October 2008 Barnes Bullet-N
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A few weeks ago, I pulled a box of .30 caliber 168-grain Tipped TSX’s off the shelf. I then walked out to the ballistics lab with my .300 Weatherby, picked a load from the Barnes #4 Reloading Manual and put together some loaded rounds. My first group was .600” at 100 yards. I tweaked things a little and produced ¼ MOA accuracy with a premium hunting bullet. Times are good.
I always had great luck with X Bullets. Along the road there were growing pains and a few learning curves with the X technology. But over the years we tweaked that bullet and continued to raise the bar on ourselves. Today, there are more rifles that shoot Barnes Bullets accurately than ever before.
My oldest daughter, Jessica, the Public Relations Manager here at Barnes, and our Ballistics Lab Manager Thad Stevens, just returned from a successful hunting trip in New Mexico. Barnes co-sponsored an antelope hunt with Federal Cartridge, featuring their hyper velocity line of Tipped Triple-Shock Vital Shock® ammunition. Gordy Krahn of North American Hunter magazine and TV, Brian Sheetz of American Rifleman and Joseph von Benedikt of Rifle Shooter were also in attendance. Look for Gordy’s hunt to air on North American Hunter TV. I understand he shot an unusual goat and was able to capture some great footage of him alive.
Jessica and Thad were shooting a .300 WSM and .300 Weatherby, respectively. Thad reportedly made an excellent 360-yard shot with his favorite Weatherby rifle, Leupold scope and Barnes bullet combination. He dropped his goat on the spot. I like to brag on our lab guys really knowing how to shoot – good thing he didn’t make a liar out of me on that deal! Admittedly, I was most proud to hear from Jessica (and other industry folks) about her terrific shot. She was shooting an out-of-the-box Savage model 16FCSS. The 130-grain Tipped Triple-Shocks were moving 3,480 fps at the muzzle and the rifle produced .300” groups with that bullet.
The second day of hunting they set up several stalks. But if you’ve hunted antelope much, you know it can be tough when the does are skittish and the bucks are hot on their tails. After a half-mile stalk on a sizeable group of animals, her goat began to crest the hill in front of them and suddenly spooked. Her only shot was broadside as the animal was moving full tilt at 225 yards. The bullet struck four inches below the spine and dropped him instantly. Jessica’s guide, Tim Barraclough of Kiowa Outfitters, told her it was some of the most enjoyable hunting he’d done in a long time. I’ve said for years that antelope hunting is what you make it, and isn’t that really what it’s all about anyway?
Even though both my girls are all grown up, I feel as proud of them as ever. Good job, Jess! I’m also proud of the products we offer. This new Tipped TSX delivers tremendous “energy dump” – superior to any bullet we’ve ever made. Everyone on the New Mexico hunt commented about the unusually loud “thwack” that was heard on impact and the immediate kill shots they experienced. My hat’s off to a great group of Barnes employees that make this happen. It gives me great pleasure knowing that you, our customers and friends, are experiencing the successes we are in the field. I would personally like to thank each of you for your support. Have a great hunting season.
Randy Brooks
Undoubtedly, many of you know about the great Utah “Spider Bull” so many hunters were following this season. Well, the hunt has officially come to an end. The bull was taken by Denny Austad, a long-time supporter of Barnes Bullets and our great friend.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 30th, Doyle Moss and Team Mossback put Denny in the right place at the right time to take this magnificent trophy. He was shooting a .300 Austad II, a cartridge of his own design, loaded with 168-grain Tipped TSX’s. A quartering shot with the bullet placed slightly forward of the shoulder at just under 200 yards penetrated the length of the body, destroying both lungs and liver, anchoring the bull immediately.
Many members of the Barnes crew were fortunate enough to put our hands on the awesome rack – approximately 500 inches of horn! Official B&C scoring will take place in 60 days. This couldn’t have happened to a more grateful, humble, down-to-earth guy who counts his many blessings daily. Congratulations, Denny! Keep enjoying the ride.
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Hunting season is again upon us. Many of you have already been in the field, looking for that trophy of a lifetime. As I mentioned in my last month’s column, this year I drew a prized Utah elk tag and had high hopes of getting a good elk. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen—but not for lack of trying. Lots of walking, hiking and climbing up and down many mountains were part of the daily regimen. We did see elk—it was exciting to hear them bugle to one another, then listen as they answered our cow calls and bugling.
I spent 10 days trying to connect. We located a good elk on the second day, but he was on private property we couldn’t get access to. Midway through the hunt, I received a call telling me that a good elk had been spotted in an area we hadn’t yet tried. We went there the next morning and hunted a few more days, but the elk remained out of sight.
In the late, late evening of the next-to-last day, we spotted a very good bull some 1200 yards away. We were in position way before daylight the following morning, but the elk had either left the area or had somehow slipped past us. We could see he’d been there that morning, so we decided to return in the evening. Early that afternoon, we were on the mountainside above where we had last seen him.
This was another “no show” on the bull’s part. It was the last day of the hunt for me.
Hunting can be very frustrating and disappointing, at times. Even though I didn’t shoot anything, I feel it was time well spent. We saw a couple of black bears, a few deer, a snake or two, and—of course—elk.
I’d really been looking forward to giving my new Leupold riflescope a try, and was more than prepared to take a long shot, if necessary. I’ll get a chance to use the scope some other time.
Time spent in the woods is always fun and rewarding. My mind-set is that I may or may not return home with game. Even though I prefer to come home with something, I don’t harvest anything I’m not totally happy with. Shooting something just to be shooting isn’t my idea of being a responsible and ethical hunter.
I hope you have better luck with your hunts than I did. If you have children at home, be sure to take them with you. We must keep our hunting heritage growing and thriving. I’m always happy when people tell me they’re taking their sons or daughters hunting with them.
On another note—since the elections are close upon us, I hope you’ll take time to study each candidate and vote for the one who will continue to let us shoot and hunt. The NRA is endorsing Senator John McCain. I strongly urge you to take time to visit the NRA website: www.nra.org. You will see many interesting facts about Senator Obama—facts I strongly feel you need to know. He is already fighting to ban NRA ads. It’s more important than ever for you to get out and vote in this election. We can’t afford to lose our hunting and shooting rights. Encourage your friends and co-workers to vote, as well. This is an important election—it’s one we don’t want to lose!
Coni Brooks
Question: Two questions: What does 1:7 to 1:9 twists mean? I will be loading the 62-grain TSX boattail for a .222 Magnum rifle. Also, does this bullet have a crimping groove or definite cannelure?
Thanks for your help. I love your bullets.
—Allen Young
Answer: This refers to the rifling inside the barrel. To properly stabilize this bullet and provide good accuracy, the rifling needs to provide one full revolution in every 7 to 9 inches. This is referred to as “rate of twist”, “twist rate” or simply “twist.” Most .222 Remington Magnum rifles have a twist rate of one turn in 12 inches or slower. The .224-caliber 62-grain TSX requires a faster 1:7 to 1:9 twist. Consequently, your rifle will not stabilize the 62-grain TSX.
We cut several grooves in our TSX bullets, and you can use them for crimping, if necessary. For instance. if you’re using the bullet in a semi-automatic rifle, we recommend crimping to hold the bullet in place under the rigors of being slam-fed into the chamber. Your comments and patronage are appreciated!
Question: I’ve been reloading TSX bullets in my .300 Weatherby for a couple of years, and love their accuracy and killing power on elk.
I recently bought a box of 140-grain TSXs for my .270 Winchester, and I’m not able to close my bolt no matter what depth I seat the bullet. In addition, when I seat the bullet, its grooves cause bulges on my case. I’ve tried different powders and weights, thinking I’ve been using too much powder. However, when I start at the lowest charges, I still get the same problem. I have loaded Hornady bullets and everything works fine.
Please help!
—Ron
Answer: I occasionally hear about this issue. Let me explain what is happening.
The bulge in the case neck isn’t caused by grooves in the bullet, but by improper adjustment of the seating die. The die is threaded too far down, so you’re actually crimping. Since the Barnes all-copper bullet won’t “squish” like a lead-core bullet, it’s causing the case neck to bulge. That’s why you aren’t seeing it with the Hornady bullets, and why you can’t chamber a loaded round. The remedy is to back the seating die out of the press a few turns, then use the seating stem in the center of the die to readjust the die to the proper bullet seating depth. You can pull the bullets and resize cases that have this bulge, and use them again.
I’ve just returned from New Zealand after a successful hunt for free-range tahr and red stag. The hunt was conducted entirely on foot—no helicopters were used. For this trip I decided to change things up a bit and take my 7mm Remington Magnum instead of my old-standby .300 Remington Ultra Mag. These days, the .300 RUM’s two extra inches of barrel feel like an extra 40 pounds.
Using a 175-grain TSX, I was able to drop both animals with one shot. Again, thanks for a wonderful product.
As a side note, this year I drew a moose tag for Maine. For this hunt, I’ll be reactivating the .300 RUM to do the dirty work. I’ll let you know how the hunt turns out.
—Charlie Schram
Venison Steak Chili
1 ½ lbs Venison round steak
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Onion, chopped
2 Tbls Chili Powder
2 Tbls Paprika
1 tsp Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
½ tsp Ground cumin
1/8 tsp Red crushed pepper flakes
1 – 15 oz can Ready cut tomatoes
1 – 15 oz can Tomato sauce
2 – 15 oz cans Kidney beans
½ cup Red wine
Cut venison steak into bite size pieces and place in crock pot.
Add the chopped onion, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, red crushed pepper, tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and wine. Cook for 6 – 8 hours on low or until done.
Serve with crackers and top with fresh chopped onions and shredded cheddar cheese if desired.
Serves: 6 – 8
Thad Stevens
Ballistics Lab Manager
Someone once told me that there is little new under the sun. Over time, for the most part I’ve come to agree with this. These days it seems one can’t open a hunting magazine or view outdoor TV without seeing some new gadget or product that’s going to increase our chances of success. Many of these products are simply gimmicks or not innovative enough to keep my attention, but hunting bullets always catch my eye. Companies use terms like “premium” and “super premium”. However, I tend to look at things from a practical point of view. There are those bullets that perform reliably in virtually any big game hunting situation. I would call that a relatively versatile bullet. And then there are those that don’t and aren’t, respectively.
Barnes has been building bullets for a day or two now. In fact, we’ve been building them for over 75 years which makes us the oldest bullet manufacturer in the country. Our technology and innovative thinking ensures that Barnes continues to offer the very best product we can for the discriminating sportsman. In 1986, a technologically advanced, innovative, all-copper bullet designed by Randy Brooks himself more than passed the test on an Alaskan brown bear. That bullet has now evolved into the TSX and new Tipped TSX bullet lines. The design and concept of the original X Bullet has crossed over into the Barnes muzzleloader and pistol bullet lines as well.
The all-copper bullet Barnes produces is very labor and tooling intensive. This translates into a heavy investment when Barnes introduces a new product or enhances one we are offering at the time. When we are planning new products, it’s our goal to make sure that we will be offering products of exceptional value to our customers that are worth devoting our time and resources to.
As of late, other manufacturers have gone in to the all-copper bullet business. Hey, they say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But the fact remains that Randy designed the X Bullet the way he did for performance reasons. Not for the so-called “Lead Free” legislation, condors or anything else. Barnes takes great pride in being the leader in this technology, because it’s an effective design that has been a proven performer for over two decades now.
Based on our long-lived experience building this specific bullet, I wondered how the other manufactures managed to achieve the accuracy and ballistic coefficients they were claiming. So, I purchased some and shot them in our lab to see for myself how they compared. Now I’m certain there are some who may claim that I stage these tests month after month so that Barnes always comes out on top. All I can say is that a great part of my job here is quality control. I’m quite certain there isn’t anybody on the face of this earth who shoots more of our bullets with the intention of finding something wrong with them than me. If I shoot a comparison and the “other guys” bullets come out on top, I not only print it here (if applicable to my article) but I bring those issues up with the production management, R&D department and Randy Brooks himself.
It should be noted that our experience has shown BC’s to vary as much as 5%, depending on conditions. Therefore, the numbers recorded here do not exactly match Barnes’ actual published BC’s for these bullets. All of Barnes’ BC’s are “dynamic” and shot at 300 yards, they are not a “static” value. Barnes has received quite a bit of “flack” for its lower BC’s now that the values are “dynamic” and actual, but it is accurate information which provides our customers with real values, NOT marketing hype. For more information on this, refer to the Barnes Understanding BC website page.
The following tests were shot with loads from the Nosler, Hodgdon, and Barnes #4 Reloading Manual. The tests were not conducted with Barnes accuracy loads, and the results were not tweaked in any way. Different bullet weights were used in the 7mm Rem Mag as Barnes does not currently offer a 7mm 150-grain TTSX. A 140-grain TTSX and 150-grain E Tip were used for comparison. All load data is listed below.
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I am 65 years old and retired. I live in Northern Wisconsin and started hunting whitetail deer in 1973. I haven’t missed a deer season since. I also like to shoot sporting clays and hunt varmints whenever I can. I handload for numerous rifle calibers and like the results I get from Barnes Bullets.
—Paul Wegener
BOG-POD and Switcheroo Quick Change Head System
BOG-POD telescoping shooting tripods have several features that set them apart from other products. First, each leg is made with three sections that telescope independently. Height markers on the legs allow quick, exact length adjustments. Rubber feet can be removed to hardened spikes that dig into ice and other hard surfaces. The BOG-POD tripod adjusts from 22- to 68 inches in height, and can be used in sitting, kneeling, and standing positions.
A rubber-coated v-shaped rifle rest is very stable, yet swivels 360°. An attached Velcro strap holds the legs together for ease in carrying. A weather-resistant travel bag is included.
Some of the most recognized and respected professional hunters and outfitters from around the globe are already using BOG-PODs exclusively. Pro Hunters like Larry Weishuhn, Kim Hicks, Craig Boddington, Ron Spomer, Greg Miller and Bob Robb have all switched to BOG-PODs and the list grows with each passing day.
Bog Gear’s new Switcheroo Quick Change Head System features an all-steel stem that pops in and out to convert any BOG-POD tripod or bipod from a v-rest to a camera /spotting scope mount. The S-QCH kit includes attachment plate, quick change V-rest and quick change ball-socket camera mount with level.
MSRP for the BOG-POD Shooter’s Tripod ($99.99) and the Switcheroo Quick Change Head System ($59.99).
For additional information visit www.boggear.com
Southern California newspaper writer Jim Matthews was working up loads for his factory Howa Model 1500 in 7mm Winchester Short Magnum when he shot this group at 100 yards with the 120 grain Barnes Tipped TSX. The load was straight from the Barnes No. 4 reloading book — 71 grains of Reloader 19, one grain below maximum. Matthews hunts wild hogs and deer in California’s newly designated lead-free zones, and needed a legal load for this rifle. “This one more than fit the bill,” said Matthews. “In fact, I think this is the new load for all my hunting with this rifle.” Jim also stated that while this was the best load out of six different loads he tried, the worst group he fired was still under an inch at 100 yards.