Barnes ? ?

[CamoWildcat]

I recently bought a box of Barnes TSX bullets in 165 grain .308 caliber. Being a 'premium' bullet, I expected tight tolerances. Needless to say, I am disappointed. Comparing 150 grain Nosler BTips, I found a spread of .3 grains in weight between all the Nosler bullets. The Barnes bullets varied by over twice that amount. Is this normal? Or did I buy a bad lot?

 

[jiggs]

got the same issuses but I found the 257 cal accubouds had a big difrence in wieght also not impresed

 

[kraky]

In hunting bullets that doesn't matter....it's really the "norm" not the exception.

 

[CamoWildcat]

Kraky,
So are you saying that when I'm develpoing a hunting load and looking for something that will give me MOA or better, that mixing bullets that vary by as much as 1 full grain will not hinder my load development?

 

[longwinters]

I shoot em the way they come out of the box. I have shot mostly .284 calibers, but also 6mm and 30 cal. I also shoot 1st run as well as the 2nds. And I have never had a problem with my Nosler bullets and loads shooting over MOA at 100 yds. Granted I have 4 accurate rifles, but this has been my experience. I should say that I never shoot over 300 yds and my groups at 200 are typically right at 1.5" and 300 yds are typically under 2" with 3 shot groups. I do not consider myself a great shooter, but I have the utmost confidence in Nosler bullet accuracy.

Long

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

You'll find that with barnes, thats the norm. Very horible consistency. Nosler makes some of the most consistent bullets on the market for hunting. Them and sierra are the 2 companies that are usually the most accurate, because there usually the most consistent. Take it for what its worth. If your particular rifle does not shoot a Nosler BT or AB, or a Sierra Gameking, somethings wrong with your rifle, and more likely its going to shoot worse with any other bullets.

 

[CamoWildcat]

Longwinters,
I was referring to Barnes bullet weights being all over the place. When I'm developing an accuracy load for hunting, I try to shoot all the bullets in the group at the same weight and length (to the ogive). With the Barnes bullets, I have to go thru nearly the entire box of 50 to find 5 bullets that will match. I'm done with Barnes and will stick with Nosler and occasionally Hornady bullets.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I have read quite a few posters with horrible consistencys on hornady sst's as well. I am thinking of shooting a heavier 150g bullet out of my 270 for longer range, and am either thinking of the sierra game king, or sst, but since there are no guarantees with hornadys quality control, I think I'll go with sierras. They weigh no more then .3g either way. I read 1 guy had a box of 180g sst's that varied more then 10g in bullet weight. Who wants to sit and weigh bullets? Sure as heck not me. Much easier buying a box of bullets you know are good, then you just load them and shoot them. Sierras and Noslers are the only way to fly for hunting bullets.

 

[JD338]

I have used Nosler bullets exclusively for many years now. The few that I have weighed had been pretty much the correct weight. I use a lot of factory seconds and always get great accuracy. Because I get sub MOA, I haven't bothered to weigh any bullets for several years.

JD338

 

[CamoWildcat]

I load Hornady SSTs in 130 grain in my 270 WSM and 150 grain in my 30-06. I'm also loading 150 grain Noslet BTs in my 30-06 and 300 WSM. Both SSTs & BTs tend to have a .4 grain spread from lightest to heaviest. Speer 165 grain tend to be just a little more than that. But the Barnes 165 TSXs had a spread of nearly 1 full grain. I won't be weighing the BTs, SSTs, or Speers after I settle on a hunting load.
And I won't be buying any Barnes bullets either. May not even load them. In my 165 grain 30 cal setup, I think I will develop the load using 165 grain BTs and switch to the 165 grain ABs for hunting once they hit the market. I'm assuming the 165 BTs and ABs will have the exact same BC.

 

[longwinters]

I ask this out of curiosity. Do you see any difference in accuracy with bullet weights differing 1 grain? Like I said I shoot em like they come. Whether it is Nosler (my favorite) or Hornady or Barnes or Sierra. I have never weighed any of them and have not found consistency (accuracy wise) in any of them a problem. The only bullet I ever had lots of problems with is the Interbonds (but lots of guys swear by them). I like Nosler the best because of price and experiences that I have had with them in the field. I need to say here that the only bullets I have shot over 100 yds is Nosler. The rest were all at 100 yds.

Long

 

[CamoWildcat]

No, I haven't. I am still developing loads - for 5 different rifles at the same time. (Gets confusing at times.) I would have to shoot 2 groups - one with bullets sorted to a specific weight and one with mixed weights. I must assume that when developing an accurate load, you should eliminate as many variables as possible. I wouldn't vary powder charges by a couple tenths when shooting a group, so I don't think I should vary bullet weights either. Like I said, once I find an accurate hunting load, I won't be weighing bullets anymore.

 

[Reloder28]

Cam/Cat,

Sometimes it pays to not get lost in the details. When it comes to Nosler bullets...and you can deposit this advice in your 401K,.....if your gun won't shoot Nosler bullets, it won't shoot anything.

Like Longwinters suggests, use 'em right out of the box just the way they come. I don't suggest you try that with Hornady anything.

 

[yotkiller]

Hey Camowildcat, I found a web site that sells bullet test packs called www.bulletdudes.com . If you are donig alot of test loading, which it sounds like you are this site could maybe save you some time and money. I do alot of reloading myself and have never had a problem with any barnes that I have shot., but I know that every now and then a manufacture makes a bad batch. If it was me a would stick with the nosler bullets