Have been using the shockwaves/sst's and like the accuracy. Recently picked up a box of the new plastic tipped barnes offering and haven't had a chance to actually shoot them downrange. Anybody getting decent accuracy with em'? I prefer the barnes for integrity once inside the deer but never liked the huge open hollow point for ballistics. Any pros or cons?

woods

Try the Barnes spitfires. They fly excellent for me and unlike the ExpanderMZ's they only have a small hollow point. From what I have been told the TMZ's will open a little faster because of the plastic tip.

OK.... what I picked up to try are the TMZ's......don't mind if they open fast as they will maintain weight with no jacket to shed. I wondered about trying the spitfires also but they were out of stock. Will try the TMZ's and see how they shoot for accuracy. Thanks.

woods

As much as I generally prefer Barnes bullets, for smokeless applications boat tails and sabots don't mix that well at all. A smaller contact surface at the base of the bullet is an issue, as sabots want to drive themselves through sabots. With the help of boat tails, they can succeed.

I love my Shockwaves! For some reasons my Barnes shoot the exact same as my Shockwaves but the S-waves load easier. I may try to just change Sabot but I am thinking of finding someone local who is trying to get into muzzleloading who isnt shooting a T/C and I'll just give them my Barnes Bullets.

I hear what you're saying about loading, on some of my ML'ers the barnes are a bear to push down the tube. I'm lucky that the savage isn't any problem, but oh do those shockwaves/sst's shoot tight groups. I guess the barnes appeal to me because of the rugged design if bone is contacted, I also prefer an exit hole when hunting the wet bogs and heavy regrowth areas where the deer can disappear quickly and completely sometimes. If the rain lets up I'll get to actually shoot them both sometime this weekend. Will report on the results to everyone.....I am using 43gr. of N110 so if Randy is correct and the boattail bases don't allow the sabots to seal, I will see that right away. The shockwave/sst's are just under an inch at 100yds....if the barnes aren't close I'll stick with the present load. Thanks for the input guys.

woods