Nosler or Barnes?

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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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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JDavid
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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sneekeepete
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
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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sneekeepete
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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killerbee
:) ah, you know me well pete LOL
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chet
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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sneekeepete
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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Springville Shooter
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
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spoofman
i shoot both myself but have gotten better results out at long range with the barnes bullet TSX. i shoot a .308 and have a load that gets fair patterns out to 1200 yards. I havent hunted at that range to know the damage dealt, but the accuracy has me sold.
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ABs are my preference since I don't shoulder shoot... If I did I would lean toward ttsx.
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Loafer
Push... I have had awesome results with both to pick one over the other is hard. I can make a great case for both. I have shot and killed game with the partition, TSX and TTSX in .300 win and all flew great.
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dahlmer
I have shot Nosler Partitions in 270, 30'06, 7mm mag, 300 win mag, and 300 WSM calibers. I have also used the accubond in the 300 WSM and 7mm mag. As far as accuracy is concerned both bullets will outshoot my abilities as will the Barnes. I prefer Nosler over Barnes (primarily Partition) because I have found the perform best over the widest range of velocities. This can become a big issue with long range shooting as your velocity falls (I personally am not a long range gunner) and Barnes has had issues with expansion at low velocities. The partitions BC is good but not great.

I have never experienced failures with Nosler bullets. I have not used Barnes, but have never had reason to go away from Noslers.
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TheGreatwhitehunter
I have been impressed with the Nosler accubonds, but the Barnes tipped triple shocks are tought to beat.
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spoofman
yes the tipped triple shock from Barnes is tough to beat
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I've been beating myself up over this very subject as well. At least since my elk tag showed up. I thought when I became an Ultra Mag pilot/lover my problems were over. Now I find myself concerned with run -of- the- mill bullets. The area we will be hunting in SW Colorad isn't conducive to long range shots. According to our guide we'll be hunting "ravines" with shots likely under 200 yards. So,do I take that as gospel? Then there are the"what ifs". What if I get a good poke at a bull in the 400 yd catagory? I've never had great success with Barnes bullets. I have a couple boxes of XLCs here in a couple different calibers that I may toss. Never got accuracy as good as a lead core bullet. Not even close. I like Accu-Bonds well enough. I've been tempted to drop the coin on some Scirocco,but have had issues with pure copper jackets and fouling in years past. The E-Tip may be where I end up. Has anyone here recovered a Hornady GMX from a critter yet? I've been a Speer and Hornady man for about 30 years. The 300 Ultra I have just flat out loves 168gr A-Max! If I can find a super premium bullet,with that BC,to mirror the performance of the A-Max,I'll go to my grave a content man. 5 shot bug hole groups at Ultra Mag velocities,super premium performance at all ranges. Not too much to ask................Is it?
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I prefer the barnes tipped triple shocks. I use to shoot the nosler accubond until my NM bull elk hunt. I was shooting 450 yards with my 300 ultra mag the first shot was square on the shoulder and the bull ran towards me. He then stopped at 350 with the same shoulder facing me I shot square on the point of the shoulder again only for the bull to take off 40 yards before stopping so I shot him right behind the shoulder this time to finally put him down. Upon skinning him out I found that the first shot had only hit the shoulder and blew up never entering the body cavity of the bull. The second shot was only a half inch from the first shot and blew up before entering the body cavity. My oly guess to this failure of the bullet is the extreme velcities from the 300 ultra mag. I read other reviews in a magazine saying the accubond is an incredible bullet for slower calibers. I still shoot the accubond out of my 270 and have had awesome success. The barnes tts have preformed flawlessly out of my 300 ulta mag so I guess it depends on what veocities your shooting.
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are they the same. I shot Noslers for years but when CA went non lead (in our area) we had to look at Barnes. It took a while to figure them out but now I wouldnt shoot anything else.

I prefer the 168 TTSX

Seating depth is critical
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no question Barnes!

Best constructed bullet ever!
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I will be trying the new Barnes 200 gr. LRX this year. I have been shooting the 180 tsx but after plugging in my info with the new LRX ballistic coefficient, which is much higher, I will shoot 2" higher at 600 yds, even with a 100fps drop. Pretty much identical with 20 more grains of weight. Hope they shoot as well. I have tried all the others mentioned and the only one I would consider going back to would be the Partition .
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Springville Shooter
"BleuBijou" wrote:I will be trying the new Barnes 200 gr. LRX this year. I have been shooting the 180 tsx but after plugging in my info with the new LRX ballistic coefficient, which is much higher, I will shoot 2" higher at 600 yds, even with a 100fps drop. Pretty much identical with 20 more grains of weight. Hope they shoot as well. I have tried all the others mentioned and the only one I would consider going back to would be the Partition .
Be careful putting too much stock into Barnes published numbers. I have done ALOT of work with bullets at the range and it is my belief that Barnes either pads their BC numbers, or there is some other factor in their construction that causes them to drag more than their published specs. I like Barnes, but to me they are a specialized bullet most useful for closer range shots and using a small caliber for the game being taken. I personally don't care for how I have seen them perform at lower velocities whether from a slower caliber or extreme range. I think that they are at their best at blazing hot velocities where other bullets could fail on impact. I use them in a few rifles, but to be completely honest, I have not been impressed at all with their long range performance, even the supposed long range versions. The Accubond completely outperforms the Barnes flight-wise in all my experience. I personally have never had performance issues with the AB, but many others have. I will continue to use them until I have a problem. With the number of animals I have taken, I doubt that will happen.---SS
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I will test them 2-3 times before I hunt from 1 to 6 hundred yards. If they show signs of non performance back to the 180's. If I had some more powder I would shoot more!!! LOL!! I only have 3 pounds of what I use for my powder burning magnums. So I need to be careful and not use it up for practice.
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Springville Shooter
"BleuBijou" wrote:I will test them 2-3 times before I hunt from 1 to 6 hundred yards. If they show signs of non performance back to the 180's. If I had some more powder I would shoot more!!! LOL!! I only have 3 pounds of what I use for my powder burning magnums. So I need to be careful and not use it up for practice.
You are a wise man!! I have several good ballistic programs and I still proof everything I do the old fashioned way with alot of targets, powder, and bullets. I recently had a long argument with a tech at a scope company regarding a custom BDC knob that I was ordering. He didn't want to use my data because he said that his program was far more accurate than any field data that I had. When the knob wasn't perfect, I sent it back with a nasty letter. I got a new knob made using my data and a nice apology. That knob works very well. Seasoned shooters realize that published BC numbers are given just as precisely as an old lady's weight.-------SS
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accubonds ...hands down the best imho
:thumb
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Springville Shooter
Etips are slowly starting to challenge Accubonds as my favorites. I shoot them exclusively in two rifles, 25-06 AI and 300 RUM, and after killing a few animals I am liking them. They shoot very well at long range and offer great ballistics. I'd love to get one back to see how they mushroom, but so far, on a couple antelpe, a whitetail buck, a muley buck, and a cow elk, I have yet to get a bullet back. Wound channels seem pretty good and all have been clean kills at ranges from 100-400 yards.------SS
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I had never shot the Accubond before until this year. I loaded a 140 gr Accubond in my 270 WSM and I was impressed with the results on a nice sized black bear sow. She only went about 30 yards. Now I've got them loaded up for my 7 Rem Mag and 25-06.... I just have to decide which rifle I'm going to take out this season..... I think the Accubond is an exceptional bullet :thumb
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