Anybody reloading the Barnes TSX Bullets?

[coonhound]

I would suspect the expander ball, if it's .257 you don't have any press fit.  Did you measure the ball with calipers or a micrometer?  Calipers are not a reliable means of measuring close tolerance they are heavily effected by measuring pressure.  If you use a caliper to take your measurement work deep into the jaws.  My expander ball is .002 smaller than the bullet.  I've never had any issues loading the Barnes.

I will contradict what most have said on here about performance.  I think they have great terminal performance but I have never got them to shoot anywhere near as good as the other premium bullets out there.  I spend much more time cleaning the copper fouling out of my barrel than I do loading and shooting.  I only get a small window of good grouping before the fouling becomes an issue.  I have a 270 that consistently shoots sub .750" groups, even when I shoot cheap hornady spire points.  When I shoot the Barnes TSX my groups grow to 1.5" - 2".


Coon


 

[257 Wby Mag]

I agree coon, I do lots of killin with the plain Jane Hornady interloks. Your story is not new, from what I've found, barnes either shoot awesome, or like *censored*, no in between. Guess if I ever hunt dangerous game, I might find out if the triple shocks are any better...

[Ray]

I ordered me the Lee Collet crimp die and also some nosler partition bullets. I'll take both to the range in a couple of weeks after loading them up. I didn't measure with a micrometer so I did understand that it wasn't an exact measurement. At any rate I highly doubt I got a brand new die set that was bad. I think my first suspicion is true. I understand that some of you fellows have loaded thousands of these without this issue but you are welcome to come right in and prove me wrong on this load in my office. I am sure none of you will take me up on anyway  and neither would I. However I did get another fellow to fess up he had the same exact problem as I did and he just ended up switching bullets because they shot so bad anyway.

[WDFW-SUX]

 

[Ray]

No *censored*. Talk about a waste of time and money. Oh well. I do this more for fun than anything else.

[WDFW-SUX]

I had the issue 7 years ago I adjusted my sizing die on some of the barnes blue bullets and it fixed it.

 If your rifle is not clean the barnes bullets wont shoot, or if the finish inside the barrel is ruff. (I have experienced both)  Hornady spire points are my second favorite bullets.

Using a chamfer on new brass is mandatory even the best nosler and Norma stuff need it at least once, and I usually have to redo it after I trim the case.


For what its worth I have never used a LEE die only RCBS sets. A series if I can get em.

[Ray]

I have not even got to the point where I feel comfortable with what I have as reloaded ammo to shoot. 

When those nosler partitions arrive; if they slide into home base like champions I plan on canning barnes tsx and returning the collet die.

[WDFW-SUX]

Noslers are nice did you get partitions of Ballistic tips?  I like swift A frames and Scroccios too....  Hornady is the best value I have found.......and I cant stand Molly coated bullets.........Its very satisfying to kill an Animal with a load that you developed and a cartridge that you honed yourself. 

I was at Kenmore last year and a guy blew up his gun and got taken out of the range on a back board because of a bad load............the fiberglass Winchester stock splintered and pummeled his face the bolt broke his nose   Pieces of the action hit me in the back and the barrel broke the lights above us...............

Definitely find someone to help you if your not comfortable and dont drink while your reloading

[Ray]

I didn't get the ballistic tips. Just the standard issue ones. My .223 loves the hornady bullets and so does my .30

The whole reason I was asking some second opinion is because I don't intend to end up hurt like that fellow. I reload for everything but my shotgun and .22 and I have not ever encountered this although I have heard of finecky bullet loading before...

[WDFW-SUX]

I have a friend that reloaded a batch of 7mm and didnt do it right he pulled the trigger one time on a new rifle and the gun had to be sent back to the factory so the bolt would open again....

Old powder is the devil.

[coonhound]

I have used the Lee Factory crimp die.  It does a great job of making an effective crimp but it also decreases the life of your brass.  Unlike the RCBS  dies that just slightly closes the top of the neck the Lee squeezes the top edge of the case to the point of deforming the brass.  If you're shooting a mag it is good insurance, you definitely won't have to worry about a bullet slipping in the magazine.

Coon

[Ray]

Thanks for all the advice fellas. Gosh this is a true drama queen topic for me 

Anyway I got out to the range just now and tried out the bullets on my new rifle. The first 6 shots were all over the place. Then I cleaned out the barrel with a few rings of the brush and then kept shooting. It turns out that this was a good idea because then I got real tight shot groups with two loads. Although one load was somewhat better than the other. Anybody looking for a can of IMR 4350?

The second fired brass was easier to work with by far...

[WDFW-SUX]

Save your powder for the 4th of july....

[Big Stick]

I shoot the X//XFB/XBT/XLC/TSX fairly expressly..in .224,.243,.257,.284,.308.,.338 and .375.

Drop a weight,kiss lands,opt a high load density and Rule the World.

Crimping is the worst thing you can do to any bullet and I've only shot the X to 378Wby...............

[Ray]

Crimping is the worst thing you can do to any bullet

The other option is to throw them away and not use the deformed ones. I will stick with crimping the odd ones instead as I think it is the lesser of the two evils.