Barnes Match Burner for Hunting?

cmat1120

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Mar 1, 2018
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AZ
I recently gave the 140grn 6.5 match burners a try as sportsmans was out of any eld bullets I wanted. Anyways first time at the range they shot 0.17 moa for 3 rounds and .4 moa for 6 rounds over a pretty wide charge weight spread(I was only shooting at 100yds so the fps difference didn't really have an effect). Anyways my rifle seems to like these so I was wondering if anyone has any experience shooting animals with these. I've heard some people say they should act similar to the berger vld's(non hunting) or sierra match kings. I know people do hunt with those, but I'm not sure if there's certain limitations. All of my hunting will be deer and black bear with a very small chance of getting to go after elk. I'm pretty confident these would perform on deer(based on other people's reports), but not sure about black bear or elk or what other factors might be of concern(distance, type of shot placement, etc).
 

TWG0572

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It’s better to be able to place them where you want in my opinion. If it kills the animal it did it’s job, shoot what you shoot best
 
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Accuracy is a critical part in the choice of the bullet. If you can't hit your target, you obviously can't kill it. The Match Burner is a hollow point bullet designed for optimum accuracy, but it was designed to punch paper, and maybe varmint hunting (coyote, prairiedog, etc) . On Elk and bear, you need a bullet designed to penetrate and have controlled expansion. The hollow point match bullet will not do either, they tend to explode quickly offering no penetration. Barnes TTSX in a light for caliber bullet weight would be more a practical choice.
Not saying the hollow point won't kill an Elk or bear, but it might be a slow agonizing death miles from where you shot it, and far enough away that you will not be able to recover it.
A premium bullet designed for big game such as Elk or bear might not be pinpoint in the accuracy department, but you will be much more happy with the results on your hunt. I found the Barnes TTSX to be the most accurate bullet fired from two of my hunting rifles.
 
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idig4au

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Jun 1, 2012
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On one of the 7 continents….
Accuracy is a critical part in the choice of the bullet. If you can't hit your target, you obviously can't kill it. The Match Burner is a hollow point bullet designed for optimum accuracy, but it was designed to punch paper, and maybe varmint hunting (coyote, prairiedog, etc) . On Elk and bear, you need a bullet designed to penetrate and have controlled expansion. The hollow point match bullet will not do either, they tend to explode quickly offering no penetration. Barnes TTSX in a light for caliber bullet weight would be more a practical choice.
Not saying the hollow point won't kill an Elk or bear, but it might be a slow agonizing death miles from where you shot it, and far enough away that you will not be able to recover it.
A premium bullet designed for big game such as Elk or bear might not be pinpoint in the accuracy department, but you will be much more happy with the results on your hunt. I found the Barnes TTSX to be the most accurate bullet fired from two of my hunting rifles.

What he said. Right on the money. The TTSX bullet is my go to bullet as well in my 30 caliber hunting guns. Leave the exploding target bullets to the range.
 
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cmat1120

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Mar 1, 2018
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AZ
I'll give the ttsx a try as well as maybe the berger hunting specific bullets. I've heard god things about eld-m's (including good penetration), but haven't had the best accuracy yet so I might try the 147. Nothing wrong with trying more bullets, just means I get to shoot more lol. And spend more money :rolleyes:
 
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