Barnes triple shock disappointment

[Derek M.]

Outlaw, thanks for additional intel.

For me, if I had to condense my bullet preferences over the years, it really goes from one bullet to another with a mix of all others in the mix along the way.

I am, in the simplest of terms, a Ballistic tip guy who has transitioned to a TSX/TTSX guy. I've used these bullets on most all big game with almost any other brand and type you can think of in the mix that I've used just to see how they do, but never really holding on to any other kind for long.

I've had 100% success with the following and there's nothing I would do to change the oucome: TSX/TTSX, Btips, Sciroccos, VLDs, Speer, partitions, nosler solid base, and Sierra HPBT hunting bullets.

I have more Barnes bullets on my load bench than all others combined. It's been a fantastic and flawless bullet for me, my brother, and my hunting peers. And just a thought, but prior to shooting the Barnes, I've always been a heavy for caliber shooter. With the Barnes bullets, I have seen that lighter and faster works very well for me. As an example, my first choice for deer/pronghorn in my 270 is the 110 with the 130 in second place. I've never even purchased the 140 or 150 TSX/TTSX.

Hopefully, I will never be disappionted with them. From the history I've had, I don't see it happening.

 

[jimbires]

are you guys telling me that if I used a lighter weight bullet that had a higher impact velocity the bullet petals would not have broken off ?

 

[Derek M.]

are you guys telling me that if I used a lighter weight bullet that had a higher impact velocity the bullet petals would not have broken off ?

I'm not telling you that. I don't think I've made comments on the petals coming off. Moreover, I haven't a clue whether any I've used did or not since I've never recovered one. I would imagine it's quite possible considering bullet wt, velocity and distance to target on many we've shot. For example, my brother's longest shot on deer and pronghorn has been 200 yards with most being around 20 yards to 80. All DRT. If the petals broke off, it didn't matter. This is with a 270/110 TSX combo with a stout charge of IMR4350 and a 25.5" barrel.

 

[longrangehuntr]

These Barnes bullets appear to be the most over rated bullets for their promised performance. I know of and have witnessed very dismal performance on the expansion of these so called big game bullets on our deer here in Australia.
I have three mates who have used these supposed "premium" hunting bullets on Sambar deer (3rd largest deer in the world after Moose and Elk/Wapiti) that max at around 700 pounds. Their shots at Sambar stags were actually filmed as the deer was shot at various ranges from around 80 metres, 210 metres and 370 metres.
In all 3 cases all deer were shot with at least three bullets and needed to be put down as they were either running or kicking. This was not attributed to poor shooting but due to dismal performance and lacklustre expansion of these so called "killer petals" that Barnes bulletts advertises.
I will not talk about the other five stags that ran off wounded and were never found.
These bullets simply perform dismally on the deer we have over here despite all of Barnes' claims.
I for one will never buy these again and nor will I ever recommend them to anyone...not even my worst enemies. FULLSTOP.
Sorry but that is the truth and also my honest opinion of them.

I am curious as to shot placement/lungs,heart,neck, were the sholders hit, spine.

 

[longrangehuntr]

correct me if i am wrong, some of barnes bullets talking to a few other reloaders are designed not to expand at all which if you are only shooting throgh some tissue and lungs that is exactly what will happen, nothing. If you shoot just through an animals lungs biology at work with adrenaline if you make a small hole in an animal with little body damage it won't die right there. If you take out a sholder and take out the heart or lungs with it or hit the spine and windpipe that should kill the animal a bit faster. If you think a bullet is terrible after one shot where you see little performace shoot the same kind of animal again in a different spot and compare the results. If you make a determination of of the same shot on the same kind of animal then that conclusion has errors in it. I have use all types of bullets, match bullet to game so to speak and try different bullets. Also look at the distance and power behind the bullet. does it have enough time to do what it is suppose to?

 

[dcryder]

I agree with shooting light for caliber weights with tsx's for optimal performance on game. I used to hunt deer with a 7mm-08 and 120 tsx, worked perfectly. One shot was broadside at 175 yards, bullet entered no-mans land, 6 inches behind shoulder high lung shot, clearly not touching spine. Deer flopped on it's side, rear leg stiffened out for about 3 seconds and then went limp. Bullet exited leaving very little bruising and a nickel sized hole. The deadest i've ever seen a deer fall.

Here's my theory...the higher velocity aids in expansion, at the same time the lighter bullets lose a lot more velocity than heavier bullets during initial expansion thus not blowing petals off. Right or wrong i will never forget that shot.

I stepped up to a 1-8" twist 280AI this year as my new hunting spot is 500 yard shots. Am going with a softer bullet, the162 A-MAX. At 2960fps MV it shoots great at 500yds and matches my BDC reticle perfectly.

As to Barnes offering the Tipped version, I say that most people just like polymer tips so it will sell better, and it raises the BC.

 

[SBruce]

I've had nothing but good experiences with light for cal TSX bullets in 25 and 24 caliber. 100 grn in 25-06, 85 grn in .243.........as long as shot placement was in the vitals they've performed great. Most memorable were a couple of antelope, one at 375 and another at a little over 400 yards. They didn't move more than 15 yds with a lung shot and a douple shoulder/heart shot.

Pushing them around 3100-3300 fps..............Still really curious what Barnes has to say in response to the original post/issue.

 

[gunaddict]

I use Barnes TSX and TTSX in 15 of my guns and Swift Scricco's in 2 others. I have not had any problems with any Barnes bullets. I do alot of load development using Barnes bullets. Some example's:150gr TSX in (2) 7 Ultramag's, 180gr TSX's in (7) 300 Ultramag's and (4 )338 Ultramag's with 210gr TSX's. All have killed some deer and mostly elk with 1 shot. Only 1 was shot twice, but it wasn't really needed. I shot a 200lb bear with a 300 WSM 165 TSX at 131 yards and I could almost put both of my fists through the exit hole. Shot placement was right behind shoulder. I also use them in my 270, 270WSM, 7mag, 7 RSAUM, 30-06, 300 RSAUM, and 338 Winmag. I talked to a guy at Barnes and he said the Tipped TSX's will open up sooner and expand faster than the TSX's. I very happy with the Barnes Bullets. Only complaint I have is there BC sucks. Ty from Barnes told me that when the TSX's came out that the BC was the same as the X Bullet. Well later that info was false. I did call him and complained about the BC. But I had already bought over 1500 bullets. And I've bought more since that conversation. So far I been lucky with the barnes bullets and the guys I've loaded for are happy.

 

[the444shooter]

High impact velocity is key with these bullets--almost all of the animals I have killed with them have had impact velocities above 3000fps (7.82 Warbird, .300 RUM) and have had silver dollar sized exit wounds. Have killed antelope, whitetail, and elk with these bullets (XLCs and TSX) with minimal meat damage and quick kills. Only one I've recovered was a 168gr XLC out of my elk, and all petals had been sheered off. I'm a big fan of them losing their petals (additional wound channels/shrapnel) with the shank of the bullet continuing through to exit in most cases. The one deer I killed that was long range and lower impact velocity was a small mule deer doe with the 168gr XLC. She jumped up at the shot, ran 40 yds, stopped and tipped over. Drove down to where she was at and noticed small sized holes in and out of her, but followed the blood trail to where she was initially standing and saw about a palm sized piece of her lung that had been "sucked" out of the exit wound. I'm a fan of these bullets as a close to mid range SHTF type bullet that will penetrate from stem to stern, but I have veered away from them as of late because I have been preoccupied with that pesky "Higher Ballistic Coefficient" idea. While the Barnes' BCs aren't terrible, they aren't spectacular either. So far all of my experiences with Barnes bullets have been favorable.

 

[Derek M.]

Here's a couple threads where all of the deer fell to a 130 TSX from a 270. All 4 deer shot distances were roughly 200-220 yards:

UPDATE:SUCCESS! 3 BIG BUCKS BY 3 YOUNG LADIES!! TODAY'S DEER PIC ADDED - Topic Powered by Social Strata

1 MORE SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN COLORADO!! - Topic Powered by Social Strata

 

[Cigar]

What are you going to use instead of Barnes triple shock ?

 

[Shortmagman]

Just back from hunting deer in Nebraska. Our party of 5 men took 6 deer, 5 bucks and one doe. I hand load the ammo for 4 out of the 6 deer that were taken. Out of the 4 deer 2 were taken with Barnes TTSX bullets. The TTSX bullets seemed to act different from the one experience that I had with the TSX bullet. First my hunting partner wanted to shoot deer with his 30-06 since he had not taken a deer with it. I had loaded some 168TTSX bullets for his 2009 elk hunt. He had some left and wanted to use them on deer to see the results. The results were outstanding. He took a buck at about 70 yards with a classic shot placement just behind the shoulder. When we cleaned the deer I observed a 1 1/2 inch hole through the ribs. The bullets went through the heart and left a 1 to 2 inch hole in the ribs as it exited. The deer went about 30 yards leaving a large blood trail. You could not have asked for better results.

On the other hand I took a buck at 100 yards using my 280 Rem shooting a140 grain Nosler BT. I had two loads with me. The other load was 140 grain Nosler Accubonds, both loads were using 57.0 grains of RL-19, WLR primers in RP cases. I wanted to use the Nosler BT on longer shots (300+ yards) and the Accubonds on shorter shots 300 yards or less. As it worked out I had the gun set up for the long range shot when a buck ran out from behind me and presented itself at 100 yards, so I shot it with the BT. This was again a classic shot placement just behind the shoulder. The deer ran 30 yards or less and piled up. When we cleaned this deer I saw a 4 inch hole through the rib on the entrance and the heart was cut to pieces from the bone fragment. The bullet punched through the ribs going out but becase only the copper jacket was left it did not exit the deer. I found the jacket in the skin.

I can not say either bullet failed because we both took home a nice buck, but if I were to choose between the performance of these two bullets I would take the Barnes TTSX. My deer was dead because to the shot placement, if I had hit the shoulder I think the Bt would not have penetrated the bone.

I know you can not base a judgment on limited examples, but I do have a different opinion of the Barnes TTSX for deer.

 

[DRT]

Every deer that I have ever shot with the 70 gr. Barnes TSX (with a .223) was DRT - Dead right there. They have taken a collective total of ZERO steps after the shot.
Shot placement probably has the most to do with expected performance verses actual performance. I have taken a Bobcat through the neck at 386 yards (as well as another on at 10 feet), and deer from 120 to 160 yards. Every shot was an instant, incapacitating kill. I have never recovered one of the bullets, but field dressing the deer shows large wound cavities and traumatic damage throughout the wound channel.
Since I launch my favorite bullet at a relatively modest 2750 fps, I wonder how much bullet velocity is playing in these failures that other hunters have noted. My meager cartridge does not send them to the target at the scorching velocities that I hear others quoting.gun)

 

[John-Pure Precision]

Here's a couple threads where all of the deer fell to a 130 TSX from a 270. All 4 deer shot distances were roughly 200-220 yards:

UPDATE:SUCCESS! 3 BIG BUCKS BY 3 YOUNG LADIES!! TODAY'S DEER PIC ADDED - Topic Powered by Social Strata

1 MORE SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN COLORADO!! - Topic Powered by Social Strata

That Colorado hunt looks like Western Colorado out by the Bookcliffs, just cerious I live in Grand Junction. A lot of big bucks were I live .