Why I like Barnes bullets

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H&Hhunter

H&Hhunter

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Here is a picture of two bullets I recovered from cape buffalo this summer. A solid and an X. I couldn't ask for better performance from a bullet.

These are 500Gr .475 bullets started at a muzzel velocity of 2150FPS. Both went all the way through the bull and were found under the skin on the off side.

Barnesbuffalobullets.jpg
 
Did you measure the X for weight retention?
Click to expand...

Seargent,

The Barnes X
weighs 498grs.
:D

I'd call that weight retention.........

The bullets were in fact from the buffalo pictured in That thread.

Recognize this ole boy?

He's the bullet stopper..

Dagatheboys2.jpg
 
H&H, I bet you were glad you had your little buddy with you with that AK47 just in case. :uhoh: :rolleyes: :D








My buddy was told when he was in Zimbabwe 'that whatever you do if a buff or an elephant charges make sure that the game warden with the AK is in front of you because he will spray the whole area.' The guide was dead serious. They came very close on one occasion when a cow elephant came at them and stopped just a few feet short of where the guide said they would have to "drop her".
 
AK?

Hmm. . . Guess it would depend on the PH, and the Game Scout. Personally, I'll take my chances with an express rifle that has a first initial .4 over the local guy's AK.

My PH stressed that, no matter what, I should follow his lead. Run if he ran (we did a couple of times), shoot if he shot (fortunately we didn't have to do that). He stressed that, in Zim, the PH is responsible for all game taken, whether shot by tracker, himself, the game scout, or whatever, as it is the PH's responsibility to conduct the hunt in a safe manner. If a game scout shot up an ele, HE'D get the fine, as he would be responsible for letting the hunt get out of control.

The key, of course, is to follow the lead of your PH. If he wants the local game scout out front with his AK, then that's what you should do. Just never heard of it, that's all.

Come to think about it, the game scout frequently left his AK in the truck when we'd set out after tracks. I wonder if it actually worked?
 
H&H,

I thought you used Woodleigh bullets? Or are these Woodleighs loaded with Barnes X? I'm too lazy to go back and read the whole story. :p

brad cook
 
DigMe:

H&H didn't use the Woodleigh bullets, I did. His Barnes X worked just like it was supposed to every time.

The two Woodleigh's I stuck into buffalo both opened too fast and too far. The first one came apart into at least 3 pieces. We found a piece about 100 gr outside the ribcage, and a couple of other pieces inside, one of which got into the heart, so it worked out OK.

The second Woodleigh, on my second buff, went in short, hit the spine area but turned sharply up toward the head WITHOUT BREAKING THE SPINE. After dropping dramatically at the first shot, the buff was getting up to run off and would probably have gotten away clean if I hadn't tagged him again with a solid. That solid (another Barnes, that looks just like H&H's, i.e., new in box except for rifling marks), penetrated in a straight line and got the job done.

I think the Woodleigh's weren't up to the task of .458 Lott velocities. I'd heard nothing but good reports about them from .458 Win Mag users, and they have a good reputation. They are marked for velocities from 1800 to 2200, and I loaded down 6 grains from max so as not to overspeed the bullets, but apparently it wasn't enough. On the other hand, they really turned out to be a great impala bullet, two one-shot clean kills.
 
that's pretty impressive. What's the blue stuff on the bullets?
Click to expand...

That is the coating that Barnes puts on some of their line of bullets. I believe it is a teflon lube of some kind as opposed to moly lubed bullets from other manufacturers.
 
H&H, I bet you were glad you had your little buddy with you with that AK47 just in case
Click to expand...

Kudu,

Yeah it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside....:uhoh: :D :D :D
 
H&H hunter, I was reading the other thread and got to wondering. About how much would a rifle like your double (or one suitable for DG) cost? And what does ammunition to feed such large rifles cost?
 
Nico,

A true DG double gun will cost you some bucks no matter which way you cut it.

The cheapest useable double that I know of is the S-2 Blaser. They start at about $6800 USD.

Then the Kreighoff, they start at around $8500 I think.

My rifle is a Searcy which I find to be one of the finest, most accurate, strongest built doubles on the planet plus it is an ejector rifle which the Kreighoff and the Blaser are not.

The base model Seacy sells for $9500. Go to www.searcyent.com. and have a look.

If you want to buy an H&H or a Rigby the tag starts at around $30,000.


I reload my .470 ammo but if you were to buy it I think the cheapest is Superior for about $100.00 per twenty Federals are like $200.00 per box.
reloading I've got it down to around $1.80 a round.

Now for the realistic side of DG rifles. You can buy any number of bolt guns in adequate calibers from .375H&H up to the mighty .505 Gibbs for under a thousand dollars. I'd recomend the Winchester model 70 Safari or stainless synthetic in either a .375 H&H for the SS or .458 win mag in wood and blued. These rifles will run you right around grand.

CZ USA also builds a fine seies of mauser style rifles in their 550 line in all of the popular DG calibers .375H&H, .416Rigby, .458Lott, and starting this year .404Jefferys, and .505 Gibbs.

These rifles retail for about $750.00.

As far as ammo goes I own a .458Lott and a .375H&H I reload for both which with the availability of commercial brass is about the same price as reloading for any other center fire rifle. If you were to buy your ammo you can get .375H&H ammo for like $25.00 a box and the Lott is like $60.00.

There are any number of manufactures that I haven't mentioned who make large caliber bolt rifles for a fair price.

But if you want a reliable well built useable double break out the coin partner they ain't cheap. :)
 
I'm impressed with the Barnes bullets also. I've seen the 250gr 45 cal bullet they make for the inline muzzle loaders work on elk and deer. Both one shot kills. One bullet lost one grain of weight, both opened up perfectly and stopped under the skin on the off side.
I'd like to try some in my vintage 45-70. Anything that helps make a quick kill like that is worth the departure from tradition when it comes to killin game.
 
Brad,

I think that Berreta is gorgeous! However, this is a little piece of wisdom I picked up from some long time gun smiths and double gun shooters. Never use a a high pressure rimless cartridge in a double gun. Because sometime somewhere that sucker will stick and fail to extract. At least according to just about every serious double gun dude I've ever spoken to.

A double should be a low pressure rimed cartridge such as any of the NE rounds.

And this should set off the rimed Vs rimless Vs CRF Vs pushfeed Vs low pressure Vs high pressure argument quite nicely.....:rolleyes:
 
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