Anyone loading .416 300gr Barnes TSX?

[njc110381]

Just wondering if anyone here loads the 300gr Barnes TSX in their .416 and if so how it performs? I've just bought 200 to try in my .416 Rigby, I'm thinking they should be more than enough for the deer I'm likely to shoot in the UK even if driven gently and could also be up to the job on plains game and maybe buffalo with a proper loading?

Ultimate aim for me at the moment is 2500fps to give me a decent margin for error on our minimum velocity laws. I think these should do for anything I find in the UK but I'm not so sure about bigger game? Currently the UK distributor doesn't have anything heavier in stock from Barnes.

 

[lwaters]

My Barnes reloading book only shows 350 grain bullets for 416

 

[bruce moulds]

njc,
you have refreshed a thought from the back of my mind.
I have found that many calibres will often shoot one bullet weight higher than another.
when this comes together with a lighter bullet shooting higher than a heavy bullet in a useable way it has interesting ramifications.
to fine tune this powder types and charges might need experimenting with.
the 375 h&h is such a cartridge is such a cartridge, with the 300 gn bullet dead on at 100 and 270 gn shooting high enough for around a 200 yd zero.
with one sight setting you are ready to go for plains game and dangerous game.
as I already have a 9.3x64, the 375 is a little overlapping, so 416 has more interest.
will this situation exist with 300/350 gn and 400 gn bullets?
here in oz, a 416 with the lighter bullets will probably kill horses, donkeys, and camels in open country, while 400 gns will be good on buffalo and cattle in closer conditions.
I will watch with interest as you hopefully report further.
bruce.

 

[njc110381]

You've hit upon a point I've been pondering. It'll take me a while to try them all, but I will let you know!

 

[bruce moulds]

great minds think alike!
thank you.
bruce.

 

[Glenn Slaven]

I got some for my .416 Remington Ruger one and had 3 different loads made up w IMR4064. Shot the first and lightest of the loads and it was about a 1.5” 3 shot group at 100 yards. I called it good and pulled the rest and will use on a deer this year. I was surprised recoil
Wasn’t worse, but I had been shooting a .500
Jeffery and a .470 NE that day, so I may have just been numb already.

 

[njc110381]

Dragging up an old post but I find myself pondering over this question again. When I got to the gun shop to pick up my 300gr bullets they also got in several boxes of 350gr as the 300's were in short supply, so I bought those instead.

Trying to get over 2500fps with 350gr is more punishing than it needs to be!

 

[bruce moulds]

possibly the 350s will be more versatile than the 300s.
bruce.

 

[njc110381]

possibly the 350s will be more versatile than the 300s.
bruce.

Thanks Bruce. That is something I considered at the time. 300gr is very light and the SD is quite low. 350gr on the other hand should be coming somewhere close to being a good bet on buff as well as deer? I've got no interest in shooting anything larger than that for now.

One of my worst habits, and one that I recognise, is not being able to settle on a load. For any of the rifles I've kept for a longer period of time I can't help changing things. Powders, bullets - quite often there's no need for it but I always wonder how others will perform vs what I currently have so I buy something new. At the moment I have an itch to try 300gr Barnes and 450gr Woodleigh in the .416, but actually the 350gr TSX will probably do everything I could ever ask of it! If it weren't for the velocity requirement of 2450fps I would almost certainly go heavier though. I think the experimenting with ammunition and various calibres is as much of a hobby for me as the actual shooting!

 

[bruce moulds]

njc,
I have never owned a 40 cal smokeless rifle, so my thinking is purely conjecture.
my only experience with 40 cal is shooting 440 gn patched to bore diameter cast bullets out to 1200 yds on targets, a far cry from what you need.
however I have often thought 350 gns might be useful in modern rifles.
barnes adds more to that equation.
if I took one to Africa it would be loaded with 400 gn swift.
I believe this to be a far superior bullet to anything Woodleigh has.
and going to 450 gns with a heavier than necessary bullet when a std heavy bullet is better seems a step backward.
I do think a 350 gn barnes would not worry me on buff, but how will it go on deer.
and your recoil issue at the speed required must be considered.
bruce.

 

[Dr Ray]

I use 400 grain Woodleighs for a tad over 2300 FPS. Woodleigh has sent me 450 grain protected points to test as there MAY be sone issues with them.
I suggest even with 350 grain Bullets you should get well over 2500 FPS.

 

[Dr Ray]

I said 2300 FPS but I meant 2400 FPS in my Remington magnum.
That is right up there and that’s what I want for buffalo and scrub bulls.

 

[bruce moulds]

but there is a big difference in reliability of 350 barnes compared to 350 Woodleigh..
I would hunt buff with the barnes, but not the Woodleigh in 350 gn.
bruce.

 

[njc110381]

That's that then. Stoke up the 350gr TSX and learn to put up with the recoil! The first time I fired this rifle I was quite taken aback by just how much recoil it had vs my old .375H&H. Now, a year down the line and quite a few rounds down range I can quickly send down a whole mag full of factory Hornady rounds and keep the shots within acceptable groups. Stoking it up a bit more may mean some more time on the gun to adapt, but previous experience has shown that to not be an issue.

Regarding trusting the Barnes 350gr but not a traditional cup and core, that makes sense. The cup and core starts shedding weight as soon as it hits the animal. The Barnes nine times out of ten will lose next to nothing, or maybe a negligible amount if it drops a petal.

I've found data with a powder I can get that suggests I can make 2650fps. My rifle has a 25" barrel so allowing for some manufacturer willy waving that should still put me where I need to be. My current powder is right on the limit where I want to be and I don't like to do that.

 

[John Camp]

An old post, but I shoot the 300 grain TSX in my 416 Ruger. The advantage, other than less recoil, is a flatter trajectory. Zeroed at 225 yards I am only 6 inches under at 300 yards. I got to use the 300 tsx on a small bear and a big whitetail this year and neither liked it very much. The bear dropped on the spot, stood up, and then went down for good. The buck was slammed to the ground, then got up and ran 80 yards before I put another in his shoulder. He would have dropped very soon anyway. He was pumping a spray trail the entire way. I was pleased to see there was almost no meat damage with either animal. I think I will stick with the 300-grain projectile.

 

[njc110381]

Thanks John. Good to know they work well on smaller game. That's pretty much all I'll be shooting with my rifle for now.

 

[Savannah Dan]

As soon as I see some ballistics I'm ordering some 300 gn Barnes TSX from Hendersons. I really want to take just the .416 Rigby for my PG & Buff hunt next year. 400gn for the buff of course but I think 250 yd shots IF need be are not out of the question with the 300gn.

 

[Fredrik]

Old thread but I went to Africa with my .416 rigby in August 2022. I used 400 gr swift A-frame for everything between a frontal shot at buffalo at 35 m and a 212 m shot at a baboon. The only bullet recovered was the one from my sable, under the skin at the far side. So, it is possible to go with a .416 Rigby for do it all but a recommendation is to know the drop for longer shots (which I didn't and hence I missed a truly great sable and had to settle with a good one). I also experimented a lot to find 2 bullets (swift A-frame and barnes banded solids) that produced small groups at the same place. Eventually I found recipies for sub inch groups with centers sub 2" apart but I had to sacrifice speed so they were only travelling 2050 and 2090 fps, but apparently it was enough...


Link to hunt report:
Link

 

[Cleveland48]

I use the 300 tsx on whitetail in 416 Remington, and 416 Taylor improved. Both guns are very accurate with them using IMR 4064 and IMR 4166. They actually expand very well in deer also so far.

 

[Gert416]

Just wondering if anyone here loads the 300gr Barnes TSX in their .416 and if so how it performs? I've just bought 200 to try in my .416 Rigby, I'm thinking they should be more than enough for the deer I'm likely to shoot in the UK even if driven gently and could also be up to the job on plains game and maybe buffalo with a proper loading?

Ultimate aim for me at the moment is 2500fps to give me a decent margin for error on our minimum velocity laws. I think these should do for anything I find in the UK but I'm not so sure about bigger game? Currently the UK distributor doesn't have anything heavier in stock from Barnes.

Hallo friens
Can anyone help me where to buy 300 gr tsx barnes bullets for my .416 rigby or any factory made 300 gr bullets at all.