yds.) keeping velocity at a good clip.
Always 2 holes, always dead.

I've tried them on four different rifles and several different weights. I've never found a rifle that wouldn't shoot them. But I have found that sometimes I must go through several powders to find a really accurate, MOA, or better, load. They also tend to fussy. Vary the powder charge either way by one grain, and the groups may open 2-3X as much. Changing primers has also done this to my groups.
None of my rifles shoot best .05 off the lands. Very few of my buddies have found this to be true. A clean barrel is a great place to start. But, in factory barrels, I've found it takes at least 8 rds. to foul the barrel. The groups start out at 2.5-3 MOA and then shooot about .8 MOA after the 8th rd.
All of my rifles shoot best from 1-3 grains of powder under their maximum hot weather load. That is 5% under any sticky extraction, or ejector marks, on a nearly new case. E