[M.Rios]

I don't have a 6.8 yet, however I have placed a deposit and it is on order.

I CAN NOT afford to buy loaded ammo, Thus I am already looking to buy bullets and am decided on hornady 110vmax

I want to have the very best round possible for some of my loads and the Barnes bullet comes up in discussions quite a bit.

However at over 60cents per bullet, I am curious as to what it can do that other quality rds can't. This bullet cost nearly 3 times more than the hornady's, so what is it that I can not see.

Is it simply the name and reputation that you are paying for, if that is the case I can pass however in terms of performance I think I only saw a difference of 305 vs 338 yards of maxium performance out of a 16in barrel which is what I will be shooting. Is the primary performance of this bullet only superior to hornady in short barreled weapons

Please shead some light on me and bring me out of the dark, even if it is just a word or two

Thanks

M. Rios

 

[owenslee]

Be aware that the Hornady 110 VMax tends to run a little undersize and are not known for stellar accuracy in the 6.8
By contrast the 110g Sierra Pro Hunters are cheaper and seem to be uniformly accurate with almost any of the faster burning powders suitable for the 6.8...I.E. H322, Xterminator, RE-7...etc.

The benefit of the Barnes solid copper bullet is the terminal performance. They are popular because they penetrate and expand reliably and are perhaps the most effective bullet available for dropping tough hard to kill boars.

 

[ron169]

Well, the 85 gr barnes just obtains such a high velocity, it absolutely shatters hogs. Now would I buy barnes to punch paper... no. But a box of 50 to last a whole year is worth it

 

[constructor]

Diito what the guys above said, The Sierra Prohunter is a great deer load and very accurate loaded out to 2.3" when using PRI mags, the pro hunter will also work on hogs if a heart lung shot is taken, it is best to load them hot to get good terminal performance. If you don't want to pay the price for the Barnes then the PH would be my next choice.
The Barnes 85 TSX is just nasty, I have seen large hogs est 275lb shot through both shoulders. I shot through 10 pieces of 3/4" OSB(thats the press board used in flooring of houses) with the 85 and the bullet comes out intact with all 4 pedals on it!
The Vmax is a Varmint bullet for the 270, I am not sur how it performs on game but HTR can tell you. I am sure he will be around shortly.

 

[HTR]

There is a distinct difference in the performance of the 85 grain TSX versus all other 6.8 SPC bullets. For its weight, it does things that none of the other bullets do:

1) achieves highest for caliber velocity

2) retains 90-100% of its weight despite good expansion

3) penetrates deeply even through bone

4) defeats barriers

Unfortunately, there are not enough manufacturers yet making monolithic bullets, but this should increase now that Kommifornia has mandated no-lead bullets. I just pay the price, wince, and watch as 200-300 pound hogs go down DRT with one shot. As Constr8uctor said, this is the only bullet I have ever seen that goes through and through both shoulders of a big hog.

It sometimes takes 2-3 rounds with 5.56 to kill them, so the cost is probably evening out. Think steel shot versus Hevi-Shot.

Otherwise, buy up a bunch of Sierra ProHunters, and Speer 90 grain TNT's for your general purpose bullets. That, with about 100 of the TSX's for serious game, should be about all you ever need.

 

[marinesg1012]

HTR- You havent shot a deer in the ribs with one of these 85's yet have you? Have you shot a pig through the ribs or just H's hog through the shoulders?

 

[rcrandall]

I fired a Barnes 85gr TSX through a van (testing ammo on cars) and it sailed through the windshield and three additional barriers before exiting. No deflection, strait as a laser beam. Look at rifle ammo the same as you would as handgun ammo. The majority of ammo you buy (or reload) will probably be the cheaper stuff for training/plinking. Then you buy a few mags of the expensive defensive/premium hunting stuff.

 

[Megalos]

this says everything I need to know

 

[Equalizer_2]

this says everything I need to know

Is that the 85 gr or the 110?

 

[Megalos]

it's the 110

 

[yblow]

Why buy barnes???

1) I ordered bullets last friday they were on my doorstep on monday!!!

2) Good customer service and awsome bullet!!!

3) Plus no lead so if you live in California there legal to hunt in the ""codor zones""


If you dont want to spend the money and dont hunt in Ca then i would go with Nosler partition. Or sierra are cheap but good luck finding those in stock.

 

[HTR]

1) Adam...no I have not shot a deer through the ribs with the 85's. I got them in the end of the deer season, so I did not have a chance to try it. Next season, yes, I will for sure. I did shoot several pigs through the ribs, and they were DRT. I shot one in the ass, and it went ALL THE WAY THROUGH end to end and out the left shoulder...Holy crap, man... :shock: :shock: :shock:


2) Now, take that 110 TSX at 2600 FPS, and imagine the damage you will get when you shoot a very similar bullet at 3100 FPS into the same target. The extra weight is relatively moot in this bullet design, because the hydrostatic pressure comes from the expansion of the frontal area in the bullet created by its mushroom. Yes, I know that energy is dependent upon mass and velocity, but when you look at bullet damage to a target, we all agree that superior bullet design trumps caliber, bullet weight or velocity by itself, every time. So, if you have superior bullet design, coupled with extreme velocity, then I will give up the extra weight to make sure that this bullet splatters at the tip and peels all the way back. That tears a huge hole and makes a big, pear shaped tissue defect as it traverses the target. The speed and integrity of the monolithic metal design allows for the projectile to traverse the target much farther than if it was slower....or if it separated into pieces. If it did not expand, then you simply have a needle wound, and that is another story altogether.

-The bullet must stay together to transfer all its energy as it moves through. Pieces of bullet do not carry the initial momentum of the striking projo. Their energy is exponentially reduced.

-The bullet must be moving fast enough to fully deform and create a large frontal area at impact.

-The bullet ideally should be constructed of a single metal, so as to allow for the material to perform as a single mass rather than for a jacket and core to be able to separate.

The Barnes TSX, TTSX and the GS bullets all do this. Everything else is a poser in comparison. The Rolls Royce costs a bit more than the Ford Festiva for a reason.

I think this answers your question.

 

[M.Rios]

Thanks to everyone for their posts, I really do appreciate it.

Someone mentioned to look at it as you would hand gun ammo (ie practice and HD) and I will do exactly that.

I hadn't seen those gel pic's, and that is impressive.

I will get some, I believe I saw some sight with them for like 27bucks

Dose anyone shoot the tsx out of 308, it is argueably the best rd for 308 too.

Once again Thanks

I love this forum it is like no other in terms of knowlege, and a key difference, willingness to share such knowlege

M. Rios

 

[marinesg1012]

1) Adam...no I have not shot a deer through the ribs with the 85's. I got them in the end of the deer season, so I did not have a chance to try it. Next season, yes, I will for sure. I did shoot several pigs through the ribs, and they were DRT. I shot one in the ass, and it went ALL THE WAY THROUGH end to end and out the left shoulder...Holy crap, man... :shock: :shock: :shock:

Thanks I want to see what they will do to a lighter skinned animal, they should open but you never know... I am thinking about using these as my main game rounds... pig/deer and bear if one comes around....

As a side note the 85 gets about 18 inches of penetration compared (if I remember from a thread Doc posted on) to the 22 or whatever it is the 110 gets...

 

[Jamesb74]

definitly the main hunting round. I have some SSA and some that I am going to load for sight-in/performace develop on my rifle. I will be buying lots of these in the future. After all that was said here I think I am going to look into the GS alot more for a precision round and possibly hunting.

 

[HTR]

- Save your sheckles

- pile 'em high

- load ' em long

- drive 'em fast

- that is all


:mrgreen:

 

[marinesg1012]

I ordered a bunch of the GS bullets as well, I may use those as my main hunting round and save the 85's as a back up....

We are getting so many options that I dont know what to do never had this issue with my 556's since I never considered them for general purpose hunting... I just kept 75 grain OTM rounds on hand as my do all and called it a day, for deer/bear or whatever I grabbed the '06.. now with my 6.8 I keep a bunch of ammo on hand becuase i can do everything with it so I need a bullet for each scenario...
Vmax for HD
OTM's as my truck ammo
Prohunters/accubonds for deer and other game
85's for the occasional pig hunt....

see my problem

 

[Jamesb74]

I ordered a bunch of the GS bullets as well, I may use those as my main hunting round and save the 85's as a back up....

We are getting so many options that I dont know what to do never had this issue with my 556's since I never considered them for general purpose hunting... I just kept 75 grain OTM rounds on hand as my do all and called it a day, for deer/bear or whatever I grabbed the '06.. now with my 6.8 I keep a bunch of ammo on hand becuase i can do everything with it so I need a bullet for each scenario...
Vmax for HD
OTM's as my truck ammo
Prohunters/accubonds for deer and other game
85's for the occasional pig hunt....

see my problem

Yes and it is a good one to have :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[bullseye_10X]

Just to confirm, I think I saw this in another post. The 85 gr. TSX and the 85 gr. Tac bullets are essentially the same, only named differently for marketing purposes right??

Bullseye_10x

 

[HTR]

Just to confirm, I think I saw this in another post. The 85 gr. TSX and the 85 gr. Tac bullets are essentially the same, only named differently for marketing purposes right??

Bullseye_10x

Yes...though I would have to say that Barnes is being a little cheeky here.

Slap the word tactical (Tac-X) on the EXACT SAME bullet, and then for good measure, slap on another dollar a box at a time when people can hardly afford the TSX as it is.

Good gracious, Barnes :roll: