Nosler or Barnes?

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sneekeepete
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Nosler or Barnes?

Post by sneekeepete » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:15 am

Alright guys just kind of wondering what kind of reponse I will get on this one. This is only going for Calibers that can shoot 180 Gr. and larger bullets. What would you prefer to shoot and why between the Barnes and Nosler bullets?
IMO they are almost interchangeable as far as flight and terminal ballistics go. What say ye?
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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by wingmaster36 » Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:36 am

I'm a Barnes monolithic guy all the way. The way the tsx cuts is more like a broadhead wound than a traditional bullet wound. It just kills better. A 180 grain 30 cal bullet fired at 30-06 velocity doesn't take as good a bullet to hold together as it does from a 300 Ultra Mag velocity, so it would help to know what velocity it was to be launched at. I have had great success with the Nosler Accu-bond in both on game performance and on the firing line. It is a great bullet and I like them. The Partition has a great and storied history in the game field, but I have had some rifles that wouldn't group it well at high velocity (300 Weatherby for instance), but if the particular rifle like them then I would not hestitate to use them. The Nosler Ballistic Tip is not an option for me as I have had catastrophic failure at magnum velocities with that bullet in more than one rifle. It just plainly turns into a grenade at high velocity. It is ok in a 308, but not a 300 mag in my personal experience.
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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by JDavid » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:02 am

Depends on the use you want out of them. A hunting bullet I would go with the Barnes. If I were going to the range I would save my money and buy the Nolers. As wingmaster said the accu-bond is a great bullet. They group better than anything else I have tried out of my 30-06. I havent hunted with them but a 180 grain bullet will knock down anything in North America.
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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by sneekeepete » Wed Jun 08, 2011 11:23 am

I have been shooting the Barnes since 2005 our of my 300 WSM. I switched from the TSX to the TTSX two years ago. So far I am amazed with their terminal performance. I also have my loads key holing at 100 yards and holding tight enough to let me shoot at game out to 400. I just don't have any where to shoot past 400 yard here in North Carolina without traveling too far.
I am suprised there haven't been any die hard nosler fans pipe in yet. From all accounts that I have read and heard the Accubond is right up there with the Barnes...
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killerbee
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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by killerbee » Wed Jun 08, 2011 5:45 pm

dont overlook SWIFT. read up on them, theres not much better on the market.

but out of the 2 you mentioned, i'd shoot barnes( and the nosler factory is 20 minuts from my house)

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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by sneekeepete » Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:41 am

Killer I remember you mentioning SWIFT on another thread quite some time back. I have looked into them as well. I mostly started this thread just to see what oppinions turned up. I don't know that I'll ever be able to put barnes down after having such a great load worked out. Oh and Killer don't go mentioning any of your Weatherby Propaganda on this thread either lol!
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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by killerbee » Thu Jun 09, 2011 6:54 am

:) ah, you know me well pete LOL

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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by chet » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:36 am

Did someone ask for a Nosler fan? lol

I own a 300 win mag (ballisticaly a twin to 300wsm) and this is how I chose my bullet.
I wanted a 180 grain pill as I believe it provides the best balance of velocity and energy.
I was expecting somewhere around 3100fps, so the ballistic tip and most other cup/core designs were out of the question.
In the past, I've had two barnes failures - one didn't expand (deer), and one bent (elk). Both were tsx's smaller than .308. I believe the tipped versions would have performed better as the tip is designed to initiate expansion. I think a 180gr 30 cal tipped tsx is a great choice, but I also found accuracy hard to find in the past so I chose to try the Noslers first.
That left me with the accubond and partition. The ballistic coeficient of the Accubond is awesome! So I decided to give it a go. 77gr of RL22 gives me 1/2" groups and 3150fps.
Keep in mind that the TSX is longer and will take up more case capacity, the 165 grain might be a good choice for that one.

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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by sneekeepete » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:52 am

Chet, I took into account the length of the barnes and went with the 168 Gr. TTSX. According to my chrono my average velocity is 3050. I could step it up but I loose my 1/2 groups. So I have just kept my load the way it is. I have smoked one spike elk, 3 muley bucks, and 4 Whitetails and have had no problem with expansion even on the thin skinned whiteys here in NC. I do think that the tip helps with that.
On another note as soon as my should heals a little more from this surgery I will get my 22-250 out and tune it up with that new stock! It sure looks sharp I'll try and get a picture posted for you.
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Colossians 1:27,28

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Re: Nosler or Barnes?

Post by Springville Shooter » Sat Jun 11, 2011 11:44 pm

While I love both bullets, for the sake of making this thread interesting, I will say that I prefer the Noslers hands down if I have to chose. I have shot a half dozen or so animals with different calibers of TSX and dozens of animals with the ballistic tip, partition, Accubond, and etip from Nosler. From a long range standpoint, the accubond and etip smoke anything Barnes puts out ballistically.The range of the Accubond is limited only by the shooter and in my 338RUM they actually group sub MOA at 1000 yds. As far as killing performance, I don't think that the Barnes has any thing on the premium offerings from Nosler. Sure, they will always penetrate deeper than a lead core bullet, but who cares when you are already shooting through animals up to elk? Please don't get me wrong, I love the Barnes company, and I live 15 miles from their factory. But my favorite projectiles will always come out of Bend Oregon. All that aside, I am with Killer regarding the Swift bullets, but that wasn't the question. Here are my favorite HUNTING bullets in order of preference:

Nosler accubond
Swift Scirroco
Nosler Etip
Barnes TSX
Hornady Interbond
Nosler Partition

Just my opinion though, not gospel for sure.-------SS
"Only accurate rifles are interesting"-----Col. Townsend Whelen

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