rosco1, how do you like those LRX's? The mfr claims they are softer and open more reliably. Thanks!
At first I was just pissed that I had to re do all my MRX loads..But the LRX is a great bullet, I've never had a tipped barnes not open up (that I know of), and I dont think that will change with the LRX.So far I've only killed three head of game with them and I actually caught one last year in an elk,(never caught an MRX) and they do appear to open up wider than other X-bullets.
Another note on them is the BC is well over what they list them as, which has been the case with a lot of barnes bullets i've worked with.
rosco1 -
Your experience is similar to mine. The first Barnes bullets I tried were the 160g XLCs in my 7mm RM. Very accurate but a failure on game with apparent lack of expansion on two of the three I put into an unfortunate antelope. The XLCs had also been inconsistent on coyotes. One dropped straight down at 100 yards and I never did find the entrance or exit, while another blew a softball-sized 'U' channel out of the top of another coyote's back.
Then the TSX's came out and were even more accurate. Worked up new 140g TSX loads for my 7mm RM. 115g for my.257 Roberts, 168g for my .308 Win and .300WM and 180g for my .300WM. A lot of time at the range but could never bring myself to use them on game. Then the tipped MRX came out, which erased ***most*** of my concerns about reliable expansion. This time I worked up 165g loads for a .30-06 and 180g loads for my .300WM. They didn't get used on game, though, because I was using North Fork SS to good effect and recollections of that first antelope and XLCs still left some doubt.
Enter the TTSX. A 100g through my .257 Roberts worked well on antelope and it was off to the races as far a s load development went - 120g and 140g for the .280 and 7mm RM and 168g for the .308 Win and .30-06s. Never got around to the .300WM because I still had (and still have) 180g MRXs loaded, although I'll probably have to do so next year. As my hunting buddies and myself gained experience with the TTSX on antelope and deer our confidence grew as well - a high percentage (~50%) of straight-down, DRT results with the others going down quickly, end-to-end penetration, two holes, and no bullets recovered.
Last year I finally used the 180g MRX in my .300WM as I was running low on North Forks. I shot a nice mulie buck at less than 50 yards (probably more like 30). It was a quartering away shot and the buck was down within 4-5 steps. The bullet hole in the picture below is the exit.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/IMG_15044.JPG)
The next day I took the cow elk below at 400 yards on a broadside shot. It reversed course and took 2-3 steps uphill, then collapsed. Again the photo shows the exit side.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/IMG_057511.JPG)
We don't have any pictures of recovered TTSX or MRX as all have exited.
Now the LRXs are out in two of my favorite calibers, 7mm and .308 and I simply haven't had the time or inclination to work with them as I have a lot of TTSX on hand. When I get around to them, maybe early next year for load development, I fully expect them to work as well on game as the MRX and TTSX, which is to say I expect excellent accuracy with reliable expansion, high weight retention, deep penetration and game going straight down or down within a few steps.
