Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Barnes bullet... are you completely sold?

Ironic that people in this thread cannot even come to a consensus on what a "failure" is. No wonder we still argue about bullets.

If forced to choose a 'failure scenario", I would always choose limited bullet expansion and plenty of penetration over too much expansion and limited penetration.

I am sold on their accuracy. While the original X bullets were not accurate in my rifles the TSX version definitely is. I have only shot a caribou at 400 yard (Gut shot/ my shame) and 100 yards (shoulder and neck) and a cow elk at 70 yards in the neck so don't have enough animals to say I am completely sold on them.

They are accurate.

Use, IMO, depends on the specific application. Critter being hunted, chest vs. shoulder shots, distance, speed at impact, etc.

I don’t see a right or wrong answer. Lots of choices, some better than others. Gotta match and balance variables for optimal outcome.

DF

I have not shot Barnes yet, but would like too, but my understanding from all the stuff I've read about them... is that they work best when used one bullet weight lighter than normal lead bullets for higher velocities and greater expansion. Sounds like they need some speed to work correctly which would be a win win for those who will step down a little instead of shooting their normal old school caliber for weight bullets. My old 30-06 shoots 150 gr lead bullets, but it would be 130's in it now if I used Barnes.

My main desire for using the Barnes... is the HOPE that it puts more deer in the dirt...DRT. It can be THICK in our swamps here in S.C. so I don't like it when any animal takes a step.

If it doesn't put them down quicker... then Heck... I'll stick with my bow and arrow....LOL.

Barnes are extremely good at crushing bone from any angle. So aim for high shoulder/spine and you'll get a lot of DRT kills.

I won't claim to be a stone cold killer such as some others here,

But I've managed to knock down quite a few Big game critters over the years,

Started loading the 165 TSX in .30 cals years ago and see no reason to change,

Quick kills, and blood everywhere,

There not Game King accurate, (for me anyhow) but plenty accurate for hunting purposes.

I'll bet good money thousands of Animals hit the dirt this fall via the Barnes Express,

Anybody, and I repeat Anybody have a "failed" Barnes they would care to display here?

I would like to add recently recovered failed Barnes bullets. In the last few years.

I have never recovered a TTSX or TSX nor seen one recovered, but the dead deer and elk told no tales. Your mileage may vary.

Nosier only shows a picture perfect textbook mushroom in its advertising.

and I don't know of any disclaimers issued by Nosler for when customer results are not the same. :grin.

Yes, mr Nosier was driven to design a bullet that would not blow up excessively.

he was successful in achieving his aim, which has benefited many for many years.

but that don't mean NP is the best performing expanding design BG bullet for all occasions.

I agree with that. Unfortunately they are more erratic when shot behind the shoulder.

If ya gonna chest shoot to save meat, use a more expansive bullet. I do.

DF

Colorado Elk hunt this Fall,

shooter size bull out 400 yards, not much of a solid rest so wasn't real comfy taking the shot,

Had nothing to lose so I gave 2 quick cow calls,

here he comes,

about 90 yards out I take the almost full frontal shot, there was just a slight quartering to my left angle,

I aim just slightly off center of his left chest, bullet exited out on his right side back behind his ribs,

Needless to say, very little tracking....like ... none.

It would possibly have been an internal mess regarding field dressing, but Gutless method wins again.

Ya, I'm completely sold.

In full disclosure, My other 2 buds also scored on that hunt,

it does appear other bullets are also capable of killing Elk.

My experience started with Barnes way back in the mid 90's. I always follow these threads with interest.

Struggled getting any original X's in 270 to shoot. Finally found an accurate load with the 140gr. Took a Colorado elk, and a few deer with no issues. When I finally got a chronograph, found out the load was very slow, only running a little over 2700fps. Moved on to other bullets.

Next experiment was with Barnes 338 XLC out of a 338-06. Did not shoot satisfactorily, moved on. I was done with mono's for the time being.

Then I met one of the guys from Superior ammo and the local range. He convinced me to try TSX's. This was early 2000's? Since then I/we have on game experience with the following:

X original
270: 140gr antelope/deer/elk

TSX
22 caliber: 45gr, 53gr deer/antelope
270: 95gr, 110gr, 130gr deer/antelope
338: 210gr antelope/deer/elk
375: 300gr impala/sable/roan/zebra/hartebeest
423: 400gr buffalo

TTSX:
270: 130gr antelope/deer/elk
300: 180gr deer/blue wildebeest/black wildebeest/zebra/waterbuck/ oryx/warthog.

To my knowledge, I have never had a "failure". Every one I have recovered has been dang near advertising print perfect.

The last couple of years, I have used some C&C just to try them again. They work, but I do not like the damage they cause. I hunt fairly open country so DRT is not an issue for me.

My Dad has used nothing but Hornady 130gr IL for many, many years out of his 270. But he did use a 150gr NP on his only bull elk.

I have seen almost no blood out of deer I have shot with a lot of calibers. With lead core and mono bullets even with large broad heads. I shot one with a .223 with a 53 grain TSX at 3300, zero blood and zero hair at the place the deer stood. All I could find the next day in good light was a single drop a couple feet from where the deer fell. it made it a little better than 100 feet and when I gutted the deer the heart was loose in the chest. One shot with a 50 cal muzzle loader destroyed the top half of the heart completely and the remnant was loose in the chest. Blood for three jumps and then nothing for fifty yards to where the deer fell. Shot one with a .243 heart loose in the chest deer ran 50-80 feet and fell. Got up ran back to where it was hit and dropped dead. No blood except where it died. Shot one deer with a broad head with over 2 inches of cut by 4 blades. Deer went 50 yards without bleeding a drop. then after one drop it made it another 20 feet feet and died in an area that everything withing ten feet was red.

I have seen the same thing out of cup and core bullets for a long time as well.

I have seen caliber size holes in and out with both cup and core and monos. I have never seen a mono make just one hole, but I have seen that with cup and cores often enough and those deer are more often poor blood trails. Good entrance and exit holes do not guarantee good blood trails nor massive internal damage. Caliber in and caliber out holes do not prevent good blood trails. Excellent blood trails do not guarantee short runs and easy recovery. The last one I shot this year bled like someone walked along with a bucket full of blood with a dime size hole in the bottom. Made it 300 yards +. Shot one last year, double lung, bled so much that could I still run I could have followed it at a dead run. Made it just over a mile. What happens after the trigger breaks is out of my control and Bambi does what Bambi does. One out of about three deer I shoot drops where it stands when I use a rifle. With the bows it tends to be more like one out of six-eight.

I process all my deer myself and have done so for every single deer I have ever shot. So, I know what those wounds look like. I have yet to be able to discern anything about the wounds from deer that bled/didn't bleed well, deer that ran a long ways or dropped where they stood that were not CNS shots, or the raw quality of the allowing them to run far or not other than CNS shots. I have seen deer die from what I considered minor wounds and deer mange long runs with hellacious wounds. IMO it's best to prepare for a worst case situation when I start out to recover them. What may be different for me than for others is that I have only seen two deer I shot get up again after going down after the shot. No guess as to why. Both were bow kills, both were hit well. Both bled well.

What I make the hole in Bambi with does not seem to make a damn but of difference.

Wasn't it JJHack that advocated a Barnes 165gr TTSX out of 30-06 as the perfect SA plains game medicine? He saw more than a few animals killed with that bullet.

The TSX did not work well for me at all. In stark contrast, the TTSX has performed very consistently, mostly dropping where they stand. The TTSX now is my go to choice.

Not at elk, but here is a 189# WT buck from this morning for some wound photos from a TTSX for consideration.

.308 Win 130 gr TTSX 3080 MV distance 125 yards. Impact velocity 2700+.

The entry wound is slightly larger than the exit. Dropped where it stood.

Entrance



Exit

I just don't see the erratic part really. Even ones shot to far back. Buddy hit two this year for some reason in the liver area, both fell at the shot. TTSX.

High shoulder. Not the best for error, go middle of vitals to get the most room for error every time IMHO.

But lots love that high shoulder shot.

I've seen 3 this year walking with that shot a bit to high but healing. And at least 1 last year. Usually see 1-2 a year with that shot a bit to high.

Probably the problem is that some folks that try that shot don't know exactly where its supposed to go actually.

I run barnes for all my elk rifles.
6.5, 270 and 06

About 10-12 years ago at 40 yds a raghorn bull came around a tree almost full frontal. I put the crosshairs just inside the point of the shoulder and the 243 w/ 100 gr NPt exited just in front of the off hind quarter. I do think the mono's generally penetrate further, but on broadside armpit shots I prefer the NPt.