I don't usually shoot buck-a-bullet loads. However, last week in a moment of weakness I bought two 24 bullet packs of Barnes .40 caliber/195 grain "Expander MZ" bullets to try in the .45 GM/LRH/TC Renegade - the smallest of the Sinful Sisters.



Those dang bullets are just too expensive to shoot my regular 5-shot groups. So I went with 3-shot groups for the test.

I used 95 grains of GOEX FFFg throughout the session because that's the load the gun likes under 200 grain XTPs. No scope adjustments were made during the session, so the targets show real world trajectory with a 100 yard zero.

Here are the results.

25 Yards


50 Yards


75 Yards


100 Yards


125 Yards


150 Yards

I really like them bullets. But like you, ever time I pull the trigger my wallet cries. But they are very good shooting bullets. Very nice shooting there.

You can pretty much cover your food plot with that kind of performance, can't you?

Price is one of the reasons I like XTP's so much. I even quite hunting with my Ithaca Deerslayer II because it cost approximately $3 per trigger pull.

Very nice Semi. And by my count you shot 18 bullets. That leaves you with 6 left to save for hunting season. Of course you will want to verify you're sight in just prior to hunting season so there goes 3 more shots. But I have faith in you that you will harvest a deer with one of those 3 Barnes bullets.
Question - do the Barnes hit same POI as the XTPs?

Pretty much the same Bronko. The gun was sighted in for XTPs and I started this session at 25 yards figuring I would have to make an adjustment. But it was not so. I didn't touch the scope before shooting that 25 yard target, or during the shoot. Maybe it could use one click to the right.