Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Barnes Bullets for elk?

Haha, for some reason that bullet reminded me of 1, so I googled "thimbles" and that was the first picture to pop up.

Hopefully, next year I can say I killed an elk with a thimble.

How would that compare to a Barnes though?

It can beat up a Barnes. Those copper dudes have no balls.

Does it require high velocity and an abnormally fast twist?

You'll have to ask Jayco on that.

I think this is a pretty insightful observation, Jayco. And it highlights a point I've been trying to make on these bullet threads. Marketing has convinced us that the bullet is the trophy, or at least part of it. When I was younger, the photos from hunts were of hunters and animals. Found bullets were curiosities, and trinkets to be saved as good luck charms for some. Now folks post pics of bullets as trophies, and many think what the bullet looks like determines whether it was effective. Propaganda.

Too bad I can't get these to stabilize in my '06. They look like a bigger hammer.

JB that thing is a BIG GUN! But yes a 12 twist 35 seems to shoot everything well.


Jayco yes it was a wildcat....I could have gone 358 Norma, but had the magnum action so figured I might as well fill 'er up and use the full length case.

It was based on the 8 mag but I formed brass out of 375 H&H stuff.

That's what I did too, and after trying a bunch of different bullets and loads, decided it was pretty much a .375 H&H--but without without the advantage of almost universally available factory ammo and brass. So it went down the road.

Plenty of old timers were interested in bullet performance, otherwise you wouldn't have the bullets of today.

You just may not have heard about it, pre-internet.

Yes they are pretty close...I rebarreled mine to 375H&H

Because Partitions and CL's are boring Although I have seen pictures of failures of both bullets. No bullet is immune to failing now and again- not Barnes, Bergers, CL's, or even Noslers.

There is always reassurance in a dead animal;but if a guy does not track what a bullet did,and try to glean something from what it looks like on recovery,(which is an indication of its capabilities,not a curio to hang around your neck....)he won't gain any insight into what it will do for him the next time....or the next....or the time after that.

(Here's a clue....if you depend on marketing hype to choose your bullet for BG hunting, you are a dope....you should cock a skeptical eyebrow at every claim made by a bullet manufacturer until it's proven in the field.)

Not all hunters of 50-75 years ago drooled in front of a camera,indifferent to what bullets did....if they had you would not have the bullets you have today.The notion is laughable.

It isn't marketing to try to understand bullet behavior in animals....it's a natural curiosity that all hunter/riflemen of much experience display, because they know the bullet is the most important thing in the whole killing equation.Not the rifle(just a launch platform),or the fluted tube, or the color of the paint job,etc...

So that after awhile he can gain confidence in it,and pretty much "knows" the results even before he reaches the carcass.

And if he does enough of this stuff with a wide range of bullets he will eventually figure out that all bullets are NOT the same,and he can make an intelligent choice about what to use.

Jordan is right. ..Partitions are boring....the BC's are old hat,and they are too terminally reliable...results are annoyingly consistent...to some this is a "bad" thing LOL! These folks flit like butterflies from one bullet to another, looking for something "better" but are unlikely to find it for killing BG animals from the muzzle out to 500-600 yards.

Seems to me the Barnes are a notch "up" in toughness and not the same bullet that came out 20 years ago as they have been in a process of evolution.Seems they thrive at impact velocities that will turn other bullets to rubble...this is tough for some to grasp and I'm not sure why.

Seems to me,the internet has made hunting way to complicated.The differences in opinions can never be satisfied or it too would be boring to some.

Personally,I don't care what a bullet looks like as long as it did its job,killing the game..I don't care if it explodes or penetrates the animal and three tree's behind it.

Some want to experiment and others are content with what they have seen, based on several examples over a lot of years.I sure don't see how Barnes are a notch up over a Nosler...I have tested/used both on game.I have seen the Barnes blow all its petals off leaving only the shank and I also have seen the nosler loose it all, except the shank..Neither disintegrated as some cup and cores have.

A step up,I don't think so.....

Jayco

Love to see one of those Barnes with all the petals blown off. What was the fps?

You ask and shall receive..Click the link to right here.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...27731/all/270_Grain_TSX_still_needs_work

Jayco

Exactly.

Curiosity has extended to all sorts of things prior to the internet (gasp!).

In the 60's/early 70's I had my grandpa under strict orders to save all projectiles he pulled out of critters in the fall at his butcher house. I had a nice tin full of em!

The study of spent projectiles has always been a fascination to me.

Jayco, I think that's what the partition was designed to do. And your post above implies that you personally have shot Barnes bullets into game and seen the petals "blow off" but that's really not the case, is it?

To be clear, I'm not a big fan of Barnes bullets myself, just interested in the facts.

That Barnes was a big load. Not a big deal though. The front of the Partition is designed to come off too if push hard enough.

I'll stay with big hunks of lead. Easier to chew than copper.