Condor zone non-lead hog ammo..pro or con.

[larrysogla]

How do you like non-lead ammo performance on hogs?
Your chances of animal recovery after hitting it..............did it improve recovery or.......don't know?
Meat damage on wound channel....better or worse?
Is it a relief to have no more lead debris in wound channel or is this a non-issue for you to begin with? Why or why not?
Thanks for your valuable assistance...........
larrysogla

 

[Farmerdoug]

So far, I found these bullets to be fast and accurate. Fast and accurate= good shot placement. Good shot placement = good, clean, humane kills. So far I am happy with the results. What I am not happy with is the fact that they are about $40 a box. I am not happy that the Bass Pro Shop (that is 10 min from my house and is technically in the condor zone) doesn't even offer the bullet in 243 cal. And, I am not happy that when I ordered them from Cabelas they took over a month to get on back order. All in all, I am really pleased with the bullet, just not with the price and availabilty.

 

[larrysogla]

Farmerdoug,
First of all...........thanks for your valuable reply. As I have stated many times before........ way back in 1998 when I got back into big game hunting..........I started right away with all copper BarnesX in the PMC Goldline ammo factory loaded 30-'06, .300WM and .338WM ammo(PMC Goldline and BarnesX are now both discontinued). I bought several boxes of each caliber. After zeroing with the BarnesX and saving the target paper...........I also shot and saved the target from regular, cheaper Remington core-lokt ammo of the same caliber and bullet weight. Now I have two target papers with BarnesX and Core-lokt bullet holes. If I want to double check my rifle zero at anytime and if I want to save those expensive and discontinued BarnesX ammo..........I shoot the Core-lokt and if they are printing at the same spot as with the original Core-lokt target paper..........I know that my BarnesX will also be on zero just like the original BarnesX target paper and........it does as I have double checked it by firing 3 rounds of BarnesX as a "proof of concept". That's how I save my precious stock of discontinued BarnesX ammo. If you do this...........you can stretch your expensive, precious stock of Condor happy, non-lead high powered ammo and save a bunch of green dollars in the process.
Thanks again for your valuable reply
God Bless, always
larrysogla

 

[Dain V]

My only gripe with barnes ammo is that it only performs out of my rifle [ win 70- 7 mag] when the barrel is fouled. I wish it shot like NBT, which performed perfectly out of a cold, clean bore. Out of my rifle, with a fouled barrel shooting black hills loaded TSX I print one and a quarter inch groups, sometimes better. I don't consider that bad out of a factory rifle. Everything I have shot with the barnes TSX has expired quickly.

 

[gundogtrainer]

Farmerdoug try grafs.com they have them in stock best price I have found, price includes shiping. I cant figure out why bass pro wont cary them

 

[larrysogla]

Dain V,
As we all know......destroying the vitals is key to bringing the hog down. Whether the front leg bone or the thick gristle armour plate is in the way...........it really shouldn't matter with the right ammo. The right ammo will plow through all those and penetrate the heart or lungs. As a matter of fact...........with the right ammo, on a front angling shot, I prefer to hit the front leg bone on the way to the vitals as it will expand the bullet some more and also cripple the leg and that might slow down the hog "mad dash" after the first hit. The right ammo should be able to crush bones and destroy the vitals if it all comes to that. Thanks again
larrysogla

 

[myfriendis410]

Just about every hog that I've shot with the Barnes TSX in a centerfire and most in my muzzleloader went down in their tracks. Food in their mouths. The ones that didn't just kinda spun around in circles for a couple of seconds and THEN went down. If you hit bone going in, there's usually significant trauma. If you don't, then it's just a small wound channel.

Accuracy with my Browning A-Bolt Hunter in 7mm r.m. is on the order of 3/8" groups with my handload. Good enough for me. My muzzleloader around 1" on average. (at 100 meters)

 

[AZ Jim]

I am hearing the new Hornaday GMX is supposed to work better than the Barnes - Anyone else hear the same or try them ?

 

[bigboarstopper]

What bothers me more than anything is that hunting is supposed to be a sport and a way to suppliment the food table. Hunting is purely a sport today because the cost we now must endure (from huge increases in tags and licences to expensive new ammao) to put some extra food on the table is no longer cost effective. In the future this will only increase. I certainly hunt because I enjoy it. But when it purely becomes a sport there is a giant portion of respect we lose from the people who dont hunt. Now I could care less about that respect lost from those people. But dont forget... Those people vote and influence those who make the laws pertaining guns and hunting.

 

[TonyS]

Farmer Doug,

Thanks for your comment about Cabela's. I ordered Barnes copper for my .270 in MAY. Ever since then I continue to read email from them about backorder expected "you dream up a date". It never happens.

I was upset about paying $50 a box for E-tips at Bass Pro but at least I have bullets for the season. I tried them out and they shoot about like my lead Core-Lokts do.

Good luck!

 

[Rick]

larrysogla - I have about 130 of the Barnes X-bullets in 225 gr variety if you reload. I sold the gun, but kept the bullets - not loaded rounds, just the projectiles.

 

[dkhuntr25]

i shoot the 150 grain barnes x with the ballistic tip and i must say i am very happy with them!!!! all i will shoot from now on

 

[richracer1]

I'll say this, whether your happy or not with the performance of the current selection of non-lead bullets doesn't matter if you hunt in the CA Condor range, you have to use them. I'll also say that the rest of the state of CA had start getting prepared to use non-lead bullets, as I would be surprised if a state wide lead ban isn't implemented 1 July 2010.

 

[larrysogla]

I have used BarnesX all copper ammo since I started hog hunting in 1998 and the penetration is excellent. The bullet expands into 4 sharp petals that cut the meat and muscle into a bleeding wound channel. The BarnesX punches through leg bones without coming apart..........exiting out the other side............taking out the vitals in the process. IMHO this Condor zone non-lead ammo regulation is a positive to nailing these hogs.
larrysogla

 

[Redneck75]

I think with a quality bullet it will be fine. I went with the Remington version out of my .30-06 since it was all I could find in San Diego. I shot a pig up at Vandenburg in February (myfriendis410 probably remembers) and I got dumb-stupid lucky I found that one. Perfect broadside shot went in right behind the shoulder and came out the off armpit. Itty, bitty tiny hole on both entrance and exit wound and absolutely no blood trail. Looked like I shot it with a field-point arrow. I've since started shooting the Federal Loads with the Barnes Bullets but I'll be hitting them in the shoulder from here on out...I just hate wasting the meat like that.