I am thinking about switching from 235 grain sierra bullets to the 235 grain barnes tsx. I have heard that these are great bullets but no one talks about them with a 375 jdj. Does anybody have any recipes for loads and any performance results?

I don't shoot the 375 JDJ however I have used barnes bullets in handgun and rifle calibers for years with nothing but awesome and consistant results both in the terminal performance and accuracy departments. The barnes website is down for updating at the moment but shoot them an email. Let them know what you are using it in and they could probably tell you what the minimal expansion velocity is and whatnot. Sorry I cant help you out specifically but this may get you started. Good luck!

Thank you for the information. I never thought to send barnes an email. I will try that. My main concern is that my speer bullets dont group to well at 100 yrds so I am hoping to improve on that. Thanks

I have had excellent results w/ 300 gr. Sierra & Hornady bullets in my Competitor in 376 Steyr. I have yet to use the barnes' bullets.

I thank you for your reply. I sent an email to JD Jones at ssk industries to get load data from the person that created and has used the cartridge extensively. He replied very quickly and gave me his data. The data tells me that Hornady and sierra and speer work great. The data says not to use Barnes bullets due to the exsessive pressure they cause.

I may be wrong, but I believe this is only an issue in Contenders. I'm guessing your 375JDJ is a Contender. I don't think the higher pressures caused by Barnes bullets are a problem in Encores. I just picked up a 26" 375JDJ Encore barrel for my son to use. From what I have heard so far, the 270 gr Hornadys will do for anything we will be hunting. If he doesn't like this round I'll have it cut down to 14" and recrowned.

This barnes bullet is designed to expand at a minimum of 1900fps, which would not give you much range if you are wanting a bullet to expand (out of a handgun). I talked with barnes about this when I had my jdj. Hope this helps.

JDMAX

To pab1, Your correct I do have the 375 JDJ in contender. Another bullet for you to look at is the 260 grn accubond for you encore rifle. I have heard a lot of guys having great accuracy aswell as it being a good hunting bullet. The only reason I am not trying it is due to not having the velocity to shoot longer yards. I dont think I can keep my speed up in the pistol to still expand well at 250 to 300 yrds (not that I plan to shoot that far I just like knowing I can ethically kill at that range.). But the ballistics from a rifle are quite a bit faster. I have the data from SSk industries if you are interetsed I could try to email it to you. It has rifle and pistol data.

I'll have to try the Accubonds too. PM sent Chris

I live in a no lead zone (CA) so I'm stuck using Barns 235. After talking to JD about this issue he said start low with the barnes 235's. Seems pressure used to be an issue but may have been addressed. I have also been informed that you need to clean out ALL old fouling, copper solvents and such, as the softer copper Barnes bullets will stick to the fouling and cause issues.

THank you for the information. I bought the barrel used so I would definately have to clean it to try this. My only concern with the lower powder in the loads for the barnes would be how much velocity loss may result in the lower powder charge. The minimum velocity expansion for the barnes bullet is 1800 fps. I know that means they probably will still expand down to 1600 fps but with a slight powder reduction with my load data I think I will be down around 1850 - 1900 fps at the muzzle which may become a concern for me past about 150 yrds.

I feel your pain :p I'll be testing mine soon with wet paperbacks, see how they do at 150...

If you dont mind will you let me know what you may come up with for a load and what your results are.

Will do, there is VERY little info out there on No Lead loads for handgun hunting, unless your using straight wall rounds. It's a huge delema for us as the "at target velocity" tends to be to low for No Lead rounds to open properly.

Been very tempted to get new Bbls but hate giving up my precious Bbls

Ack haven't gotten a box of 235's yet... been distracted by the 338-06 and dutch oven cooking :p Going to get them soon... (staple note to forhead...)

I understand. I have not tried anything yet, I am in the process of getting a 30/30 and trying to figure out what I am going to do with it. I want to try the 30/30 Ackley Improved. I also am needing a better scope for my 375. The problem with buying one of these handguns is that I just keep trying to get more stuff. I am like a kid in a candy store.

Ya it can get that way... I went to the point of having a frame for each Bbl for a while... Sold off all but 2 frames and 4 Bbls, may end up moving another one as it may not meet useable needs for hunting in CA's condor areas...

I wonder if the pressure used to be an issue, but not not has to do with the grooves of the TSX. I remember the warnings from JD in various publications about the Barnes X (original), but have not seen this since the TSX was introduced.

Is the tsx a solid bullet or a combination. I got the reloading data from JD and at the bottom it says to stay away from the barnes bullets due to the solids causing pressure issues. I dont know if the data he sent me is new or if it is his old data and has never been changed.

The Barnes TSX is a pure copper solid hollowpoint with grooves that reduce the pressure build up.

Data never changed, I called him a couple months ago and he mentioned that he's tried the 235 TSX and it was ok to start outlow and work up, as normal. If this bullet doesn't work than I'm toast for all my hunting handguns in CA...

One thing that puzzles me. My uncle uses a 7/30 waters with only barnes bullets. I know he uses the solids and never has started out with lower powder loads. He is brave but always goes straight to max loads. Now mabe that cartridge does not have the same pressure issues but he is a firm believer in the barnes solids. That may be another thought for you. He has killed many mule deer at ranges from 80 yards to 250. He took a cow elk this year at 230 yards and has killed a couple hogs with head shots aswell with the 7/30. Just a thought for you because it is a cartridge that is talked about for deer but our colorado elk are pretty tough, and your 375 jdj barrel could be traded for such a barrel and it is cheaper to load for and definately easier on the hands to shoot.