lemoyne

heinz57
If you need to drop them on the spot then its real hard to beat a 250 Gold Dot. I have and have used on deer most of the bullets talked about here on deer and or boar and with a load of 110 gr of 777 or BH it has been the most consistant for dropping them on the spot. I wait for a broadside shot and hit them 2 to 3 inches above the heart and if you want to consistantly drop them on the spot where you hit them is very important. There are two schools of thought on this and they both will do the job, the other school of thought says to use a very strong bullet like the bonded Shock Wave 300gr and hit bone high in the shoulder, that works to but it is much harder on the meat and though I have used it and it worked for me I am less comfortable because I have less of an exact spot to aim at. Lee

HEAD0001

It is not so much that I was disappointed in the performance of the bullet. It is more to the fact that for the price you pay for the bullet, you should be able to expect more. And I do not see where "MORE" is achieved by the bullets.

I have had sort of a love hate relationship over the years with Barnes bullets. I have swore off of them, then went back and bought more of them.

I have watched Barnes raise through the ranks over the years. And I have shot and loaded their so called "Performance" or "Premium"bullets, and have not been impressed. The X-Bullets were a real disappointment. Price was ridiculous, and accuracy was acceptable, at best.

NOw it just seems like Barnes brings out something "new and improved" every year. And of course the price goes up exponentially. And I can not figure out why they are so expensive?? Their is no way I would pay the price for a TSX bullet. It just does not make sense to me?? But that is just my opinion.

I have shot a lot of deer with Barnes bullets, cast bullets, Sierra bullets, and Hornady bullets. If the Barnes performance was superior to the others then I would pay the extra price. However(IMO) there is no "Superior Performance". I am going to go back to cast bullets for my Knight LRH next year(actually this year). I can shoot a lot more for a lot less money. And I do not in any way feel I will be hunting with an inferior bullet. Tom.

Michbowhunter

These are excellent bullets, butI could not get them to go down the barrel of my T/C Omega if I beat them with a board! However, they went smoothly down my Prohunter, go figure.

I shoot my ML at the range a lot, and have opted to use the Hornady sst 250, because of price. They group and shoot just as well as the Barnes, but I can't honestly say they would perform as well in the field.

If price is not an issue, and they load easily in your gun, the I believe the Barnesbullets are hard to beat!

gleason.chapman

Tom, The TSX Flatnose 45/70 bullet INSTEAD of a Barnes MZ is a lot better price:

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item.asp?sku=0003545843

$17.56. I got great accuracy with them in my Savage with a Crushed Rib sabot. I plan on tweeking my loadthat I foundlast year. The $17.56 is for 20, so that is cheaper than most of the MLing bullets out there that come packaged. This is 100 yards, with 44g of 5744 powder, a 45/70 powder. I don't believe it is superior to a Gold Dot, but I like the little "slits" on the inside of the bullet to make it expand perfectly at very low velocity and make wound channel large on thin skin game. Thefact it also shoots thru and leaves a gapping hole on the off sideis something that I like. I feel boom flops are better with this large a hole thru the vitals. I think a Gold dot will do the same thing, but the expansion will not start until well into the animal, I think the barnes will startexpansion right away because fo the slits in the side. I have seen that in ballistic gel somewhere,I think on a Barnes DVD.
Dead is dead, and I don't think that Barnes is superior to a Gold Dot, they will both do the job, accuracy is king, so if you can get a .458 bullet to fly better than a .452 pistol bullet (which is the case in my Savage), then use the more accurate bullet. As you said, shot placement is #1.
Chap

HEAD0001

I am really not knocking the Barnes bullets for quality. For me it is a personal matter. I just hate to see someone charging extra for something that is IMOnot really justified. I realize this is just an opinion. And I am guilty of hypocrisy becuse there are a lot of boxes of Barnes bullets on my reloading bench. So this is just an opinion, nothing else. Definitely not fact based.

But I will say this. I have shot elk with a cast bullet that did not run as far as deer with the Barnes bullets from a MZ. And I am only doing a comparison when both animals were hit in the same anatomical spot. And I can sure cast and shoot a bunch of bullets on a low budget. So if I shoot more then shouldn't that make me a better shot?? Thus hunter?? Tom.

gleason.chapman

The cast bullet wth large broad meplat are an excellent bullet that Sam Fadala wrote an article on last year. I will scan it, the big splash of a large flat point bullet going slow is a very very deadly bullet.
Chap

gleason.chapman

Here is a Barnes PBX (Pistol X bullet) vs the 45/70 TSX Flat Nose (#45843), note the large flat meplat, that expands on impact. Chap