X-bullets

2muchgun

2muchgun

New member
I have loaded a lot of different bullet types but never Barnes X. Stayed away from them because I always read about one of my least favorite things in the world, excessive copper fouling /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif Do they produce excessive copper fouling and do you guys think that the new triple-shock X's are better? thanks, 2MG
 
Ive not used the X's, but i do love those triple shocks. No problems with fouling at all. Ive been told that they have less surface area contacting the rifling because of the rings around the bullet. The 168gr. match grade hunting bullets, are the most accurate rounds ive come up with in my 10FP .308. Im going to try the new 70 gr. .224's for my AR15 next.
 
i use the the x's in a 6-284 (coated 85grer's), 180's in an 8mm mag, and 225's (coated) in a 338 win mag.

my 8mm is the only one with a copper fouling problem..i am now going back to sierra's..hate the cleaning...
yes they foul real bad in it.
the 6-284 i used coated and non's with no difference in fouling,, possibly cuz the barrel is more broken in/smoother??
the 338 was broken in with regular copper bullets,and shows no fouling with non or coated bullets,, it is also a stainless barrel.

the triple shocks are supposed to get rid of the fouling as there is less surface area, some fellow shooters i know, are trying some now to see if there is a difference, you are supposed to be able to load them hotter because of the less friction causing rings..

i love barnes bullets, just not in my 8mm mag..
 
From what I understand, if you shoot the coated ones you are supposed to stick to coated ones exclusively, like winchester fail safes or PP+ bullets. You can mix the lubalox coated ones(ballistic silver tips) with other bullets though, just not xlc's, failsafes, or PP+'s. Correct?
 
why not ?
say if you shoot barnes coated, and don't like em..
you would clean the barrel out before load testing of another right ??
when you found one loading you like you would stay with it..correct..
what i am getting from your question is shoot a barnes,then a winchester,then a... right on top of each other.. why would you do that ??
i cant say if there would be a problem with doing that or not ??? can't see why it would hurt anything, cept for mixing coatings...
 
You wouldn't want to develop a load for a coated bullet, then use that same powder charge on a non-coated bullet. Coated bullets have less resistance going down the barrel, so you can load them a little hotter. The same load with a more abrasive non-coated bullet may send your pressures over the limit, possibly causing serious harm to you and your firearm.
 
i forgot to mention that, with a coated barnes i can safely up the charge a 2 full grains in the 6mm-284..

i am right a max/scary pressure with the non coated..56 gr's of rld22 vs 58 grains..
wouldn't want to put 58 in the non coated barnes's...
 
I shoot 6.5mm Barnes XLC (coated) in my 260rem. I have also shot the non-coated bullets. The Barnes X do create alot of copper fouling. The Barnes X is a real pain in the a$$ when cleaing. It takes twice as many patches to clean.
The Barnes XLC reduce the cleaning considerably, and will increase velocity with less pressure. I'll only shoot the XLC's in the future. The accuracy of any of the Barnes I have tried as been awful. If I get near an inch I'm ecstatic, but I'm not shooting Barnes for accuracy. The performance of the Barnes Bullet on game is exceptional.
 
slattermatic--I guess what you are sying makes sense. I wasn't sure if the xlc's "coated" the bore or something. However, I have heard people say to use either coated or non-coated bullets but don't mix. I gotta be honest, I will probably buy some triple shocks and not bother messing with coatings or excessive copper.
 
The bands on the TSX bullet allow the displaced copper from the lands an area in which to flow thus lowering both pressure and fouling. It is common for TSX bullet loading to use more powder and achieve higher velocities as well as better accuracy and SD uniformity when compared to the X bullet.

We sell lots of the TSX at our gunshop with most users anxious to brag about their accuracy. When used for hunting, the performance has been outstanding.

I load TSX in my Swift, 243, 257AI, 25-06, 270, 06, 338 and can confirm what customers have been saying as well as Barnes. So good are these little gems that I fully expect Barnes will discontinue many of their other offerings like the X and and XLC.
 
Originally posted by Joe D:
[qb] I shoot 6.5mm Barnes XLC (coated) in my 260rem. I have also shot the non-coated bullets. The Barnes X do create alot of copper fouling. The Barnes X is a real pain in the a$$ when cleaing. It takes twice as many patches to clean.
[/qb]
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In my experience, a rough bore will foul badly. If your bore was smooth, a Barnes will not foul any worse than a std. copper bullet if you watch your barrel heat.

If you haven't switched to the TSX bullets, I think you will be pleased with their accuracy and the reduced fouling.
 
Like Handloader said, the triple shocks are real gems. You cannot compare the original "X" to the new "TSX", two totally different animals with regards to accuracy and fouling. I am using them in my Weather by Vanguard 7 mag and am averaging 1/2"-3/4" groups at 100 yds. They have performed like the hammer of Thor on deer and no fouling problems. A lot of people had trouble getting the original X's to group and had sworn off the all copper bullets, but those that did try the TSX version are usually pleasantly surprised.
 
Changed to the Barns TSX for this year’s season, 140 gr. in my 7mm Rem. Mag. New rifle as well, T/C Encore, 26 in. heavy barrel. Once I got the kinks out of the system, it is the most accurate rifle/bullet combination I have ever used. Three shots at deer, (two does, one 8 point) from 50 yrds. to a little over 150 yrds., all one shot kills, pass throughs so I can not speak to what the bullet looked like, but was able to see all three fall from my stand, no tracking needed, heart and lungs were liquefied.

Also ran the TSX's through my Ruger M77 in 7 Mag., took my best groups from .85" with Sierra Gamekings to less than .5" for the Barns, this off a really good rest of course. No more copper fouling in the Ruger than with any other brand of bullet. I am sold on the Barns TSX!
 
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