Disappointing Bullet Prefomance

[bullet]

I know some one who just came back from Africa and was disappointed in the 270gr TSX out of his 375. As for the TSX as far as I am concerned is a bullet that if it was a person would have Schizoid Personality Disorder. I have had the same results he has had happen to him but on more than one occasion with the TSX on deer and hogs. Twice when using my 257Wby and once with my 300Wby.

When the TSX came out I thought it would be the next best thing to sliced bread. Well, was I ever wrong!!! When it kills it kills well, but it is not consistent and there is no telling how many animals have been hit with the TSX and the bullet just slip on out the other side because it did not open up. It took three shots to bring down this Zebra after the first round failed.

I do not use them any more because I work to hard on my hunts to get the game I am looking for to wonder if the bullet is going to do the job. I use the A-Frame and Partition on tough stuff and the AccuBond on medium to large thin skinned and also the Sierra HPBT on small to medium thin skinned.

The A-Frame or the Partition has to date never failed me, nor has the AccuBond or Sierra HPBT but I use them on the appropriate animals.

Here are some pictures of the schizophrenic nature of the TSX.

Failed 270gr TSX out of a 375

Successful 270gr TSX out of a 375

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Hey Bullet, was the first one flattened at all?
Did it turn sideways as it entered?

 

[bullet]

Hey Bullet, was the first one flattened at all?
Did it turn sideways as it entered?

This failed bullet he believes was his first shot which he said the Zebra just turned around and took off. There were three perfect entrance holes, the bullet did not hit side ways and it was found on the other side just under the skin.

 

[bullet]

In the politically correct world we live in today it is not always popular to talk about how something fails. Now I know the TSX is loved by many and it has killed game for me also. Because I dismiss the bullet in my 257wby or 300wby is just my choice and does not mean this is a bad bullet and should not be used.

Of course as I said, it seems we can not talk about what has not met our expectations without being the bad guy or disapproved. I would use the TSX in a 375H&H, 375Rum or 375Wby, a 416Wby. Of course we can all smile and pretend that Barnes has the magical bullet and everyone should fall in line and accept it. Every bullet can fail and has at some time because so many factors are involved with what can happen when hunting and making a shot. So if anyone is offended or upset that I posted this thread then please ignore it and I will come in out of the Sun :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Well no wonder Barnes penetrate into tomorrow, cuz they dont open up for crap half the time.

My dad and I went through our little Barnes phase, it was short and not very sweet.

My dad shot a muley buck about 150 yards twice with a 165g xlc from a 300 mag and it left a pinsize exit hole the first shot, and then he hit it a second time and we found the bullet and looked like a FMJ.

I shot a muley buck about 100 yards square in the shoulder. Bullet exited leaving at least a 6" exit hole. Whole front half of that deer was obliviated.

Have a buddy who lost a big as 4 point muley buck one year as well to them dam barnes bullets. He hit that thing 3 times square in the chest/shoulder area and the buck ended up running away and jumping onto some private property where we were not allowed to go. Of course there was no blood trail from that shity solid bullet and pinsize exit hole to prove to them we had shot it on our property to begin with!!

Needless to say, barnes are over priced pieces of CRAP, with a lot of false advertising, and a shity BC to boot. I never could get the XLC to shoot consistently and when your paying .50 a bullet back 5 years ago, they dam well better shoot and give consistent performance.

When and if I need to shoot lengthwise through animals, maybe I would use them, well probly not cuz I wouldn't even use them if they were FREE, thats how much I dont like Barnes.

Barnes are worthless if you ask me. I wouldn't use them or recomend them to anyone for anything.

There are plenty of other bullets out there that will not only penetrate, BUT EXPAND to get the job done every single time with utter consistency.

 

[DrMike]

Come on, Remingtonman_25_06, tell us how you really feel about Barnes Bullets.

 

[hardpan]

All,
I can understand how we all want more and more from everything. But, for bullets, and other important items, I need a good reason, and proof. I have had great success with the nosler Partition for 20 years. About 12 years ago or so, i started hearing about bonded bullets, and later about barnes x. I have some friends that swear by barnes x, but in the years of guiding, I found a lot of them fail to open. Not a good thing. the Partition is a great all around bullet, and more slightly better ballistics and slightly better weight retention, and with a lot of research to back it up, I use the AccuBond often. I have never seen it fail, but in some cases, I want the bullet to fragment easily... Like hunting in the flat brush country. then a ballistic tip or the Partition. bottom line, I don't like the barnes x bullet, and do not see a need for it outside of when you cannot shoot lead.
Hardpan

 

[SJB358]

Man, I have had good luck with them. I am not a Barnes fanatic, but they have worked well out of my 300 Mag, 7mm Mag, and 35 Whelen. I guess they are not all perfect, but your right, they are kinda pricey, and since they don't sell seconds, Noslers work just as well for me. I do still have a bunch of them loaded for the Whelen and man they work well for large, tough game, but I don't think they work any better than a properly picked Nosler. They have always been accurate for me though. Scotty

 

[buckfever]

I tried Barnes in my 2506 but I shot up almost a full box just trying to find a load nothing grouped better then 1.5" @ 100 yards thats not good enough for me when anything Nosler makes shoots under an inch and it doesn't take that many loads to find that magic load and they cost a lot less.

 

[SJB358]

Good point. I agree, but I have always followed their instructions of keeping them .050 off the lands and they have shot decent enough for me. I am slowly becoming a Nosler convert though. It is nice to have choices. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

I certainly like the performance of Nosler bullets, and my reloading shelf reflects my personal use of Nosler products. However, I have not had the difficulty getting Barnes to group as reported by some here. In years gone by, it was my experience that the X-Bullet and the XLC either grouped well in a rifle, or not at all. However, the TSX appears to have addressed that difficulty. I have worked up a lot of TSX loads for people with excellent results. As Scotty says, it is nice to have choices.

 

[JD338]

I have been a loyal Nosler fan for 27 years now, never had a problem with any of their offerings.
If you need to go copper, use the E-Tip-
7mm 150 gr E-Tip recovered at 100 yds

7mm 150 gr E-Tip recovered at 300 yds

338 200 gr E-Tip recovered at 100 yds

JD338

 

[SJB358]

Man, those E Tips look good. I wished they had some in 225gr for the 338. I would have payed the extra to use with my 338 Win. JD, you should be a Nosler Salesman. Your pictures and praise will run us poor guys into the dog house with our wives. I wished I would have found out about seconds sooner. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

JD,

I just loaded up my first E-Tips (130 grain) for my 270 WSM. I haven't worked up loads yet for any of the 7 mm or the 30 cal., but I plan to work on them this summer to see if I can make them shine. I'll post my results for the 270 WSM, hopefully by next week.

 

[SJB358]

I would like to hear those. Right now I have a great load with Magpro and 130gr HDY Interbonds, that really shoot well, but I would like to come up with something of the Nosler variety. Scotty

 

[russ808]

Never used Barnes bullets, only Noslers and Hornaday's. Now on Noslers. I think it was POP or JD338 who said once in a forum subject. "If it ain't broken don't fix it." Noslers always, repeat always worked for me so I'm not changing.

 

[JD338]

Never used Barnes bullets, only Noslers and Hornaday's. Now on Noslers. I think it was POP or JD338 who said once in a forum subject. "If it ain't broken don't fix it." Noslers always, repeat always worked for me so I'm not changing.

Well said Russ.

JD338

 

[Greg Nolan]

Here I go again! Many, many posts I have exhalted the Swift A-Frame bullet as the absolut best for big tough game if you are shooting high velocity. Bonded front and rear it will absolutely, positively penetrate and expand with 95+ % retained weight. For anything lighter than rhino, elephant and T-Rex's the AccuBond will do it better. From a California 95 lb. buck to Elk as big as they get. The fail safe and TSX are awsome on tough hide, big boned animals but that's because all they have to do is penetrate. I've personally seen a failsafe bend and not expand on raghorn elk. If it's hitting something that is hard enough to bend the bullet wouldn't you think it could expand? I've put 375 RUM bullets at 3080 fps. thrue elk at less than 30 yards and found jellied innards and an exit hole the size of a quarter. I've also done the same thing at 250 yards on a bull elk (It's hanging on the wall in front of me as we speak) and seen the chest organs blown to shreds with the bullet sitting against the far leg after penetrating over 4 feet of rumen. I can't for the life of me understand why it's so hard to folks believe the proven facts. As said on this forum "Nosler rocks" :grin:
Any of you that care to take issue with these facts I have pictures and the bullets involved that I will be happy to share.
Sorry to be so outspoken but this is what I know and have experienced.
Good Hunting
Elkhunt :grin:

 

[JD338]

Greg,

Show us some bullet pictures please. :grin:

JD338

 

[bullet]

The failures I had with the TSX: It was the last two deer I shot this last season with the 257wby. First one was 354yds the second was 100yds. I had a good rest each time and I hit where I was suppose to hit. Both 100gr TSX's were pass through shots with no expansion. It took two hours the find the first one and it was luck because there was no and I mean NO blood trail. The second one never broke stride and I thought I missed him and after an hour and ten minutes of hunting any sign which there was none, I ran upon him in a thicket and he broke and ran and I hit him again at 25 yards behind the head and he went down. I promise I won't be using them again. In my 300Wby I had a pass through on deer at 120yds and found this one 45 minutes later still breathing and starting to get up and I shot him with my 44 mag I carry as a back up.

I am going back to the 200gr AccuBond in my 300Wby and the 180gr Ballistic tip in my 30-06. As soon as I can afford some more components after picking up the Accubonds and Ballistic tips I will be ordering some Partitions for my 358. Tired of messing around doing all this load work looking for accuracy when all I really want is a bullet that give hunting accuracy, puts game down and that I can depend on. All this work I have done over the last three years is getting old, tired of it, just going to settle for what has worked for me in the past.

Forgot to put in the one I killed at GB300wm place it was about 100yds and it took only one shot but went about 50yds and GB300wm it and I am glad he did because there was not a blood trail.