Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Barnes bullets to hunt with and another bullet for development & shooting

I was wondering who has had used another bullet for development and practice and then switched over to a Barnes with out much adjusting to the load. The Barnes are pricy to start from scratch. I was thinking maybe some Sierra�s or Nosler BT�s. Even varmint bullets would work since all I will be doing is punching paper.

I will be devloping loads for a 7MM Rem Mag & .300 Wby.

I run a bunch of Hornady A and V-max of like weights.

you must remember that Barnes bullets are a bit longer. i try to use bullets one weight heavier when i worked up my load. i shoot a 30-06 and i developed my hunting load with the cheap Hornady soft point interlocks in 165 grain. i shoot the Barnes 150 grain TTSX when i hunt and have never yet had a failure to produce a one shot kill. the difference in bullet impact is negligible unless you are shooting out to 700+ yards i wouldnt worry about that, but test it simply to see that it holds true for your respective rifles.

Match BC of like weights my boy.

Practice with yes, development no.

C_ROY,

If you want the cheapest practice, dry fire. You will see where the sight is when you hear the click. Works great for me. There is never any recoil or noise. No cleaning. Don't forget to work the bolt from your shoulder just as if there was a charging lion. It is the only way to practice for me.

Occationally I go to the range for load developement and/or sighting in. I use the bullet I plan to hunt with.

Ringman wins the cigar!

i just use whatever the rifle likes best to shoot in the off season. like SH, i shoot V-max, A-max, but will throw in Nosler BT, custom competition, whatever.

before hunting season i'll run 50 or so of the hunting loads through each rifle to verify dope, foul the bore and check scope tracking, ect...

but load development must be done with the bullets you will be using. the upside is, it shouldn't take too many to get a hunting load. micro groups really are not necessary in the field.

Not sure what they're going for now but this summer I picked up quite a few 30 cal nosler match bullets in 155/168 grains. With free shipping from bivwak my net price was about $14-16/100. Hard to argue with that...helps offset primers at $.06 a piece now!!

I generally just use whatever's on hand that's the same weight, or close to it. The big advantage of TSX's over previous X-Bullets is that the rings make pressures similar (if not exactly the same) as more conventional bullets.

I'll work up a load with the standard bullet, then once it's in the general area I want to get to with velocity/accuracy, then I'll switch to the TSX, dropping down a grain or two to make sure there's no problems. Probably 85% of the time it works out fine. Usually a load can be worked up that even has the same POI as the TSX at 100 yards. Have done with with Hornady Interlocks, Sierra Gamekings and Nosler Ballistic Tips in various rifles.

Unlike previous X-Bullets, the minimal fouling of TSX's doesn't seem to interfere with the accuracy of other bullets. I often shoot TSX's and other interchangeably without cleaning and it doesn't seem to affect accuracy or anything else.

All longer-range stuff should be done with the bullet to be used during hunting, of course. But quite often the cheaper bullet will be close enough to the TSX at 300 or even 400 yards for some meaningful practice.

In fact, in probably 2/3 my big game rifles I load both a cheaper bullets and a premium bullet of the same weight. There's no sense in shooting expensive bullets all the time for simple thing like offhand practice or sighting-in at 100 yards.

I've had good luck with Nosler Custom Comps or Sierra MK's and a corresponding TSX for POI, speed and things that ail a shooter.

I routinely work up loads with cheaper bullets and use the same data with Barnes TSX bullets. I haven't found powder weight adjustment to be necessary but bullet impact points will be different so you will have to sight in with the specific bullet you're using.

Use the TSX's or TTSX's to practice and hunt..........Burned 60 or so today out of the 257R,338-06 and 300WM.

Bruz

The 100gr MK hits to the exact same POI as the 100gr TSX and TTSX out of my .25-06, and the BC's are very similar, as well. The MK provides 1" 3-shot groups at 200 yards, and the TSX/TTSX are about 1.2" average. Muzzle velocity of the MK is within 25fps of the Barnes bullets. I use the MK's for practice, and then slide a few TSX bullets into the magazine when I go hunting. Good ol' Tikka T3 shoots most loads to the same POI

I guess I should have just said load development not practice. I do the �dry fire" thing too.

MD & Jordan nailed what I wanted. I see no need to start from scratch with initial load development in a new rifle with the Barnes. My thought is I would try more economical bullets to find powders & charge weights the rifle likes and giving good repeatable accuracy then work in the Barnes. It sounds like the Sierra MK are good to start with this development.

MD do you start with a powder first and experiment with varying bullet weights or start with a bullet weight and experiment with vary powders with different burn rates?

I'm not MD, but I pick a powder, pick a bullet, settle on the charge weight of said powder (I use the OCW method), then play with seating depths until I find an accurate load.

i do it this way: pick a bullet and powder suitable to your needs, seat to the lands and work up to pressure signs i'm comfey with. if that load shoots up to my needs, load development is over. .25 moa is not necessary for the field.

it's only as hard as you make it. a good barrel will shoot most loads well, and a bad barrel won't shoot well at all.

7mm08 120 Vmax for practice 120 TSX for hunting.
300 win mag 168 Amax for practice 168 TSX for hunting.
Haven�t noticed much in the point of impact using the above.

Mike

Yup, and easily......

I been searching for practice bullets that would match 30 cal 130 gr TSX & 150 gr TSX. Should I use the same weight of bullet and get as close of B.C. to the TSX?