25 Years of X Success

by
posted on February 5, 2014
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
sci_ah2015_fs.jpg (3)

undefinedThe Barnes X-Bullet is 25 years old in 2014.

The man who hatched the idea, Randy Brooks, actually discovered the X-design and shot a brown bear with a .375-caliber X-bullet in 1985, but his company did not release the bullet commercially until 1989.

I've shot deer, elk, plains game, Cape buffalo ... heck I've shot a lot stuff with an X-bullet. And I will continue to do so. It's a great design incorporating nearly 100 percent weight retention that drives extreme penetration through flesh and bone. Today it is duplicated quite a bit. But the original all-copper bullet hit shelves 25 years ago.

We visited Jessica Brooks Stevens at SHOT Show a couple of weeks ago, and she told us the full story of how the Barnes X Bullet came to be. Watch it in this video.

Latest

Ledeboone And Crockett Club Launches
Ledeboone And Crockett Club Launches

Fueled by AI: Boone and Crockett Club Launches Big Game Records Live 2.0

The Boone and Crockett Club recently launched Big Game Records Live 2.0, a major evolution of its digital platform that transforms the world’s oldest big game records database into an interactive analytics tool for hunters.

Lightweight AR-10: Building a Hunt-Focused Backcountry Rifle (Part 1)

Curious how to create a .308-chambered AR-10 that *doesn't* suck to carry into the backcountry? Dennis Bradley does just that, off a DPMS-pattern lower, and comes it at a shocking weight (read on for the exact number, but it is sub 2). Read on, to see how he does it.

ScentLok Launches Realtree XT-3 Apparel

ScentLok is going all-in on Realtree's new XT-3 pattern, dropping it onto more than half of its latest product introductions. This new look is headlined by the Savanna Fuse, Ridge and BE:1 collections.

New for 2026: Latitude Outdoors Whitetail Frame Packs

Mobile whitetail hunters have long faced a familiar compromise: carry a lightweight pack for the hunt, or haul a frame pack for the pack out. Latitude Outdoors has released a pack to solve that problem, with a frame system built from the ground up for the mobile whitetail hunter.

The Problem with Pressures: A +Peak Revolution?

The history of the projectile, and of the centerfire cartridge, is fascinating, and it seems as though we are ready to take the next step forward. Or are we? Let's take a look at how pressures have affected cartridges throughout history, and the evolution that seems to be currently starting.

More than $1.3 Billion Raised by Duck Stamp Sales

On June 26 the 2026-2027 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, aka Duck Stamp, went on sale. The fact it raises about $40 million for conservation annually gets the headlines, but there are underpublicized benefits for making the $25 purchase—even non-hunters.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.