BruceB
06-25-2005, 08:40 PM
If this is the CB board, and if I want to talk about jacketed bullets, then off-topic is where I have to be, I reckon.
I used quotation marks in the title because the Barnes bullets are solid copper, and thus have no jackets at all....but they're not cast boolits, either.
The 225-grain TSX .338 bullets arrived, and they are very interesting. Where a Hornady conventional 225-grain .338 is 1.29" long, the TSX in the same weight is 1.42". I measured the shank length by setting my calipers at .330", or nominal bore diameter for the .338, and marking the point at which the ogives reached that diameter. The Hornady's shank is 0.633" long, while the Barnes shank is fully 0.804".
This is where we reach the reason for this post. The Barnes LOOKS very much like a spitzer-nosed cast bullet, because it has four deep "lube grooves" (not really) along the shank. Each is 0.064" wide. Subtracting the total width of these grooves from the shank length, we find the Barnes has LESS bearing surface than the shorter Hornady, with only .548" of full-diameter shank contacting the bore. In addition, the bottoms of the grooves measure only .319", meaning the lands should never "bottom out" in the bullet's grooves. The grooves also provide space for any bullet material displaced by the lands.
These facts make me rather hopeful that the x design has finally matured. Less land engagement and less bore contact mean that friction should be greatly reduced, and copper fouling also should be minimized. These were the two biggest criticisms of the earlier x-bullets. I had no quarrels with those earlier bullets after impact, but they did present some problems in the barrel.
I intend to load up some of these jewels very soon, and will report. If they work out, I'll be shooting them at elk this fall. BTW....they cost eighty cents each...no WONDER I'm a boolit caster. Eighty bucks I paid, for 250 bullets (200 Hornadys, 50 Barnes)!
I used quotation marks in the title because the Barnes bullets are solid copper, and thus have no jackets at all....but they're not cast boolits, either.
The 225-grain TSX .338 bullets arrived, and they are very interesting. Where a Hornady conventional 225-grain .338 is 1.29" long, the TSX in the same weight is 1.42". I measured the shank length by setting my calipers at .330", or nominal bore diameter for the .338, and marking the point at which the ogives reached that diameter. The Hornady's shank is 0.633" long, while the Barnes shank is fully 0.804".
This is where we reach the reason for this post. The Barnes LOOKS very much like a spitzer-nosed cast bullet, because it has four deep "lube grooves" (not really) along the shank. Each is 0.064" wide. Subtracting the total width of these grooves from the shank length, we find the Barnes has LESS bearing surface than the shorter Hornady, with only .548" of full-diameter shank contacting the bore. In addition, the bottoms of the grooves measure only .319", meaning the lands should never "bottom out" in the bullet's grooves. The grooves also provide space for any bullet material displaced by the lands.
These facts make me rather hopeful that the x design has finally matured. Less land engagement and less bore contact mean that friction should be greatly reduced, and copper fouling also should be minimized. These were the two biggest criticisms of the earlier x-bullets. I had no quarrels with those earlier bullets after impact, but they did present some problems in the barrel.
I intend to load up some of these jewels very soon, and will report. If they work out, I'll be shooting them at elk this fall. BTW....they cost eighty cents each...no WONDER I'm a boolit caster. Eighty bucks I paid, for 250 bullets (200 Hornadys, 50 Barnes)!