November 20, 2009
What are your thoughts about hunting big game at extended ranges? Target bullets okay for elk at distances out to 1,000 yards? We don’t think so! Check out our Choosing The Right Bullet For Long Range Hunting lab tests, and see why.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
They say “hunting big game”? For the life of me, how can anyone call it hunting when you shoot big game from another county, set out on a days “hike” in order to reach the fallen animal? By the time you get there rigor mortis has set in! I know I’m exaggerating but dear Lord! 1,000 Yards? HUNTING? When I started hunting, the “hunt” was what made the memories and still does. ONE TIME I took a shot @ 678 lazered yards at a huge hog in Texas. I shot a few inches high and took out the spine. When I got there it was still alive. Then came an empty feeling of “why did I do that”? I felt like a poacher. Never again! Shooting big game at “extended ranges” isn’t hunting. It’s sniping.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Well call it what you want.But In hunt elk in Idaho where the mountains are rough and the game extremely spooky!!I use a 300RUM loaded with 180grain MRX.My last years elk was killed at 788 yards and he dropped straight down on his knees,confirmed by Idaho Fish and Game.Hunting in country like that,you have to be able to shoot great distances or your just hiking with guns.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I’m sort of in aggrement with Mr.Jimenez about the sniping, but,I’m wrighting this from Montana. She’s big open country and unfortionatly lots of it is being leased by the big money boys from out-of-state. What I mean is you may only see one bull all year on public land where you can hunt him. If he’s 700 yds.;Your shooting enough gun,enough bullet and practice shots that long or longer, dope the wind hold for the shot and drop your bull. I killed a bull @ 810yds laying accross a valley. The snow was like potato chips and if I spent all day I couldn’t have worked my way around to close the yardage without him running off to leased land. I ranged him and took my time, the 338/378 barked and the 225 XLC passed through both sholders and the bull rolled over and died in 15 seconds,I know because I watched him in the scope for 15 minouts to be shure incase I needed a follow up shot. As usual the X bullet killed instantly. I hope when it’s my time to go I die as quickly. I’ve been shooting Barnes X bullets sence they came on the market and have never shot a single head more than once for reliable in there tracks kills,at any range.
May 8th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
I am not a fan of long shots. They may have their place, but I learned a rule when a young lad (over 50 years ago) and it has served me well for a long time. If you can’t practice the shot, don’t take it. The hunt is what it is all about. The harvest is icing on the cake, not the end all of end alls.
May 16th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
I am a fan of the TSX bullets, and use them in several of my rifles. They have performed perfectly in every animal I have taken. However, it should be noted in your testing that the Berger bullets are doing exactly what they are designed to do. Delayed expansion, then disentegrate for massive internal damage, expending their energy. Also note the retained velocity thye have compared to the other bullets tested, at the 1000 yd. mark.
May 17th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
HUNTING: The art of stealth in pursuit of prey….
As a licensed big game guide I constantly remind my clientele what hunting is all about. It is the adventure of getting as close to the prey as possible! Clients see up close and personal the animal, its’ spirit and during the final process, the natural position during taxidermy.
Long range shooting should only be taken in a controlled environment (i.e. target range), PERIOD! With all the issues at hand revolving around the hunting industry and the inhumane practices of harvesting, all hunters must practice the up close and personal approach. Seeing the pupil of the eye of the pursued before harvesting means a quality shot placement and an exceptional hunt by the pursuer!
June 15th, 2009 at 3:35 am
I am first and foremost a hunter. I am a long range hunter, an archer, and a dark timber still hunter. If you cannot appreciate the ADDED skill involved in long range hunting, fine. If you cannot appreciate the ADDED challenge of long range hunting, fine. Leave it to us who do.
I found the published “test results” a rather pathetic and thinly veiled attack against another quality bullet manufacturer. Yes Berger and Barnes are at opposite ends of the terminal performance phillosophies. Even your test results clearly show the Bergers penetrating through bone, then expanding devastatingly. Mabey I’d better close both eyes so I too can see how those results show terminal failure?
Barnes manufactures quality hunting bullets. But the BC’s are lacking. Attempting to dictate hunting ethics is not going to sale bullets! Claiming hunters who use clearly effective products other than your own is not going to sale bullets!
Todays hunter wants a high BC hunting bullet! Produce ‘em and we’ll buy them!
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Hunting is hunting. Long range shooting at animals is not hunting. (period) If you can’t hunt then stay home and leave us hunters in the field. I have yet to see one of these “long range hunters” at a 900 or 1000 yard match to show us us how exactly this is done on demand for 20 shots for record. The target doesnt lie, or take a step, we even have wind flags to show direction and speed. What do you have in across canyon shot where the wind could be several different directions.
July 8th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Three-hundred yards is a real reach regarding game animals. People should not even consider thousand yard shots, except at paper targets.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
For me, not over 400 yds.
The object is a swift humane kill — living game animals are not the enemy.
Think of the time of flight over 600 yards plus and a target that could move at any moment.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I have used Barnes bullets to take many animals. I have also taken game using Berger, Speer, Sierra, Nosler, Hornady, and Swift brands. I shoot all year long and practice religiously at ranges up to and exceeding 1000 yards. I shoot game ranging in size from ground squirels to moose. I shoot rifles ranging in caliber from .17 to .338. I spend ridiculous amounts of money on bullets, powders, primers, case preparation, and gunsmithing. All but one of my rifles shoot better than 1/2 MOA. I don’t struggle to hit whatever it is that I aim at. I know my abilities and shoot within my limits at all times. I don’t believe that anyone has the right to call me or any other person “unethical” without knowing the persons practices and discipline. I hunt year round and don’t gauge my ethics off of the distance at which I take a shot. I gauge it on the speed at which the quarry dies. I’ve looked into the eyes of fallen animals that weren’t dead by the time I got to them and it broke my heart. I did my part and placed the shot where it needed to be and the animal didn’t run ‘too far’, it actually went right down. My problem is that it didn’t die right away. I’m not saying that some haven’t, just that more often than not they’re still alive. I believe (and it is my right to do so) that there is a huge difference between an animal going down, and an animal hitting the ground already dead. I’ve changed brands of bullets to assure that my quarry dies as quickly and humainly as possible. As I stated earlier I’ve used many bullets and had great success in both accuracy and terminal performance aspects. I do however hunt big game with one bullet and will continue to do so until I can find something better. I shoot Berger VLD’s and have never shot a more effective hunting bullet. When I say effective I mean in both accuracy (especially at longer distances) and terminal performance. Your tests show me exactly what I’ve wanted to see in pictures and on paper and I thank you for that. I believe that I’ve chosen the right bullet for me, maybe not for everyone else but for me. I do know exactly what a B.C. is and how it will affect my hunting experience. I’ve allowed your bullets into my household and don’t have a bad word to say about them but any manufacturer who claims they make a more accurate bullet is nearly slapping his own customer in the face. Don’t tell any seriously educated and practiced hand loader which bullet “will” be more accurate. I can get any brand of bullet to shoot accurately but the bottom line for me is that some truly shoot better. I honestly struggled more with Barnes and Berger brands than any others when in pursuit of accuracy but I found my loads eventually, just like anybody else who strives to find the perfect load. I have to say that I won’t be purchasing any more of your bullets for a while. At least not until you can prove to me something different than I have witnessed with my own two eyes. Thank you for trying to better the hunting and shooting industry though.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
i hunt for meat. long range, short range or fresh road kill. you have to decide wether your a sport hunter or a harvester. Many can make an argument against sport hunting as well. I have no problem taking an elk at 800 yards. It doesn’t see you, feel fear and is dead by the time you get there. Human at the least.
July 28th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
As a Colorado deer, elk, and antelope hunter of over 50 years’ experience, I think all these T.V. shows and magazines touting 600-1000 yard shots on game animals is pure, unadulterated crap. Hunting is not long-range target shooting or tactical sniping. Any hunter who tries that on game animals should have his gun wrapped around his neck. Not one hunter in 100 is capable of making those kind of shots, and certainly not the modern, pampered hunters of today who are afraid of recoil and see high-tech guns as a substitute for hunting skill. The long-range hunting videos only show sucessful hunts so they can sell expensive rifles and scopes; never the many leg or gut-shot animals their clients wound to die slow, painful deaths. State game departments should prohibit the promotion of such long-range garbage, and fine the hell out of anyone caught doing it.
August 20th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
I’m not an experienced hunter, I’ll say right up front. Catskills New York is typically heavy wooded, lots of hilly varying terrain, but has some isolated open areas of long distance. No, I myself am not skilled to take a long shot over 250yards, and 300yards would be my maximum ( haven’t even shot past 200 yards due to lack of such shooting ranges where I live.). My old WW2 open sighted mauser has been used with my middle age eyes to shoot 5 inch size – 5 shot groups at 200yards, hence my maximum distance. HOWEVER, I think a skilled and careful shooter who can shoot 600 or 700 yards with complete regularity ought to be considered just as much a sportsman as a close in shooter of game.
But that must be done humanely, precisely, and not room for error, and wind conditions ought to make the hunter reconsider making any such long ranged shot. Good hunting all, good sportsmanship, marksmanship, and lets not let these individual differences in hunting attitudes cause a fissue that anti – hunting and anti gun minded ones hope to drive a truck thru, to our own future peril.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Still a fan of using target bullets for long range big game hunting? Scroll down to the “From The Lab” section in the September, 2009 Club X Bullet-n. Here’s the link: http://www.barnesbullets.com/resources/newsletters/september-2009-barnes-bullet-n/
-JSB
September 4th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Long range hunting (YES) If you shoot all year long at 100 to 1000 yards and know your gun and the ammo you put threw it by reloading, then yes shoot away. If you dont shoot alot, then only take a shot that you know you can make. It doesnt make you a better or worse hunter then me. I only pull the trigger when i know everything is right. I shoot a 338-378 weatherby with a 225 grain ttsx and a zeiss 4-16 power scope.Barns for me are the best. It kills at 100 yards and it kills at 1000 yards.So shoot shoot and shoot some more ,know your gun.and the ammo you put threw it.
September 6th, 2009 at 6:42 pm
I shoot or have shot most brands of bullets. I do not shoot game at extreme ranges. My personal limit is 400-450 yards and even then I rarely ever shhot that far. I do not believe in shooting at animals past 500 yds. Now for those of you who believe that Berger is the ultimate big game bullet. I have never seen anything on their website that describes how the VLD is constructed except for one of their guys saying its the same as their target bullet only with a thinner jacket. That doesn’t do much for me, I want to see how it is constructed. For anyone who has ever shot much game, you should know that nobody and I mean nobaody makes 1 bullet that does what it was designed to do at all velocities. I would like to see what a Berger does at less than a 100yds out of one of these big magnums. You may not think this is important, but you can’t always know what your range will be, it could be long or up close. For those of you who say you are long range shooters 500-1000yds. Are you not going to take a shot unless you can backup to your desired range? What a load of crap. The Barnes may not be the best all around hunting bullet, but it’s not far from it. Certainly better than the VLD. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that Berger didn’t even make a hunting bullet, what did you use back then? The VLD’s expansion is nothing new, they operate like a plastic tipped bullet. I have shot several brands of plastic tips out of magnums, usually they don’t drop game, they waste alot of meat, even at long ranges. They are better suited to low velocities. Not a Magnum!!
September 7th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Dear Barnes;
I doubt that very few people understand the coefficient of drag that is published as BC is a variable that changes as velocity decreases over a long range. The great BC’s that are listed are only an average; even when you test them in a controlled environment. Bullets at muzzle velocity travel at speeds much greater then the speed of sound, which means bullets, must break through a shockwave barrier. This barrier is dependent on environmental conditions, tempeture, humidity and barometric pressure. The best bullet BC’s are profiled to penetrate this shockwave barrier, however, there’s always a trade off, when the bullet slows down the shockwave barrier moves forward towards the bullet creating a turbulent airflow, causing more drag on the bullet to slowdown even more rapidly. Have you ever heard someone say that a bullet drops faster at long range? This because the coefficient of drag BC has deceases over distance traveled, which means the drag is increasing as it travels. The turbulent effect (also known as the transonic range) actually makes a rapid change in a bullets drag. So with that being said, BC measured and calculated at 300 Yards will be much different at long range. Still the best long-range bullets have higher BC’s which comes back to the hunter’s choice. For me the choices are penetration or fragmenting (flying apart). Hydro-shock works well with both types of bullets, simply because fluids do not compress. However, from this point if every thing else is fairly close (or as they say in physics proximally equal) at long range, that being knock down energy, and hydro-shock. Then penetration becomes the final factor. hmmm, For me my choice is the Barnes Bullet.
Barry
September 14th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I would like to share an experience with you all that happened just this year during the youth elk hunt. My good friend’s 13 year old daughter drew an early youth tag for any legal bull elk here in Utah. She had a very caring father who made good and sure she was prepared for what might face her in the near future and thus practiced with her at our shooting range at least once a week for what seemed to be months. While debating which bullet to use I suggested she try a Berger VLD (I have had good experiences with them in the past). She and her father ended up narrowing their search down to Nosler Partitions and Barnes TSX’s with the Barnes bullets ending up in her rifle. I was excited to try out these bullets as i had never used them in the past. I started loading them for her 270 Win and soon we found a load that produced very good groups. Her confidence soared as her hunt arrived and off they went to the hills. At first light some cow calling and a bugle led to a nice 6×6 bull walking straight toward them. The bull stood broadside as she fired the first shot at 225 yrds. The bullet hit it’s mark and the bull calmly walked away. As the bull walked she shot again and placed another good shot through the bull’s vitals and still the bull continued to walk. They watched as the bull passed into some trees and felt confident that he’d surly die quickly but left the animal to rest. My friend is an avid bow hunter and his past experiences led him to the belief that they should wait a while. They gave the bull an hour and a half and then went to collect him. Just as they saw the animals antlers in the brush he stood and ran out of the brush. She shot him again on a quartering away angle and struck him a little far back. As they got out of the timber she shot and hit him again, this time high in the back. The bull still managed to walk into some nearby brush. They waited again for another hour before trying to persue her bull. They tracked a very meager blood trail for over 300 yards and then followed what had to be the bulls tracks for an additional 200. As dusk fell upon them they found the bull dead. An all day event that in my opinion should have ended at first light. We ended up arriving at the truck just after midnight with her dressed out animal (I went to help pack out the animal with my horses). So to make an assesment of the experience: 6 shots fired (all inside of 250 yrds), 3 good hits and 1 a little off, all day waiting and tracking, one 6×6 bull, and a happy but very frustrated little girl. Long range or not the bullets’ performance was disapointing. Not a single bullet was recovered from the animal to see if they expanded properly, they all penetrated right through. I tend to boubt they did since none of the four left a wound channel larger than the diameter of the bullet. I believe any full metal jacket would have done just as good. I’m sure others have had better experiences with “X-Bullets” but I know of a few people who are not future customers.
September 20th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
I have been hunting with Barnes TSX bullets for four years and have never had a bad experience. Most recently I shot a Wyoming antelope at 470 yards with a .308 sporting a 20 inch barrel launching a 168 tipped triple shock at 2650 fps. muzzle velocity. The bullet fully penetrated the antelope with the exit wound the size of a baseball after hitting it at a half quatering angle. The antelope ran 50 yds and fell dead. All the rest of the kills I’ve had were 350 yds or less using 168 grain triple shocks out of a .300 WSM with the animals falling dead where they stood. The tipped triple shock has inspired my confidense in the .308 as a long range gun and supports my feeling that triple shocks make any caliber gun perform one caliber up when compared to lead jacketed bullets. Both the 168 gr triple shock and tipped triple shock are readily capable of 3-5 shot groups of 0.75 inches or better out of my Savage actioned rifles.
As far as concerns about ballistic coefficients being low, a quick look at the bullet drop difference at 400 yds between a bullet with a BC of .400 and another with a BC of .500 is about an inch, hardly noticeable at ranges that the average hunter should be comfortable shooting.
With the current trend away from lead, the triple shock is poised to to be the leader in hunting bullets. It is accurate, easy for reloaders to use, deadly, and legal everywhere.
September 26th, 2009 at 7:17 am
I have a question for anyone out there and it is the following; How in the world can anyone brag about a bullet’s performance when an animal that weighs less than I do ran 50 yards after being struck by a 168 gr. 30 cal. projectile traveling at well over 2000 fps? I can’t say that impresses me at all. George says any rifle will act like it’s one caliber larger if firing Barnes bullets? Does this mean that he’d carry a 375 firing a 300+ gr. bullet to harvest Elk? He must if he needs a 30 caliber bullet to harvest antelope. I’ve taken many antelope and mule deer with my 243 Win with 85 and 95 gr. bullets and had more humane kills than George just described! I’ve tried Barnes bullets before with moderate success but I can’t say that in all my years hunting I’ve ever seen a baseball sized exit wound except for in movies. I can’t imagine ever needing one to dispatch any game animal(not to say that when shooting prarie dogs some violent wounds aren’t fun)! I’ve only recovered a few “X-Bullets” from game animals (3 to be exact, the rest penetrated clean through) and none looked like the pictures I’ve seen of expanded X-Bullets. Each one was missing at least 2 “petals” and none expanded to twice their initial diameter. They may have reached twice their diameter at one point for a very brief moment but didn’t hold their form. I was told to aim for bone with X-Bullets so I did and these are the results I’ve experienced. As for long ranging it…..I don’t know how far is too far but I’ll shoot at any range I feel comfortable with. I have made humane and clean kills at ranges in excess of 600 yrds with my 300 Ultra using a couple of different bullets. I think that most of the guys that argue about shooting long range have 10 or 12 power optics on sporter barreled run of the mill factory produced rifles. They have no clue what kind of range can be achieved with the all mighty dollar! People say it’s not hunting and it’s not humane if you shoot long range? I’ve seen animals shot over a dozen times while running from hunters and because it’s under 350 yards that makes it hunting and that makes it humane? I’m just as guilty as the next guy of getting excited about a big buck or bull. When I see a 30″ rack my heart starts jumping. I can say that from a long ways away the animal doesn’t spook as easily or run and that gives me the time I need to settle down and a calm collected shot in my opinion is a more humane and ethical shot. I believe that from what I’ve read on this blog that alot of people will argue til no end that Barnes makes the best hunting bullet on the planet. To this I say, good for you! Everyone needs to excercise their freedom to an opinion, I just don’t agree. I’ve watched videos of animals being shot with Barnes, Nosler, Berger, Sierra, Speer, Swift, ect. and they don’t ALL die quickly. Barnes movies sure show quick kills though. I’m a do-it-yourself kind of guy and won’t pay a guide a ton of money to get me within 150 yards of a 30″ buck. Almost any bullet will drop animals when shot at close range. Someone please post a video of a Barnes bullet dropping an animal in it’s tracks from 600+ yards. I’d love to watch the camera zoom out to prove the range as well. I’ve shot Barnes bullets and am not criticizing them but have had bad experiences with them every time I’ve used them for longer range hunting. I’ll stick with my lead ones for that task. Any rifle/bullet combination can be loaded to shoot distance with accuracy but if the bullet doesn’t deliver the goods when it gets there then it won’t work for me.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hey Richard Bowles, it is amusing to me that anyone thinks that they have the right to dictate to another what he or she should or shouldn’t do with their time and money. You are a prime example that ignorance truly is bliss. You may think that long range shooting is pure and unaldulterated crap. It is your right to do so but there is no need to slander someone who persues the talent and ability to shoot at greater distances than you yourself are capable of. I dare say that you are far from correct with your saying that not one in one hundred can make a shot like that. Place a well tuned rifle with premium high power optics in the hands of most practiced shooters and with proper instruction they’ll surely surprise even themselves. I know the movies only show the kills and not wounded animals; after all, who wants to see the sad suffering of a wounded animal? Such is life though and nobody will advertise or show anything less than the best they can catch on film. Nobody will claim they make or sell anything that is second best. I dare say that even Barnes has caught on film a time or two when their own bullets have performed less than perfectly? But you’d be hard pressed to get them to show you the true unadulterated crap of a suffering animal. Compare two scenarios for me if you dare…… first, A wise old buck or bull smells you or senses your presence in his space. you have a 200 yard shot at a buck or bull who knows they’re in danger! They see you aim the rifle and then the bullet strikes them! They run 50 yards and fall to their death. Second, a long distance shot (let’s just say 800 yards)at a buck or bull who has no clue as to your location or presence…. the bullet strikes and the animal falls dead in it’s tracks. Place yourself in the animals body and tell me which of the two suffers more before expiring? If I myself were an animal and had to die by the hands of a hunter I’d much rather not know it was coming. I can only imagine what goes through the animals mind when the bullet passes clean through it’s body and it runs 50 yards. It can’t be pleasant in any way can it? So who is more ethical and humane? Who should be able to tell who what to do? I believe you’d tell me that you’d take my rights to hunt from me and wrap my rifle around my head or neck. Well, I’d tell you to keep hunting and do whatever it is that makes you happy as long as it’s consistent with the law and God. It’s too bad that people are so closed minded these days. I believe that all things aside we could probably sit around a fire together and share hunting stories with each other and enjoy the wonderful world that God has given us to hunt in. I respect your opinion, I wish you respected mine. I’m sure I could learn from you, I doubt you’d listen to me. It matters not if we agree on hunting though so long as we fight for our right to hunt and bear arms. I thank God that we all live in a “free” country and can even express our views on such a subject. Great website Barnes! Keep up the good work!
September 27th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I think all this talk about drop numbers is missing the point of a long range bullet. As stated before BC really doesn’t affect drop that much and it can be compensated for.
I don’t hunt at long range; but I do practice and shoot competitively at 1000 yards. I took 2nd the Idaho State 1000 yard F-class match a few years ago. I do want to be capable of making a long range shot when hunting if I had to; but I consider long range to be 600-700 yards on game and about my limit.
I think higher BC numbers are about retaining enough velocity to expand the bullet with enough expansion to crate as large of a wound channel as possible. They are not about drop figures. If you are taking a long range shot you should have the ability to compensate for the drop no matter what it is.
In the September issue of the Barnes Bullet-N which was posted by Barnes earlier their lab manager gives some drop number comparisons which make a good point that the drop numbers are so close between the berger and the Barnes that they are negligible in hunting situations. What he fails to point out from running his same numbers is that the Berger bluets are going almost 250 fps faster at 600 yards that the Barnes bullets. The Barnes bullets are about at their maximum range to expand and effectively cerate a large enough wound channel.
I still think Barnes bullets have their place; but Berger bullets do to. If you are hunting within 600 yards with a Magnum cartridge then the Barnes bullet is probably one of the best bullets on the market which means that most hunters would be best served by them because 99% of hunters should not shoot past 300-400 yards. But, for the 1% of hunters that practice and have the equipment to shoot past 600 yards the Berger is probably the better choice. At these distances the velocity will be low enough that the Barnes may not expand enough and the Berger will.
I think my point is that both bullets are great and have there place. This bickering between the two companies needs to stop you can make legitimate arguments for both bullets. They both have their place.
October 6th, 2009 at 7:50 am
I have hunted for many years. I use a 44 mag pistol if I wish to get close to game. I have killed many deer that way and enjoy the hunt. The long range shooter must set up a gun that can do the job at 700 to 800 yards. He must know the gun and practice with it. The thrill of the hunt is still there. Looking for the game, ranging it correctly, and taking a careful shot if conditions are right. He has a much greater chance of a good killing shot than someone who shoots at a running animal or someone with buck fever. I seen a handicapped man set up a 800 plus shot on an antelope and drop it immediately. He was a winner of the down under contest in Foryst MT. He doesn’t shot in wind and he doesn’t miss. Don’t assume long range hunters are bad hunters. They usually rank amoung the best.
Tex
October 25th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
I feel somewhat humbled by all the folks that shoot game at 800-1000 yards away.
Just about every game amimal I shoot “dies hard” so I like to use bigger bullets at moderately high impact velocities. Like hits at 400 yds and less. I have and use a .375 for certain applications. Possibly the game I shoot is enraged or something like that at me.
Published B.C.’s do not impress me as they vary depending on many factors (velocity, twist rate, temp, etc). If some long skinny boat tail projectile is wobbling its way to the target (look at the bullet’s wake) what happens to the B.C.
I have “picked off” small rodents at over 800 yards using plastic tipped, boat tail, heavy for caliber (skinny) bullets shot at max velocities but also have screwed up and inflicted non-fatal hits on varmints. I have also worn out numerous rifle barrels on varmints and 1000 yd targets. I plan to use Berger VLD’s again but only on the rodents.
For game animals 400 yds is my limit.
November 8th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Just a note after loading triple x’s in a 270 and 257 weatherby. Elk hunting last week in Colorado my cousin shot a Bull from 484 yards with a 270. 150 grain triple shock bullet traveling 2935 fps. Broke both shoulders and disinegrated the heart. Bull fell where he was shot. Bullet was extracted from the bull and retained 98% of original weight. I shot a bull at 100 yards with 257 weatherby and 115 grain triple shock going 3235fps. 3 Lung shots and bull was down within 5 feet from first shot. Never found the bullets. Bullets did as advertised and I’m sold on the Barnes Triple Shock. Accuracy was sub MOA with Savage 110 and Blaser out to 400 yards. We do a lot of shooting and these bullets performed as well as anything i have loaded.