25-06 troubles......

[chet]

Hi there, tell me what happened????
I am trying to get a 100 gr Barnes TSX to shoot well, last week I shot a satisfactory group, however the exact same load three days later shot horrible? what happened?
54 gr IMR4350 oal=2.195
the wind humidity and all other variables were the same!

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

barnes bullets suck. there i said it, now I'll get slammed. No, seriously, same thing happened with me and my 25-06. I was testing groups one day, shot .4" group at 100 yards. Went home same day, loaded up 50 shells, went out the next day to sight in and they were shooting 1.5-2" groups. I think its a barnes problem, they are just to inconsistent. I dont really know what else to tell you, other then, i've been there, and done that. Wont buy or shoot barnes bullets again.

 

[rick smith]

I gave all my Barnes bullets to another loader. Have tried the x-bullet in several different weights in different calibers. All very inconsistant, don't need that kind of performance. I will stay with partitions, nothing that I hunt that they won't kill.Rick.

 

[JD338]

chet,

Welcome to the board. :grin:

Try some 100 gr PT's for accuracy, they might suprise you. I have used the 100 gr PT in my 257 Roberts and they shoot well under an inch.

JD338

 

[2ndtimer]

If I had a .25 caliber, I would give the 110 gr Nosler Accubonds a try. The .277 140 gr. AccuBond has been extremely accurate in my .270WSM, and should be capable of very good velocity in a 25-06.

 

[chet]

the AccuBond is up to bat next..... I was getting 3450 out of the TSX's, I'm hoping for 3200 for the AB
I'm starting with 51 gr IMR4350
I've only got a couple hours of test time left before a pig hunt next week, I hope I find magic! Any advice here is more than welcome!!! thanks guys!
I'm starting .010" off the lands..... good or bad?

 

[flashhole]

I don't shoot Barnes bullets buy you might weigh all the bullets you intend to load in one session and make sure they are the same weight. I was having trouble with some Hornady SST bullets in my 300 win mag and discovered the 180 grain bullet went from a low of 173 grain to 181 grains, all from the same box! I assumed they were a bad batch and tossed them.

OAL is not the best way of determining distance off the lands, bullet tips can vary and be misleading as to actual seating depth. I seat a little closer, around .005" off the lands in mr Ruger #1 25-06. The 100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip is a super performer in my gun as is the Speer TNT. I favor slow powders and use Retumbo with the BT bullets.

 

[chet]

With the technology that is available to manufacurers today, why is it so hard to make a superior product?
The Barnes bullet of all should be the most consistent due to it being the only one that is made of only one material????
I can see some varience on two-part lead/copper whatever bullets, but the X bullet should be the one that is perfect, not the one that is worse!!!!
Makes me mad that I paid so much for a little box of scrap metal. These bullets weigh as much as 3 grains difference. my box of AB's diff by no more than .2.......

 

[bacova]

I notice that most people are eager to chime in with their 2 cents worth when they have something negative to say, but nowhere near as many people seem to want to go out on a limb and say positive things. Well, in defense of Barnes bullets, I'll step out on the limb.

My three Deer rifles are a .280 Rem, a 270 Wby, and a 25-06. All three of them shoot the Barnes bullets better than anything else I load for them. No Nosler I've ever tried will even come close. Granted, I may not have found the magic formula yet, but I've tried lots of different Nosler bullets and receipes and not one of them could match the performance I've gotten from either the "X" or the "TSX". I haven't given up on Noslers by any means, and all of them shoot good enough for Deer hunting, but none as good as the Barnes.

I have no idea why your 25-06 shoots erratically with the TSX, maybe it just doesn't like them, but probably there's something you're doing that's throwing them off. Stick with it, when you figure it out you'll have the best performing bullet on the market working for you.

That's my honest opinion and I'll stick with it.

 

[Rwest]

I have one question for you on the TSX bullets. Did you shoot any other bullet after you did your testing the first time? If so did you clean the BRL with a good copper cleaner? Barnes bullets will not group if you fired the normal type of bullets and did not clean the BRL afterwards. That is why they came out with CR-10. It is imparitive that the BRL is cleaned after shooting a copper/lead design before going back to Barnes.
Juat a thought.
They are the best shooting bullet I have ever tryed. I get one ragged hole with the new Tripple X no matter what cal. I try.
:lol:

 

[Sean]

It is very simple. Not all rifles like the same bullets. My 25wssm cant group hornadys with any concistancy but it prefers the 120gr. Partitions. My 257 roberts can shoot either or. It boils down to what your rifle likes the best.

 

[Johnny Guttry]

I agrre with Remingtonman,Barnes bullets suck.Have tired them in many different rifles since I started reloading back in 1963

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Well for the record, I tried all barnes little things you need to do to make there bullets shoot. start with a perfectly cleaned barrel, load xxxx amounts away from the lands, yadda yadda, barnes bullets just plain suck. There inconsistent. Why would anyone want to shoot a bullet that is inconsistent is beyond me. If a rifle does not shoot btips, then somethings wrong with your rifle. If your rifle doesn't shoot barnes, then it just doesn't like barnes. Barnes aren't the best bullet for deer size game anyways, if you dont hit bone, they dont expand half the time. There are a lot better bullets out there that are cheaper and more consistent that work better then barnes anyways. To bad it took me so long to realize that, after I spend hundreds of dollars on different bullets for different calibers I was loading for.

 

[Reloder28]

Chet,

Every time I start with a new load I seat the bullet base to the shoulder base. I have done that the last three times with my 280 JDJ, 7mm Wby & 300 Wby. I found immediate 1/2" groups using this method. I am suggesting that to be a good starting point for you in the interest of your time constraints. I worked up velocity later since my load would at least take me hunting. I am an exclusive Nosler/Speer customer.

I tested some Hornady's once and could not figure why they wouldn't group. I came home and weighted 12 of them. Got a different weight everytime with up to 10 grains difference either way.

 

[Reloder28]

Remington Man,

You heap many big smart. I am like you. I know what works & I know what don't and I don't care what others think. They don't own, shoot or hunt with my stuff. I keep my Barnes Bullets right by the front door to throw at the stray cats. I really think the cats deserve better but there are no rocks close by.

Noslers shoot and they don't require any special rifle-petting techniques to do so.

 

[RRIES]

For what it's worth. I own a couple 257Weatherbys and my 1st groups were just like yours under an inch. I was very happy thought I had found the bullet to replace the old Partition. After that first group things went real bad, shotgun patterns. Thought it might be a cleaning problem like they say on the web sight. I bought all the cleaners from Barnes and cleaned the barrel just like they said to. the groups got better 2 inches plus. Went up and down 2 dif powders 4th box and nothing realy helped. I spent a lot of time trying to get that first group. I gave up and went back to partitions. This is the sad part the load that I have used for about 10 yrs now that would allmost touch IS NOW GROUPING around 2 1/2 inches. If I would have been able to go back to my original load I would have believed my rifle did not like em. I found another guy with a 375hh with the same story. Still trying to figure out what happened (bore scope on the way) but for now I have a very nice wall hanger. I think your next step is a scary one.

 

[chet]

The Accubonds shoot nicely...... not quite 1/2 MOA but close, which is good considering it's the first batch out of the gun. Also I did'nt feel very good about my shooting abilities yesterday as well........
All in all... A better scope and a better shooter may just find magic in this load!!!!
Velocity was 3084 ave with 52 gr IMR4350, no pressure signs yet, but I got the feeling 53 grs is gonna be too hot! After the pig hunt I will play with this bullet and see what else can be done but for now I'm satisfied.

Oh, and yes I am familiar with all of barnes procedures, and followed them rigurously....... I havent tried them in any other rifle so for now I'll stay unbiased, the AB's do copper foul more than the TSX's however...


thanks fellers

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

The 110g ab's shoot beautifully for me as well. 51g of h-4831 is giving me under .5" groups, and is shooting pretty much the same speed as your 4350 loads. I'm average 3085fps. Getting real low ES's. It shoots 3-4" at 500 yards as well. A lot better bullet then the barnes. You'll surely have a winning combination. Good luck.

 

[Rwest]

Chet, I was going to let this dog lay but you asked for help.
I have had this happen with both Speer and Nosler loads in the past. I thought neck tention may be the problem. I have done more testing and my have the problem sloved. I have changed all my loads over to Hodgdon extreme powder line. So far this problem has not come back. Once I have a load worked up with that powder the velocity holds under hot or cold. I know some at not convinced of this but it has proven with my loads time and time again. :lol:

 

[flashhole]

Interesting comment....I started with Hodgdon Extreme powders and seldom deviate because I don't have a lot of the problems others experience. I recently "strayed" and bought a jug of IMR 7828 just to try something different. 7828 is the powder Hodgdon converted to the Extreme family and what I am really hoping for is the intermediate burn rate between the Hodgdon standards I use. I will say I have not had good luck with RE #7, some swear by it, I swear at it. One powder I do find very useful is AA3100.