By Terry Houin
Most people would acknowledge Barnes as the birthplace of the modern all-copper bullet, and they continue to lead the pack on development today. From the OG Barnes TSX to the latest long-range LRX, Barnes has your hunting needs covered.
My first introduction to the Barnes’ monolithics came in the military. Here’s a hypothetical situation that may have driven the adoption of the bullets: Let’s say you and your buddies are hanging out watching a bunch of TVs while drinking coffee and discussing plans for the night’s activities when you’re interrupted by something on the screen. There they are, a bunch of dudes leaving a building, jumping in a car, and rolling down the road. About this time, you realize you need to talk to them, so you and the boys jump into the Boeing MH-6’s to chase them down to deliver the message. As you can imagine, if you’re driving down an Iraqi highway blasting tunes with your buddies, you probably don’t notice me and my crew—above and slightly behind—waving at you to roll down the window for a chat. This is where the Barnes bullets come in handy. Unlike the traditional lead-core bullets that tend to come apart going through glass or car doors, the Barnes TTSX and TAC-X retain most of their weight which translates to more retained energy and penetration—which is needed in this situation.
Fast forward several years with a pending long-range hunting trip looming on the horizon, I wanted to see what the new-to-me Barnes VOR-TX LR ammunition was all about. For the past several years, I’ve been using high-quality, long-range, lead-core bullets like the Nosler Accubond LR and the Hornady ELD-X in my rifles.
The first stop, as always after a long trip, was to the flat range. On the bench, I took ample time to shoot a few boxes of the 7 PRC VOR-TX LR loaded with the 160-grain LRX through my Aero Precision Solus Lightweight Hunter to gather ballistic data. The loads were consistent and maintained sub-MOA groups at various yardages out to 1000 yards.
Lets jump into some numbers and I’ll explain why I like the Barnes LRX for hunting. The simple answer is because it works all the time. At an altitude of 4,288 feet, temperature of 68 degrees, and pressure of 25.72 with very low humidity, my muzzle velocity was 3061 fps with a standard deviation of 19.6 fps for 12 shots—which is good for factory ammo. Pair that with the LRX’s G1 BC of 0.608, and you get a very efficient long-range bullet.
These loads are obviously accurate and fly well, but for hunting purposes, a bullet needs to perform on target. Monolithics need more energy to expand than their traditional lead-core options. For the LRX, it needs to be moving at a minimum of 1800 fps. In my rifle, these loads don’t drop below that threshold until 975 yards—well past what I would shoot in a hunting situation. With proper expansion, these bullets petal out creating devastating wound channels, and, being solid copper, they retain their weight to ensure ample penetration into the body cavity.
Here’s my range card for those interested:
Barnes 7mm PRC 160-grain LRX
| Range | Come Up MOA | 3 o’clock 7mph | Velocity | Energy FT-LB |
| 100 | 0 | .25 MOA | 3025 | 3328 |
| 300 | +2.34 (7.96in) | .73 MOA | 2642 | 2480 |
| 500 | +6.63 (35.72in) | 1.27 MOA | 2378 | 2008 |
| 700 | +11.81 (87.98 in) | 1.89 MOA | 2125 | 1604 |
Cost: $74
Pros: Very accurate; consistent muzzle velocity; the bullet design expands reliably creating a lot of internal damage on animals.
Cons: If there’s any criticism, it’s the fact that solid copper weighs less than traditional cup-and-core lead bullets in the same caliber, meaning you’ll have higher velocities but slightly more wind drift. Just practice your wind calls and you’ll be fine in most hunting situations.
