Barnes TSX?

[45-70guy]

So approximately what should I be looking at for muzzle velocity? They are indeed 168 gr boat tail. Still had not unloaded the car when I wrote that.

PHs typically want the shot smack on the shoulder. As a meat hunter I usually try to place it behind the shoulder. Guess I can adjust.

I believe when I talked to Alan at Barnes that specific bullet out of my 308 is still expanding at 400 yards with a muzzle velocity of 2450 fps out of my 16”‘barrel.
Each bullet is designed for k a specific window in mind and they actually heat treat them all differently. It seems expensive or time consuming to do that but that’s what they have said. Many of their bullets expand well below the 2000 fps impact velocity.

 

[txtrout75218]

Perhaps I haven't had enough coffee this morning. Are they the TSX or TTSX?
TSX or TTSX bullet will work.

If I remember, there is a 30 cal TSX or TTSX that was designed for the 300 win mag vs the 30-06. I think it was 165 grain. It doesn't open as well out of a 30-06.

We use the .284" 140 grain TSX in Africa to aplomb results out a a 7-08. Quartering shot on a zebra stallion my daughter took that close to a full passthrough. I guess the bullet was defective, it lost a petal through the shoulder..

 

[Arty0802]

So approximately what should I be looking at for muzzle velocity? They are indeed 168 gr boat tail. Still had not unloaded the car when I wrote that.

PHs typically want the shot smack on the shoulder. As a meat hunter I usually try to place it behind the shoulder. Guess I can adjust.

The biggest selling point of all-copper bullets is their ability to hold together and not lose mass like their lead core counterparts. Also, since copper is lighter/less dense than lead, you have to have a longer copper bullet to match grain weight in lead. This allows something like your 168gr bullets to have similar ballistics to a ~175gr. I may not be quoting the science exactly, but you get the gist.

You'd have no problem shooting plains game on the shoulder with these rounds, they smack hard and continue to drive through. Reference my pictures in the "Media" section of my profile: big bull kudu, multiple wildebeest, a very fat zebra, warthog, and others not pictured (10 animals in all). All punched clean through with 160gr Barnes TSX. I mentioned in another thread that my PH even joked that he would not hesitate to use it for buffalo.

 

[Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS]

these bullets are golden for africa
if its polymer tipped then its ttsx, prob just end of a batch etc thats why cheaper
they are great on african game
go through bone like butter

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thanks for all the responses. Looks like I will take these to Africa. The box was cheaper because it had been opened and nine missing. The shop had several other partial boxes of premium bullets in other calibers with some used loading stuff, all probably bought from an estate sale. This was the only box of .308 bullets. The box says "Tipped III TSX". Lable on top had "Tipped" mostly covered with the $20 price sticker.

In the past I have used 165 gr Partitions in Africa and they worked well enough. Very well actually. But Partitions can be quite destructive, especially at close range. I know that doesn't matter much to the PH and outfitter but it does bother me to make a mess of an animal. Also, for one buck muley three years ago the bullet jumped way off track after impact. He still went down instantly but the slug that entered behind the shoulder broadside ended up in the opposite rear ham. As I understand it these tipped TSX should shoot better groups at longer range than Partitions? Although not terribly important to me as I'm primarily not a long range hunter.

 

[Tex .416]

Barnes bullets are capable of excellent accuracy. Their factory ammo can rival handloads. Here is a five shot group my wife shot with her .308 and Barnes factory ammo. I bought all of that case for her and quit loading for that rifle.

The two off to the right were two foulers from a clean barrel and still close to the point of aim at the intersection of those two lines. Then she fired five shots on the point of the diamond.

 

[Striger]

After taking 40+animals with the TSX and TTSX bullets and having no problems with terminal performance, I switched to the LRX bullets because they seem to mushroom slightly faster. I've taken two elk with them in a 280 AI 145 gr and the wound channel was almost identical in a 420 yd shot and a 100 yd shot. As with the TSX and TTSX bullets, the LRX exited with a petal shaped hole in the far side hide. That said, I hope to give the Hammers a try this season to see for myself how they work on elk and deer.

As far as the older X-bullets are concerned, the very early ones were hard to seat consistently because the ogives were so inconsistent. About two or three years after their introduction, this was corrected and subsequent bullets were perfect. TSX. TTSX and LRX bullets have been some of the most accurate bullets I have found.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

TSX is perfect for Africa. They retain 100% of their weight and penetrate deep. Often with a pass-thru. As long as you plan for impact velocity above 2000fps they will also expand to 1.6-2.2x on game. I have found them to be match grade accurate in the Barnes factory ammo offerings as well.

In Africa I have used them to take five total game animals.

• Blue WB at 180y frontal slight quartering 300g TSX in 375HH. Ran 60y and dropped. Took two more to finish. Two recovered bullets expanded to 1.9 and 2.2x
• Cape Buffalo at 80-100y broadside 300g TSX in 375HH. Took four shots and about 20sec to put him down. Three of the four shots were in the vitals.
• Kudu at 50y broadside 300g A-Frame 375HH. Reloaded ammo misfired twice due to bad primer which led to a poor 1st shot that was low in brisket and which broke front leg. Tracked 250y fired followup with 300g TSX that dropped the Kudu from 60y.
• Black WB at 314y with 140g TSX in 7mm/08. Frontal. Shot hit right front shoulder tracked lengthwise thru animal, exited lower abdomen and then broke right rear leg. This dropped the animal in its tracks. A close range finisher was needed.
• Springbok at 242y with 140g TSX in 7mm/08. Broadside shot hit high in shoulder and broke spine. Exited opposite side with a very large 3" exit would. Bang flop.

In Texas

• 600lb Nilgai Bull at 155y broadside with 225g TSX in 338wm. Broke left front leg and split heart in two. Exited opposite side. Bang Flop. Took 2nd shot to finish from 15y.

Overall, I have had good results with Barnes bullets but still think a good bonded lead core bullet is more effective at producing a quick and final kill shot. As a meat hunter the copper monos all take game without wasting meat with lead fragments in the carcass. That is valuable.

 

[Mark458]

TSX is perfect for Africa. They retain 100% of their weight and penetrate deep. Often with a pass-thru. As long as you plan for impact velocity above 2000fps they will also expand to 1.6-2.2x on game. I have found them to be match grade accurate in the Barnes factory ammo offerings as well.

In Africa I have used them to take five total game animals.

• Blue WB at 180y frontal slight quartering 300g TSX in 375HH. Ran 60y and dropped. Took two more to finish. Two recovered bullets expanded to 1.9 and 2.2x
• Cape Buffalo at 80-100y broadside 300g TSX in 375HH. Took four shots and about 20sec to put him down. Three of the four shots were in the vitals.
• Kudu at 50y broadside 300g A-Frame 375HH. Reloaded ammo misfired twice due to bad primer which led to a poor 1st shot that was low in brisket and which broke front leg. Tracked 250y fired followup with 300g TSX that dropped the Kudu from 60y.
• Black WB at 314y with 140g TSX in 7mm/08. Frontal. Shot hit right front shoulder tracked lengthwise thru animal, exited lower abdomen and then broke right rear leg. This dropped the animal in its tracks. A close range finisher was needed.
• Springbok at 242y with 140g TSX in 7mm/08. Broadside shot hit high in shoulder and broke spine. Exited opposite side with a very large 3" exit would. Bang flop.

In Texas

• 600lb Nilgai Bull at 155y broadside with 225g TSX in 338wm. Broke left front leg and split heart in two. Exited opposite side. Bang Flop. Took 2nd shot to finish from 15y.

Overall, I have had good results with Barnes bullets but still think a good bonded lead core bullet is more effective at producing a quick and final kill shot. As a meat hunter the copper monos all take game without wasting meat with lead fragments in the carcass. That is valuable.

View attachment 778618

I agree with your assessment on the TSX. A a super bullet that will certainly get the job done on dangerous game as well as plains game. I use Norma Oryx out of my 338 Win Mag for plains game. They expand more than the TSX and have a huge wound channel, but as you mentioned they can do a lot of meat damage if that's a concern.

TSX all the way for buffalo

 

[Lance Hopper]

Don’t forget, that because they are homogenous, they do not compress well when entering the rifling. Therefore, you need to give them a minimum of .050” jump to the lands when loading. Depending on magazine box length, I have jumped them as far as .100”before and still maintained excellent accuracy with them.

 

[Smull1010]

I used 150 grain TTSX 7mm rounds in Africa on plains game with great success.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Use them extensively in the 06 (165 and 168 TSXs as I still have a pile, including the original blue moly coated. Never a cleaning issue by first using their CR-10 cleaner.) If I recall correctly, 59 gr IMR-4350 and factory COAL as these are used in pump action box mags (which is seated out a bit farther than tipped bullets as the truncated point allows, so very accurate). Just a shade under 2950 fps, though typ. 24" bolts will be closer to 3,000. 'Have also used 200 Nos PTs for the combined deer/bear season here but for PG as well with very good effect (2550 fps.) You can confidently take longer shots with the bullets you have, once set up. 'Have dropped deer at 300 yds using an 18.5" pump and 1-5x leupold no problemo (with the most perfect moving game reticle they ever made..an illuminated rangefinding circle with a mildot in the center. THAT reticle needs to come back.) 10-shot group is 1.25" (3 is <0.5", 5 <1"! Gun has trigger job.) *Conversely, I did have an issue on Oryx using a lower V, heavier bullet .338-06 A-Sq. First shot was perfect (lungs), it spun, put its horns down and came to bite me...put a 2nd in and dropped it with a frontal. THAT was hairy! I believe the hotter V 30-06 handloads using the lighter 165s is better suited for the bullet to expand properly. Many say, other than the longer range ballistic advantage of the TTSXs tip, it's actually an aide to help the bullet open up (especially in lower V typical premium factory ammo. and/or cartridges.) Never a pressure issue of any kind at 59 gr, FYI. No more smoke signals, please!!! My sinuses are still messed up, but I'll count myself lucky.

 

[C.W. Richter]

*MRX was the BEST (super accurate and heavier in a shorter slug that took up less powder space!) but they don't make 'em anymore (they cheated with some heavy metal in the base)! Still have a couple boxes in .338 but have purchased the newer LRX for future use. 3,250 fps (225 gr) and Mickey Mouse groups out of an A-Sq. With that, Oryx went straight down no matter what shot was presented!

 

[Parkerpusher]

Very accurate out of my 06. Factory loaded ammo 22” barrel I average 2910 fps. Only had one not pass through, everything else is 2 holes.

 

[West_Texas_Bull_Shooter]

I used Barnes 180 grain TTSX last year in Namibia. I shot 5 animals in 5 days with 5 shots. If you do your job ahead of time in prepare for the trip the Barnes TSX will do it's job.. Good Luck

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Barnes bullets are capable of excellent accuracy. Their factory ammo can rival handloads. Here is a five shot group my wife shot with her .308 and Barnes factory ammo. I bought all of that case for her and quit loading for that rifle.

The two off to the right were two foulers from a clean barrel and still close to the point of aim at the intersection of those two lines. Then she fired five shots on the point of the diamond.

View attachment 778398

Can you caliper her factory Barnes ammo for overall length? That might give me some idea how deep I should be seating 30-06. Thanks.

 

[Ryan]

The 168 TTSX (polymer tipped) for 30-06 were my go-to rounds for my two hunts in Namibia. Dropped everything without difficulty. My zebra was quartering towards me, I broke the front leg bone and it still went through the vital and lodged in the hide with a perfect cloverleaf. Dropped a few caribou without difficulty too.

 

[mchusmc]

In the shooting supplies store today I found a marked down partial box of 166 gr Barnes TSX for my 30-06. 41 bullets for twenty bucks. Picked them up knowing nothing about this bullet. Good for Africa? Any tips on how to load them? Or just use them for checking zero?

I used Barnes factory .30-06 ammo loaded with the 168-grain TTSX bullet on my last safari to take nyala, blesbok, black impala and a gemsbok (400 yards for the gemsbok) for the lighter game that I didn’t want to take with my .338 Win Mag. Bullet performance was devastating; only recovered the bullet from the gemsbok; shot him broadside through the shoulder, getting the heart, and recovered the bullet on the off-side shoulder just underneath the hide, so almost complete penetration. In my opinion, the 168-grain TTSX bullet would be a better choice in the .30-06 than the 168-grain TSX for game that you’ll likely use a .30-06 to take; plenty of penetration with better expansion than the TSX in that caliber. Have not used the .30 caliber TSX; only TSX I have used is the 300-grain bullet in Barnes factory .375 H&H ammo during a different safari. Never recovered a bullet from any of the 12 animals I shot with that ammo.

 

[ARHinAK]

Just watching a vortex nation podcast YouTube were they where doing copper bullet comparisons. According to them, the Barnes factory gives 1500 fps as a minimum velocity for the .30 caliber 168 TTSX.
With a bc of .470 and using my muzzle velocity 2844 it will still be going a tick over 1500 fps and still expand out to 800 yards out of my 30-06. That’s about 400 yards past what I’ll ever want to shoot at an un wounded animal so I think they’re good to go.

 

[Bandera]

Mmmm....grilled penguin. Just like Mom used to make!

Kinda tastes like chicken.