Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game **Caution with Barnes Triple Shock**

One day last week I picked up a box of 168gr & 180gr Barnes Triple Shock bullets in the 50ct (30 cal).

Being a little particular with the true weight of the bullets, I weigh each one and separate them by the true weight. Boy was I surpised when I discovered that 48 of the 180's were actually 168gr.

I spoke with Ty from Barnes this morning and apparently they are fully aware of the mixing and wrong labeling between the 180's and 168's. He was very helpful and making things right.

Easy way to tell the difference is the 180's have 4 grooves and the 168 only have three.

FYI

Thanks for the heads up.

Any idea how long this has been going on or between what dates we should be lookin' out for?

Thanks.

Now I need to look at all those 30 cal TSX I bought. S**T!

Do you know if this is only 180s? I buy 168s only.

I had a differnt issue with the triple shocks. I purchased 5 boxes for a trip to AK for moose hunting. All from the same lot. I used one box at the range and the rest were to accompany me on the trip. The airlines was particular about ammo and wanted only unopened boxes as part of checked in items. I shoot a .300 ultramag and the ammo is a bit hard to come by, so I brought 4 boxes just in case. I only needed 2 boxes, but I put 2 boxes in one bag and 2 boxes in another so I wouldn't be without ammo.

When I arrived in AK... in the field mind you, I discovered that the bullets were loose in the shell casings. Good thing I brought 4 boxes, becauseI needed to sort through that many to get enough to hunt with that didn't have loose bullets. I need to see what federal is going to do about replacing the "defective" shells. Any suggestions???

F2T

There was no indication on dates but as I reflect on the conversation I had on the phone, it apparently covers multiple lot numbers.

I first spoke with a gentleman named Robert prior to talking with TY. I mentioned that I had 48 168's and 2 180's in the 180 box. He mentioned that some were 50/50, mostly 180 with an occasional 168. I double check the 168's to be on the safe side.

Yikes! Has there been any mixing of the 180's into the 168's? THAT could be a disaster!

F2T,
One of the first questions that they asked me was the Lot#. I would be sure to have that handy when you place the call.

And my buddies laugh at me for weighing all my bullets prior to loading. A grain here and there is common, but that is a major screw up.

Thanks for the heads up.

Don't expect much.

Last year I purchased 6 boxes of Federals 180gr Gameking loads, all the same lot number. My rifle really like those loads.

I used 5 boxes for practice, and kept the most pristine of the boxes as the box I would brint on my controlled deer hunt.

While I on the hunt, I was loading up my rifle, and I noticed that one of the roads looked different in the box. It didn't have an exposed soft point like the others....I just thought it was broken off. I put that one aside, and didn't use it.

Then I looked more closely - I could feel the weight difference between that round and the rest-. Not a confidence builder during my hunt.

When I got back, had my neighbor weigh all the rounds in the box, that round weighed 70+gr less than the others. Headstamp was different too, Remington.

So different bullet, different case, and it weighed 70gr less than the rest.

Called Federal, and they sayed that there was no way the round could have been switched in their factory. But, I bought the round through a mail order distributor (picked it up from their warehouse). It hadn't been on the shelf for any customers to mess with and switch rounds out, and the box hadn't been tampered with at all, it was clearly unopened.

That was the last factory fodder I have run through that rifle now. Now I will only handload for that rifle.

Federal didn't even replace the box of ammo.

Find it hard to believe Remington head stamped ammo got in the box at the Federal factory.

Two things strike me

1) I would love to know how a competitively stamped case made it into a box of Federal ammunition at the Federal Factory. I don't believe for a second that the box left Federal in that condition.

2) I can't fathom going on a hunt without first running every cartridge through the magazine and into the chamber before I left home, to ensure that they all chambered. I would have easily caught the odd round before leaving home.

+1

1. Yup, I know. But the ammo wasn't on the shelf at a store, so it wasn't buggered with by a customer. And, the box appeared to be unopened until I opened it. And since I only had 6 boxes of .30-06 ammo at the time -in fact, since that was my first .30-06, those were the first 6 boxes of .30-06 I had-, so I know I didn't mix it up. Actually, I can do one better than that. Those are the only .30-06 loaded shells I have ever bought, because shortly after this, I started to reload.

And since I kept my ammo seperate from my hunting partners during the hunt, and they don't use Remington ammo either......

Running out of choices as to who to blame.

Federal's name is on the box, I expect them to be responsible, since there is no one else to point the finger to. Atleast replace the box of ammo.

I don't see how it would have gotten into the box at the factory, but I don't see other options either. Do you?

2. I ran 5 boxes of the same ammo, bought at the same time, same store, same lot number, through my rifle prior to the hunt. I had no failures, no loading issues, no extractions issues, no accuracy issues, etc. I figured after that, that I could probably trust the ammo. I figured wrong.

Very interesting. In a couple of cartridges I've had problems with the TSXes being loose after reloading. I believe this happens for two reason. First of all, with the grooves on the bullet, there is not as much bullet area in contact with the neck of the case as with other bullets. The other problem arises from resizing. When the expander ball is pulled out of the case neck, it causes a slightly different neck diameter from front to back resulting in even less bullet in contact with the case neck. I'm glad to hear a major manufacturer had this problem because when I told Randy Brooks about this problem at the recent SCI convention, he looked at me like I was an alien or something.

What works for me to prevent this is to neck size with a Lee Collet Die. If the bullets are still a little loose, a trip through a Lee Factory Crimp Die usually does the trick. Believe it or not though, the loose TSXes don't seem to adversly affect accuracy though they would certainly be more vulnerable to the entry of moisture.

I once had a box of Hornady .308 150 gr. spire points. Loaded them at max. in my .308. One of the bullets go stuck in the seating die. I took it out, and measured it. It was actually a bullet designed for the .303 British, measuring .312 dia. The two versions look identical to the eye. I was concerned!
I wrote to Hornady, gave them the lot number & bar code and described the problem. I didn't ask for anything except what assurance they could give me that such an issue wouldn't happen again. Their reply: "we make thousands of bullets a day, there is bound to be some errors" - no other explanation or assurance.
Instead of improving their "good manufacturing practices", they just made excuses. So I don't shoot Hornady any more unless nothing else is available.

Two years ago I had a primer blow and stuck the ejector on a Model 7 shooting a .308 with 150 TSX. It was close to a book max load with varget but had never shown a pressure sign at the range. (hunt was at 7000ft vs sea level for the range)

Later I was sorting bullets from the same box because I was bored and playing with a new electronic scale. I found a 165 TSX in the 150 TSX box. The 150 TSX was the only flavor I had in .30 so I know it happened at the factory. I then weighed the remaining 25 loaded rounds and found a second 165, I guess that would explain the excessive pressure....(no I did not shoot it to try to replicate the first accident)

I gave Ty the load data to let him replicate the pressures but I did not hear back from him. I still have faith in Barnes and realize an opps is going to occur with anything done millions of times. Im just a little more careful now.

Two years ago I had a primer blow and stuck the ejector on a Model 7 shooting a .308 with 150 TSX. It was close to a book max load with varget but had never shown a pressure sign at the range. (hunt was at 7000ft vs sea level for the range)

Later I was sorting bullets from the same box because I was bored and playing with a new electronic scale. I found a 165 TSX in the 150 TSX box. The 150 TSX was the only flavor I had in .30 so I know it happened at the factory. I then weighed the remaining 25 loaded rounds and found a second 165, I guess that would explain the excessive pressure....(no I did not shoot it to try to replicate the first accident)

I gave Ty the load data to let him replicate the pressures but I did not hear back from him. I still have faith in Barnes and realize an opps is going to occur with anything done millions of times. Im just a little more careful now.

Whatever happened to quality controll??? You would think that if you paid for a quality projectile that you would receive a box of quality bullets. Thats why I shoot NOSLER and HORNADY only.
Never had a problem with accuracy or any quality controll issue.

I've gotten odd bullets, some of them never actually catalogued, from Speer and Barnes, mostly from Barnes and then usually just odd weights and styles but correct caliber.Barnes has never acknowledged a problem with that. I've never had a mixed up box from Hornady, Nosler, or Sierra. It does make sense to pay attention though, even if only to avoid problems which any loader of similar calibers might cause themselves.

Simple answer is best on the ammo swapping...

Watch people at the isle compare rounds between manufact's and you'll see them put it in the wrong box putting them back every once and a while.

On the barnes swapping it can happen going into or coming out of the box at barnes and at home if your not careful... I visually check the bullet lengths when I load.

Spot