Big Woods Bucks and Barnes Ammunition: Partners Making a Classic Even Better!
Big Woods Bucks and Barnes Ammunition
Partners Making a Classic Even Better!
by Mark Scheeren
Many of you may have read my articles on the history of the new BWB Henry Carbine and the story behind our new BWB ADK Seek Outside Remote Tent. These collaborative co-branded new products are based directly on the input we have been receiving from our followers and customers for more than 20 years. We’ve been listening to the requests for better guns, better remote accommodations, better wool clothing, better boots, and of course better ammunition for a long, long time. The great news is that Big Woods Bucks has grown to the point where the hunting industry is listening and putting their best engineers to the task of making these suggested products a reality with collaborative product lines.
A big part of our job here at Big Woods is to pay close attention to what is being said on our social media channels by our followers. We then investigate the various hunting industry companies that offer products and services that can match or exceed our followers' high standards; and then, if values match, we explore a collaboration. Northeast trackers, still-hunters and even the sitters, have high standards for the equipment they use here in the boreal north. When it came to building ammunition that exceeds the needs of the Northeast enthusiast, several manufacturers came to us looking for us to be ambassadors of their respective brands. But like everything else we do, we don’t just jump on board with every company that wants our time and attention. For us, there were only 3 ammo manufacturers that our team used personally, and we had conversations with each of them. So why did we pick Barnes/Sierra over the other two brands?
Why Barnes/Sierra?
Over the last decade the ammunition industry has boomed. There are many reasons for that overall increase in sales and production that lie far outside the purpose of this article. But while the increase in ammo offerings and corporate revenue blossomed for the ammo companies, an unfortunate by-product was a slow and steady decline in quality. Unfortunately, even our Team Members had issues with some of our favorite brands of ammunition throughout the last decade. In some cases it nearly cost us the game we were after. These failures were all over the map too: primers that didn’t ignite when struck, full boxes with rounds with half the listed velocity, brass that was in such poor shape that stuck rounds in chambers became commonplace, and the list went on. So when ammo companies started contacting us in early 2025 to become ambassadors of their brands, the team here had already compared notes and saw that there was only 1 of the 3 companies we used that had no quality assurance black eye, and that was Barnes/Sierra.
Not everyone at Big Woods used Barnes ammo of course, but enough of us did (myself included) that we knew a lot about them - and we loved ‘em! Sierra bullets were what Hal started his hunting career on and was a brand that I did a lot of hand-loading with as well. I shot Sierra Pro Hunter bullets with great success in my 360 Buckhammer with a nice tracked buck in the Adirondacks in 2024, and another nice 8 point with VorTx ammo in 2016. Others on the Team like Brad, Austin and Chris were shooting Barnes for years in their rifles and muzzleloaders too. Hal shot his moose with a Barnes copper 45/70 VorTx round with fantastic results several years prior. And both Hal and Lee Schanz guided enough hunters to know what ammo works and what is marginal, and Barnes ammo always seemed to work well with their clients. So we felt we had enough experience with the brand to know we had full confidence in it.
Early last year, just after we finalized the Henry contract to build our collaborative Big Woods Carbine, the natural next step was to build a specific BWB ammunition line that could improve on the 308 and 30’06 round nose offerings of the past. Ironically, just as we were reviewing our Team’s experiences with the various ammo companies, and were writing out the planning goals for a collaborative ammo line, we received the call from the executives at Barnes/Sierra.
Building the Relationship
When you build a relationship between major brands, the challenge is making sure that the culture of the two respective teams can work. Does the manufacturer have an open mind to your suggestions on a possible new SKU? How quickly can they react to our followers' needs? Is the engineering staff open to adding another project to an already packed manufacturing schedule? Can the company make sure that the specifications you request can be created? And after all these questions get answered, will the product be exactly as we anticipated, and will the BWB Team be absolutely comfortable promoting the brand as well once it’s made? These were the questions that both Big Woods Bucks and Barnes/Sierra needed to decide upon as we were coming together.
Building Better Round Nose 308 and 30’06 Ammunition
This corporate culture marriage takes time of course, and it all has to be done right. In the end, the product has to answer the needs of the customer first. The good news is, when we met with the team at Barnes, we were instantly comfortable. They are a premium brand, it was a brand we understood and used already, and they were more nimble and open minded than either of the other companies we had talked to. In regards to improvements on a classic like a round nose 180 grain 308 or 30’06 offering, they immediately said they could meet our needs.
We started with a few requests. First, the ammunition needed to be 308 and 30’06, as that is the tracker’s bread and butter. We of course discussed many other calibers and combinations that our followers use and love, but we collectively felt that if we could improve on the classics first, we could definitely build on other calibers later that had less competition. We had to prove our collective mettle with our customers and the competition, and the most popular 2 calibers became our target to do so.
To say that Barnes hit it out of the park is an understatement. Here were our requests (they were lofty):
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The ammo needed to be premium, but at a non-premium price.
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We wanted the 308 offering to have a velocity that was close to the average velocity of competitor’s 180 grain 30’06 offerings (~2,700fps)
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We wanted the 30’06 offering to have a velocity that was close to the average velocity of of the competitors 180 Grain 300 Win Mag offerings (~2,960)
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Obviously, if these requests were met, the ammo couldn’t have pressure issues or brass issues.
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We wanted the box to have our patented green check pattern and our Rack and Track logo and Hal’s signature on them so people could easily find the ammunition on crowded gun store inventory walls.
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We wanted the Pro Hunter Round Nose bullet, because we knew from experience it can handle the velocity, it is extremely accurate in handloaded ammo, and it’s a well vetted bullet with decades of continuous manufacture.
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It needed to be fast - but also highly accurate.
When we received the first boxes and tested them, we were flat out amazed. Barnes answered the call:
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The Barnes Harvest line is a premium ammunition line, at a non-premium price point.
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The 308 listed velocity from a 24 inch barrel is 2,650 fps compared to the competitor’s 2,700 fps from the same length barrel in 30/06.
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The 30/06 listed velocity from a 24 inch barrel is 2,860 fps compared to the competitor’s 2,960 from the same length barrel in 300 Win Mag.
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Zero pressure or brass issues. Smooth feeding and extraction.
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The box is exactly as we wanted it, and is easy to spot on the shelf.
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The Pro-Hunter Round Nose bullet is loaded in the line.
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It is highly accurate, as you will see in many online reviews.
These specification requests weren’t made out of thin air. There were some very practical reasons for them. One was the development of our BWB Henry Carbines. When we created the BWB Henry Carbine, we knew we couldn’t make it in 30’06 because Henry doesn’t make the Long Ranger rifle in standard or long actions. Also, the 308 is a favorite caliber for our followers when polled. So if we could have an ammo line that produced 30’06 like performance in our 308 specific carbines, we accomplished very happy 308 fans and 30’06 fans with the 308 ammo line.
We also knew that a heavier hitting 30’06 ammo line would make fans on its own merits, especially for those hunting moose, bear, caribou in addition to their deer season bucks. We knew both offerings would also be popular in not only America, but in Canada where bigger and nastier game can be found with more regularity. In short, we improved on the effectiveness of ammunition that was already known for its versatility and range and power, and we coupled it with vetted components and the listed improvements. Barnes delivered big!
The Future of Big Woods Bucks and Barnes Ammunition
The success of the Barnes Harvest Collection Big Woods Bucks Ammo in 308 and 30’06 will tell us if other new calibers will be developed in the future. For those of you out there wanting a similar high-performance formula in your favorite pet caliber, send us your requests to expand the lineup. Know that we listen! BWB cares about your hunt being as successful as possible; that’s why we exist.
If you have confidence in your ammo, it is one more thing you don’t need to worry about in your precious time chasing game. We are proud of what we’ve created with Barnes, and we look forward to building a better future for all hunters across the globe!
Enjoy the hunt!
-Mark
