Barnes builds its Precision Match 145-grain for match and target shooting. The bullet is an open-tip match bullet with a boat tail. Barnes rates it at a G7 BC of .341, and it leaves the muzzle at 2,910 fps. Zeroed at 100 yards, it drops about 44 inches at 500 yards.

Compared with Hornady's 147-grain ELD Match, the Barnes flies almost the same path. Both leave the muzzle at 2,910 fps, and from the same zero the Hornady also drops about 44 inches at 500. At 500 yards, a steady 10 mph wind blowing across the range pushes each of them about 12 inches sideways, which is how far off your aim point the wind alone moves the bullet. Compared with Norma's Golden Target 143-grain, the Barnes starts 76 fps slower and drops a little more: the Norma drops about 42 inches at 500. The two kick about the same in the same rifle.

Buy the Barnes 145 if you shoot steel and paper out to 500 yards and want an open-tip match bullet that stays with the heaviest 6.5 PRC match load in the wind. Pick the Hornady 147 if you prefer a polymer-tipped bullet; it flies the same path but kicks a little harder. Pick the Norma 143 if a flatter path matters more to you than wind. Pick Fiocchi's Hyperformance Match 140-grain RDF if recoil matters most; it kicks about 4 percent less. For hunting, Hornady markets its Precision Hunter 143-grain for large game; it carries the polymer-tipped ELD-X hunting bullet and leaves the muzzle 50 fps faster.