THE YEAR 2014 MARKS THE 25TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTRODUCTION
OF THE X BULLET. This landmark innovation
launched a new era in bullet technology. The allcopper X Bullet was designed solely with superior
performance on game in mind.
While hunting brown bear in Alaska during the fall
of 1985, Randy Brooks conceived the idea of an
expanding, all-copper bullet. The test and evaluation
process began immediately upon the return home.
Ten bullets were hand-made the first day. Five were
fired at the range for accuracy, and five into water for
expansion. More testing was conducted through the
winter and tooling was improved. Twenty bullets were
produced and taken back to Alaska for brown bear in
the Spring of 1986. It was on this hunt that Randy
took his first brown bear, and the first animal with an
X Bullet. The 375 caliber projectile center-punched
the 9’6” boar’s near shoulder, breaking through and
destroying massive amounts of tissue, vital organs
and bone, to exit the far side. The performance was
impressive, but this was just the beginning. More
experience would be required for complete confidence.
INSIDE THE CATALOG:
4
New Products
5
TAC-XPD Ammunition
6-7
300 AAC Blackout
8-9
VOR-TX Ammunition
10-11 TSX, TTSX, LRX Bullets
12
Muzzleloader Bullets
13
Handgun & Lever Action
14
Varmint Bullets
15
Match Burner & MPG Bullets
16 Accessories
17
Copper Club & Club-X
Over the next several months, Randy field-tested X
Bullets on numerous cape buffalo, African plains
game and cow elephant. Coni collected
many North American animals including
deer, bighorn sheep and mountain lion.
Whitetail and antelope culls were conducted
to understand performance on thin-skinned
game. The X Bullet reliably expanded,
penetrated and retained more weight than
the Original lead-core bullet Fred Barnes
began building in 1932. The radical, new
design had an extremely wide range of
workability to down thin-skinned game,
yet reliably perform on dangerous game
as well. Randy began telling customers “I
cannot in good conscience recommend our
Randy Brooks, Spring 1986, with the first animal that fell to an X Bullet.
lead-core bullet in any caliber an X bullet is
available.”
Twenty-five years after its introduction to the market in 1989, we pay tribute to the
original, all-copper X Bullet. Its trademark and legacy are in every Barnes’ all-copper
projectile and ammunition product we offer today. Competitors attempt to imitate,
but fail to duplicate its proven
performance. Barnes remains
today the leader in bullet
technology and innovation.
W W W. B A R N E S B U L L E T S . C O M
Coni was among the first hunters
to use the X Bullet. She took this
magnificent 180 lb., 7’10” Utah
Mountain Lion with her 243 Win
loaded with a 75 gr. X Bullet.
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