Barnes Bullets- My Experience

[woodruffhunter]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 05:54PM (MST)[p]I wanted to post my experience with Barnes Bullets. Before I do, I would like to make a disclaimer:

1- I am not an expert with bullets
2- I am the last person to ask advice about bullets
3- Do not take this post as someone who actually knows what he is talking about.
4- Do not take this post as someone trying to discourage or encourage you to buy Barnes bullets.
5- I am only relating MY experience

I hope that covers it!

After a lot of of suggestions on what to take to Africa, as far as bullets go, I decided to go with Barnes VOR-TX, 180 grain polymer tipped. I would be using a 300 win mag.

All of the small game such as Steenbuck, Duiker, Impala, Blesbok, were pass throughs. This did not surprise me.

However, 2 of the 3 wart hogs killed, were pass throughs. The other bulllet was recovered. It showed little expansion. After speaking and emailing with Barnes, they concluded that the bullet did expand. However, since it was a copper cored bullet, and due to the high bullet velocity, the 4 expanded "mushroom" of the bullets broke off. So, I was told that it did indeed mushroom.

I shot a zebra with similiar reults. I was told this bullet mushroomed but the 4 expanded pieces broke off as well. Here is the recovered bullet. It was a front shoulder shot (zebra), about 175-200 yards:

Many of the other similiar sized game were complete pass throughs. It surprised me that they were, but what would i know? The entry and exit wounds were very small.

The next two pics are from my eland. You can see that there was bullet failure on this animal. This is the ENTRY of the bullet.

It was ackknowledged by Barnes that this bullet did not work correctly. It was a quartering away shot at about 200 yards.

In Barnes defense, they did communicate with me and tried to answer my concerns.
Also the bullets were very accurate. I was told that these copper cored bullets just perform differently than lead core.

I did lose a zebra, and I am very disappointed. But, that could have very well been a bad shot by me. Its hard to tell. We had a good blood trail that just dried up.

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

Thanks woodruff!

Sure wish I could get some POWERPOINTS for my 375RUM!

Got a friend that shoots 150 Siroccos through his 300RUM that makes entry holes like the pic you posted,they explode on contact,I keep telling him they are too light/fast if they are exploding on contact,but he won't listen!

For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[woodruffhunter]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 06:47PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 06:47?PM (MST)

B-BOP:

Do you get complete pass throughs on deer and elk?

Who makes the powerpoints?

 

[bucklover]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 06:54PM (MST)[p]I've killed quite a few elk, deer, and antelope, with Barnes 140 gr. Triple Shock Boattails. I have recovered several, one a total pass through on an elk and one not, also on an elk. They have all been perfect four prong expansions. When I weighed them they had lost absolutely nothing. Still 140 grains. I was amazed! My only complaint is that I get terrible blood shot through the whole shot tunnel, and a large area of the entry side.

 

[ktg]

>LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11
>AT 06:54?PM (MST)
>
>I've killed quite a few elk,
>deer, and antelope, with Barnes
>140 gr. Triple Shock Boattails.
>I have recovered several, one
>a total pass through on
>an elk and one not,
>also on an elk. They
>have all been perfect four
>prong expansions. When I weighed
>them they had lost absolutely
>nothing. Still 140 grains. I
>was amazed! My only complaint
>is that I get terrible
>blood shot through the whole
>shot tunnel, and a large
>area of the entry side.
>

My experience is the same with triple shocks. Every animal but 1 has been a 1 shot kill, all tipping over within 30 yards. The only bullet I recovered was from an Oryx and it was expanded perfectly and lost maybe 0.1 grains of weight. Entry and exit holes are small but the internal damage is like a bomb went off inside.

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

woodruff!

Winchester makes the PowerPoints!

Used them for years & they do Major Damage out of 7MAGS & 300WSM!

I get RAZZED from people like REDDOG & a few others here on MM becuase(I guess?)the PowerPoints are not as accurate as some of the Newer Slugs out on the Market today!

They are Plenty Accurate for me!

Once I find an Animal I want,I wanna tear him in half!

Most shots are not pass throughs!

Hide on the opposite side usually catches the Slug,thus the Animal taking 100% of the Shock the Bullet delivers!

They hit hard!

Alot of people will say:GOOD GAWD YOU RUINED A ROAST,YUP I DID,BUT I DIDN"T WASTE AN ANIMAL BY LOSING HIM!

I'm gonna try the 270 Grain Barnes Triple Shocks in the 375RUM,if they don't Perform they'll get Trash-Canned!

Hopefully I'm gonna see if a PISSCUTTER can take a hit from a 375RUM in the Broadside!



For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[just_a_hunter]

I will never use Barnes bullets again. I too carried them to Africa.

These were all recovered from african game. 450 gr. .458 Lott and 300 grain from a .375 H&H. Most of them penciled through my animals. Caliber sized entrance and exits with little terminal damage.

Todd

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

just a hunter?

Which Barnes Slugs were they?

For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[one_dryboot]

I am not a barnes fan for many of the reasons posted. Im actually surprised to see your results after all the hype over barnes. I dont want a bullet that pencils through and does very little damage and I dont care if it holds 100% weight. I want a bullet that does massive internal damage and puts the animal down without bullet failure

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

Nothin I Hate worse than a Pencil Hole in & out!

That's why I quit using WORTHLESS CoreLokts many,many years ago!




For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[one_dryboot]

Hey bop, How many years we talkin?

 

[woodruffhunter]

Thanks for the responses. I am done using these bullets.

What's funny is that I had great results using Fusion bullets on my bison hunt a few years back. But, I thought I needed a "premium" bullet so I went with Barnes. Live and learn....

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

Hey Wet Boot!

Don't remember the exact year,around 1985 though!

Drilled a Buck Broadside,drilled a Rib going in,drilled a Rib going out,if it hadn't of drilled the Liver that PISSCUTTER woulda lived!

PISS ON CORELOKTS!

For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[BigMedicine]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 10:05PM (MST)[p]I have had good luck with barnes bullets on deer. This is a older model barnes bullet, a moly coated 130 grain .30 cal. Recovered from a deer was shot at 310 yards.

In think in gereral African game are hard on all bullets. These are .338 cal 225 grain Nosler partitions from my trip to Namibia last year. I remember thinking that I should use Barnes bullets on my next safari, but maybe I will think twice about that. Several of my partitions broke apart, but I suppose they did deliver most of their energy into the animal vs. a pass through.

 

[just_a_hunter]

Those were all the trippleshock line. As bad as I don't like corelocks I would rather use them then Barnes.

I went through a huge premium bullet phase. I tried them all and have taken many animals with premiums. Anymore, I load up plain jane Hornadys or Speers and go hunting. Sierras shoot awesome but a bit soft for my taste.

Happy hunting to all!

Todd

 

[just_a_hunter]

BigMedicine,

I think those Partitions performed just like they are supposed to. The front part of the bullet sheds but the partition keeps it penetrating and I'm willing to bet they have 60% weight retention. They are a great bullet IMHO..

Todd

 

[1911]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-26-11 AT 10:52PM (MST)[p]I used barnes on a bull moose last fall. I was was not inclined to jump on the barnes bandwagon at all but someone who knows more about it than I did talked me into it. Peformed as advertised out of my .338 Fed. Looking at a recovered bullet it looked to be at or very close to full weight retention and perfectly mushroomed. I would not hesitate to use them out of that rifle again.

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

I haven't got them loaded yet but I did Buy 150 BARNES 270 TSX for my 375RUM!

Them f'rs drill one hole I'll Trash-Can them all!

Also bought a Box of 50 HORNADY 270 Grain Slugs!

For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[woodruffhunter]

Bop said:


"Them f'rs drill one hole I'll Trash-Can them all!"

Ha ha, another classic quote lol... You'll have a box of dealers lol... J/K

If you're in the basin tomorrow, give me a call. I'll be in your backyard tomorrow...

 

[NONYAMT]

If you have Barnes coming apart on you whoever is loading the ammo is to blame.

 

[mevertsen]

I have not jumped on the "Premium" bandwagon yet. I shot some Partitions once, and they did not group well at all. I load 150 grain Speer Hot Cor's in my .30-06 which will cover everything in Nevada except for elk. I will be loading some 180 grain Hornady's for elk. I can shoot for 1/3 the cost, get just as good accuracy, and the simple bullets kill just as well.

Marcial

 

[just_a_hunter]

>If you have Barnes coming apart
>on you whoever is loading
>the ammo is to blame.
>


Yup... Make sure to not use the data listed in the Barnes loading manual.....

Todd

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

Dang it woodruff!

Gonna miss you again,sorry!

---------------------------------------------------------
And I Quote:

Yup... Make sure to not use the data listed in the Barnes loading manual.....

Wow.....You can't use Barnes loading Data with their Bullets?

I had heard alot of Good about BARNES Bullets right here on MM in previous Threads!

I will not chance a Bullet that 'might' Fail!

I have heard alot of:"The Animal only went 30-100 Yards" stories even with big caliber Guns!

I even tried finding some Ballistic Tip SilverTips in .375,but can't find any anywhere,I want MAXIMUM damage!

I've also heard mixed experiences with them,some good,some not so good!





For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[bogey]

No matter what bullet we are talking about, I find it a bit strange finding "failed" bullets in dead animals.

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

Well bogey!

woodruff talks of a lost animal & takes a close look at Bullet performance like most Sportsmen would & should!

If he can pass on first hand experience with the Bullets He's been using it just might save somebody some trouble in the Future!

If my Core Lokt comments pissed anybody off that's just too bad,I won't use JUNK ammo & take big chances on drilling holes through animals!

Now I'm concerned about the the BARNES TSX's I've bought for my 375RUM,if they don't perform they are going in the Trash Can!

Ya,I'm just about to say PISS on the Environmentally/KALI/Condor Safe Bullets,but I won't knock them until I try them!





For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[Zeke]

I've used Barnes on elk exclusively for decades with stellar results, starting with the old X bullet! We shot 33 animals in Africa with the Barnes TSX with perfect results. I couldn't even count the other critters that my kids and I have killed with the Barnes X or TSX or TTSX. Deer, elk, pronghorn, bear, sheep ets. They've always worked great for us!

ZERO FAILURES! 100% animal recovery!

Zeke

PS. I've only ever recovered 3 bullets and they could have been used at the "poster-child" of great bullet performance.

Sorry you had a problem.

 

[justr_86]

I shot barnes out of my 300 wm. I went away from them for cost and I wanted the animal to soak up every ft lb of energy I had too offer. I want it dead in its tracks, not dead 30-100 yds away.100% weight retention means nothing to me... Shoot them if you want, don't if you don't. I can't wait to try the accubonds on elk this year. My gun loves them! I loaded them cheaper than I can buy powerpoints which are great bullets.

 

[springbear]

I too have seen barnes "fail". Looked like the one above that just opened at the tip, never excceding the caliber. That bullet was shot at close range and hit a fair amount of bone on the way through.
I have also spotted for a guy that drilled a very nice 6 point bull with a barnes. never found it. We were very confident of the shot placement, but found little blood, and we were in snow. It seemed like we tracked that bull to the end of the earth. The shot was about 300 yards under completely a calm situation; weather, animal and very experienced shooter.

A guy that works for me shoots them pretty much always. He has a jar full of them and they all look jsut like the advertisements.... So who knows.

Based on my experiences with them, I will not shoot them.

 

[BIGJOHNT]

I dont think there is one MAGIC bullet out there that does it all !! Not to get into a long wind explanation. Its about bullet placement. Its what vital organs or vains your bullets takes out that kills a animal. That being said, A well placed bullet that expands reliable making a bigger wound channel is what you want.
In the early days ..yes I am almost as old as BESSY . We started shooting the big magnums and where having problems with bullets coming apart. This is when Barnes came in and the other companys with higher quality bullets that cound stay togther coming out of a barrel at 3800 fps.
I have had good luck with Barnes and my guns have shot them well. As long as I do my part. ;-)

 

[hank4elk]

I've had good luck with 165 Barnes tsx in my 30-06,deer,pigs and elk.30 cal. going in and quarter size hole coming out thru the vitals.Usually double lunged or heart shot.Recovered two that where perfect petals under skin on opposite side.Factory loads or spec's...

 

[CHWine]

My first Africa trip I shot 7mm Hornady 162 interlocks. Those would shoot awesome groups and I was confident. African animals aren't like North American things and I had a heck of a time killing stuff. Luckily I didn't loose anything. Other trips I went to partitions with better success. I have no problem using things like accubonds or ballistic tips on deer and antelope, but elk, bear or big african stuff is gonna get partitions or TSX's from me.

Venison and Zinfandel are GOOD!

 

[BPKHunter]

I
>have no problem using things
>like accubonds or ballistic tips
>on deer and antelope, but
>elk, bear or big african
>stuff is gonna get partitions
>or TSX's from me.

Under what basis would you lump Accubonds with Ballistic Tips. I would use Accubonds under any and all situations, especially if you want accuracy mixed with full energy imparted into the animal. I would lump Accubonds with Partitions, not ballistic tips.

 

[KNOTFERSAIL]

> I
>>have no problem using things
>>like accubonds or ballistic tips
>>on deer and antelope, but
>>elk, bear or big african
>>stuff is gonna get partitions
>>or TSX's from me.
>
>Under what basis would you lump
>Accubonds with Ballistic Tips.
>I would use Accubonds under
>any and all situations, especially
>if you want accuracy mixed
>with full energy imparted into
>the animal. I would
>lump Accubonds with Partitions, not
>ballistic tips.

+1000,BPK

accubonds are the sh!t in my book,

kill'd alota animals with them in different calibers.

no complaints here,

 

[buttshot]

For the past 25 years I have bought and used Winchester factory loaded 180 gn power points.I have taken my share of elk and the occasional deer(how can a guy stomach deer meat?). I bought some Federal 180 gn partitions and have not got a chance to kill an animal with them but continue to use them, for practice really . I bought a box of 180gn Winchester ballistic tips and penciled through a little raghorn. He only made about 3 steps and tipped over. Perfect lung shot. In all the years I've hunted, I have only recovered 1 bullet, a power point 180 gn Winchester. It is pretty damn flat. About 5/8" diameter. I bought a box of Barnes TTSX 225 gn .338 boattails, you guys have almost scared me from loading them.??

 

[NONYAMT]

>No matter what bullet we are
>talking about, I find it
>a bit strange finding "failed"
>bullets in dead animals.
>

EXACTLY

 

[B_BOP_A_LU_LU]

buttshot!

Why would you shoot anything other than POWER POINTS after they've treated you so well?

Guaran-GAWD-Damn-Teed,If I could buy POWER POINTS for my 375 they could keep all other Slugs!



For GAWDS Sakes Guys,We Got Kids on this Site,Some of them are 65 years Old!

I don't care if they're big or small!
If they throw lead I like em all!

 

[llamapacker]

I've used Barnes TSX bulletes on everything from ground squirrels, to feral hogs to cape buffalo. I am extremely satisfied with their performance. I took some of the first run of .375 TSX bullets to Africa and used them on hippo, Buffalo, giraffe, and countless other animals with outstanding results. Almost all recovered bullets looked like the advertisements. On one eland the bullet lost one petal after breaking the hip joint. Big deal.
I currently load TSX bullets in many calibers, from .257 Roberts up through .416 Rigby. They remain my bullet of choice for everything but elephant, where I prefer a full solid.I have well over 100 big game animals taken with Barnes TSX bullets, including elk, sheep, mountain goats, deer, etc.

Being an admitted reloading fanatic, I have kept all recovered projectiles from animals for some 35+ years now. Before Barnes bullets, I used Nosler Partitions religiously. I still have no objections to Nosler bullets. I've used everything from Trophy bonded, Swift, Woodleigh, Grand Slam, A-square, Bear Claw and probably several other "premium" bullets over the years. Most have their place over a prescribed velocity range. Barnes is no different, but in my expereince has a greater lattitude of acceptable velocities for appropriate performance. As earlier mentioned, shot placement is really the key, and I even have several containers of Speer hot cores and Sierra gamekings that did their job and killed the animal. In my expereince, many of our preconceived notions about what a bullet "should" do are not really grounded in good science. Many years of serious study has convinced me that Barnes makes one of the very best hunting bullets on the market today. That still doesn't mean that a 30 caliber supermagnum whatever won't blow through a 25 pound steinbuck at 10 yards. The animal will still be lying there dead at your feet, however.

Bill

 

[woodruffhunter]

llama said:

"That still doesn't mean that a 30 caliber supermagnum whatever won't blow through a 25 pound steinbuck at 10 yards"

I guess I can sense your sarcasm. I readily admited that I expected this to happen to the smaller game.

The whole point of the post was to relate MY experience. If you like them, good for you. It makes no difference to me.

I actually thought the guys at Barnes did a good job explaining several factors about the bullets that I was unaware of. And, they made sense (for the most part). But, that doesn't mean I am going to use them.

The point was also made that "shot placement is everything and, what does it matter, it was dead". I agree to a point. However, as good of a shot as one might be, don't you think there is a remote possibility that one day you might hit an animal a few inches back. Would a better bullet saved you from losing an animal?

I did admit that I lost an animal. Thats proof I probably shot a little too far back. Maybe a better bullet would have left a better blood trail??

I sure hope they do find it eventually, it would be interesting to see where I hit it.

 

[dogdoc]

Sounds like a lot of good and bad on both sides. I personally love the TSX. I shoot 165 grain out of my 300 win, and they have never let me down. Killed a moose in BC two years ago, two chest shots at 375 yards. One pass through and the other recovered just under the skin on the opposite side. Complete textbook expansion. Chest cavity destroyed, end of story. I wont shoot anything else out of this gun. Just my 2 cents.

 

[buttshot]

Kinda like your favorite beer, gotta try one of the premiums once in a while.
I sure do like the Winchester factory loads though...

 

[utah450]

I started loading them last year. They accuracy for me has been great. One shot on my mule deer with a complete pass through at 351 yards. He never even took a step, just rolled down the hill. I recovered a bullet out of a the far shoulder on a calf elk and it was textbook expansion. She went about 30 yards. That shot was about fifty yards, so I expected to loose some of the petals, but they held.

[URLwww.sjoutfitting.com][/URL]
YouTube

 

[llamapacker]

woodruff,

I wasn't raggin' on you or anyone else. From what you said you were using a very appropriate caliber / bullet combination. I understand you are dissatisfied. I wasn't trying to convince you differently, but likewise relating my experience.

Pass-throughs are not an issue for me. I generally expect them when I place the bullet appropriately. And most any bullet, even good old pure cast lead, will effectively kill if placed in the boiler room. I try to choose my bullets to give me the quickest kills, under the widest range of conditions. Sometimes I pick incorrectly, as most of us do. I remember being very surprised once having killed an impala at 50 yards with a 375H+H using 300 grain trophy bonded bullets. Most would say this was a little overkill, but I wasn't really hunting impala. However, the bullet was under the off side skin of this animal, which probably didn't weigh much over 100 pounds. The bullet literally moved the impala several feet, and dumped all its energy into the animal, literally throwing it down dead on the spot. My inititial reaction after my joy at the clean kill, was that the bullet should have easily been a pass-through. I originally considered this a failure, but recognize now the physics of what really occurred.
My overall premise is it takes a lot of expereince and an objective analysis to make sense of terminal ballistics. I continue to learn, and doubt I'll ever be an expert. But for me, I have experienced outstanding results with Barnes TSX bullets on a very wide range of game animals. Your mileage may vary.
Bill

 

[woodruffhunter]

No problem and your point is well taken. There will never be a perfect bullet, perfect caliber.... But, it's kind of fun to research and try to figure things out. It's been very interesting hearing everyone opinions! Thanks for the clarification!!!

 

[Zeke]

Not to get too far off the subject but here's a little story or two about bullets that come apart too quickly.....

While in Mongolia (1986), my brother and I shot 6 pt stags (elk) with a very accurate bullet but the fragile construction made penetration almost impossible. Bro shot his bull 6 times before it went down. I shot mine 3x. The bullets failed for elk. We were not shooting little guns or light bullets! Some may say "you killed them and that's all that matters". To this I say "BS".

For years I have performed a necropsy to determine why and how the animal died, what the bullet hit, how it perpormed, what the animal did after the hit(s).

I hear the lauding of certain bullets which fall into the junk catagory.... according to me.

Just because a bullet can punch cute little groups in paper does not make it a hunting bullet. After 4+ decades of big game whackin' I have some strong ideas on which bullets work for me.

Choose wisely my brothers!

Zeke

 

[LongRangeBangin]

Zeke, which bullet(s) do you prefer, and shooting out of what caliber rifles......Thanks

 

[MaineFlatlander]

Sorry you didn't get what you expected. I have had nothing but excellent results. Over the past couple of years have had nothing but one shot kills. Last year was three antelope at or over 300 yards-25-06 100 gr TTSX, I have also shot three moose, mule deer, whitetail deer (over 200 lbs dressed)and a few other things. All with Barnes TTSX. NONE of them went over 20 yards but I could care less if they went 100 if they were dead.( had that happen many times with other ammo. No big deal) I have also used them in nothing but my "wimpy" guns like the 25-06, 257 Roberts, and my super magnum for moose.....7mm-08. Maybe I'm on to something here??? BTW-just because a bullet passed thru doesn't mean it delivered more energy. A bullet with 1000 ft-lbs of energy at impact and stops delivers it all. A bullet with 2000 ft-lbs at impact but exits MAY or MAY NOT have dropped 1000 ft-lbs of energy into the target. Without knowing the speed of the bullet as it exits there is no way to measure it. And yes the amount of "damage" done inside can be influenced by bullet expansion, bullet fragments, bone frags etc.

 

[woodruffhunter]

Zeke:

I'm interested as well, what bullets you are shooting.

 

[Zeke]

Well like I said I have some strong personal opinions on the subject. My opinions might not be yours and/or others so everyone should do what they want. With that said here goes.

The Ballistic tip is fine for deer size game up through .284 dia. In the 30 cal and up, the BT is way too violent (lacking penetration) for me. I've shot Interlocks and here also they're too explosive.

In 30 cal mags (short, win, ultra) I've successfully used the X, TSX, TTSX. These work well, for me, in a .277 .284 .323 and .338 dia calibers as well. The old fail safe is a great bullet for elk, bear and moose type stuff but the BC is quite low so if you're a LR shooter look elsewhere. Actually it's hard to beat an old partition in most calibers ("boringly reliable"- Bob Hagel. Here again it may lack some BC qualities.

The two or three "new" bullets which have been working well with tight groups and performance on big game are the accubond and the tsx, ttsx. I think the TSX is better for elk, better penetration. The ttsx is better for deer, sheep size stuff but I've killed a couple elk with them too. The tip promoted quicker expansion.

I've only shot 1 elk with a vld. It's sexy and it killed but lacked penetration for my taste. I don't have extensive experience with the vld so it's only a narrow view point.

Used a few 150 interbonds from a 308 win on deer. worked fine. Not as much experience with these.... well... I did use them on a couple deer from a 270wsm. Worked fine too.

I've used a bunch of others over the years and there are a bunch which I have not. I don't have experience with them all.

If you run into me, or any of the other 11 family members for which I load, you'll see our ammo tipped with a TSX, TTSX or an Accubond for hunting big game. We'll be shooting whichever shoots the best, with the bullet weight for the animal we're hunting.

Remember, as hunters we all ask a lot from our bullets. They must expand at extreme range (expand and impart energy at low velocity), and hold together at close range (not blow to pieces and lose penetration). It's a tall order for any bullet and no doubt some fail..... especially when we look at the differences in target densities (bones vs flesh).

Ok, for what it's worth, there's my 2 cents.


Good luck to all. I'm off to scout for a big bull right now. See ya all on Monday.

Zeke

 

[mtmuley]

What the Hell is the matter with you people? You obviously haven't noticed that the Berger VLD is THE wonder bullet. mtmuley

 

[one_dryboot]

Yep, I have shot alot of animals(Bear,elk,deer) with the Berger Vld and I will say they do a great job! I was hesitant at first because of those that think they are a "target bullet" but they have never shot an animal with them. after shooting animal after animal with them and watching how fast they put the animal down, and effective they are, I will probably never shoot another bullet!
The part that has really sold me on this so called "wonder bullet" is when I shot my black bear on the point of the shoulder. The bear dropped and never moved. When I opened him up to see what damage it caused I was shocked to see that the vld absolutely destroyed his lungs, heart. It looked like a bomb went off in his chest. And it has happend time and time again with deer and elk.
Another thing that has sold me on the vld is its ability to turn marginal hits into leathal kills. Probably doesnt make sense huh??? Example, Lets say you hit an animal in the guts with a barnes. what happens? well the bullet holds 100% weight and pencils through causing minimal damage with minimal bleeding. and unless that pencil hits something, that animal is going a long long way.
Then you hit an animal in the same exact spot with a vld and the bullet penetrates a few inches then violently expands and sheds its pedels, throwing shrapnel in all directions, causing a big would channel with more bleeding and more damage with a better chance of recovering the animal.
Dont knock it till ya try it! Ive used both to take animals, and I have had and seen good and bad shots with both. both will kill with the "perfect shot" , but one clearly does a better job on the not so perfect shots.

 

[Zeke]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-01-11 AT 10:07AM (MST)[p]Everyone likes something different. If VLD's work for you, use them.

Fragile bullets are nothing new. They've been around for decades. The VLD is a beautiful bullet with a high BC and great accuracy potential. If you want a bullet which blows apart, shoots great and flies superbly, then this is for you.
It isn't what I'm looking for in a bullet (even though I've openly admitted my very limited experience with the VLD).

In my circles "penetration" is not a dirty word.

Kill a big ram one-dry!

Zeke

 

[one_dryboot]

Zeke,

I agree! but your gonna have your second experience with the vld this year cuz your gonna be looking through a spotting scope as I pound my ram! Then a little later that night after we repel off cliffs, were gonna eat some of that rocky mtn oyster youve been talking about!

 

[Zeke]

Now you're talkin', my friend! I'm all in for the oysters! LOL

Zeke