SAF vs. TTSX

[BWH]

I know each of these have their own die hard camps. However, performance aside. Is one cleaner than the other? At some point, I have to break in the barrel of my 375 H&H & get sighted in.... So probably 20 +\~ rounds. Hopefully, have it dialed in with ammo it likes. Curious for what you big bore gurus have experienced.

Thx!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

My experience with the TSX is that it is prone to copper fouling barrels quickly. But that's a general statement that I'm convinced depends on the true bore diameter which varies from rifle to rifle of the same caliber.

A rifle or two of mine don't have this issue with them. But them that do, it's quite obvious within a few shots. Inspection of the barrel at the crown is like looking at a fresh penny. Within so many shots, like 10 give or take, accuracy will fall off and quite quickly.

Only way to know in your rifle is to give them a go.

 

[BWH]

I knew you would know..... I am thinking.... Shoot X clean.... X 10.... Then send groups of 3 down range. Clean, then see how groups. Surely it has to love. It does in the .06..... Just the 375's are pricey!!!

 

[Royal27]

In the Barnes reloading manual it tells you to not use copper bullets for break in?I guess due to the copper fouling?

I've never "broken in" rifles though, so what do I know... the .300 wsm I just got a few months ago was broken in with a box of fusion ammo. The only thing I did was let the barrel cool down, or rather never get very hot. Three shots and cool.

Then I moved to Barnes, and the rifle is shooting half inch groups.

 

[BWH]

That's good bull..... Some claim to send 3 down range... If they group, no need to break in.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Just the 375's are pricey!!!

One reason I load my own.

 

[Royal27]

I also read somewhere that breakin helps with making the barrel easier to clean in the long run. It kind of makes sense to me, but don't know if there is any truth behind it.

 

[BWH]

Yes.... If I were fortunate enough to to shoot as much as you..... #notnow #kids

 

[JGRaider]

I've found barrel break in to be a waste of time and $$$. Good barrels that are lapped properly do not need it.

The original Barnes X bullets were horrible barrel foulers. I think the copper was softer in those than the TSX and TTSX. I don't think these foul barrels any worse than any other bullets nowadays.

 

[BWH]

Good Intel @JGRaider

 

[Shootist43]

I have a friend that is a Triple Distinguished Shooter. When I asked him about the necessity of breaking in a new barrel his answer was unequivocally yes. Procedure was squeaky clean then fire one round with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on the bullet repeat 10 times. Squeaky clean than fire a string of 5 bullets with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on them, Squeaky clean then 5 more bullets with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on the bullet. A final cleaning and you are done. According to my friend this is how some very prestigious organizations break in their Sniper Rifles. Some of the custom barrels used by competitive shooters are hand lapped at the factory and may not require the break in procedure I outlined above.

 

[BWH]

Browning has a similar protocol on their website..... Not sure if some ammo is more prone to fouling.....

 

[BRICKBURN]

............
The original Barnes X bullets were horrible barrel foulers. I think the copper was softer in those than the TSX and TTSX. I don't think these foul barrels any worse than any other bullets nowadays.

That is certainly my experience now.

 

[Divernhunter]

The copper is the same in TTSX or TSX as in the old X-bullet. The difference is the relief grooves cut into the TTSX and TSX bullet. They give the copper a place to go when the bullet goes into the rifling. This also helped the pressure, fouling of barrels and accuracy troubles the old x bullet had in many firearms. The difference is night and day. I have used both types of bullets and the old coated bullets.
Barnes says to shoot some regular bullets as it helps smooth the bore a bit before shooting the Barnes bullets. I have seen this in several(more than 10) new rifles I developed Barnes bullet loads for.

Just be sure to super clean the barrel after shooting any regular jacketed bullets(non-copper) before you shoot Barnes bullets. Then you will not have the fouling/accuracy troubles you can get if you do not. I have not had problems shooting regular bullets after shooting Barnes bullets and do any load testing by shooting all the Barnes test loads before going to the regular jacketed bullets I am testing.

I can only speak about the Barnes TTSX(and Nosler PAR or BT or Swift A-Frame or Scirocco) bullets as far as terminal performance. All but the Nosler BT have been great. We used Swift A-Frame in 338win mag and 257Ron the last Africa hunt. I will use A-Frames in 338win mag and 264win mag for my hunt in 2017. I did take a 30-06 with 150gr Barnes TTSX last time but just never used it. WE have used 30cal(308win/30-06/300win mag)/257cal(257R/25-06/257Weatherby)/6.5mm(6.5x55/264win mag)/7mm(7mm-08) with excellent terminal performance.

To get the Barnes bullets to preform remember:
The TTSX starts to open faster and less prone to the point closing up.
Pick a bullet lighter than what you normanally shoot since the Barnes work like a lead core bullet 30% heavier.
Barnes need lots of bullet jump for best accuracy. Hard to believe but true. Also helps pressure spikes.
The faster you push Barnes bullets the more accurate they seem to be. Also better terminal performance--Another reason to drop in bullet weight.
Start with a super clean barrel. I use Wipe-Out followed by Sweets 7.62 or Barnes CR-10 copper solvents. If you have a super clean barrel to start with and do not shoot regular bullets before the Barnes you will not have fouling problems......This was not so with the X-Bullet.

Done correctly I have found the Barnes TTSX bullets to be some of the most accurate loads I have in most of my rifles.

 

[Rule 303]

Considering the steel in a rifle barrel is somewhat harder than the copper jacket of a bullet I fail to see how running in a barrel using copper will get rid of the problem with only a few rounds. I am of the belief that if a barrel is fouling then it needs lapping. There are 3 ways you can lap a barrel, hand lap, fire lap or credit card lap.

 

[enysse]

I really like Swift A-Frame bullets. They are tough and open up fast. You tend to have big holes on the small critters but they do an excellent job of knocking an animal off it's feet.

I'm not sure I want to use the TTSX on small antelopes, I'm afraid of big holes. I might shoot the original Barnes X bullets

 

[CAustin]

I have a friend that is a Triple Distinguished Shooter. When I asked him about the necessity of breaking in a new barrel his answer was unequivocally yes. Procedure was squeaky clean then fire one round with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on the bullet repeat 10 times. Squeaky clean than fire a string of 5 bullets with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on them, Squeaky clean then 5 more bullets with Remington 40 X Bore Cleaner on the bullet. A final cleaning and you are done. According to my friend this is how some very prestigious organizations break in their Sniper Rifles. Some of the custom barrels used by competitive shooters are hand lapped at the factory and may not require the break in procedure I outlined above.

Art I know of a rifle that you may need to do some breaking in!

 

[Royal27]

I'm not sure I want to use the TTSX on small antelopes, I'm afraid of big holes. I might shoot the original Barnes X bullet

I think it depends on the shot Eric.

I've taken several with both TSX and TTSX and the only only that was "bad" was one Steenbok and that wasn't anything some stitching couldn't fix. Now I always try and hit more center mass than I would on a bigger animal too though, which I'm convinced helps.

Now if you don't have broadside..... I can't imagine what my .375 would have done to my klippie if I hadn't had a solid. Texas heart shot... doubt I would have found the chest with a tsx!!!!

I should fund out this summer what the .300 wsm does on some of the smaller guys....

 

[enysse]

My 7mm Rem Mag with 160 Swift A Frame really did a number on my klipspringer and porcupine 2 years ago.

 

[Royal27]

Those are from what I've heard the worst. Really soft skinned and prone to blowing up.

My klippie had to be mounted opposite of how we originally intended die to some hair slip around the exit wound. And that was with the solid....

Next porcupine I want to chase down on foot again. Talk about fun!!