U
UThunting
Guest
OK I am sold on Barnes bullets and know they make a great product. but I recovered this from a 800 to 900 pound bull last week after many hours of hard work. What happend.
1911
Long Time Member
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To each his own, and I'm sure I'll get blasted for this, but I've always been under the impression the 'premium' bullet craze is an over rated marketing tactic. Every animal I shot with the cheap stuff has always looked just as dead as the animals shot with the expensive stuff.
S
Sagebrush1
Guest
copper bullets need to at a certain velocity to work properly, just because they open up at 100 yards does not mean that they will perform the same at 300 yards
sageadvice
Long Time Member
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There you have your basic female bullet. In all manner of things, they can generally be called upon and dependable. Once one gets bent out of shape though, there's is no rhyme nor reason, they will often refuse to open up or perform like we intended them to! 
Joey
Joey
looks like it struck something on the way to the target.why is it in a U shape?
the velocity needed for Barnes to expand is around 1800 fps (addressing the 300 yard claim)
also, if you shoot a bullet long enough, they will all eventually do something that make you go hmmm.
the velocity needed for Barnes to expand is around 1800 fps (addressing the 300 yard claim)
also, if you shoot a bullet long enough, they will all eventually do something that make you go hmmm.
270Whatelse
Active Member
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Yikes thats a little scary! Never had a problem with my Corelokts doing that!
How far was the shot? My buddy shot an Elk at 536 yds 2 years ago and one of his bullets we recovered look like this. He was shooting a 300winmag. He sent it in to Barnes and they claimed that the winmag. does not have enough velocity at that range to make the bullet perform properly.It is a good bullet if your gun can push it fast enough or for shorter distance shooting. For the longer range stuff I will stick with a bonded bullet such as the scirroco, interbond.
overkill
Active Member
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I'm with REDOG. The bullet could have struck something prior to the animal. Although your TSX does not resemble the typical TSX mushroom, the fact that you were able to harvest your bull meant it did it's job!
Ask yourself this, at what point during the bull's death did the bullet fail?
Ask yourself this, at what point during the bull's death did the bullet fail?
Utah400Elk
Very Active Member
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I am not sure what the TSX did ( as far as mushrooming) for me this year. I had a complete pass through on my bull breaking bone on the left front leg on exit. Did the job, the bull only went about four to five steps after the hit.
U
UThunting
Guest
RE: barnes bullet problem ????
I am sure that it was a clear shot it did hit a rib of the animal and the shot was close to 230 yrds... but as for when did it not work take a look at the photo and you tell me??? I would say the min it was fired it failed as the bull did not die from the TSX it died from a couple of other shots many hours later
I am sure that it was a clear shot it did hit a rib of the animal and the shot was close to 230 yrds... but as for when did it not work take a look at the photo and you tell me??? I would say the min it was fired it failed as the bull did not die from the TSX it died from a couple of other shots many hours later
J
JGT
Guest
RE: barnes bullet problem ????
What caliber? What grain? I shoot Barnes out of my 270 and have had great kill sucess. I have yet to recover a bullet from an animal i've shot. I shot a deer last year with my 300rum 168 ttsxs running away at 500-600 yards. THe bullet entered in the rear and exited in the front. Still dead though.
What caliber? What grain? I shoot Barnes out of my 270 and have had great kill sucess. I have yet to recover a bullet from an animal i've shot. I shot a deer last year with my 300rum 168 ttsxs running away at 500-600 yards. THe bullet entered in the rear and exited in the front. Still dead though.
fishnut
Active Member
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If you look at the tip of the bullet, you can see that the tip is a bit bent over so the bullet never opened. The reason for that happening is that the bullet was not stable when it hit the animal. That would have caused the bullet to tumble inside the animal and would explain the bent bullet. What grain bullet is it and what is the twist of your barrel?
It always amazes me to hear people say a bullet "penciled" through and yet they don't have a recovered bullet to prove that. TSX bullets do not typically have a large exit wound because the bullet holds together. Send the picture or better yet, the bullet to Barnes and get their response.
The truth is, no bullet is perfect and I can show you examples of my own with Nosler and every other cup and core bullet that would turn me off of them. My guess is that you were shooting a heavy for caliber bullet and that can cause stability problems.
It always amazes me to hear people say a bullet "penciled" through and yet they don't have a recovered bullet to prove that. TSX bullets do not typically have a large exit wound because the bullet holds together. Send the picture or better yet, the bullet to Barnes and get their response.
The truth is, no bullet is perfect and I can show you examples of my own with Nosler and every other cup and core bullet that would turn me off of them. My guess is that you were shooting a heavy for caliber bullet and that can cause stability problems.
fishnut
Active Member
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RedDog,
One more thing with the 300 win. If your buddy was shooting a 180 gr TSX at 2900 fps at the muzzle, The velocity at 500 yards is only 1900 fps and that is about minimum for either a TSX or a Partition. If he was shooting a 168 at 3100 fps at the muzzle. he would be below that at contact. Most premium bullets are made to hold together at high velocity. Lets say we have an elk at 30 yards and we are shooting a 300 RUM. Wouldn't we expect that bullet to hold together? The TSX and the Partition are both 500 yard bullets MAX out of a 300 mag.
One more thing with the 300 win. If your buddy was shooting a 180 gr TSX at 2900 fps at the muzzle, The velocity at 500 yards is only 1900 fps and that is about minimum for either a TSX or a Partition. If he was shooting a 168 at 3100 fps at the muzzle. he would be below that at contact. Most premium bullets are made to hold together at high velocity. Lets say we have an elk at 30 yards and we are shooting a 300 RUM. Wouldn't we expect that bullet to hold together? The TSX and the Partition are both 500 yard bullets MAX out of a 300 mag.
U
UThunting
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Oct-04-09 AT 10:28PM (MST)[p]First off I am still sold on Barnes bullets, After seeing many animals killed with them I know they work this one was just strange in the fact that there was no reason for it to not perform..
7mm 160gr 3250fps
As for clean pass throughs most of the elk I will find the bullet on the other side just under the hide, to me that is what I want then I know the transfer of shock was taken inside of the animal.....
7mm 160gr 3250fps
As for clean pass throughs most of the elk I will find the bullet on the other side just under the hide, to me that is what I want then I know the transfer of shock was taken inside of the animal.....
K
KILLERBEE
Guest
the swift A-frame is the best bullet made. i've still never heard a negative story from the.
barnes-X is top notch. there is still more issues than just that bullet not performing. that out-of-shape barnes triple shock would still kill him if it was in the heart or lungs. it doesn't mater if the hole looks like an "X" or not. a hole through the vitals is a killer.
i'd say it was a "less than perfect" shot, { not saying it was a bad shot- just not perfect} and some velocity issues.
but you CAN, not recomended, kill with full metel jackets. if the hole is in the lungs they will die-fast.
glad you ended up with you animal though, great job for keeping after it! when all of are gadgets fail, hard work will make up for them.
barnes-X is top notch. there is still more issues than just that bullet not performing. that out-of-shape barnes triple shock would still kill him if it was in the heart or lungs. it doesn't mater if the hole looks like an "X" or not. a hole through the vitals is a killer.
i'd say it was a "less than perfect" shot, { not saying it was a bad shot- just not perfect} and some velocity issues.
but you CAN, not recomended, kill with full metel jackets. if the hole is in the lungs they will die-fast.
glad you ended up with you animal though, great job for keeping after it! when all of are gadgets fail, hard work will make up for them.
U
UThunting
Guest
KILLERBEE
Yes a hole in the lungs will kill, But I would say not fast.
This Bull was lunged and it made it for quite some time.
I feel that without some expantion there is little energy transfer and shock that will kill animals fast, But I am not a pro I just play one on MM from time to time LOL
Yes a hole in the lungs will kill, But I would say not fast.
This Bull was lunged and it made it for quite some time.
I feel that without some expantion there is little energy transfer and shock that will kill animals fast, But I am not a pro I just play one on MM from time to time LOL
deadibob
Long Time Member
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every bullet style will have a small percentage of "failures". There's just too many variables in shooting animals. Cup and core style bullets can "explode" or "seperate". Hollow point style bullets can become plugged and fail to expand. Barnes is a type of hollow point. Hollow points can also implode on the cavity which makes it harder to open up on occasion.
There's no way to know for sure what caused your bullet to "fail" without a complete dissection of the animal. Looking at the way your bullet is bent I would have to say something caused it to yaw in the animal. Whether the bullet wasn't fully stabilized, causing it to keyhole or possibly struck a bone at just the perfect angle to cause it to deflect and tumble.
Shoot enough animals and you will see all kinds of weird things with bullets. I personally love barnes bullets. I do know that even when they expand they tend to leave small exit holes somehow stretching the hide on exit rather than tearing it. This will cause some to think the bullets failed to expand. I have seen it first hand and talked to folks at Barnes about this.
I've yet to lose an animal with a barnes. There is no one perfect bullet for all situations.
There's no way to know for sure what caused your bullet to "fail" without a complete dissection of the animal. Looking at the way your bullet is bent I would have to say something caused it to yaw in the animal. Whether the bullet wasn't fully stabilized, causing it to keyhole or possibly struck a bone at just the perfect angle to cause it to deflect and tumble.
Shoot enough animals and you will see all kinds of weird things with bullets. I personally love barnes bullets. I do know that even when they expand they tend to leave small exit holes somehow stretching the hide on exit rather than tearing it. This will cause some to think the bullets failed to expand. I have seen it first hand and talked to folks at Barnes about this.
I've yet to lose an animal with a barnes. There is no one perfect bullet for all situations.
LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-09 AT 08:20AM (MST)[p]fishnut, I'm well aware of what the bullet velocity is @ 500 via the 300 win, or I would not have posted it. (2060 when started @ 2900, which you can damn near get with a 30-06,so go ahead and add another 200 fps for any competent loader)
also, it wasn't my bud, and I don't shoot a 300 win.
also, it wasn't my bud, and I don't shoot a 300 win.
just_a_hunter
Active Member
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I'll never use them again.
Accuracy and penetration are exellent at worst, integrity and expansion are horrible at best.
This is just one trips worth...
Great company though. Customer service is way above any other company in the world.
Todd
Accuracy and penetration are exellent at worst, integrity and expansion are horrible at best.
This is just one trips worth...
Great company though. Customer service is way above any other company in the world.
Todd
2
264X300
Guest
Here is mine from last year....
Pretty impressive failures you have Todd. I wonder if you just got a bad batch or if there truely is a 75% failure rate? I switched from TSX to TTSX this year due to some having issues with expansion. I used to use Nosler's, but I heard the same story with them, no expansion.
I just purchased a new Browning X-Bolt 300 WM and have decided to use Nosler's in it and stay with the Barnes with my Remington 300 WM.
Leaving Wed. for my annual Colorado elk hunt. Hope I can post another perfectly expanded Barnes week after next.
264X300
Pretty impressive failures you have Todd. I wonder if you just got a bad batch or if there truely is a 75% failure rate? I switched from TSX to TTSX this year due to some having issues with expansion. I used to use Nosler's, but I heard the same story with them, no expansion.
I just purchased a new Browning X-Bolt 300 WM and have decided to use Nosler's in it and stay with the Barnes with my Remington 300 WM.
Leaving Wed. for my annual Colorado elk hunt. Hope I can post another perfectly expanded Barnes week after next.
264X300
just_a_hunter
Active Member
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I won't say anything bad about them because they are a great company. I do believe from my experience that they are far inferior to A-Frames.
The Barnes cost me a few very long tracking jobs.
Good luck to everyone no matter what bullet you shoot. Put it in the bread basket and they will stack up like fire wood.
Todd
The Barnes cost me a few very long tracking jobs.
Good luck to everyone no matter what bullet you shoot. Put it in the bread basket and they will stack up like fire wood.
Todd
