Fortunately my old man's rifle has no problems with the 53 grainer!

I would love to try out the relatively new 60 and 70 grainers, but those would probably not stabilise, and they would start to intrude too much into the case, reducing powder capacity!

I do not load these for maximum velocity, as some interesting research reported in the Man Magnum magazine showed better bullet performance from the barnes X when velocities were reduced!

Test rifles were a .22 hornet and a .22-250, and a .308 and a 30-06.
In both calibres, the lower powered rifles showed better penetration on game!

The author made a few possible explanations for this apparent anamolly!
firstly, the slower bullet has more time for the petals of the barnes x to slice through tissue, thus allowing it to work better. Also, he suggested that the higher velocity bullets petals became folded flat due to the velocity, and thus could not work as cutters!

I have to add that this research involved the shooting of many many impala and warthog over an extended period (numbers in the hundreds) and so gives a pretty good reflection of whats what!

Of course, one has to take into account the range that you will hunt at!
If most game is to be shot close (bushveld) then load down, but if shots will mostly be long (karoo, etc), then push the veocity, as it would have dropped by the time it reaches the target!