Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Barnes bullets did me well this season

I started my season with a brand new Tikka T3 25-06. I had one heck of a time getting a load developed for this rifle. I really wanted to use the Barnes bullets becouse I am moving to California in less than a couple of years once I retire from the USAF and they are for the most part a lead free state. I just figured I would start developing my loads now. I tried the 80gr TTSX and those would not group for me. I finally got a load developed using the 100gr TTSX that grouped at just under 1 MOA. Anyway, deer season this year was not kind to me in GA. I put in many of hours and never got a shot at a deer. I did however get a shot off at a 150# hog and the 100gr TTSX absolutely devastated it. That shot was at about 30 yards. My Alabama season however treated me a little better. I finally shot a deer this afternoon. This time my shot was right around 225-250 yards. I put the 100gr TTSX about and inch further to the left than I wanted to on a quartering away shot. I hit the deer right in the leg instead of just behind it as I was aiming for a heart shot. It didn't matter though. This deer dropped faster than any deer I have ever shot. I have never had a deer go down like this, I mean not even a twitch. After i inspected the deer there was an exit hole but it was very small and there was almost no blood. When I started field dressing it though I could not believe the amount of damage that was caused internally. This little barnes bullet made mush out of the chest cavity area. I was very hesitant at first about these barnes bullets but I am now a believer in them. I am impressed at their performance so far this year.

If there was no exit on the whitetail, did you find the bullet?

Good deal I too started deer season with a new 25-06.

I blooded mine with an old, large bodied, worn out teeth shrunken horned 4x4 whitetail. Long story short, looking down threw the timber 70 odd yards at what I thought was the front of the buck turned out to be the back of the deer.... But no worries, The handloaded 100 grain partition load at 3300 fps completely destroyed the pelvis and deer was bled out when I got to him.

Lost some eat'n, but the high velocity from the 25-06 and controlled expansion from the partition worked very well together...

There was an exit hole, it was just very small. That was part of my amazement at how there was so much damage on the inside as both the entrance and the exit holes were very small with very little blood. I looked but never found the bullet. Who knows how far into the ground it went.

I don't recall when I started with Barnes. Likely mid 90s I'm guessing.

They have never failed me. No matter speed or caliber, and to be honest, I don't drive them all that fast often.

This is reassuring to hear. I figured when i decided to start using the barnes that they would perform well at high velocities, meaning short range. I was concerned about their performance at lower velocities, or longer ranges. I don't shoot long range but, 400 yards would not be out of the question for me, even though my typical shots are under 200 yards. I was worried about all the posts I have read about barnes not opening up at speeds under 2000fps. In my 25-06 thats not too big of a concern but, I plan on using barnes in my 223AI as well and I am a little concerned about their performance past 300 yards as they will be under the 2000fps rumors I keep reading about.

Several Barnes X bullet tests revealed very little expansion below 2,200 ft/sec. That would make your .223/X bullet concerns justified.

tests are taht... I shoot them at game.

The slowest, and I don't really know what it was, IE didn't calculate it but 225 barnes in 338 win mag, appx 2750 mv area, impact twice at 802 yards. Caliber in, thumbnail size out of caribou. Never found the bullets of course because they kept going.

I shoot deer with an 85 tsx in a small round, MV starts at 2550. Killed past 300.

Mind you the fast driven barnes like our 257 wtby and 100 ttsx, usually don't go far at all. This year my buddy that had never seen one go more than 30 yards, had one go almost 200. But trailable and dead. I had one go about 60 yards with that same setup one year.

I don't have a problem with them going fast. But I don't shoot fast and light very much.

I will say, if you are looking for big blood trails and such... you often have to look for the trail and actually track the animal, but I did so much bowhunting and am used to that, and have said before, and got nailed for it here, that I actually enjoy that part as much as the hunt. Its a puzzle.
Now that I have a cur dog by accident, its even more fun to watch him work. I don't get the fun of looking for the next drop but its a joy to see him quarter until he hits the scent and head straigth for the deer.

rost 495, thanks for the info. I will take real world data all day over hear-say and lab tested data. Although I do agree with you that tracking is fun, as I have also done a lot of bow hunting when I was stationed at fort hood, I still prefer a quick DRT shot. I also don't push the ragged edge on my hand loads. I am not a speed freak as much as I am an accuracy nut. If speed suffers a little in gaining an advantage in accuracy, I will choose accuracy in that scenario every time. So back to topic, I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and effectiveness of the barnes bullets so far and I appreciate the input of others who have also had experience with these bullets.

When I want or need a DRT shot, the bullet matters NONE. Its all in shot placement for DRT. Its teh ONLY reliable way to get DRT.

Now shooting suppressed rounds and not at the head, I expect we will trail every last deer we shoot. Which is no biggie to me.

I have used them in most calibers and weights since 1990, taking several hundred animals with them out to ranges requiring around 4 feet holdover.

They work very well. 4-5 feet and more penetration is not rare.

When I got my current Forbes 24B 25-06 I did not have time to reload but had some Federal premium's 100 gr. TSX's sitting on the shelf (these are now discontinued). They shot great and worked great on this years Texas deer hunt, this week I happened across 4 boxes of the old Federal's while in Fresno, CA for work and bought them, the shops prices were too much but my job leaves little time to reload so they will keep me for deer / pig so several years

As for reloading 25-06's I have had mixed results, my first 25-06 was a Sako A7 and it was great with any reload I tried, after trading the T3 25-06 I had next took some work to get to a under MOA.

I think that the TTSX eliminated most of the complaints about X and TSX bullets failing to expand. I know that I've never had one fail in my 308 (150/168 gr.) or in my 7mm-08 (120 gr.).

Worked great for me also! TTSX is a deer slaying sob.

What you described is what I see all the time with my deer (at least in the fast calibers over 3000 fps). I don't shoot anything except Barnes, and nearly all are the tipped versions. Sometimes the entrance in the hide will appear even slightly larger than the exit. Then you skin them out, and see how they shine. Sometimes you can pass a closed fist through the ribcage. I think it all depends on how a rib (or other bone) was hit. If it slips through between ribs, it's not quite as destructive. I am one to believe in the chainsaw fan effect of that bullet spinning, cutting, and throwing shrapnel outward as it penetrates.