What to do with Barnes XLC ammo?

[Mountain Man]

Hey everyone, I could use your advice. I have a stash of 30 old Barnes XLC (the blue bullets) ammunition that my uncle hand loaded 20ish years ago. They have been sitting unused because he switched over to TSX bullets as soon as they came out and those TSX bullets have performed perfectly for me. I’m not sure what the best use for the old XLC ammo is.

Is it possible to pull the bullets out and replace them with TSX bullets or is that a dangerous action for live ammunition? Other than the potential for different ballistics than my current set up, is there any other reason I shouldn’t use these XLC bullets for hunting? I figure there was a reason Barnes stopped manufacturing them and am unsure if I should rely on them for hunting.

I have zero experience reloading, so any advice on how best to proceed would be much appreciated.

 

[D4570]

Just shoot them at Prairie dogs and give the brass to a loader.

 

[klampson]

I’m assuming that your uncle hand loaded these bullets for his rifle, and not the rifle you currently hunt with? If this is true, then I would not shoot them. Just because a hand load is safe in one rifle, doesn’t mean it’s safe to shoot in another rifle.

 

[Mountain Man]

Some additional clarification. The rounds were loaded for my rifle, which is a 340 Weatherby so it would be a bit much for prairie dogs. I did shoot a portion of the box when they were first loaded, so am confident they would be safe to shoot through the same rifle.

I was gifted my uncle’s reloading equipment so I hope to learn how to reload myself eventually.

 

[MThuntr]

only 30 and they're loaded for your rifle? I think the answer is...SEND IT!

Pulling bullets and dumping the powder is fairly easy with the right equipment and if you get into reloading you'll want that stuff anyway. Get a collet system of whatever brand you prefer (they all work the same) if you want to purge the older bullets but they're of basically zero value to anyone. You don't want to swap one bullet for another with an old powder charge.

 

[Elktrack]

If they shoot well then use them. There’s nothing wrong with them, Barnes just discontinued them as they developed the TSX and realized that the coating wasn’t necessary and more of an unintentional gimmick.

As spendy as 340 ammo is I wouldn’t hesitate using them as long as they shoot accurately and are safe loads

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

Some additional clarification. The rounds were loaded for my rifle, which is a 340 Weatherby so it would be a bit much for prairie dogs. I did shoot a portion of the box when they were first loaded, so am confident they would be safe to shoot through the same rifle.

I was gifted my uncle’s reloading equipment so I hope to learn how to reload myself eventually.

I think what you meant to say here is it would be a bit too much fun.

I had these loads back in the day, killed a few elk with them. The blue was pretty ridiculous looking though.

 

[Mountain Man]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I should just use them up.

Can someone with ballistic knowledge let me know if there is any difference between 225 grain XLC and TSX? Is it close enough that my CDS created for the TSX will work well enough?

 

[MThuntr]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I should just use them up.

Can someone with ballistic knowledge let me know if there is any difference between 225 grain XLC and TSX? Is it close enough that my CDS created for the TSX will work well enough?

1 quick search suggest the XLC BC is .384 (unconfirmed best to contact Barnes) and the TSX is .386. It's close if that information is correct BUT without knowing velocity of the loads it doesn't matter what the BC is. You'll need to that info to match the CDS. I say go to the range and burn them up then load the empty brass with your current load for TSX.