Barnes 338 X Bullets

[sixshot]

When I made my first trip to Africa several years ago with Fred Smith, owner of Bullberry Barrel Works, one of the 3 guns I took was an Encore 15" 338/284. My bullets of choice were Barnes X 185 gr slugs & I took 4 animals with them & probably wouldn't have got my Blue Wildebeest if it hadn't been for the great Barnes 185 gr. bullet. I had to take a shot at a very tough angle & the bullet went almost lengthways, stopping against the left hip joint, knocking the bull down.
Anyway, over the years I took a lot of game with that bullet, but now I no longer hunt with single shots except for varmints, but yesterday I was in a pawn shop & the owner had 5 boxes of those Barnes X 185 gr bullets for sale on consignment. I ask him how much for all 5 boxes & about fell over when he said $15 a box! So $75 for all 5 boxes. If anyone has a 338 rifle or handgun this is a great bullet, especially in the Encores. I always dropped down one or two bullet weights with single shot handguns so I could pump up the velocity, and it's very important with X bullets. If someone wants a great deal drop me a private message & I'll give you a phone number. They also had 2 boxes of Nosler BT 180 gr bullets, I think he wanted $30 a box for them & he also had 4-5 boxes of 6.5 Barnes bullets, I think 120 gr.

Dick

[squigz]

Oct 10, 2024 1:46:34 GMT -5 sixshot said:

When I made my first trip to Africa several years ago with Fred Smith, owner of Bullberry Barrel Works, one of the 3 guns I took was an Encore 15" 338/284. My bullets of choice were Barnes X 185 gr slugs & I took 4 animals with them & probably wouldn't have got my Blue Wildebeest if it hadn't been for the great Barnes 185 gr. bullet. I had to take a shot at a very tough angle & the bullet went almost lengthways, stopping against the left hip joint, knocking the bull down.
Anyway, over the years I took a lot of game with that bullet, but now I no longer hunt with single shots except for varmints, but yesterday I was in a pawn shop & the owner had 5 boxes of those Barnes X 185 gr bullets for sale on consignment. I ask him how much for all 5 boxes & about fell over when he said $15 a box! So $75 for all 5 boxes. If anyone has a 338 rifle or handgun this is a great bullet, especially in the Encores. I always dropped down one or two bullet weights with single shot handguns so I could pump up the velocity, and it's very important with X bullets. If someone wants a great deal drop me a private message & I'll give you a phone number. They also had 2 boxes of Nosler BT 180 gr bullets, I think he wanted $30 a box for them & he also had 4-5 boxes of 6.5 Barnes bullets, I think 120 gr.

Dick

Out of curiosity, are the Barne's X bullets the ones that are moly coated blue? I believe I have two boxes I received from a shop clossing but heard that they have a difficult time opening up on game.

On another note, if these Nosler BTs are a deal I would like those for myself since that's the exact bullet (well accubond) I shoot and plan to use in my 338JDJ!

[pacecars]

They worked well in the .338 Federal 12” barreled Encore I had

[sixshot]

The Barnes X bullets need velocity to work well but that's the purpose of dropping down one or two bullet weights in a handgun length barrel, you pick up extra velocity & they work great, I used them a lot with great success. These are not painted, they are the old style, plain copper bullets, just like I used for several years & a great bargain at $15 a box.

Dick

[boxhead]

185 gr TSX via 338-06 at 250 yards, dropped at the shot. Up from Leadville Colorado.