I wanted to start this post by saying this is not a slam piece. This is merely a performance review about the Barnes Bullets 6MM 112GR Match Burner that we have had numerous data points on. With that being said, there is some troubling information in regards to these bullets that raises questions around reliability. Barnes Match burners are generally a decent performer. These bullets are at a very competitive price and even have some positive points that I want to cover first. Let me start by saying how they are very capable of producing small shot groups on paper. They’re pretty jump insensitive and tent to be on the easier side to yield decent group sizes. In particular, the 140GR. 6.5MM bullets performed well with a Creedmoor that I ran. I was able to use these for trainer bullets with no issues. Now, with that being said the 112GR 6MM bullets we ran into a lot of issues. We have shot over 3000 of these bullets and have a pretty solid baseline of numbers and data. THE PURSUIT OF NEVER MISSINGThis target was used to identify exactly how many 112GR 6MM bullets fail at the 2800FPS mark while shooting on a warm summer day. We averaged 2800 FPS with a 6-BRX on this day with zero load data. The ammo was loaded to the threshold where we consistently saw bullet failure. 2800 FPS seemed to be right at the point that would cause consistent failures. This particular target we amounted to 1 bullet failure per every 21 rounds. With 51 or so rounds fired we experienced 3 complete failures. We also have a pretty good depiction of how the barrel temp had something to do with the failure. If the bore was cool, you could get up to 8-10 rounds down range without a failure. The groups also opened up significantly once the bore was warm. If the bore became legitimately hot from 10 or more rounds, you would have a failure. The projectile would come apart. You can also see that we were not pushing to bullet anywhere near what they are capable of. We have seen up to 3200FPS with these bullets. Barnes Bullets 6MM 112GR Match Burner yield up to a .32 G7 BC. They have repeatedly failed in any weapon pushing them north of 2800FPS. Here are some of the data points we gathered. Applied Ballistics put these bullets at a .308 G7 BC. We confirmed them from multiple 7 and 7.5 twist barrels to be closer to a .32 G7. Any velocity under 2800 closer to 2750 FPS they’re fine. For example the 6BR Norma we run was able to easily see 2850 FPS without pressure but had bullet failures. At 2770 FPS it was fine with a 7-twist. Reliability became questionable north of 2800 FPS.Along with the speed variable, the bore and twist rate played a role in identifying failures. The barrels ranged from a .236-.237 bore from multiple companies including, Benchmark, Krieger, and X-caliber. The calibers used to test these were 6×47 Lapua with a 4 and 5 groove barrel in 7-7.5 twist. 6BRX in 7.5 twist and 7 twist, and a 6BR in 7 twist. The lot #’s were 7276476-3098U-LB and lot # 7276476-5-144U CKM. The third lot # was not annotated. As previously stated, If you can get them to shoot without blowing up, congrats, you have found the secret recipe. We tested 6 separate barrels and not a single one could consistently yield a 2800FPS velocity without experiencing a failure. Our advice, run these for training only. These come in with a pretty solid price point online. Do not risk your competitive environment performance to a bullet that does not reliably shoot without failure unless you can keep them around 2750 FPS. We reached out to Barnes to try and rectify this issue and has yet to be resolved. Thanks for tuning in, and standby for an update! Let’s see if we can turn this write up around with some better results. appliedballisticsllc.combarnesbullets.com
This was very informative and interesting to read all the data points.