Hey Gruff long time no see.
I'm as far away from a Barnes fan as you can get. I recently jumped through all the hoops required to give a rifle to a good friend (PH)'s wife in RSA. When I took the rifle I took 50 rounds of 87 grain VMAX and 50 rounds of 80 grain TTSX to her.
She was kind enough to let me use the rifle while I was there. I loaded up the TTSX up to about 3200 FPS out of a 20" barrel.
Still not a Barnes fan but discovered they work pretty well if you can hook some bone on the entrance side.
If things got ugly with a bear in your country I kind of think hitting CNS with any deer capable bullet might pay dividends.
Best to you and yours.
