I used barnes factory loads for 3 or 4 years about 6 years ago, as I have said on here many times in the past, the thickets and cutovers where I hunt, if a deer takes a few hops after the shot It is so dang thick you just about have to crawl on the bloodtrail, having said that, I am always trying for a slightly high, straight through the shoulder shot, so I need a bullet that will hold together, as you know in the real world everything isn't always so perfect, so every once in a while I have to trail one anyway. One thing about the barnes, there is no doubt that you will get an exit hole, the reason I switched to the trophy bonded bearclaws is because they have just enough lead in them to make a decent sized exit hole to make blood trailing easier, the solid copper barnes comes out not much bigger than when it enters. I've used the tbbc for about 6 years or longer now, and I absolutley love them. Now, if I wasn't trying to drop them where they stand, I MIGHT would use something cheaper. Just my 2 cents...... One thing I may do this year is try hornadys new interbond, should be about the same as a bearclaw, and it may be cheaper to boot.