Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Barnes X-bullet and similar copper bullets

While the is no doubt that the original X Bullet fouled bores....they didn’t excessively foul “all” bores. My first use of the Barnes X was in the early ‘90’s, fired thru a rifle with a “match” barrel. And while accuracy wasn’t great, and I couldn’t push them quite as fast as cup and cores of equal weight.....they produced minimal fouling! With several other rifle, after polishing the bores, the fouling was substantially reduced and accuracy rather dramatically improved....dependent upon how rough the bore was originally. Just my observations! memtb

I used them in my 270,35 Whelen and the 7x57 and did not have any problems getting them to shoot.

Same goes for fouling have not had a problem.

guess i was just lucky.

I thought the original X's sucked......terrible fouler, so-so performance (didn't appear to open up every time), decent accuracy at best IME. They sucked so bad in my Mannlicher rifle I searched and found the CT Failsafe's........mucho improvement for me. If I were forced to use a Barnes nowadays it would undoubtedly be the TTSX.

No downsides?

At least for my application(deer)

1) more expensive
2) don't kill as well unless you aim for bone, which means less meat

I agree that they may be superior in many cases, but certainly not in all. Use the right tool for the job.

We’ve had good luck, on “small” big game (antelope/deer) at longer (430 yards) ranges with TSX’s/TTSX’s with rifles of much larger caliber than generally used on a typical Whitetail! We always go for behind the shoulder shots.....less lost meat! True, they don’t kill quite like a conventional cup and core, with their rapid expansion and greater tissue damage and do in fact appear to debilitate a bit more slowly.... but are ultimately reliable to perform as designed! Just say’n! memtb

Tried the X's in a 257 Weatherby years back and groups would double or triple after about 6 rounds. Thorough cleaning and I'd be good for about another 6. Went to mollied Partitions and the issue went away although those are quite explosive on close in game. Not been near Banes since.

We’re these the original X’s, or the newer, grooved X’s? I feel the same way about Sierra’s, for use on game. But, I would send someone else to the gun store to buy them for my varmint rifle! Maybe you could do the same.....find out that you’ve been cheating yourself! memtb

I think many of the negative results were due to the uncertain purity of the copper wire that Barnes used at first. After they secured a better product most of the issues of erratic performance were gone. Some barrels just didn't like them but virtually all of the rifles tried them in worked out. The TSX and TTSX are completely different and reduced fouling and pressure significantly. I had a similar bad first impression of the Nosler ballistic tip being too frangible. I wouldn't use them for years but now they are one of my favorite bullets for deer and medium game. I never had a Barnes of any type"pencil through" only a few have lost petals or I couldn't tell because I have caught so few of them.

Some excerpts from Dave Scovill's "Reloader's Press" column in Handloader #220:

"... Randy admitted the copper alloy used to make the early X-Bullets lacked uniformity."

"The problem was eventually traced to the supplier of the copper alloy wire."

"Considering the early problems with the copper alloy wire...."

That pesky word "alloy" keeps cropping up.

*Kept cropping up. It's been years since the fouling or uniformity issues this thread have been talking about have existed. A quick internet search will show that TTSXs are now widely regarded as one of if not the most consistent hunting bullet on the market.

I'm not questioning the quality of the bullets, I am still dancing with this business of pure copper being an alloy.

I used them in a half dozen rifles and didn't have accuracy or fouling problems, either. I guess we're both just lucky fellas

Perhaps Scovill just used incorrect terminology.

Jordan; I have had similar experiences to you with the barnes from .243 to 45-70 and lots of places in between.With one exception an 8x57 that fouled so badly with every bullet you see the fouling near the bore with the naked eye, obviously a barrel issue.

I think ( whether or not I am right ) they give me the option of more shot angles than other bullets. The shoot excellent as well!

Fair enough. Truly, I'm no metallurgist, but as long as projectiles look like this, group fantastically, and have no other negative side effects, I'm not too concerned about what percentage metals are combined to make it happen.



(80 grain Barnes GMX out of a .243, for those wondering)

Barnes GMX. ?????

A new hybrid? Lmao

Was about to say, with the amount of petals it looks more like a Hornady GMX than a Barnes.

The Barnes X I was using was the old Blue Meanies. The .308 150 Gr in a Sako L579 F/S. Over a medium load of Varget in Lake City cases. I shot a whitetail doe on the other side of a small pond. It didn't drop her immediately but she was struggling over the fence and got into the corn field. As I looked for the blood trail there was a Osage orange sapling shot in half. It was about 3/4" in diameter and absolutely shattered, I hadn't seen it in the scope with the color similar to the doe. The doe was maybe 20 yards in the unpicked corn. That was the poor performance I always had with the Barnes X. The TTSX are even better. I never had trouble with the originals either. I did have to clean the bore to bare metal. If any fouling was left it seemed to suck the copper in and then it was a mess. I like my bores squeaky clean unlike some guys. Either way Be Well, Rustyzipper.