Test of Barnes Match Burner Bullets

Are you looking for a precise target bullet of premium quality but don’t want to pay a similarly premium price? The Barnes Match Burner might be just what you need.

The Match Burner rifle bullet series from the renowned ammunition manufacturer Barnes is designed for the highest level of accuracy and is intended for sport shooting, including professional competition use. Structurally, these are jacketed bullets with a lead core, featuring a small hollow cavity at the front. Most bullets in the lineup have a boat-tail design, with the exception of a few variants in .224 caliber with 52 and 68 grains. Speaking of variants, the selection is somewhat limited, but it covers most of the popular calibers in precision sport shooting. Specifically, the available options (diameter/weight) are: .224/52, 69, 77, 85 gr, .243/68, 105, 112 gr, .264/120, 140, 145 gr, .284/171 gr, and .308/155, 175 gr. I had the opportunity to test the .264/140 gr version in combination with the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge.

For shooters who do not wish to reload, it’s worth mentioning that Barnes also offers factory-loaded ammunition with the Match Burner bullet, marketed under the Precision Match label. These are available in the following calibers: .223 Rem, .260 Rem, .300 BLK, .300 Win Mag, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel, .308 Win, 6.5 PRC, 6 mm Creedmoor, and .338 Lapua. Unfortunately, they are not commonly found on our store shelves, but they are imported by companies such as Proarms (proarms.cz).

Structurally, this is a jacketed bullet with a lead core, featuring a small hollow cavity at the tip.

Reloading with Care

At first glance, these bullets are well-made, which was confirmed by weighing randomly selected samples from the box, showing a negligible weight deviation. Given their intended use, the ballistic coefficient of these bullets is relatively high. For the variant I tested, the BC is .586. This isn’t an outright record-setting value—bullets like Nosler RDF and Berger Hybrid Target of the same weight have a BC exceeding .600—but it is still excellent and more than sufficient for long-range shooting.

Regarding the reloading process itself, the cavity edges are not the most robust, so seating should be done with care. I might be slightly concerned about metal magazines when paired with "magnum" cartridges, where recoil could deform the bullet tips. However, in my case (using a polymer magazine), I observed no deformation. During load development, I tested four different seating depths, intending to fine-tune the powder charge once I found the best one, but in the end, no further adjustment was needed. A cartridge with an overall length of 70.5 mm and a charge of 43 grains of Swiss RS60 powder (measured velocity of 848 m/s from a 559 mm barrel with a 1:8 twist) delivered "spot-on" results right from the first attempt, pushing the limits of my rifle's capabilities.

Excellent Accuracy and Reasonable Price

I achieved a group size of approximately 13 mm at 100 meters (6-shot groups, excluding the worst hit, measured from center to center, average of three series), which is an outstanding result! I suspect I was somewhat lucky in that this bullet happened to work exceptionally well with my rifle, requiring minimal load tuning. However, the results speak volumes about the potential of the Match Burner. Personally, I can say I am fully satisfied. Even though these are premium "match-grade" bullets, their price is quite reasonable. They start at 9 CZK per round for the .224/52 gr variant, 11.6 CZK for the .264/140 gr tested here, and go up to 14.5 CZK for the .308/175 gr version. Packaging is available in 100 or 500-count boxes.

Match Burner bullets, like other projectiles from Barnes’ production, can be purchased at STROBL.cz s.r.o. More information is available at strobl.cz or on the manufacturer’s website barnesbullets.com.

Image of the best six-shot group from three series, which speaks for itself. The Match Burner clearly has excellent accuracy potential.

Advantages/Disadvantages

+ Exceptional accuracy

+ Decent ballistics

+ Reasonable price

- Limited availability of factory-loaded ammunition

- Slightly delicate cavity edges

In addition to bullets for reloaders, Barnes also offers a solid selection of factory-loaded Precision Match ammunition.

Photo Sources: Author’s archive, manufacturer materials – barnesbullets.com

Author: Tomáš Prachař

This article was originally published in the magazine Lovec by Extra Publishing.