Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters JB can you give your opinion on velocity / expansion with Barnes bullets

I actually agree with you on the TTSX Jordan, it likely is an anomaly.

However, I have never seen a Partition failure, but have seen dozens of the original X's, TSX's, and Failsafe's fail.

I expect Barnes, Nosler, et al have really improved the mono's over the years, and I actually am fairly persuaded by some of the anti-lead arguments, both for health and the secondary effects on other animals and birds.

I think future momentum is in favor of copper and against lead, and that's probably not all bad.

I think it would be easy to make a jig to keep everything concentric and repeatable. The depth would also be easy to control. I was hoping someone already did it and we could learn from their experience.

Maybe after hunting season is over I'll try a few.

If you try it, would love to hear the results.

But by no means do ALL hollow-point Barnes monolithics expand unreliably. Have only seen a very few instances that could be proven. The examples of TSXs are the only ones I personally know of. Never had one of the pre-TSX Barnes bullets fail to expand, from 100-grain .25s to 250-grain 9,3s. The total is probably over 100 bullets.

JB, Any experiance with these? Going to try them in a 14 twist 250Sav Model 70 I have.

Hey Brad, thanks for the input and pictures I'm sure it is very helpful to Sakoluvr and those of us following the thread with interest.

That is the only issue of the TTSX I have seen or heard of, I agree with Jordan a statistical anomaly and nothing to be concerned about. I have had a couple of cases of the TSX not opening up, fortunately on water jugs and not game, and have heard of others.

Saloluvr I have placed TTSX through the ribs with no big bones hit and everything died, perhaps a few seconds slower than if bone was hit. The TTSX will expand nicely on rib shots. Please let us know if you are allowed to do the expansion test on your range.

Jordan; I have heard about failures with the partition as well, although my assessment would be a combination of using a bullet outside of design parameters and less than optimal shot placement. Again I concur with your assessment, anomalies and not an issue of concern.

sqweeler,

Nope, have no experiences with those.

GRF,

As close I've come to a "failure" with a Nosler Partition was with a 160-grain 7mm started at 2650-2700 fps from a custom 7x57, on a big Alberta mule deer at around 275 yards. Shot the buck just behind the shoulder, as it stood slightly angling away, and it staggered backward a little way and fell over--but when I approached it got back up and started running away. Shot it again, and it dropped.

Recovered the first bullet under the hide at the rear of the ribcage. This may seem like a "failure," but the bullet retained 90% of its weight--by far the highest weight retention I've seen with any Partition under 9.3mm. (The bigger ones are designed to retain more weight, due to the partition being moved forward.)

The only other 160 7mm Partition I've recovered was one fired from a 7mm Weatherby Magnum at 3100+ fps into a 6x6 bull elk at around 150 yards. The bull was angling away, and the bullet ended up in the far shoulder, retaining 64% of its weight. The elk collapsed.

I have several boxes of those and they work in the 25x39 at 3000fps,the 250 sav at normal loads and the 257 roberts AI and the 25-06.

Speeds are different for all but in each they work.

Makes for nice groups as well.

John; the one partition “failure” I’m aware of was a gentleman know used a 180 grain partition from a .300 RUM at less than 100 yards into a Red Hartebeest if I recall correctly. The shot was further back than it should have been again if I recall correctly the rear of one lung was only part of the bullets travel in the animal in front of the diaphragm.

After a long tracking job and a few more shots the animal was brought to bag.

The bullet from the first shot was recovered in the muscles of the offside hip with the partition cracked or split.

The alleged failure was the cracked / split partition despite the deep penetration. The rodeo in recovering the animal likely a result of shot placement.

The outside of design parameters comment was my thoughts on the high velocity impact, my thoughts only and I could be wrong.

I was not present for the event and it has been years since I heard the story. It’s possible I have not recalled some details correctly.

My brother shoots a 180 grain partition out of his .30-06 and .300 Weatherby for years without a single glitch, issue or concern regardless of the distance to the animal.

I agree, Brad. Lead in the meat is a primary reason I like the monos for close-range shooting, where I may not get a perfect broadside shot through the ribs, and the bullet may need to penetrate through some meat either before or after vitals.

I’ve had much better luck with the X/TSX/GS Custom, though, and in about 130 kills witnessed (before myself and my acquaintances largely switched from the X/TSX to the TTSX and LRX), there wasn’t a single instance of bullet failure that I could determine, and I’m kind of a geek when it comes to post-mortem bullet performance analysis. I will say, however, than IME the TTSX and LRX do seem to expand more violently than the previous versions did.

I've read that the 168 TTSX was the prototype for the LRX line which is designed to open at lower velocities. They hadn't decided to call the newer bullets a whole new line (LRX) yet so it was named TTSX like the others, that's why there's a 165 and a 168 TTSX. Don't know if that's true or not.

"I really can see the value of the LRX, especially that 127 6.5 or 139 7mm..."

I'd love to try the 139 in my 7mm-08, if I could find some.

Last week my son shot a mature buck with a 127 LRX out of his 6.5-300 Wby @ approx 160 yards. Handloads right at 3400 muzzle velocity. Hit in the shoulder but no exit wound. I did find a piece of one of the "petals" below the hide on the off side shoulder. Deer took a couple steps and went down for good. Haven't found the rest of the bullet yet but may when the grinding process starts. First Barnes that didn't exit. Not a big mess inside of deer but certainly enough damage done. I like the Barnes and use them in everything except my 270.