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Started By
Message
Barnes Vor-TX 5.56 NATO 62 gr. TSX
Posted on 8/3/25 at 10:51 am
Posted on 8/3/25 at 10:51 am
I’ve been doing a lot of research on this round and it’s changed names a few times. Anyway, this is regarded as the best round to kill a deer with good shot placement using a 5.56
Anyone have experience?
Thanks
Anyone have experience?
Thanks
This post was edited on 8/3/25 at 10:53 am
11
Posted on 8/3/25 at 10:55 am to The Levee
The best round to kill a deer is going to be highly subjective and impossible to prove. I’m a big fan of attempting to ensure exits that will bleed but a monolithic 5.56 is going to be pushing the limits of too small and fast to reliably expand and do more than poke a hole. That’s great if you can ensure a heart shot but something you need to understand and account for.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:24 am to TheDrunkenTigah
I’m aware of that. I’m asking for experience with this round. Specifically vs a whitetail deer.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:31 am to The Levee
Assuming you are locked into 5.56? I'm not sure anyone would say that 5.56 is a top 5 round period for that.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:34 am to baldona
Yes. I’m locked in to 5.56. Just bought the bolt gun. I have a 5.56 suppressor.
I have killed 300 lb pigs with green tip ammo. It can do the job but that’s literally an armor piercing round. Actually perfect for big pigs.
My main hunting rifle is a Remington 7600 .308 pump lol. It’s a beast of a gun.
I have killed 300 lb pigs with green tip ammo. It can do the job but that’s literally an armor piercing round. Actually perfect for big pigs.
My main hunting rifle is a Remington 7600 .308 pump lol. It’s a beast of a gun.
This post was edited on 8/3/25 at 11:35 am
Posted on 8/3/25 at 11:56 am to The Levee
I like that round but have never used it on a deer. I know 5.56 can do the job on a deer, but never really felt comfortable with it when there is so many other option.
I shoot barnes 115 grain tac-tx in my Grendel and it’s nasty on deer.
I shoot barnes 115 grain tac-tx in my Grendel and it’s nasty on deer.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:00 pm to The Levee
quote:
Anyone have experience?
Not that specific round but somewhat similar. Me and my kids have killed several 5-7 deer and 3-5 pigs with 64gr fusion bonded 223 and had devastating results from 25-200yds. Have found a couple of bullets that almost exited and they were folded back and looked like a Barnes looks when you find them.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:06 pm to The Levee
No experience with that ammo, but you’ll probably get some pass throughs on rib cage shots. I shoot (mostly 100 lb does) deer with IMI 77 gr razor cores in a 5.56 chambered AR and get pass throughs 75% of the time if I just hit ribs. They typically fall under the feeder or within sight of the feeder. If your rifle likes the Barnes, definitely hunt with it.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:18 pm to The Levee
Black Hills 5.56x45mm NATO Ammo 77 Grain Open Tip Match, this will do the job on deer around here.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:32 pm to Koolazzkat
I got a Ruger American Gen ii Ranch NATO 5.56
I usually shoot deer that weigh 95-230lbs and usually between 0-120 yards max.
My .308 is 100% passthrough and ugly exit so I'm not used to this smaller caliber stuff. But I figured this would be a great gun for my climbing stand as my 7600 is too big to maneuver AND it will be a great gun to train my kids on.
My cousin's son has killed ten deer and he's 9. He's killed 7/10 with 5.56. Including a big buck. They used a round we cant find anymore though called Hog Hammer or something.
I usually shoot deer that weigh 95-230lbs and usually between 0-120 yards max.
My .308 is 100% passthrough and ugly exit so I'm not used to this smaller caliber stuff. But I figured this would be a great gun for my climbing stand as my 7600 is too big to maneuver AND it will be a great gun to train my kids on.
My cousin's son has killed ten deer and he's 9. He's killed 7/10 with 5.56. Including a big buck. They used a round we cant find anymore though called Hog Hammer or something.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 12:50 pm to The Levee
quote:
They used a round we cant find anymore though called Hog Hammer or something
Hog hammers were a Barnes bullet loaded in a rem green box. Buy with confidence if yall liked how it performed.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:33 pm to The Levee
If your gun shoots it well, send it. It will absolutely kill deer.
Posted on 8/3/25 at 1:45 pm to The Levee
quote:
kill a deer with good shot placement
I want a round that I can kill and recover with bad shot placement… because shite happens.
Just about any quality bullet will do the job with good shot placement.
This post was edited on 8/3/25 at 1:46 pm
Posted on 8/3/25 at 7:37 pm to The Levee
I have never shot a deer with one. But I have shot some pigs. That is my preferred bullet for hog hunting with a .223/5.56.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 5:25 am to The Levee
My kids all killed their first deer with this round. Small exit holes but it vaporizes their insides.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 10:29 am to The Levee
rokslide - .223 for deer, bear, elk, moose thread goes into a lot of depth about big game hunting with a .223
Those guys all hate barnes bullets and love 70gr+ plastic tipped match bullets. ELD-M, tipped match king (their favorite), etc.
They have guys over there doing depredation who kill hundreds of deer a year and primarily use stuff 6mm and smaller. People killing lots of elk with them, some grizzly bear... Lots of success discussed there and almost no complaints. They hunt different terrain than we do and exit holes / blood trails are not super important to them like they are to me, but its impossible to argue with the results they are getting.
I'm going to test drive the 73gr ELD-M this year. Assuming it works as great as those guys claim it will be a game changer for me. An AR with a suppressor would be the perfect youth rife if the terminal performance is there. All of my personal experience with .223's has been awful but it was always with tranditional soft point bullets.
Those guys all hate barnes bullets and love 70gr+ plastic tipped match bullets. ELD-M, tipped match king (their favorite), etc.
They have guys over there doing depredation who kill hundreds of deer a year and primarily use stuff 6mm and smaller. People killing lots of elk with them, some grizzly bear... Lots of success discussed there and almost no complaints. They hunt different terrain than we do and exit holes / blood trails are not super important to them like they are to me, but its impossible to argue with the results they are getting.
I'm going to test drive the 73gr ELD-M this year. Assuming it works as great as those guys claim it will be a game changer for me. An AR with a suppressor would be the perfect youth rife if the terminal performance is there. All of my personal experience with .223's has been awful but it was always with tranditional soft point bullets.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 11:41 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
They have guys over there doing depredation who kill hundreds of deer a year and primarily use stuff 6mm and smaller
The people I know with depredation permits for deer want the deer to run off a long way and then die so they a) don’t have to drag them out of the field, b) don’t have the edges of their ag fields covered in buzzards.
As a hunter I want the opposite.
I have played around with a lot of .224 bullets for pigs, 69 and 77 grain Sierra match kings, 65 grain Sierra game king, 70 grain accubond, 60 grain Hornady soft point, 55 and 62 grain tsx and 62 grain ttsx.
The best terminal results came from the 62 grain tsx (non tipped).
Your mileage may vary.
If I were buying factory ammo I would buy 55-62 grain barnes or 62 grain federal fusion bonded ammunition. One thing to keep is mind is the barnes are all copper, so their BC will be higher than comparable lead core bullets. Depending on your rate of twist (1-9”), your gun may not shoot any barnes heavier than 62 grains well. If you have a 1-8 or 1-7 twist you should be able to shoot the 70 grain barnes bullets. If you have a 1-9” twist it likely won’t shoot anything over 70 grains very well.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 1:55 pm to captdalton
I'll add that I tried several different rounds for hunting purposes out of my 5.56 and even though my gun's twist rate should handle the 70 gr. Barnes, I never did get them to shoot as well as other ammo.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 2:02 pm to The Levee
quote:
I got a Ruger American Gen ii Ranch NATO 5.56
I just looked to see what barrel twist this gun has and it looks like it's 1:8 twist.
That will be fine on anything up to 80 grs (unless monolithic).
I'd suggest buying a few boxes of 60+ grain and see what your gun likes the best and then narrow it down from there.
My ARs (1:7 and 1:8) like heavier bullets. I've shot coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, etc with 75 gr hornady HPBT match and with sierra match king 69 gr.
One gun likes 75gr and the other likes 69 gr.
They were both absolutely devastating leaving fist size holes. This was from 50yds to almost 200yds.
The barrels were both 16" and the 69 gr I was able to get around 2600fps
I don't have the 75 gr numbers in front of me but I think they were right around 2500 fps.
Factory ammo likely won't be that fast but close.
Posted on 8/4/25 at 5:48 pm to bbvdd
So basically I need to load my own lol
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