• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Barnes Bullets- Are They In Production?

I bought some 6mm Match Burners from Midway in January and have seen them in stock since then.
 
I had a roughly 20% explosion ratio at the 2 day match last weekend in Phoenix. 6mm 112 matchburners running slow load of 2800 fps.

I personally will not be shooting Barnes bullets. The guys in my squad were watching the jackets just rip apart.
 
I've seen them a lot recently at Scheels and Cabela's, for awhile actually.
 
I had a roughly 20% explosion ratio at the 2 day match last weekend in Phoenix. 6mm 112 matchburners running slow load of 2800 fps.

I personally will not be shooting Barnes bullets. The guys in my squad were watching the jackets just rip apart.

@Northfl was telling me about someone having this same issue. They could see the core coming through the jacket.
Was this you or did someone else experience the same exact problem?
 
I had a roughly 20% explosion ratio at the 2 day match last weekend in Phoenix. 6mm 112 matchburners running slow load of 2800 fps.

I personally will not be shooting Barnes bullets. The guys in my squad were watching the jackets just rip apart.
Thats pretty bad...

I could see that in a 6.5" twist. But in a 7 to 7.5" that's an unacceptable failure rate.
 
I grabbed a bunch of 145 Matchburners for 6.5 Max w/ 8 twist. They seem to hold together fine in low 3200's but poof above 3300.
 
I follow them on bookface. They say they are working 7 days a week.
Picked up a case of loaded 5.56 62gr TSX about a month ago.
 
I haven't seen any that I need for over a year... been wanting to try the TTSX in my Grendel.
 
I had a roughly 20% explosion ratio at the 2 day match last weekend in Phoenix. 6mm 112 matchburners running slow load of 2800 fps.

I personally will not be shooting Barnes bullets. The guys in my squad were watching the jackets just rip apart.

What cartridge and what twist..? Anything else wonky the could have contributed to them coming apart..?

I've gone through ~1500 of them so far and haven't had any issues at all, they pretty much have behaved just like DTAC's for me running "slow" in a 26" Proof 7.5t 6creed ~2900fps...
 
I had a roughly 20% explosion ratio at the 2 day match last weekend in Phoenix. 6mm 112 matchburners running slow load of 2800 fps.

I personally will not be shooting Barnes bullets. The guys in my squad were watching the jackets just rip apart.
Was a fella that i trust with what he says pretty well was running the 6m 112 match burners this past weekend coming apart in him. Inspected some and found jackets thin enough to see the core. Wasnt in pheonix either. He was running them in a 7tw barrel i believe he said.
 
Yea it was Regina's match. The only thing I could attribute was maybe the heat? It was 110ish. It's a 6gt running my load around 2800 in a 7.5 twist bartlwin with only 1k rounds and freshly cleaned showing up to the match.

The only outside thing I can attribute is the heat, but that is still unacceptable to me regardless.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Birddog6424
@Northfl was telling me about someone having this same issue. They could see the core coming through the jacket.
Was this you or did someone else experience the same exact problem?
It might have been me if he was in squad 7, he said he would watch the jacket rip apart and watch the lead core just football down range elsewhere. As much as five shots in a stage would just be unaccounted for. It was kind of messed up because it was my first two day I tried and I really was having a hard time
 
No issues so far with two different lots of 105 MBs running 2820 out of an 8t 6-BR.
Shot them out to 1200yds.

Just got the barrel threaded today thanks to Rick at GCP rifles.
Will run them over the chrono on Thursday to mark any changes.

I can't get the 6.5 145s to shoot as well as I hoped. Maybe a different barrel will warm up to them.
 
It might have been me if he was in squad 7, he said he would watch the jacket rip apart and watch the lead core just football down range elsewhere. As much as five shots in a stage would just be unaccounted for. It was kind of messed up because it was my first two day I tried and I really was having a hard time
What was the lot number?
 
It might have been me if he was in squad 7, he said he would watch the jacket rip apart and watch the lead core just football down range elsewhere. As much as five shots in a stage would just be unaccounted for. It was kind of messed up because it was my first two day I tried and I really was having a hard time
I can relate to how frustrating that is. I had an identical weekend at last year's Northern Utah Barrel Burner running a 22 Creedmoor and 95gr SMKs.

Made for a long weekend..
 
SD, it wasnt me. I was in alabama . He did say when i talked to him sunday that he was putting ice packs in another compartment in his bag and cooling things down a bit the temp there was in the mid to upper 80’s. I dont think he had much of a problem on sunday
 
I have experienced 112 matchburners hitting a 650 plate sideways. Seemed like I had a bad lot. After that box I’ve had better consistency.
 
I remember seeing back in late '20 that Sierra picked up Barnes in the Remington bankruptcy.


I wonder if production has been integrated, or if they are still largely operating separately.

I've had good luck with the 105gr MBs, and picked up a couple hundred 112gr MBs to try in my new GT, didn't know they had a reputation for coming apart though.
 
I remember seeing back in late '20 that Sierra picked up Barnes in the Remington bankruptcy.


I wonder if production has been integrated, or if they are still largely operating separately.

I've had good luck with the 105gr MBs, and picked up a couple hundred 112gr MBs to try in my new GT, didn't know they had a reputation for coming apart though.

Still operating out of UT I believe.
 
Yea it was Regina's match. The only thing I could attribute was maybe the heat? It was 110ish. It's a 6gt running my load around 2800 in a 7.5 twist bartlwin with only 1k rounds and freshly cleaned showing up to the match.

The only outside thing I can attribute is the heat, but that is still unacceptable to me regardless.

IDK ...110 degF is pretty damn hot, and depending on the temps and humidity you last chrono'd your ~2800fps in, and what powder you were running, I would think the heat/humidity would more likely be the culprit more so than the bullets.

6GT can be pushing ~62,000psi at only ~2900fps, and things tend to get spikey with any cartridge near the top end... so if you were getting ~2800fps in temps that were happier and more livable for most humans (say maybe like 75-85degF or so) then you may have picked up a lot more speed (and pressure) than you thought.

I know here in humid-ass TN, I can actually pick up quite a bit of speed even in slightly cooler temps from what I've chrono'd in sometimes if it's a lot less humid...

That, or maybe a shitty lot of bullets? I've been shooting a bunch of them, but somehow I scored a shitload all from the same lot, so I might've just been luckier...
 
Thats fair, and honestly what I contribute it too. I did confirm the 2800 over the labradar the weekend before here in 101 degrees, so without a heavy bolt lift or extractor marks on the brass, it seemed to not be a problem running either here, or there during the match. It was just completely unexpected.
IDK ...110 degF is pretty damn hot, and depending on the temps and humidity you last chrono'd your ~2800fps in, and what powder you were running, I would think the heat/humidity would more likely be the culprit more so than the bullets.

6GT can be pushing ~62,000psi at only ~2900fps, and things tend to get spikey with any cartridge near the top end... so if you were getting ~2800fps in temps that were happier and more livable for most humans (say maybe like 75-85degF or so) then you may have picked up a lot more speed (and pressure) than you thought.

I know here in humid-ass TN, I can actually pick up quite a bit of speed even in slightly cooler temps from what I've chrono'd in sometimes if it's a lot less humid...

That, or maybe a shitty lot of bullets? I've been shooting a bunch of them, but somehow I scored a shitload all from the same lot, so I might've just been luckier...
 
  • Like
Reactions: CK1.0
Well, if you were 2800fps at 101degF that just makes it more unlikely you were not really getting up to bullet disintegration ludicrous speed at 110F.

Weird though... seems to me bullets rip apart from pure physics (which has kept me away from trying a 22creed). I guess I've just never come across a bullet that was manufactured so shitty that they'd come apart due to being made poorly yet.
 
I called Barnes when I was first loading the 145 Matchburner and believe they said 315K RPM's as the speed limit. Seems to jive with my testing.
 
I called Barnes when I was first loading the 145 Matchburner and believe they said 315K RPM's as the speed limit. Seems to jive with my testing.
That would also be the RPM ceiling I experienced with the Matchking.

Funny that number should pop up like that if they are in fact owned by Sierra now. Similar construction?
 
The whole RPM thing is weird: from what I've read/heard seems like most of the companies will throw out vague RPM limits but none of them really test for it.

The equation I've seen to calculate RPM is: RPM = (measured velocity x 720)/ twist rate

Most of what I've read/heard has always been the ~290K-300K range being the speed limit before detonation, which, if going too fast on a hot day in thin air with a 1-7 twist, is totally doable...
 
That would also be the RPM ceiling I experienced with the Matchking.

Funny that number should pop up like that if they are in fact owned by Sierra now. Similar construction?

I expect all manufacturers are solving the same multi-variable EQ with BC and cost being optimized for popular velocities. Those of us shooting overbore will always be better off with solids, but I prefer to go a little slower, keep pressures down, and stay cost effective.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Birddog6424
I expect all manufacturers are solving the same multi-variable EQ with BC and cost being optimized for popular velocities. Those of us shooting overbore will always be better off with solids, but I prefer to go a little slower, keep pressures down, and stay cost effective.
A lesson I've also learning the hard way. For the first 6 years of PRS I ran over-bored calibers at fast speeds. And dealt with the headaches inherent in those practices. This year, I ran a 115gr DTAC in a 6GT at a pedestrian 2800fps. Easy peasy..
 
The whole RPM thing is weird: from what I've read/heard seems like most of the companies will throw out vague RPM limits but none of them really test for it.

The equation I've seen to calculate RPM is: RPM = (measured velocity x 720)/ twist rate

Most of what I've read/heard has always been the ~290K-300K range being the speed limit before detonation, which, if going too fast on a hot day in thin air with a 1-7 twist, is totally doable...

Everyone is vague on it because there's a lot of factors that go into it and it's very hard to pinpoint and say "ahah! That's the problem!" to one single contributor. Even if you ignore the effects of sharpness of rifling, bore/groove ratios, bore surface finish, fouling condition, ambient temperature... it's a ton of testing for a company to do (man hours + resources) to find those limits and even harder yet to quantify them (do you call it at 1/1000, 1/100, 1/10??)...

What people usually see is the muddy water in between where a bullet and/or ammo and/or barrel maker push the limits just a little too far and the combination of factors form a coalition of destruction...
 
Barnes bullets seem to be back in stock for at least the .227 TTSX and LRX I've haven't had any problem getting them lately. .308 LRX in190 GR is still a tough one to find.
 
Everyone is vague on it because there's a lot of factors that go into it and it's very hard to pinpoint and say "ahah! That's the problem!" to one single contributor. Even if you ignore the effects of sharpness of rifling, bore/groove ratios, bore surface finish, fouling condition, ambient temperature... it's a ton of testing for a company to do (man hours + resources) to find those limits and even harder yet to quantify them (do you call it at 1/1000, 1/100, 1/10??)...

What people usually see is the muddy water in between where a bullet and/or ammo and/or barrel maker push the limits just a little too far and the combination of factors form a coalition of destruction...
I’ve found my failures have gone away in a 1-8 6xc. I’m running the same velocity but my creedmoor barrel is a 7.5 twist.
 
Sep 28, 2020 Sierra bullets, part of Clarus, purchased Barnes from Remington bankruptcy sale

I purchased 2500 in boxes of 500 of 6.5 140g Barnes MB while working overseas last 9-months and found them not to shoot well out of my 6.5CM but shoot well out my 6.5-284 Norma. Hornady 140/147 ELD-M shoot great and consistent out of both guns. Will not buy more Barnes MBs when they are gone. Nosler 140 RDFs are the best but can’t find them anywhere that I typically purchase from

I use nothing but Barnes TSX/TTSX in hunting guns (325WSM, 45/70, 6.5-284 Norma, 264 win mag, 480 ruger and ruger no. 1 450 bushmaster)
 
RSR and other distributors are getting restocks on Barnes projectiles. Personally, I've found their 110 TAC-TX for 300BLK supers is a hammer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 50 - 110 nut
I've been waiting on some 4570 bullets all year long hat and saw nobody with any in stock Midway USA don't have any midsouth don't have any Brownell does not have any has anybody saw it any 45-70 bullets lately the Barnes 250 grain and 300 grain X bullets