Is it just me???

[Colin]

Last minute, I decided to use my .25-06 this year for California deer. It starts tomorrow. I'd handloaded the 180gr E-Tip for my .300 Win Mag and the 90gr E-Tip for my .243 Win. My buddy will be using my .243 this year, blah, blah, blah.

My only choice for our lead free zone in .25 caliber was factory loaded Cor-Bon with the Barnes 100gr. DPX. I reluctantly bought a box and took the rifle to an open field.

My goal was to just make sure the rifle was sighted in and the ammo shot just decent....

I fired 3 quick shots off my shooting sticks at 100 yards and packed the rifle up. I figured if it didn't shoot decent I would just shoot my .300 win mag this year.

Much to my surprize, there was a perfect little triangular group measuring 1 inch on the target.

I WAS HAPPY, BUT A LITTLE DISAPOINTED AT THE SAME TIME. I AM A NOSLER GUY AND THESE DANG BARNES BULLETS SHOT GOOD. I KNOW I WOULD GET A MUCH SMALLER GROUP OFF THE BENCH.

ANYBODY ELSE EVER FEEL THAT WAY???

 

[FOTIS]

Sweet deal! good luck buddy!

 

[R Flowers]

Like you, I live in central California and like you, I am a huge Nosler fan.

I hate the idea of the government telling me what bullets I can use, come on! But, I have to admit I have had good success with the Barnes TSX bullets.

In my 25-06 I have had good success on coyotes and wild hogs with the 100 grain TSX. I shot a hog the other day that probably weighed over 350 pounds. He was running at over 300 yards and that 100 grain TSX went clear through him. (and he was THICK through the shoulders). I had a hell of a time even dragging that sucker. When I finally got him to the dirt road on the ranch we were hunting and my dad showed up with the pickup we found we could not load the damned thing. We had to drive the pickup into a ditch to get the tailgate on the ground so we could load that hog.

We recently went on an antelope hunt in New Mexico and a bunch of us just used the Barnes TSX since that is what we are shooting here in CA.
Out of 11 hunters I think 6 of us used the Barnes TSX, mostly the tipped versions. While watching the skinning of those 11 antelope I have to tell you that the performance of the Barnes was the best of the bunch. I was out and out dissapointed in the massive meat damage on a couple of bucks shot with Ballistic Tips and Accubonds.

I have had very mixed results with the Barnes in regard to accuracy. The first day I tried the 168 TSX n my 300 Wby Mag I shot a group under 0.3 inches! On the other hand, I had to shoot a LOT of those expensive TSX bullets to find an accurate load in my 7-08. I have finally found a good load using IMR 4064, the last four groups I shot measured 0.51, 0.70. 0.71, and 0.50 inches! (Not bad for a pencil barreled Remington Mountain Rifle and a 2.5X8 Leupold.)

 

[Colin]

R Flowers,

I always say that any bullet company in business HAS to make a good bullet. Otherwise they wouldn't be around.

I had read your story on that hog you took the other day, that is awesome. The first hog I ever took was with the .25-06 using the 115gr Partition. He was about 100 yards running away, My first shot hit him in the ham and traveled all the way into the sternum. I could not dig the bullet out of the bone. That hog went somewhere around 200lbs. I'm sure you'd read about that monster I shot last november with my .300 Win Mag and the 180gr E-Tip. Just awesome.

I'm just a Nosler guy and almost feel guilty for using these bullets this year.

I'm in Clovis and I hear there are a lot of hogs east of Visalia, is that where you go, or do you head west???

 

[Richracer1]

Nope, it's not just you. I have the 85gn Barnes TSX shooting great from my 243 Win, but so far, the 90ET isn't shooting to my satisfaction. I haven't given up on it yet, still more powders at home to try.

 

[DrMike]

Ain't it great? We're living in an era when almost every bullet manufacturer is making a good product. The rifles being manufactured are of such great quality that there is no comparison to the standard of even a few short decades past. I like Nosler bullets, but most of the other bullet manufacturers are also making a good product.

 

[R Flowers]

Colin, I live in Hanford and do most of my hog hunting east of Sanger where my dad has some connections. We sometimes go over to Parkfield or San Miguel and hunt with a guide, but mostly we just hunt these hogs as they come out of orange groves in the morning going back to where they spend the day.

I have only shot one or two hogs with the 115 Partition but have collected a bunch with the 115 Ballistic Tip. That Ballistic Tip does remarkably well on hogs and such, much better than I would have expected. Started using the Barnes bullets because of the regulations, but have to admit they are working well for us. My dad has killed over 30 hogs with the Barnes in his 257 Weatherby, all one shot kills.

 

[tjRoberts]

I have had great results with the 100 grain TSX from at least 4 rifles.
But I have done real well with noslers in other calibers.
But There is not likly to be a better bullet for your purpose than the TSX.
I live in Oregon and love both nosler bullets and leupold scopes.
(both excelent oregon made prouducts) But some times for a givin purpose , in a givin rifle somthing else might be a better choice.
I took a small mule deer buck with the 100 tsx from a .257 Roberts about 5 yers ago and it did extreemly well.
I get great groups and 3100 FPS with that load.
In the same rifle I get spectacular groups with 120 grain partitions.
And on certain hunts I might use that load.
But for open country mule deer hunting, I wanted that flatt trajectory...tj3006