Barnes bullet selection for .223 rifles.

[Azalin]

There are several offerings for rounds loaded with various Barnes all copper bullets. The bullets weigh 53, 55, 62 and 60 grains. Which loads perform best? I read the sticky threads but did not see any information which would indicate which grain weight bullet to select. All of my rifles have 1-7" twist.

Thank you.

[Romad]

Any should be fine. What are you shooting or plan to shoot? I'm loading 70gr. Barnes TSX and 55gr. RRLP in my handloads.

[Azalin]

Specifically I am interested in which performs best through intermediate barriers, specifically laminated glass, and which provides the best terminal performance.

[DocGKR]

I like the 55 gr.

[SMJayman]

I like the 55 gr.

Why do you prefer that weight vs. the 62s?

[DocGKR]

It offers good penetration and terminal performance, is accurate out of barrels with most twist rates, and works well in short barrels.

[BAC]

I'll admit that my brain's a bit sluggish today, but why might a 55 grain bullet perform better than a 62 grain one? Is it the speed difference?


-B

[SMJayman]

It offers good penetration and terminal performance, is accurate out of barrels with most twist rates, and works well in short barrels.

Got it, thanks.

[Zhukov]

I'll admit that my brain's a bit sluggish today, but why might a 55 grain bullet perform better than a 62 grain one? Is it the speed difference?

-B

This bullet doesn't fragment, it expands. In a fragmenting bullet, the extra mass of the projectile creates more fragments. In an expanding bullet, the extra mass doesn't really help and creates more barrel twist rate dependencies as the all-copper Barnes bullet is quite long. Some 1:9 barrels might have problems with the 62gr, and will definitely be borderline with the 70gr.

[DRT]

I was surprised when a 70gr TSX lost 3 of its 4 petals when fired into water. It was going 2939fps out of my 20" AR.