Had some time this morning so I did some "science" stuff. The Barnes Original 190 was sectioned length wise. The jacket thickness from the exposed lead point to the crimping groove ( cannelure) measured .030" (same as my Hawk 190 grainers.) Below the groove the jacket thickness increased gradually until it was .056" very near the base. There was no notable "bonding" system just the crimping groove. The lead was very malleable and scratched easily with a thumb nail. I took another Barnes and placed it on the anvil portion of my vice and let a 8 oz. ball peen hammer free fall about 6" to impact it. The exposed lead point easily expanded and upset in a very evenly distributed manner. None of this is conclusive and I can't argue with Barnes Tech. staff but these bullets in my opinion, will expand easily at 1800 to 1900 fps when impacting a game animal. Looking at how they are constructed I believe they hold high weight retention due to the relatively low speeds they are propelled at out of the .303 savage and the old .30WCF. Another Canadian forum member here tested some Barnes 190 grainers in his .307 Winchester. Penetration looked good ( wet paper media) but at 2400 fps the bullets were shedding jackets. It may be possible the Barnes tech was referring to the 190 spire point meant for the .300 heavies like the '06 etc. Just my two cents hope this adds something to the conversation.
Darryl
