# Barnes bullets and sabots vs. Hornady bullets and sabots



## salmon_slayer06 (Mar 19, 2006)

Whats everyones take on the Barnes Expander bullets for muzzleloaders? Are they accurate? Do they hit as hard and far as copper clad lead bullets such as Hornady SSTs? Any opinions on the two and if anyone has used them what gun and what load are you using?


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## salmon_slayer06 (Mar 19, 2006)

I will be using a CVA Wolf with a Burris 3x9x40 scope.


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## bigbuck (Mar 17, 2001)

Used them one time last year with good results. Based on that one I felt the blood trail was better than with the sst's I had used in the past. I only shot them @ 100 yards. They were accurate for me.


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## Swamp Monster (Jan 11, 2002)

Nothing better than Barnes bullets imo. I use them in the muzzleloader, shotgun, and rifle. In the muzzleloader I use the 290 Gr MZ with the regular sabots, not the easy glides. Barnes are typically very accurate, but every gun is different and you may need to experiment with sabots etc. If your gun shoots them well, they are fantastic on game. They penetrate extremely well and expand perfectly. I like the SST/Shockwaves as well, but the Barnes is a step up from these, but you also pay for it in price as they are not cheapest to shoot.


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## old professor (Oct 26, 2008)

I went to Barnes MZ bullets exclusivly several years ago and have never looked back. Extremely good performance on game and very accurate in all my rifles. My current setup is a Knight KP1 with a 285 gr Barnes Expander over 100 gr of Blackhorn 208. Shoots at right about 1 inch groups at 100 yds.


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## SPH (Jan 20, 2004)

I have not had good consistency with Barnes bullets (spitfire to be exact) but they have great expansion. I have said in the past that if I could get the shockwave accuracy with the barnes expansion it would be a perfect day. 

I stick with the shockwaves because I get better accuracy out of my gun with them but we have had some tracking jobs also on shots that were well placed.


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## brad arnett (Feb 13, 2006)

SPH said:


> I have not had good consistency with Barnes bullets (spitfire to be exact) but they have great expansion. I have said in the past that if I could get the shockwave accuracy with the barnes expansion it would be a perfect day.
> 
> I stick with the shockwaves because I get better accuracy out of my gun with them but we have had some tracking jobs also on shots that were well placed.


We've used the Barnes MZ bullet for quite a few years. I've shot/seen shot around 30 deer with those bullets over that time and they've been the best option I've found so far. My brother gave the shockwaves a try on 3 deer last season with varying results. All three deer were recovered so I guess it can't be said that they didn't work.

Had one that was shot through the lungs broadside and it went through both lungs but made it probably 300yards and came with a very tough tracking job. When we got to looking at it all we found was a little hole that went in one side and out the other, and with just a small bullet sized hole penciled through both lungs....the bullet went thorugh the right place, just did not expand......a fluke, maybe?

The second one he shot with it was a high shoulder shot on a doe that should have just wadded her up. After another tracking job we got to looking at her and that bullet gave very rapid expansion with little penetration at all. Another fluke?.?.?....maybe so. 

The third one was a doe and was quartered away. The bullet entered behind the near shoulder and exited the off shoulder. That one completely wrecked the lungs and left a nice exit hole. I'd say that bullet did what it was supposed to do that time. 

I know that 3 experiences is not enough to really base one's conlusion on, but I can tell you that he tossed the rest of his shockwaves in the trash and is going back to the Barnes Expander bullets. 

We've had exits on all but one deer with the barnes bullets. I've not ran in to any "issues" in using them in half a dozen different muzzleloaders. This one has been the only recovered bullet and looks like it should.


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## jjc155 (Oct 16, 2005)

For some reason I could not get Barnes Expanders and sabots to group for crap out of my TC Triumph, like a 5 inch group at 100yards. 

Hornaday SST's however shoot just about 1 inch for a 3 shot group at 100yards out of the same gun with Harvester short sabots over 110grs of Blackhorn (this was after about 30 shots with NO swabbing between shots :yikes.

I tried and tried with the barnes and could not get them to shoot even decent (played with charges and sabots). 

Just my experiences and really go to show that the gun has to pick the round/sabot/load combo, not you.

J-


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

I love the Barnes Expander MZ's. I found that the Knight Red Hot's (same exact bullet) with the orange EZ Loader sabots shoot best out of my Knight. They shot best out of my gun with extensive experiments with bullets, loads, powders, sabots, and temperature. The Hornady XTP's are a close second in accuracy and performance on game. I found that 300 grain bullets seem to stabilize better than lighter bullets and give tighter groups. Either bullet is an excellent deer killer.


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## salmon_slayer06 (Mar 19, 2006)

Thanks for the comments. I will be sighting the gun in for the first time and I will be trying out the 300 grain Barnes Expander MZ's. These are a hollow point and seem to have a bigger mushroom than the others. I also was aiming towards the blackhorn powder myself... it looks like somebody has it on clearance right now.

When I'm looking for a different sabot to use for these bullets how do I know which ones will work? Thats one area I'm not experinced in...


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## QuakrTrakr (Apr 4, 2001)

salmon_slayer06 said:


> When I'm looking for a different sabot to use for these bullets how do I know which ones will work? Thats one area I'm not experinced in...


I just buy what the store carries. MMP makes precision sabots and a lot of guys have good luck with them, but my gun never seemed to like them. I usually get my supplies at Jay's and they have a pretty decent selection of ML supplies.


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## Jet08 (Aug 21, 2007)

I shoot Barnes in every gun I have. IMO thats what I would go with.


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## Pier Pressure (Dec 21, 2008)

I took two does one evening with Barnes/Knight TMZ 290 grainers last season and they expanded flawlessly at nearly 100 yards. I couldn't be more satisfied. Here's one from that hunt... 










I shoot a Knight MK-85 with 100 grains of Triple7.


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