The following review was accessed at: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/gunnuts/2011/05/review-barnes-vor-tx-ammo on 8/15/2012. May 03, 2011 Review: Barnes VOR-TX Ammo By David E. Petzal A shooter who doesn t handload is like the guy who is invited on a date by Ms. Elisha Cuthbert and says, Thanks, but I d planned to watch MMA reruns tonight. In other words, you re missing out on something, and one of the somethings was the opportunity to hunt with Barnes X-bullets, which are deadlier than anthrax, or Sarin, or tac nukes, and heretofore were loaded only in a limited number of calibers, and only by Federal, I believe. For those of you who won t or can t handload, Barnes itself has stepped in to save your worthless selves with a line of ammo called VOR-TX, which is loaded with TSX, TSX Tipped, and TSX-FN bullets and comes in no fewer than 24 calibers from.243 through.45/70, and in a Safari line of 7 cartridges from.375 H&H through.500 Nitro Express. I recently got a chance to see VOR-TX at work on a nilgai hunt in south Texas. The nilgai, or blue bull, is an imported Indian antelope that runs about 450-650 pounds, and is generally regarded as almost impossible to put down in its tracks even with a fatal shot. I ve killed a bunch of them over the years, and even with a perfect shot from a big gun you can count on a tracking job of a couple of hundred yards to a quarter-mile or so.
However, on this hunt, I dropped one in its tracks with a 180-grain TSX Tipped bullet from a.300 RUM, saw one drop inside 10 yards from a 130-grain TSX from a.270 WSM, and saw a third flop where it was shot with a 165-grain TSX from a.300 WSM. The internal damage, to put it delicately, was horrific. VOR-TX is also very accurate. I watched a bunch of it shot from McMillan rifles, more about which in a subsequent post, and it fires tiny groups. Is it cheap? No it is not. It is, however, worth the money. Comments (35) Top Rated All Comments from idduckhntr wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I load the 235gr Barnes in my 375H&H and I got my 308 to shoot the 130gr TTSX, My 7mmWBY however will not shoot the 160TSX thought about trying the 150TTSX. from MJC wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago The above results certainly demonstrate that they work well with magnum calibers. Any experience judging their expansion with slower cartridges that don't knock you out from under your hat? from Dr. Ralph wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Actually these bullets have been loaded by several companies for a while Dave. I know because I don't hand load.http://www.barnesbullets.com/products/loaded-ammunition/ from Jason Hart wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I love the videos that the Barnes Media people put out and truly think that if I hunt something bigger than a whitetail deer that this will be the best bullet. The results that you gentlemen had on a Niglai and with the calibers at hand tell me that this is why you pay so much for the premium bullets. Great post and good shooting.
from davidpetzal wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago To MJC: I haven't used them with non-magnum cartridges (I have no idea why) but I have used a bunch of X-bullets in 210 and 225 grains in the.338 at velocities from 2,650 to 2,750, and they worked flawlessly. I have never been able to recover one; they all went through and through as the police say, leaving a trail of devastation behind. from Del in KS wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Dave, I have no doubt that is good ammo. If my 40 yr old Rockchucker reloading press ever breaks that is the ammo I would buy. Since switching to Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets I have used nothing else for big game. BTW The.338 cal. TTSX in 210 grain actually shoots flatter at 300 yd by about 4 inches than the same weight in a Nosler partition. That was reloads in a custom 338-06 with 26" barrel we took elk hunting last fall. from Beekeeper wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Isn't Barnes now owned by Cerberus Capital as is Remington et al? Wonder if the ammo is put up by Remington? On a side note... Cerberus is the 3 headed beast that guards the gates of the underworld. +3 Good Comment? YES NO REPORT from Walt Smith wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Wonder what the bullet and caliber was that got Bin Laden?? That would be an interesting trivia note! from Amflyer wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Sounds like a few people have some experience with the all-copper bullets. May I ask you a collective question?
I've heard that you need a very clean (read, copper-fouling free bore) when you use these bullets to achieve the great accuracy that I've heard about. How touchy are these things to bore condition? Currently, I fire a few fouling shots, run a dry patch through the bore, and go hunting. I get better consistency with a few nanograms of fouling in my non-custom tubes. Probably fills in all those rough areas. from davidpetzal wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago To Amflyer: I've shot Nosler, Barnes, Hornady, and Winchester copper bullets in bore sizes from.30 to.338, and I can't see any correlation between how clean the bore is and how well they shoot. Nor does any one brand foul any more or any less than any other. What I have noticed is that some rifles will not shoot them worth a damn while others will put them through the same hole.??????? from Bellringer wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago IN one of my.30-06 rifles, the Barnes Bullets shoot a wonderful group, but it is about 9" high and left 3" from where the rifle groups practically all other ammo. Why is this? from WA Mtnhunter wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Ask Del in KS what a 150 gr TTSX from a 7mm Weatherby will do to an elk at 250+ yards. from idduckhntr wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Wam what kind of groups did you get with the 150 TTSX I have always shot 160 Noslers and thought I would give them a try.
from M1jhartman wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I shoot the 185 TSX out of my 338 Fed at about 2630 fps. I killed three does with it last season. They opened up very nicely and did a lot of damage. Shots were all within 100 yards. from Amflyer wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago DEP, I have heard that most Weatherby rifles have a hard time with the all-gilding metal bullets due to their barrel steel being slightly softer than the bullets themselves. 'Specially those sub-par Mark V's. Anyone have any comments about that? from Happy Myles wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Amflyer, Since Barnes put the grooves on the all copper bullet, TSX, Most of the fouling issue went away for me. My rifles all seem to shoot them accurately. Have taken lots of big game of all varieties using 06, 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag. 375 H$H, 416 Rigby. Six Cape Buffalo,one shot all four feet in the air. This is really unusual for buff hunting. The only bullet I have retrieved was from a Forest Elephant in Cameroon. Also the only elephant I have killed with what is technically a soft point. +3 Good Comment? YES NO REPORT from Happy Myles wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago That should have read one shot each on six buff, not one shot for all. They all dropped at the shot +3 Good Comment? YES NO REPORT from Michigan Gunner wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago
Keep in mind that solid copper bullets are going to be longer per bullet weight since copper is lighter than lead. In.30 caliber, a 130 grain Barnes will be about the same length as a 150 grain will be with a lead core. This will affect point of impact. Lock and Load! from Carney wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I was trying to change my profile picture just for this particular blog but this website being what it is, there's a better chance of seeing the photo at this link instead: http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/trophyroom/recent/single?pnid=10013... It took me a year of working up loads to finally get the group in the photo. 180gr. TTSX over a super compressed load of 80.4 grains of H1000. from chuckles wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I started using them in my muzzleloader first but they are deadly on game no matter the caliber. I took two does this year with the 85gr TSX in.243. It was a lighter bullet than I would have preferred but it was deadly. I am looking forward to testing the 45/70 Vortx. Going the the other end of the spectrum this year. I haven't noticed any particular sensitivity to bore condition but I keep my guns pretty clean. from Jim in Mo wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Dr. R, yes loaded by other companies but not by Barnes. from Del in KS wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I gutted WAM's elk and that bullet did plenty of damage all the way thru. Also whacked a mulie buck with my friend Bill Evan's 338-06 with the same result. You may recall the story of the bull I shot that got away. It was not the fault of the bullet. He bled like a stuck hog on both sides. It was a pass thru hit that was (from all signs) a little bit low. Range was about 370-380 yd. Rangefinder indicated 330 yd on a nearby tree. Leupold sent me a new rangefinder because of problems with that one.
One other thing. I was getting 2830 fps with that load and my other books indicate that is very close to 338 Win velocity in that 338-06 with 26 inch McGowan barrel. from Del in KS wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago That 338-06 load I used was WW case, Fed magnum primer, 210 gr.ttsx bullet and a compressed charge of 65 gr. H414. This is the max load right out of Barnes manual #4. The only difference was I used the magnum primer because that was what I had on hand. If you use this load start with 57 grains powder and work up looking for signs of pressure. Your rifle may not handle this load so proceed with caution. from Del in KS wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago If you click my name and peruse the photo files there is a pic of a barnes 250 grain TTSX muzzleloader bullet taken from under the skin of a big whitetail doe. Bullet broke both shoulders at 155 yds. from WA Mtnhunter wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago idduckhntr Average about 3/4" if I haven't had too much coffee. Most of the time inside a one inch square with MagPro @ 3,180 fps, not quite a max load. Had almost the same with RL 22. At the upper end of RL 22 charges, groups opened up a little, but still around 1.5". As you know, got to watch that barrel heating up. WAM from WA Mtnhunter wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Amflyer LOL! You kin to Rylie or Awesome Jonathan?
from WA Mtnhunter wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Del's big bodied mulie dropped dead as disco. He sure did not go far. We never lost sight of him. I think he slid down the hill farther than he ran. With commodity prices of lead and copper, there is not much price difference between the Barnes bullets and the next best projectile. from RipperIII wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I don't at this time reload...forgive me. I shoot a standard Tikka T-3 in.270 and for the life of me I cannot find a good reason to reload...except that it would be a cool hobby, just something I as yet don't have the time for. I have not shot the Barnes bullets, I have shot the Hornady GMX in standard loads and in the superperformance load,.130 gr. They each group with in an inch at 100yds,...and the superperformance holds that out a little further. I've only used these rounds on deep south white tail, 140-190# deer. 3 hit the ground with out a flinch, 1 wheel-barrowed 20 yds into a thicket with both shoulders blown completely out. Internal damage was massive,...way too much round for deer,...but I love 'em. from Amflyer wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Ok WAM, had to do a search for "Rylie" and "Awesome Jonathan." Guess I had that one coming. from chesney14 wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I have shot TSX in a 308 scout rifle. They have devastated large pigs and dropped them in their tracks. I'm a firm believer in the Barnes Bullets. The guys I hunt with keep asking me what the heck I'm shooting and just can't get it through their heads that Barnes make such a difference.
from MReeder wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago Count me among the deprived ones who don't handload. My late dad handloaded all of our ammo so I enjoyed the benefits of handloading for many years and ended up memorizing all kinds of reloading and ballistic data without ever loading a single shell or cartridge myself. The fact is I know I'm absent-minded and never trusted myself not to throw a double charge and blow up my gun, myself and unfortunate bystanders. Dad was also a home builder, and although I worked on his construction sites throughout high school and every summer in college, I excused myself every time he tried to show me how to do final electrical wiring. I would drill the holes for the wire and run it to the boxes, but I'm goosey about electricity to begin with and was always afraid I'd screw something up and end up burning down the house. It is wise to know one's limitations, even if current ammo prices do make you flinch. Given the terrific premium factory ammo and the myriad choices now available, along with the fact that the vast majority of my practice shooting is done with BBs, pellets and.22s, I don't feel nearly as handicapped now as I once did. from HogBlog wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago I've used the Barnes TSX in three different calibers. I handloaded them for my 30-06 and.325wsm, and used factory loads for the.270. I also load the Barnes XPB for my.44 mag. I've shot a lot of pigs with everything but the.270, and it's hard to find fault with the performance of the Barnes bullet... despite the myths you'll hear from many naysayers. Hint: A poorly shot animal will run a long ways, regardless of whether he was poorly shot with lead or copper. I haven't had a chance to try the Vor-TX ammo yet, but I'm hoping to do so soon. Lead free is the law in most of the area I hunt, and factory-loaded lead free is hard to find... even for common calibers. By the way, the Nosler ETip has supplanted Barnes in my 30-06. I've been happier with the terminal performance. Even though dead is dead, my amateur post-mortems suggest a little more tissue damage from the ETip. Not to say one is necessarily better than the other, but for lead-free shooters looking at alternatives to the Barnes (some rifles just don't seem to like them), the ETip is a good choice. Haven't killed anything with the GMX yet. from WA Mtnhunter wrote 1 year 15 weeks ago @ Amflyer I could not resist! LOL! Beelzebubba made me do it. Cheers, WAM
from mike55 wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago To Walt: I was wondering the same thing, what gave Osama his case of acute "lead poisoning"? Just read on Fox that the White House say's we're not going to see the photo's of him. I'd like to see them even if they're a little messy and I'm sure the families that lost loved ones on 9-11 and his other terrorist campaigns would also like to see them to make sure we really "got him". Also read on Fox's home page the Army's goin' "green". They're testing a new lead free bullet for the 5.56mm that's supposed to be slightly more deadly and lead free. IMHO I think they have an answer to the more deadly part, just put a bigger hole in the enemy with the 6.8mm SPC. If I remember correctly, Dave said in an earlier post that the army will never change over to the 6.8mm because it will cost to much. Sometime change is good if your life is on the line even if it costs a few more shekels. If they do go with the new "green" bullets I guess the phrase "acute lead poisoning" will be obsolete? Acute copper poisoning just doesn't sound the same!! Speaking of lead poisoning and getting somewhat off the subject, have there been any studies at places like trap and skeet ranges where there's potentially a 100 or more tons of lead down range, if the range has been around for a long time. Is lead getting taken up into plants which could be ingested by animals? Does it get into the ground water? If it does, maybe we shouldn't using it at least in some situations? If I remember correctly from chemistry class, lead is fairly inert stuff Maybe an honest study should be done at an area like Leadville, CO. If you've ever been there, there's huge tailing mounds in the area from all the lead mines located there. The tailings would have some lead in them and is it affecting the locals health? Does it get into ground water? Does it get into local streams? Leadville would probably be an extreme example? The lead there was originally in the ground anyway, so was it a problem before the mines? Those would be some honest questions to ask about lead and the environment. At the same time I stress honest scientific studies because science is easily corrupted by greed, political agendas, bad or false data, just to name a few. I like what Barnes and other bullet makers are doing with copper and other metals, buts it's still nice to have the option of cheaper lead if it's not causing other problems. To bring bin Laden back (in speaking, not from the dead), did anyone see the "Chuck Show" Monday night? The Buymore crew is standing around, in the first few minutes of the show, talking about what casinos they're going to visit in Las Vegas for Chuck's bachelor party.then one of them asks Casey (Col. John Casey of the NSA) if he has any preferences for casinos in Las Vegas and he says, "Forget about the casinos, the best things in Vegas are the gun ranges, brought along some of my fancy targets". He then opens his target folder and top target has bin Laden's face on it with crosshairs on his noggin!! Heard bin Laden got shot in the head, then this show airs the next day after the fact and was produced weeks to months earlier!!! Is the "Chuck Show" prophetic or not?? Probably not, but what a coincidence!! If you'd like to see the episode it's on NBC's website and is titled "Chuck vs. Agent X". It's the only sitcom/action show I watch. If you're a gun guy, it usually has some cool shoot'in /action scenes in it. from ishawooa wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago Although I don't shoot Barnes exclusively, I can't remember even encountering any sort of difficulty with accuracy or lethality from several calibers and types of Barnes. I have a friend who uses only Barnes in his.300 WSM and has been successful for years on everything from prairie dawgs to moose. I never liked Barnes' blue bullets or anyone else's for that matter.