Thats the problem. People don't understand how bullets work. If you want big holes and lots of damage you have to shoot a frangible bullet. It gives you a bit better chance of DRT. Better blood trail. More damage to vitals and meat and hides. And less odds on an angling shot.
But if you want 2 holes you have to shoot a stouter bullet. The mono. It won't put big holes. It does enough damage. It usually exits. Its a heck of a deal for me.
But you also might not get as much blood trail and the animal might go a bit further.
Bottom line is you have to know what works for you.
I laugh at most folks that say they don't expand... ask about the hole and they'll tell you a 6mm left a caliber tiny entry and a dime exit.... well if it didn't expand wouldn't it be a 6mm exit....
I've NEVER seen a barnes not work. I've seen other bullets fail IMHO, including almost all sierra game kings, and the nosler solid base and partitions. I refused to shoot ballistic tips after almost literally blowing the head totally off a doe from the first one I ever used... WAY to much destruction.
I've seen barnes work from maybe as close as 20-30 steps, out past 800 ranged yards.
So if you need lots of blood and DRT, then do NOT choose a barnes. Go to a different bullet. But if you want one that kills in almost any circumstance and exits almost every time, then Barnes is what you are after IMHO.
If you need that DRT stuff, I'd suggest Berger hunting bullets. I won't use them because they destroy to much stuff, I still am back to Berger target bullets if I feel the need to use cup and core. Caliber entry and nickel to quarter exits.
FWIW I've run quite a few barnes dang slow.... 6mm 85 tsx at about 2700 or so MV, maybe a hair less... never a failure. And some of the impacts have to be way slow from other rounds as the impacts have been on the far side of 500 quite often.
Being a bowhunter at heart, I'm used to deer going a ways and leave em alone to die for a time. Sometimes thats a long time, you'd be amazed how long a deer can live with a vital bullet or arrow if you actually have teh luxury of watching.
I shot the largest deer I've ever shot this past fall. 100 ttsx from a 257 wtby, no clue at MV. At the shot I lost the deer. In this day and time we get texts as soon as the next guy shoots... I got the same. Going to hunt for 2-3 more hours. I never even moved from the stand. Never saw where the deer went or if I hit it. There was zero need to go and rush anything so 2 hours later my buddy calls and says lets go find it and head in. Ok. It wasn't hard to find as it was less than 20 steps away behind a tree dead.
Point was though, folks demand to much IMHO, when they should be patient. Had I missed time doesn't matter. Had I wounded it, time might have helped. Time never hurt.
Sorry about the mini/major rant but it aggravates me, and I often wonder how folks back in the day learned to deal with round balls and such, having no energy/knockdown etc....
My mentor told me long ago his dad in the depression shot the deer with a 22 long. And then had a sandwich, rolled a smoke and often even at an apple or orange and that was what they felt was required to make sure the deer had died,then went and got it.
Here I"ve shot deer and snuck away to do other things and come back a couple hours later to go look or get them.
In the end you can't have that varmint type bullet blowing up and killing much quicker than others, AND a bullet capable of a long "texas heart shot" and exiting after killing with the same bullet. I choose the bullet thats capable of doing it all, not doing one thing best. Just me.
You have to make the choice according to those lines.
