Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6mm & 25cal Barnes on Large Game....bigger than deer

Anyone who's used them on Bear, Elk, Moose, T-Rex, etc.

Let's hear details of bullet used, shot placement, range/velocity used.

Success or Failures.

While I have not tried them on really large game like elk or moose, I have shot and seen others shoot some damned big wild hogs with 25 caliber Barnes bullets.

My dad has killed numerous wild hogs with his .257 Wby Mag and 25-06 using both, the 115 and 100 grain Barnes monolithic bullets. He has had nothing but one shot kills, except that in one case the 115 Barnes went through one hog and killed another running behind it. Ranges from less than 100 yards to a good 350 at least)

I have only recently started using them in my 25-06 (due to Calfornia laws), but have had great success. A few weeks back I shot the biggest hog I have ever gotten. It is nothing more than a guess, but I imagine that thing weighed 350 pounds on the hoof. The 100 grain TSX went clear through that hog, and it was VERY thick through the shoulders. I could not move it at all till I gutted it then could only move it a few feet at a time. When I got it to the ranch road we found we could not load the darned thing, we had to drive the pickup down in a sort of ditch to get the tailgate down on the ground. (That hog was well over 300 yards on a dead run when shot.)

I have no desire to shoot elk sized game with my 25-06, but I can assure you if I did I would consider the Barnes as good a bullet as I could get for such a thing.

My son is planning to use a .25-06 on black bear in a few weeks, with 100 gr TSX bullets loaded to 3340 fps. I hope to have a favorable report for all after the hunt!

My son shot a nice mature cow elk with a 25-06 and handloaded 115grn Barnes X bullets. These were loaded to 2980fps. The shot was just over 100yds, and the elk didn't do much but stumble after she was hit. It was a complete pass-through, catching both lungs and part of the heart. I wanted him to use the .300 Savage, the 270WSM, or the 30-06, but the M70 Classic in 25-06 was what he shot with confidence. Any of the heavy for caliber premium .257 bullets will do a fine job on an elk, though I do prefer a larger caliber. There are a lot of elk killed each year with a .270 and 130grn bullets. I can't imagine being able to tell the difference between it and a .257 120grn bullet with identical shot placement.

I shot a very large black bear (~450+ lbs) in the middle of may with my .25-06 and 100gr TSX. I shot the bear at a lasered 250 yards at about a 30 degree upward angle, and the first shot hit him in the spine on an angling up, straight-away shot, and exited the front of the chest. He rolled down the hill a ways and got back to his feet, this time broadside. The second shot hit him in the neck, but missed spine. He rolled down some more all the way to the bottom of the hill. Now he was about 50 yards from me, dragging himself towards me with his front legs. I hit him in the front of the chest with a 3rd shot, dropping him for good. All bullets exited, and the wound channels were quite impressive. There was a significant blood trail down the hill, even with all the fat and hair this bear had.

Dropped one bear with an X from my 257 Roy at 200 yards and seen several others go down with a 25 cal TSX

Impressive reports, though I am not surprised. Barnes do have a reputation for doing bigger jobs than may be expected.

300 yds on the run is a good shot! Congrats.

The hogs can be tough, my brother shot one that literally weighed an estimated 500lb or more by a wildlife biologist, hit quartering away under 100 yds shot in the woods, with one 7/08 from his Encore rifle, factory 140 Corelokt, it went about 100 yds.

Jordan, good for you on the bear, likely would have died soon, but good you followed up. I met a guy in the Sako booth this year at the SHOT show from Canada, shot a Moose up there with his 25/06, 120 Factory Rem ammo, around 450 yds he advised. Perhaps that is a commonly used round in Canada. Oh, it only went about 40 yds at most from the hit.

Enjoyed the reports, thanks guys. I know one guy I read out there used a 243 AI/85x-TSX on a Bear and I believe Elk. Maybe he'll chime in.

You'd be surprised how many of the local guys here use .25-06 and .243 for moose and deer hunting...

Obviously they now how to hunt, shoot, and know the capabilities and limits of their gear. Thanks for sharing.

I wouldn't be suprised, as we see the same thing here. Both rounds are incredibly capable in the hands of the capable....

Know of one heck of a lot of game taken with the 22/250 this way as well.

Dober

I use only barnes bullets !!!! i have used barnes in a 25-06 tika that i had and i will tell you i had no doubt that i could do through shots on any game in the continental usa ANY game !!!!!i now have a 270 wsm and i would take it on safari and use it on anything up to buffalo and bigger !!!!

Not to change the thread but I'll ask from 6mm to the .270 caliber. How do Barnes work on Whitetail size game at 100 yards or less? Did you use the Triple Shock X, Tipped TSX or the MRX?

Amen, Dober. Most rounds are capable in the hands of the capable, and incapable in the hands of everyone else...

I've used several X bullets and TSX's on deer from 30 yards to 330 with the .243 and .25-06, and they have resulted in DRT reactions in almost every instance. In the couple instances where the animal ran, they were found within 40 yards.