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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 7:43 pm
by skull krazy
Wow, that's some serious failure for sure!!

I shoot the 180 grain ballistic tips out of my Mark V in 300wby and have never had a lick of trouble in 15+years of using them.

Even though i hear all these horror stories, as long as they work for me i'll continue using them. I just love how they shoot and i trust them......for now.

Working as a guide for deer & elk for all these years, you can imagine i have seen every bullt and caliber combo you can toss together for western big game.
The ONLY bullet i personally have never liked due to what i have seen time & time again is the barnes X.
We have never lost an animal with them, but i have never seen an animal drop in it's tracks after being hit....they always go a ways before tipping over, and i don't like that one bit....too much can happen. :>/

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2007 9:52 pm
by killerbee
skull krazy wrote:Wow, that's some serious failure for sure!!

I shoot the 180 grain ballistic tips out of my Mark V in 300wby and have never had a lick of trouble in 15+years of using them.

Even though i hear all these horror stories, as long as they work for me i'll continue using them. I just love how they shoot and i trust them......for now.

Working as a guide for deer & elk for all these years, you can imagine i have seen every bullt and caliber combo you can toss together for western big game.
The ONLY bullet i personally have never liked due to what i have seen time & time again is the barnes X.
We have never lost an animal with them, but i have never seen an animal drop in it's tracks after being hit....they always go a ways before tipping over, and i don't like that one bit....too much can happen. :>/
realisticly if its a perfect shot they shouldn't drop, a heart or lung shot isn't a dropping shot. a spine / neck shot is a dropping shot and out of the two i'd take the vitals anyday. i do love the no tracking but if the shot is where it should be the tracking is easy and fun and the animal is dead walking.

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:56 pm
by skull krazy
Maybe that's why i like that bullet then, the shock factor of when it hits 'em. It puts 'em right on the ground...even through the rib cage.

But....when i'm guiding an elk hunter, i DO like to see them hit them in FRONT of the neck, versus behind. That put's them big old dudes on the ground right now!! :thumb

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 6:50 pm
by 79Ford
So, in all honesty all i've really ever used is the $14 a box bullets for hunting. Is it really worth it to spend the extra $$ to get the Barnes TSX bullets? I saw that they come pre-loaded in the federal premiun ammo, but they are $38 a box. Is there that much of a benefit? If there is then I'll certainly pay the money, but if they dont perform all that better than a "standard" lead tip bullet then I'll stay with what I have.

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 7:03 pm
by killerbee
79-- it is a personal preference i guess??? the fact is: there has been more animals killed with core-lok bullets then any other bullet. there has also been more animals killed with a 30-30 then any other gun. BUT----- there has been a ton of bullet failers that has cost a hunter an animal. that alone i personally believe is worth spending an extra 20$ then it would also stink if that once in a life time bull/ buck walked out and your shot hit a shoulder, which if the bullet does it's job will be a dead trophy, but if that bullet pops on impact then there goes your trophy. my opinion is if you dont shoot year round then an extra couple bucks isn't really to much to pay just to be safe. i dont think a hunter is being un ethical at all by hunting with these cheap bullets, not one bit, but i do think it's just one more advantage a hunter can give himself and does lower the odds of losing an animal..------- just my opinion though :thumb

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:16 am
by southwind
6X6 bull quartering away at 250 yards....BOOM.....he is down!

bullet recovery from under the skin on the opposite side of impact.
Barnes 30 cal. 168 grain TSX with 167 grain recovery weight. Tell me how it can get any better than this.

Image

With the technology of todays bonded or solid bullets the added margins of performance are insurance enough for me to pay for them.

After all if you paid good money for your rifle, your scope, your hunt, then why not take all the precautions you can?

If you have that 200"buck or 380" bull in your sights is it worth .50 cents more to have that extra added insurance on bullet performance?

There are a lot of good bullets out there, I like the new technology that combines accuracy with performance. That was kind of the missing link in some of the bullets of yester years. Now, as we all know "dead is dead" and that downed animal does not know the difference between a cast lead bullet and a bonded alloy polymer tip it's just that these new bullets are really good. The ballistic tip started the parade but these new generation of bullets are much much better IMO. ($$)

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:03 pm
by skull krazy
southwind-

Nope...you can't get any better than that, that thing performed absolutely perfectly. :thumb

168grain huh? Being all copper, i'll bet the BC on that thing is through the roof because of it's length, right?

What 30 cal are ya shooting??

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:37 pm
by southwind
That was through a model 70 classic stainless in 300WSM. With a little RL19 fuel it packs them in real nice. I have been real impressed with this bullet they are a improvement over the X bullet. The rings not only lower pressure over the X but also vastly improve upon the fouling you got from the original X.

BC on that bullet is 404, the 165 offering in the new MRX has a BC of 439.

I have not tried any of Barnes new offering of the MRX but as it stands with the results I have had with the TSX I don't feel the need.

You will get great penetration, great controlled expansion, and super weight retention.

I'm not saying these are magic bullets and to expect the results I showed you but, it is a pretty dog gone dandy bullet IMO.

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:44 pm
by 79Ford
I may just have to try these TSX bullets this season. They dont cost a whole lot more than the Balistic Silver Tips by Winchester that I used last year. I thought they were the hot ticket, however looking at the pics posted earlier maybe i'm just lucky I didn't hit any bone. I dont want to ever lose an animal due to something as avoidable as bullet failure. Last season I shot my deer at about 100yds quartering away. When I got up to him we noticed the entry wound was quite large. I shoot a 270win with 130 grain bullets and the entry wound was the size of most exit wounds (approx. 1 1/2" dia). Which tells me that the bullet expanded on impact (or in mid-flight). Am I lucky I didn't hit ribs or a shoulder or any other bone?

The thought of a solid copper bullet expanding into razor sharp cutting blades is a lot more comforting to me than the conventional bullets that "mushroom" when they expand.

Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 4:36 pm
by chet
i beleive a bullet should "shed" some of its weight in the animal to properly do it's job.

I love accubonds
I hate barnes, mostly because of poor accuracy and the fouling (even tsx's) But I've had the noses bend over rather than the pedals opening.

impact velocity is what determines it all and the accubond may not be perfect, but it is the best compromise.