[Deer_Hunter]

I have been shooting Barnes VOR-TX for years now and am not only a huge fan of this bullet specifically; but also a strong advocate of copper bullets themselves.

Specifically I shoot factory loaded Barnes VORTX 7mm Rem Mag 160gr TTSX BT (boat tail).

- In terms of Ballistics it is an excellent load – with my Sako 85 I am shooting at well under ½ minute at 250m.


- Excellent expansion and retention. Most deer I have shot with this load go about 20-40 yards (although this has more to do with shot placement I believe).

- No Lead! No lead to foul and contaminate meat with a heavy metal

I have have shot deer and elk with this bullet all with ethical shots and kills.

I am a strong advocate of lead-less bullets for hunting – no lead to contaminate your meat and no lead left in the gut pile to poison higher-order predators through bio-magnification.

Bullets fragment much more than people think they do, and many people end up eating meat with significant amounts of microscopic lead particles in it.

This fragmentation only increases if you end up hitting bone in your shot (ribs, shoulder, spine etc…). Look at the photo below of an x-ray of a neck shot mule deer – this lead is either consumed by the hunter or left in a gut pile/carcass to be consumed by higher order predators.

Lots of info on the merits of copper bullets on the internet – some US states have, or are in the process of, further regulating the use of lead shot in hunting (much like we have for waterfowl hunting).

I am sure that not everyone here will share this perspective however I believe that given that copper bullets are so effective in the majority of hunting contexts that I personally find it difficult to find a reason to switch back to lead based bullets.

Prior to shooting the Barns X I shot lots of different leaded bullets.

I began hunting many moons ago using good old Core-Lokt in 185gr – an excellent load, other than the lead. Although I stopped using these because I felt I wanted better retention (I think – it was decades ago) even though their retention was excellent.

I then switched to Federal Nosler Partition in 165 gr – excellent bullet as well, flies well, excellent expansion and retention. But full of lead! Also I agree with what has been said already in their thread that the lack of a polymer tip on these bullets leads to the tip being damaged in the magazine by recoil which probably has a negative impact on ballistic performance.

I have no direct experience with Federal Trophy Copper however it has been my experience that Federal makes excellent factory loaded ammunition and I would expect that they are an excellt bullet.

My only gripe about Barnes is that in &mm Rem Mag in 160 grain they do not have a polymer tip (although the 150 and 140 gr varieties do). I don’t know the specifications of other calibers.

There are more options of course if you are into reloading – Im not there yet but perhaps in few years.

Anyways – to each his own but I cannot see myself hunting with leaded bullets any time soon.