Wayles,
No, I don't think the wax will help it open. It may help to create more of a "spitzer" type ogive and help it bullisticly, but I don't think it would help with expansion. Some of the guys on the green board are doing this and it makes sense. That said, I don't think it needs any help with expansion.
The "Barnes expansion" debate has raged all over the net. Do some reading about the TSX. I have killed truck loads of game with Barnes bullets ranging from .204 Ruger to .338 win mag to .45/300 Expanders out of my 50 cals. They are pricey, but I would bet the hunt of a lifetime on them.
IMHO, bore sized exits (key word - exit) from the Barnes result when the bullet opens and the petals (some or all) shear off after encountering heavy mass. I have had this happen. Is this a bullet failure? Depends on your definition.
Bullet failure in my book has nothing to do with whether the animal died or not.
I have no issue with cup and core bullets (especially bonded), and use them regularly. I do have issues with pushing pistol bullets at center fire speeds. You can get away with this with the Barnes (i.e. the original or the XPB) because it is monolithic - there's no core to sperate. If someone would build a 10mm bullet that is designed for 2700 fps (and I think Hawk Precision is) I would gladly use it.
The only sabot I tried the 175 out of was the MMP with 110-140 gr of BH209. Some guys report success with the Barnes and the Harvester sabot. I haven't tried yet.
My 45 smokeless is supposed to be here in 3 months. I will not likely do any more muzzlelaoder shooting until then. In the mean time, a bunch of coyotes and fox are gonna die
The 4 bullets I intend to test are the 195 Barnes, 175 Barnes (only bc I have a bunch of them, I prefer the 195), 200gr Parker Hydracon, and Hawk's offering. My hope is that the 195 Barnes clipping along at 2700'ish fps will shoot moa.