Hunters no longer have to make a choice between accuracy and terminal performance. Modern premium bullets like the Barnes MRX are superbly accurate, and the results on game and in test media prove they are effective in the field.
Never before has so much effort and engineering been devoted toward the building of better hunting bullets. Manufacturers take different approaches to solving hunters’ problems, which has resulted in many good bullets on the market. Here are four bullets you may not have had the opportunity to try. If any of them seem to fit your needs, try a few in your rifle, and then compare their performance to the bullets you have been using.
Winchester XP3
The XP3 replaced the Fail Safe, which was Winchester’s premium hunting bullet designed in the early ’90s. I have yet to use the XP3 on game, but I have tested it in ordnance gelatin and the Bullet Test Tube. The XP3 is similar to the Fail Safe in a couple of ways. Its lead core is in the rear of the bullet, and as the XP3 expands, it creates four petals that often shear away. However, it seems to take higher impact velocities to break the petals from the XP3 than it did with the Fail Safe. I have had Fail Safes lose all four petals when impacting at velocities as low as 2,650 feet per second.
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Winchester’s XP3 bullet replaces its Fail Safe with simpler construction and a polymer tip, yet it still delivers the expansion and penetration expected of a premium bullet. The bulge at the front of the shank ensures the expanded diameter of the bullet will not be lost, even at higher velocities when the front-end petals may shear. |
One real difference in the XP3 when compared to other bullets with all-copper front ends is the bulge it develops. The XP3 bulges slightly behind the point where traditional expansion on the front end stops. This impacts terminal performance by increasing the diameter and volume of the bullet’s crush cavity if the petals shear off. The crush cavity begins at the end of the wound cavity created during dynamic bullet expansion, and its diameter is equivalent to the bullet’s expanded diameter.
The bulge ensures the frontal diameter remains about 1.7 times the original diameter of the bullet. Of course, a large expanded diameter will reduce total penetration, but given the high percentage of weight retention with the XP3, they sort of balance. A larger front-end diameter often translates into a larger exit wound; however, the greater the diameter of the bullet, the less chance it will push through offside hide.
XP3s create wound cavities that are long and slender. You won’t see the wide, voluminous cavities like you will find with the Power-Point. But the XP3’s bulge enhances the size of the wound cavity compared to the Fail Safe. Tests have shown that XP3 bullets create wound cavities sized between those produced by Fail Safes and Power-Points of the same caliber and weight. However, the XP3 will out-penetrate any standard cup-and-core bullet, and most cross-membered as well as bonded bullets of comparable size and weight. If penetration is high on your priority list, the XP3 may be for you.
Barnes MRX
Unlike the Barnes Triple-Shock, the MRX has a Delrin tip and a tungsten rear core. This increases the ballistic coefficient and reduces bullet length. |
Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet (TSX) has established itself as a bullet that delivers game, large or small. Though similar to the TSX, the Maximum-Range X-Bullet (MRX) differs in two major ways. It has a rear core of tungsten, which is heavier than copper, thus reducing overall bullet length when compared to a TSX of the same caliber and weight. Too, the MRX is capped with a pointed Delrin tip that increases its ballistic coefficient, thereby flattening trajectory.
The original X-Bullet gained an undeserved reputation for not expanding on smaller big-game animals like whitetails and pronghorns. I think this came about mostly because hunters did not understand how the X-Bullet worked. They felt the bullet was too tough to open up within the chest cavity of these lighter animals. This line of thinking is flawed. From the moment a bullet impacts anything it begins to slow down, and the slower a bullet travels, the less chance it has to expand. The notion that a bullet would penetrate 10 inches of whitetail and never open up, but would expand reliably inside an elk or moose, is nonsense. The original X-Bullet, the TSX and the MRX begin expanding immediately upon impact. Tests prove this.
An X-Bullet can loose its petals during expansion. This petal loss generally occurs in the first 4 to 8 inches and results in a caliber-size exit wound. X-Bullets do not make the massive, but relatively shallow, wound cavities hunters are used to seeing with Core-Lokts and Power-Points. Wound cavities from X-Bullets are long and narrow, so many hunters concluded the bullet did not expand.
Petal loss with the X-Bullets generally happens at velocities greater than 3,000 fps or when heavy bone is hit. Some armchair experts erroneously assume the bullet was not designed to impact at velocities that high. Truth is, petal loss has little influence on the size of the wound cavity because a wound cavity’s maximum volume is created during expansion, and petal loss happens after expansion.
Like the XP3, the MRX delivers long, narrow wound cavities and deep penetration. I have also found it to be astonishingly accurate, unlike the original X-Bullet. However, MRX bullets are not cheap. Packed 20 to a box, the 180-grain, .308-caliber MRX has an MSRP of $32.49. That’s more than a buck and a half a bullet.
The GPA bullet creates a massive wound cavity even though it consistently looses its petals. Wound cavities this large are not normally created by bullets without a frontal lead core. |
Premium GPA Bullet
You probably have never heard of this bullet. I did not know it existed until about two months ago, at which time I immediately contacted the importer and asked for some samples. I have been so impressed with its performance in test media that I will be taking it to Africa.
Like the Barnes bullets, the GPA is made entirely of copper alloy; unlike Barnes bullets, it is 100-percent machined. When a GPA bullet impacts, it expands very quickly, and then the petals break away. At higher velocities the petals fracture into pieces, becoming secondary missiles traveling away from the path of the bullet.
What is left is a projectile that has been reduced to caliber size and retains about 65 percent of its original weight. These bullets penetrate deeply. For example, a 148-grain, .30-caliber GPA bullet impacting at 2,600 fps will penetrate almost as deeply as a 260-grain, .375-caliber Nosler AccuBond at the same velocity.
You might think the wound cavities produced by these bullets are similar to those made by other bullets of an all-copper design, but that’s not the case. These bullets expand violently, making very large wound cavities. I have not had a chance to try this bullet on game, but based on its performance in test media, it should be very effective.
Expanding versions of the GPA are available from 6 mm to .470 caliber. Solids are available in even larger calibers. The GPA is made in Monaco and is only available from ROC Import. They are pricey; a box of 50 costs about $75.
The 7-mm, 168-grain Berger VLD bullet on the far left was recovered from test media, while the other two were recovered from under the offside hide in wild boars. Because of the long, secant ogive, the VLD tends to start expanding deeper in the animal, yet deformation is nearly complete. |
Berger VLD
Only target shooters and other accuracy nuts consider the Berger VLD to be a premium bullet, and that is because VLDs are very accurate. The unique thing about the VLD is the way it expands. Unlike other lightly constructed, lead-core bullets, the VLD penetrates a good distance inside animals and test mediums before expansion begins, sometimes as much as 1 1/2 inches. This is likely due to the secant ogive and a very small hollow point. When the VLD expands, it does so very violently, creating a wicked-looking wound cavity.
I doubted the effectiveness of the VLD on big game until I had the opportunity to try it on wild boar. During two days of hunting with Berger bullets at Mountain Medaow Preserve in West Virginia, we took five wild boars with six shots using VLDs in .264, .284 and .308 calibers. One boar required a second shot because of poor shot placement. In every case internal damage was massive. Even though the bullets only retained approximately 50 percent of their unfired weight, all were recovered under the hide on the offside of the hogs, which weighed nearly 200 pounds.
Berger reports good results on animals as large as elk. I would be a bit reluctant to recommend the VLD for elk-sized critters unless perfect shot placement was a guarantee. I think they are a very good bullet for whitetails and similar-sized game, especially if you intend to shoot at long range where accuracy is important.
