The country’s oldest bullet manufacturer, Barnes Bullets, got its start in the early 1930s, when Fred Barnes began making bullets in his Bayfield, Colo., basement workshop. Made of pure copper tubing with a pure lead core, Fred’s bullets were prized by hunters for their dependably deadly performance.

Fred later sold the company, which became Colorado Custom Bullets in Montrose, Colo. In the meantime, newlyweds Randy and Coni Brooks were operating a dairy farm in nearby Grand Junction. Tiring of milking cows, they moved to New Mexico, where Randy became a saddlemaker. The couple also bought an Indian trading post and made turquoise jewelry.
“Rogers White, a Grand Junction gunsmith, began urging me to buy a bullet company he knew was for sale,” Randy recalls. “In its heyday, Barnes employed more than 100 people. It had dwindled to a two-man operation and the owners wanted to sell.

“The idea was appealing. Both Coni and I had loved hunting and shooting ever since we were old enough to hold a gun,” he added. “I was already custom loading ammunition for local customers in my spare time, so making bullets seemed like a great fit. We wanted to own our own business, so we talked ourselves into buying the company in 1974. The first thing we did was change its name back to Barnes Bullets and relocate to American Fork, Utah, our old hometown.”

The first years of their new business were difficult, Coni recalls.

“We’d purchased a hand-operated press and some other antiquated machinery, which we installed in the 580-square-foot basement of our tiny home. Our two young daughters shared the only bedroom, while Randy and I slept on a hideaway bed in the front room,” Coni said.

The fledgling business was a real family operation.

“Everyone pitched in to help. Our 4-year-old daughter, Jessica, and Chandra, who was only 3, inserted cores in jackets. They earned piecework wages, just like an adult. My brothers, Leslie and Bobby, regularly helped out after school or when Bobby’s shift at the local steel plant ended. Whenever she was in town, my sister, Ginger, also came by to see what she could do. My father, Bob, and mother, Beverly, gave unbelievable support. Dad was always here to give a hand. My mother taught school, but came to the shop every chance she got. Barnes would not have survived those early years without our family’s help,” Randy said.
Despite all their efforts, the new company wasn’t setting sales records.

“First year sales grossed just $12,000,” Randy recalls. “The main thing keeping the business going was I earned more money roping steers at rodeos — and I wasn’t all that great a roper! I scrounged additional seed money to build the business by selling a number of fine guns I’d collected over the years.”

To test bullets, Randy hunted 100 days of the year.

“The business wasn’t profitable enough to support these trips, so I earned the money by building custom rifles and installing more than 3,000 KDF muzzlebrakes,” Randy said. “Those were the good old days. Thank goodness they’re gone!”

X-Bullet Hits Market

Barnes Bullets’ modern facility produced this year’s lead-free bullet, the Varmint Grenade.

Randy and Coni first made bullets to the original Barnes design, but this was soon to change.

 “I was hunting brown bear in Alaska when the idea for the X-Bullet came to me,” Randy said. “I wasn’t happy with the results lead-core bullets gave me. I wanted a fast-expanding bullet that would hold together and reliably penetrate the largest, toughest game.”

Randy began experimenting with the 100-percent copper bullet that became the X-Bullet Barnes introduced in 1989.

“The first game I shot with the new bullet was a 91⁄2-foot brown bear. The bear dropped on the spot, so I knew I was onto something,” he said. “The copper X-Bullet worked extremely well, usually passing completely through an animal even after striking heavy bone. On impact, hydraulic pressure forced the bullet’s nose to peel back into four razor-sharp copper petals. The bullet expanded to double diameter, typically retaining 100 percent of its original weight.”

Despite the success of the bullet, Randy continued to experiment with the design.

“We found that cutting a series of relief grooves in the bullet’s shank allowed greater velocities at lower pressures. In addition, the rings virtually eliminated copper fouling and significantly improved accuracy. The result was the Triple-Shock X-Bullet — the all-time, best-selling bullet that’s become the backbone of our company,” Randy said.

In 2006, Field & Stream honored the Triple-Shock bullet with the magazine’s Best of the Best award. The Triple-Shock also received NRA’s Golden Bullseye Award.

“We expanded the X-Bullet family with all-copper XPB pistol bullets originally developed for military applications,” Randy added. “These are now available in nearly all pistol and revolver calibers, including the new .460 and .500 S&W magnums. We also developed a series of muzzleloader bullets, again patterned on the X-Bullet design. These bullets have proven extremely accurate. Two years ago, I killed a 394 B&C elk at 340 yards with our long-range Spitfire MZ muzzleloader bullet.”

Randy continues pushing the envelope in bullet design.

“Demand for our Triple-Shock (TSX) bullet has skyrocketed. It’s become the ‘go-to’ bullet for countless hunters and guides, who have absolutely come to depend on its amazing performance. We’ve recently taken the Triple-Shock design a step further by adding a streamlined Delrin tip and a patented, heavier-than-lead Silvex core. The result is the Maximum-Range X-Bullet (MRX). This new premium bullet is for hunters who don’t mind paying a premium price for a bullet that delivers dependable Triple-Shock performance at very long range,” Randy said.

This year, Barnes introduced the Varmint Grenade, a highly frangible, lead-free varmint bullet that delivers explosive results. This is a civilian version of another bullet Barnes developed for military applications. Still more imaginative new designs are under development.

Sportsmen’s Voice

The success Barnes Bullets enjoys is reflected in the expanding size of its manufacturing facilities. 

“Quickly outgrowing our first 560-square-foot operation, we added additional buildings over the years,” Randy said. “Our first big move was to a 6,050-square-foot concrete-block building we constructed next to our home. In 1996, we built our current 40,000-square-foot plant in Lindon, Utah.”

The company’s new 75,000-square-foot headquarters is now being erected near Mona, Utah, 40 miles south of its present location.
In addition to running the company, Randy and Coni support and actively participate in wildlife preservation and community service projects.

“I take pride in being involved with Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife (SFW) since its inception,” Randy said. “Now active in four Western states, it’s in the process of spreading to others. The organization has given the public a much-needed voice in state wildlife management. SFW championed Proposition 5, which changed the Utah Constitution so that a super majority (662⁄3 percent) of votes are needed to alter any law related to wildlife management.”

Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife has assisted in purchasing and transplanting bighorn sheep, elk, deer, wild turkey, moose and other species, as well as helping fund other critical wildlife management projects in Utah and other parts of the west. Elk numbers have tripled to 60,000, and since 2000, Utah has had more bulls qualify for the Boone and Crocket record book than all other western states combined.

“This organization is making noise and getting the right people’s attention,” Randy said. “Like similar groups in other parts of the country, it’s making a real difference.”

Yes, that’s Coni, circa 1976, packaging bullets in the Brooks’
home-based Barnes Bullet shop.

It’s Our Passion

Barnes Bullets is still a family business. Randy is the president, Coni is vice president of sales and marketing and their daughter, Jessica, heads public relations and special projects.

“Making bullets isn’t simply a job,” Randy and Coni say.  “It’s our lifetime passion. Hunting and shooting have been a central part of our lives for a very long time. As a bonus, developing revolutionary new bullets that perform so well for fellow hunters has been extremely satisfying.”

In celebration of the company’s 75th anniversary, Barnes is offering contests, sweepstakes and special promotions. For more information, log onto the newly enhanced Web site at www.barnesbullets.com.