Let me start by apologizing for being long winded but this is an interesting subject with a bunch of things to consider. First off, most hunters that go after elk at 700 plus yards, end up shooting them a lot closer than that, including me. I might even say especially me as I've shot both elk and deer at 1 yard. Thus I wouldn't limit the discussion to 700 yards plus. Any bullet/gun I would use at 700 yards I would also want to perform at 1 or 100 yards. What do I mean by "perform"? That requires a bit of explanation.
I shot my first big game animal in 1963. For my Dad and me it was always about the meat. This was before Nosler invented the Partition bullet so not near as much was known about terminal performance. We tended to gravitate to what killed stuff with minimal meat damage. Thus it is probably not a surprise that today I'm a Barnes user. As they say, you can eat the bullet hole. (Not really since the hole is air but you get the idea.)
I've got Barnes TTSX or LRX loads worked up for 6mm Rem, 260 Rem, 270 WSM, 7mm WSM, 30-06, 300 RUM and 338 RUM. It is my belief that a Barnes bullet will upgrade the killing power of whatever you put it in as penetration is maximized while still giving good expansion. Barnes likely won't kill as fast as Berger for generic situations but it will kill in some situations where Berger won't kill at all.
A Montana whitetail and Washington 6X6 bull elk shot with the 338 RUM using a 210 gr TTSX (3,200 fps muzzle) are representative of what you can expect. The whitetail was at 220 yards and the elk at 358. Both were optimum broadside shots. Both had complete pass through. Both animals hunched up and stumbled for 20 yards and went down. There was not a scrap of meat damage in either. I shot the whitetail with the 338 as somewhat of an experiment. I expected that it would totally hammer that deer and was a bit surprised when it made it 20 yards just like the elk. After I thought about it I knew why and I like Barnes and my 338 RUM even more.
With Barnes bullets, the bigger the animal, the harder it gets hit. This is a feature of passing clear through whatever you are shooting. With a Barnes bullet, this works over a wide range of distances – especially if you have too much gun as is typical of guys geared up to shoot long range. On the other hand, if the bullet fragments and stays in the animal, how hard it hits depends only on the distance and then close is bad.
I admit that DRT there is better than 20 yards and a flop. I will, however, take the risk of tracking them for 20 yards as long as I get minimum meat damage. In the extreme I could go to a FMJ but the game would go a lot more than 20 yards. So a Barnes is kind of the Goldielocks bullet – just right.
More to the point however and the real advantage of a Barnes bullet are the times when you don't have a broadside opportunity as on another whitetail which was at 60 yards and ready to bolt if any move was made other than pulling the trigger. A frontal shot with the same 338 210 gr TTSX resulted in surprisingly little meat damage and DRT. So Barnes bullets allow you to take some shots that with a Berger may result in more wasted meat or a wounded animal. Where I hunt, which includes Montana, 60 yards is way more likely than 700 plus.
Barnes does have some downside versus Berger (besides higher cost) and that is the lower BC. But the flip side of that coin is that Barnes bullets are generally not as sensitive to seating depth as the Berger VLDs which is a trade I'll make.
Another relevant thought. How many guys that hunt dangerous game use Bergers? I haven't hunted anything dangerous but my friends that do would not consider Bergers. When you are talking dangerous game you are forced to consider the scenario where things go wrong and there is more to go wrong with a Berger like bone and brush.
Having said all that I'm neither a purist or a snob. In the interest of first hand experience, I've got some 180 Bergers worked up for the 7mm WSM and I might use them at 700 +. However, I'm guessing my order of LR Accubonds will show up soon and make those 180 Bergers a lot less interesting and maybe the Barnes too. But that is another thread.
