Looking to hear good and bad of performance on game, heard more good than bad, and much of the bad was that some guns did not like them.

What experience have you all had with Barnes bullets out of curiosity?

I took a forked horn mule deer, about 140lbs with a 100 grain tsx at 100 yards, with a .257 roberts. Muzle velocity was 3140 fps.
Good hit, mabye a we bit high.
the buck stood rock still for about a second, then jumped about 5 feet in the air. Came down and turned a complete circle and fell over dead in about 3 to 5 seconds.
i was prety impressed.
For some reason , I can't get them to shoot in that rifle anymore.
...tj3006

I've not used them as much as some here. I've taken a couple deer with the 100gr X out of a Roberts. No complaints. But I wasn't convinced they worked better than other choices.
An Elk with a 200gr X out of a .338WM with good results. This was a CLOSE shot (12-15 yards), through the neck. Exit hole was about the size of a quarter. Just soft tissue, no bones hit. It didn't make the mess some standard bullets would have.
One deer last year with the .25-06 and 115gr XLC's. Again, complete penetration, broadside with ribs only as far as bones. I did put one more through the neck at the base of the skull when I got to him. He had moved off a ways and where he fell/laid it looked like his head was up. It didn't change much after the shot though. That bullet shattered neck bone and made a big hole exiting.

I've dumped coyotes with them, but haven't bothered to see what kind of damage they did. It was always to severe to make me want to skin them and sew them up. Nate

With only two examples to work with, this is what I came away with.
First one was medium sized mule deer doe slightly quartering away at 150 yds. Shooting a 6mm TSX 85 gr. bullet from a 6mm 30-30 AI at 2900 fps muzzle. Bullet strikes three ribs on entry, smashes the lower half of the spine between the shoulders and stops under the hide on the far side with no contact to the far shoulder bones. Animal drops like a rock and never moves.
Same gun my son is shooting same size animal at 240 yds. on a straight broadside shot. Bullet enters between ribs on one side goes thru the lungs and exits between the ribs on the far side. Very little damage and the animal runs 100 yds or so before it expires.
In the future I would use them but would have to remind myself that they must be placed to hit a significant bone structure to get the desired results from that particular gun.

in my 416 dakota they performed very well. hits on buffalo the penetration was excellent and the internal damage was far greater than it was with solids

I have used X's exclusively since 1992, on big game.

The bad: the early X was 'tempermental" to get it to shoot straight, but worked great on game.

The good: Thy work great on game, and, the TSX is easy to make shoot straight. They do appear to work better in 'light for game' calibers. In November, a buddy I load for used the 85gr TSX on a mule deer hunt in his 243Win, and one shot just flattened the buck. Shot was head-on at maybe 100yds, walking towards us, and he just did a face plant. The bullet tore the right lung into 3 pieces and continued into the stomach. I was going to search for the bullet, but my buddy wacked his thumb with his axe as he was hacking through the breastbone. Emergency surgery, here we come.

I have not had any failures with Barnes to report. I also use the 45gr XLC in my Hornet for coyotes. It works much better than a regular 45gr sofpoint.

This is second hand, but I was somewhat involved in it...

A good friend was hunting the King Ranch back in the early 90s, and two Nilgai were among what could be taken yearly. He came back after having "shot" three behind the shoulder with 130-grain Hornadys out of a .270. As he said it, it was just like the Lone Ranger: "A flash of light, a cloud of dust (bullet impact), and Hi-Yo Silver, away!" He told me they probably ran a good two miles apiece before even slowing down...

I loaded some 130-grain original "X" bullets for him, and when he went back down, he took the two he was allowed with one shot apiece... Seemed to me like a pretty strong success story. I have never taken a Nilgai, but from what I have read, their hide is some kind of tough, and thick to boot...

I killed 6 deer last year with the TSXs and have no complaint at all. Using again this year.

65br I have used the X bullets in several calibres. In my experience the original X bullets either shot real well or real bad. I have an 8mm Rem that shot the original 200 x real well.I have yet to recover a bullet from the 8mm and I have never had to use a second shot. I have a 300 Rum that shoots the original 180 gr X bullets well.This bullet did not shoot that well in my 300 Wby but the new 180 gr TSX shoots just incredible groups. This rifle accounted for an elk and mule deer in Montana this fall. One shot each. Last fall I used a custom mauser in 270 Wby and 130 TSX bullets to take a big old buck in Saskatchewan. He was standing facing me (quartering). The bullet smashed his front shoulder, blended the lungs, broke several ribs on the off side and I found the bullet just under the hide. This is the only X bullet I have recovered. You could have used a picture of it in a commercial,it had mushroomed that well. Recovered weight was 129 1/2 grs. I have also used the 140 gr 7mm cal TSX bullets on deer in a 7mm WBY. I bought that rifle for a song because the original owner couldn't get it to shoot. It groups around an inch with the TSX's and is just a bang-flop on whitetails. The TSX bullets I have used are not as fussy as the original X bullets. They are serious game bullets.

Hey Dwight, what ctg? Thanks,

it sounds like sometimes you need to hit bone, and that was a concern for me, you probably want to break the shoulder to initiate expansion and break animal down i.e. deer, as the bullet will shock nervous system with good energy into shoulder.

I am thinking in the future if using say a 85 barnes in 243 or 6BR to go for a shoulder shot for a quicker kill. Worked on my hog. Thanks.

I loaded 140TSXs in a 7mm08 for myself and 130TSXs in my buddies 270 and they work great. You do not have to hit a bone for them to open up. 4 of mine were lung shots and I got about a 1" hole on the exit. Longest run was about 40 yds. 1 neck shot and drop, 1 high shoulder nervous system shot and down.

The primary difference that I see is that they stay together and penetrate very well and don't blood shot a lot of meat. With the Sierras that I used previously they always separated and bloodshot a lot of meat and the lung shots run a little.
I am loading the 120 TSX this year. Not hunting til after Christmas this year.

I would have to beg the question, why is Barnes making the MRX with the tungsten core, and plastic tip if the TSX is good to go on all game? Personally I dont think it is a good choice on deer sized game on down.

I figured you might get less blood shot meat with them, of course that might apply to the partitions and the like also vs cup/core.....nearly bought my friend some 225gr for his 350 he bought from me, but I was a little hesitant on 2 things, copper fouling, and accuracy not having tried them, but many people have bragged on that bullet in that caliber.

I wonder what makes the new TSX easier to make accurate? Anyone? Thanks.

Oh, the MRX, a 'tungsten core?' Sounds like a 'tank killer' bullet, well not depleted uranium but high tech sounding anyway. That seems to be what Speer did in their Grand Slam line i.e. a 250 or 275 gr in 358 and perhaps 338 and others.

Well, my experiences tell me that the XBT, and the TSX, bullets are
great deer sized game getters. I shot the 130 gr XBT out of my .308 Win
chambered Savage Striker, and it flat drops deer. I had one marginal shot
quartering back from the liver, exiting at the start of the stomach.
This kind of a shot usually means a 1/4 to 1/2 mile tracking job, and
a finishing shot, when one catches up to the critter. This deer
was dead, in about 140 yards, and the internal damage was impressive.
This is the worst hit, I have gotten with this bullet. Most were
bang flop, and one quartering towards, was a bang flip. Since the
XBT is out of production, this load has transitioned to the 130 gr. TSX.
Same effect, and just as accurate.

If you really want to see something impressive, shoot a deer with a
100 gr. TSX, out of a .25-06 Rem. It gives energy transfer new
meaning.

Yes for the plain old boiler room shot, the TSX bullet is MORE than
enough, although because it opens up on soft tissue, it may actually
be JUST enough. But for those things happen while hunting shots,
this bullet makes the most of potential marginal hits. For hunting bullets,
I now exclusively load Barnes bullets, from 6mm to .308 caliber.
If I ever get something bigger than my 300 WSM, it to will be getting
a Barnes TSX load developed.

Squeeze

quote:

why is Barnes making the MRX with the tungsten core, and plastic tip if the TSX is good

Seems fairly obvious. The plastic tip improves aerodynamics (BC) compared to the hollow point, and perhaps also improves expansion at lower velocities. The tungsten core lets them shorten the length of a bullet of given weight. The solid copper bullets are long for their weight, and stability can become an issue with standard twist rates. Given their reported performance at high speeds, though, the need for SD doesn't seem so great, so maybe there is a deeper issue being addressed.

Had not thought of the 'higher mass' so yes, keeps friction down and better length to not 'eat/rob' powder capacity.

Yes, I think SD is not 'apples to apples' comparing traditional bullets to solid copper as the TSX etc, retain so much weight, it likely 'act different' in tissue when comparing same weight projectiles.

Funny, heard of bang flops, and did see a quarter on 'bang flip' as it took a 210 pt from my buds 338 WM at 35 yds, a deer.

I guess more game hit broadside then facing. Although I hit a mulie with 150 pt 270 at about 250 yds and it went down, then drug snow for about 30 yds, no 'flip' on that one! Just down.

I have numerous success stories with X's and TSX's. I am still waiting for that first failure.

I have used 22-250: 53gr TSX's on deer and never recovered one. Pretty impressive. I have shot quite a few deer (two dozen?) with this load specifically because the armchairs experts claim that it's too small for deer. The ranges have been from 40-350 yards with all type of shot angles. It just plain works.

I have also shot some turkeys with this load (rifles are legal in SD). No complaints.

338-06: 210gr TSX's on elk and have never recovered one. One was a quartering on shot (approx 235 yards) that broke the actual ball joint into four pieces and continued through the chest cavity and liver with an exit behind the ribs on the off side. (very impressed with that)

270 Win: 140gr X on elk(2) and never recovered one. I also used them on deer.
110gr TSX on deer. This year I recovered two of my first ever Barnes bullets. Both had textbook expansion. Both shots penetrated the whole deer lengthwise and were found in the offside neck. Both on mature South Dakota whitetail bucks that had been already been shot once. My load was pushing them at 3260fps. I shot a couple of does and an antelope buck with that load also.

But I am thinking that the 110 may be a little light for the 270. I am a believer in two holes. I think that a 130gr TSX would have exited both of those bucks. The 110's worked, just didn't exit. I just had to try them.

I plan on using 400gr TSX's in my 416 Rigby when I get it back. If I ever get serious about Africa, the 400gr Banded solids will be loaded to same POI. If the 400's don't shoot, then I will try the 350's.

I really like the TSX. It absolutely destroys everything in it's path without blowing up and making a mess like the cup and jacket bullets tend to do. I process all of my own game animals, so I have come to like that performance feature.

I love the way they shoot, I haven't found a TSX that I can't get to shoot, unlike some of the old "X" bullets.

In all total I know I have shot at least three dozen critters (if not more) with Barnes bullets and don't have any complaints.

I am still waiting for one to fail.

SD GREAT report, interestingly my first 'interest' was piqued by an MD friend who used the very 22/250 53gr x bullet and shot a doe in the hind quarter 'just to test it' which personally I feel was not good judgement or in good taste, but nonetheless, it dropped the animal and left a quarter sized exit.

I am not positive, but it does seem he lost a nice buck with a later hunt, perhaps he recovered it, I will have to try contacting him sometime to get the facts, but he was impressed the first time he used the 22/250 and 53 x on that doe. It 'acts larger' from what I hear, the x's in general.

Glad to hear the 'accuracy issues' are not very commonly seen as sometimes in the older product.

Used a Barnes 53 grain X out of a 22-250 to take a medium sized mule deer at 346 yards. Shot was into the base of the neck and the critter folded and dropped immediately to never move.

Always bad to get hit in the base of the neck with anything, a hammer, or an X bullet! Thanks

First of all, hitting where you aim is the key to any animal's demise. With that said, I shot 5 animals in S. Africa with my .300 Win Mag using the 180 grain TSX bullet. All, one shot kills ranging from 100 yards to 250 yards. I was able to recover one bullet from my blue wildebeest, which showed perfect mushroom or "X" effect with 99.8% weight retention. The only reason I was able to recover this bullet was because it was a 200 yard shot quartering towards me and the bullet stopped between his hind quarter and his skin. Diagonal shot. internals on all animals were like they went through a blender with relatively small exit wounds. I shoot them out of my .308 Win as well with the same results on two deer this year using 168 grain bullets. I just purchased a .243 Win and the first bullet I'm going to try and hopefully it shoots well is the, you guessed it, the 85 grain TSX bullet. I'm a firm believer in this bullet.

Hey SDHunter and teancum

What powder you using for your 22-250 loading the 53 gr TSX? Wanna give it a try.

I see the Nosler #5 says H380 is the "most accurate powder tested" for the 50, 55 and 60 gr bullets. Usually a pretty good recommendation for a starting powder.

Thanks in advance.

I recovered one from a rear angle shot on a whitetail this season - broke hip and kept going straight into vitals. Perfect mushroom just like the photos, and it retained 100% of its 130 grains. However, I do have a problem with heavy fouling and some weird pressure spikes (yes, even with the TSX).

quote:

Originally posted by asdf:

Given their reported performance at high speeds, though, the need for SD doesn't seem so great, so maybe there is a deeper issue being addressed.

asdf, any ideas about what an issue might possibly be? I spent some time reading tonight on their web-site, and they highlight how the plastic (derlin, as they call it) tip promotes expansion at low velocities (2000 fps in a .30 cal, 180 gr. projectile).

Maybe they're addressing the possibility of the Triple-shock's hollow point being accidentaly closed or pinched off?

Any thoughts?

friar

quote:

What powder you using for your 22-250 loading the 53 gr TSX? Wanna give it a try.

I am using 35.8gr Varget. I think it's running about 2750fps. Very satisfied with it. I haven't even played with anything else.

I like the idea of the MRX with the tip to promote expansion and increase BC. But I do not like the tungsten insert.

I can't for the life of me figure why Barnes spent the extra money on the tungsten insert. I don't think the price increase justifies the benefit of a shorter bullet.

Then there's the whole center of gravity thing. I think the tungsten insert will move the CG back. I think moving it back will decrease accuracy potential, probably not enough to worry about. While we are having a mental excercise, let's excercise. Someone please correct me if my thinking is flawed.

I wish they just would've added the tip to the TSX. I know the TSX's are long for their bullet weight, but length just has not been an issue in my hunting rifles.

The only place where I can see this being an issue is if the rifling twist is too slow or borderline. I am a little concerned about this exact issue with my 416 Rigby. But if the long 400gr bullets don't shoot, I'll go to the 350 grainers and not worry about it. I really don't think any critter is going to notice the difference.

I have varried results with the X bullet I have taken a moose at over 600yds with a 30-378wby with a 180 grain x bullet and recovered the bullet and it looked just like the trade mark X but on the other hand i have shot hogs with the same rifle at 100 yds and when i pulled the trigger 4 hogs went down i was aiming for the first one only i have shot deer and had them drop in there trax but both entrance and exit holes were pin holed i do likr the barns x bullet and currently load a 350 grain to 3200 fps in my 460 wby and have not met a hog who could walk away.

friarmeier, I haven't a clue as to why they need to shorten their bullets. Given that their bullets hold together at high speed, one can increase momentum by increasing speed instead of increasing mass. (I feel momentum is a better indicator of penetration ability than energy.) Ok, you can't make a 220 gn .308 X bullet that will stabilize in most twists, but do you need to? The 180 X's can be driven faster to compensate. The plastic tip has been used by other makers to give an aerodynamic nose to what, in metal, is a fairly blunt nose, so that move seems not unexpected. Why, though, go to the expense of the tungsten insert? From the field reports, I can't see where their current bullets come up short in either SD or stability. Is it just marketing, or is there some field failures being addressed with this change? I admit I've wondered if all copper bullets might be more prone to tumbling in tissue, but I haven't read reports of this happening. That's my guess. What's yours?

quote:

Originally posted by RH outfitter:
I have varried results with the X bullet I have taken a moose at over 600yds with a 30-378wby with a 180 grain x bullet and recovered the bullet and it looked just like the trade mark X but on the other hand i have shot hogs with the same rifle at 100 yds and when i pulled the trigger 4 hogs went down i was aiming for the first one only i have shot deer and had them drop in there trax but both entrance and exit holes were pin holed i do likr the barns x bullet and currently load a 350 grain to 3200 fps in my 460 wby and have not met a hog who could walk away.

I read another post about the pin hole on both sides and the question had been presented to Barnes and their reply was that if you get the TSX too fast it enters and opens quickly but the petals break off and the the remainder of the bullet exits with a small hole.

My rifles don't shoot that fast and I love the TSX performance.

First, SD hunter, I believe match bullets are hollow nosed to put center of gravity to rear for max accuracy.

ASDF, my 85x was found on its side under hide, not unusual, but did put a good exit in offside rib cage of the hog.

Don't have any opinion on the MRX version, but why would you need a tungsten core other than offering more weight that will keep the bearing surface down, i.e. pressures.

Dthfrmbv, keep us posted when you take some animals with the 85gr.

Starting to wondering if my 6BR will do it all from varmints to deer in my area using Barnes for sure on evening hunts when I MUST get an exit wound should I need to do some tracking, but I think with that bullet, if I aim for the shoulder, it will go through 1 or both if broadside and break them down. Close shots on anything other than a trophy buck may get head shot, as there is no option but a bang flop or clear miss.

Not going to go sell off my 708's or change plans for some 6.5's or 338F or 358 as I want to 'experiment more' but I will also be re-evaluating my opinion on 6BR/243 effectiveness on deer when having to go thru lots of bone or bad angles, else pass a shot. I'd hate to pass if that rare trophy pops out but at a bad angle.
I know an X should typically go stem to stern.

It seems since the weight retention is so high, you cannot compare 'apples to apples' with old style cup/core as the barnes might just act like it's on steroids at least in penetration re: of what is encountered. I know at lower speeds you get better performance with cup/core but if you can have high velocity it will flatten trajectory and help accuracy. Starting to consider if a Barnes TSX is more of a good thing as a partition.

I really don't have the first idea...just a lot of speculation on my part, which probably isn't worth spit!

I suppose the reasons for the tip and core are probably just increased bc and shortening of the bullet. I can understand, I think, why one would want a better bc; but I would be the last person to ask why their bullets would be improved by shorting them (other than twist/stability issues maybe?)

I really don't know. Makes for good conversation though!

friar

I mean to address that, as twist/stability is a concern.

Weighed the 85 X that did the deed on my hog, and I was surprised it still weighed exactly 85 grains so perfect 100% retention.

quote:

First, SD hunter, I believe match bullets are hollow nosed to put center of gravity to rear for max accuracy.

I might have to delve into this topic more.

I don't know about the physics and CG with bullets. Just pondering since my arrows need to have a forward CG. But that's a whole other topic.

Both of the 110gr TSX 270 bullets I recovered this year weighed 109.5. I would call that 100% weight retention. I didn't weigh them before loading them so I can't be 100% sure.

SD, funny after weighing it, I thought the same thing, well did it weigh 85, surely they would not 'underestimate' the weight!

Seriously, I would call Sierra and they will give you the scoop on how center of gravity affects accuracy.

From Barnes site:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/x-citingfacts.php

I would confidently use 150tsx/308win on anything a man was sensibly prepared to do with 30/06;165-180NP....and in the same way 168tsx06'on anything that folk have sensibly used 300mag180NP for...or 140tsx270win against 160np7mmRm...one could go on, but will sum it up by saying There would be few if any cartridges that did not benefit from barnes.
a recent test I read showed the 100tsx257r penetrating noticeably further than a 200NF.358win. HERE

SDhunter,

Arrows like I understand shotgun slugs benefit from 'nose heavy' I guess.

Now what may affect bullets differently is 'gyroscopic stablity' ......just a hunch, no ballistician or physics expert.

I have been told in the past though match HP's are done that way to concentrate CG to rear....Sierra will give you facts and why...if you are interested. If they shoot well I don't care....but I see your analogy about arrows, but a 'spinning projectile' that needs to be 'stable' is perhaps the deeper issue.