130 grain Barnes TTSX in .308

[Zero333]

I joined this forum specifically because of this thread. Thanks for doing all that legwork Gnergy! I have a Remington 700 LTR that is very similar to your rifle, but Barnes were heartbreakingly inaccurate. I even tried loading to just off the lands which was way too long for the magazine.

Your results give me a cautious optimism. Thanks again!!

I've used the 130 TTSX for deer in one of my hunting 300winmag rifles and best accuracy was at max pressure and jumping them literally a mile. To be exact, I'm jumping them about 1/4" from the rifling.

 

[alphapygmy]

I use them in my Browning Micro A-bolt II 20" barrel. Mine really likes 46.5 IMR 4166, jumped .070" for 2905 fps. This has been a great combo for me the last three years. Light rifle, pencil barrel, 3-9 scope and 3 shot groups right at half an inch every year. Not top speed but I shoot blacktail in heavy cover at 30 yards and it drops them nice.

 

[SmallFunGroups]

130gr TTSX and Nosler 150gr E-tip results from a 20in barrel, FN SPR; target at 100yds/80° and light head wind:

3 rounds
Lake City m118lr fire formed case
47.5gr Varget (charge that worked well for another person in this thread)
Federal Gold Medal Match 210m primer
COAL 2.735 (Barnes recommended)
3038 FPS, SD .8, ES 1
2 rounds through the same hole, 1x flier 1in high/right. Need to re-shoot off bipod instead of bags.

3 rounds
Lake City m80 factory case (unfired, crimped w/cci no 34 primer) from American Marksman
47.5gr Varget
COAL 2.8
2982 FPS, SD 14.6
Group horizontally at .5in, shows some real promise for long range consistency (shot from harris bipod)

Nosler E-TIP 150gr, 3 rounds
Lake City m118lr resized case
2.75 COAL (Nosler recommended)
F210m primer
44.5gr Varget (ladder tested 43 - 45grs in .5gr increments, showed best results)
2807 FPS, SD 4
1.5" group (will re-shoot with fire formed cases off of bipod instead of bags)

Nosler E-TIP 150gr, 3 rounds
Lake City m118lR fire formed cases
2.8 COAL
F210m primer
44.5gr Varget
2800 FPS, SD 13.3
1.5" group (will re-shoot at 2.75 COAL, from bipod)

 

[Rdlningcltchdmpr]

Anyone have a recommendation for a powder or 2 to start with in my .308 with Barnes 130 TTSX bullets, lapua brass, and Fed 210 primers? I have never loaded lighter bullets in .308 and just need an idea where to start. Barrel is 24 inch and rifle will be used for whitetail. Want best combo of speed and accuracy.

Frank

I know the question, but i need to tell you about the 110ttsx. 3500+ fps with a few different powders. 1/2" groups are the norm. A full case of cfe223 around 56 grains is incredible. Ramshot tac powder is also great. Anything out to 400+ yds this is the good stuff. With copper bullet's, the faster they go the bigger the wound !.

 

[Nomosendero2]

Gnergy, good info, thanks!

 

[RegionRat]

Gnergy, good info, thanks!

Just FYI
If you hover your cursor over an avatar name, you will see a window pop up that shows the last time they were on the forum. When threads are current, it is more likely they will see your comments, but when a thread is older, there is a chance they have left the range....

His comments in this thread date from 2011, but he hasn't been seen on the forum for over a year.

 

[snert]

I just shot a nice buck with a 308 130 grain TTSX at 25 yards. I hit the shoulder on the left side square. The bullet went out the other side below the leg joint. Deer went 40 yards and died. Here is the goofy thing...On the left side the shoulder bones detonated int olarge and small shrapnel. large pieces went out the other side. Small ribs and shoulder blast went all the way BACK thru the stomach, guts and into the ham and backstraps. I had poop covered shrapnel all thru the meat. This is not the bullet fault. In fact, I am glad the bullet went thru becuase there were NO LUNGS to be found. I cleaned it out and had only a trachea and heart. The lungs had deflated and were purple water and juice. I lost most of the meat to blood damage and poop contamination. Had I hit that spot with a Berger or a lighter jacket, I fear that deer would have suffered a catastrophic surface wound.
The photos show the cleaned up and hosed out version. Note the dark spots of blood in the hams and backstrap. There are pea sized chunks of bone in those holes I dug out after the photo...along with deer poop. The side view showss the large cavitation area between the hide and the ribcage. I got 1/3 a bucket of goop from that area. Despite this..in fact because of this...I am a BArnes beleiver. Amazing penetration and ability to overcome tissue and bone.
BTW, I missed 2 inches left, shooting across my body left handed, which put the bullet on the bone, not just behind it.

 

[RegionRat]

Wow. Just bad luck with the angle and the bone fragments.

I got to see a lot of wild pig hits with Barnes bullets when the state went no-lead on us. I can't say I have seen one like this, but wild pigs do have a gristle plate up on the front that might make the difference compared to a deer.

 

[AckleymanII]

My family has been using Win 748 for 30 years with 210 primers, 125-130g bullets, amazing accuracy with speeds in the extreme, best accuracy is at the top end of the pressure curve, usually 3100-3200. I have a 23", 14 Twist that is running 3300 with Tac, lapua brass, 125g Sierra Game Kings.

Boys, IMR XBR 8208 is some hot burning stuff, you can watch your throat grow quickly. It is a special-purpose powder for me, and I use it very sparingly with 168-169s. Varget and H4895 are not too far behind, but my Krieger and Harts love them.

AA2495 has a much lower heat index. I am going to try that next.

Two of the three largest white tails I have killed have been with a 308 running 125g Sierra Pro Hunters, 200+ lb deer, one ten-pointer and the other an 11-pointer. Speed kills.

Next up for me in the field is the 125g Sierra Tipped Game King. I bought a box and worked up a load with the bullet kissing the lands, mercy, what small Bug hole groups.

I am also going to try the Sig 277 Brass with the steel case head in my Remingtons. I have been running this brass in a 260 AI with amazing accuracy, never any pressure signs vs peak pressures for Small Primer Alpha brass.

 

[Gary in MD]

I just shot a nice buck with a 308 130 grain TTSX at 25 yards. I hit the shoulder on the left side square. The bullet went out the other side below the leg joint. Deer went 40 yards and died. Here is the goofy thing...On the left side the shoulder bones detonated int olarge and small shrapnel. large pieces went out the other side. Small ribs and shoulder blast went all the way BACK thru the stomach, guts and into the ham and backstraps. I had poop covered shrapnel all thru the meat. This is not the bullet fault. In fact, I am glad the bullet went thru becuase there were NO LUNGS to be found. I cleaned it out and had only a trachea and heart. The lungs had deflated and were purple water and juice. I lost most of the meat to blood damage and poop contamination. Had I hit that spot with a Berger or a lighter jacket, I fear that deer would have suffered a catastrophic surface wound.
The photos show the cleaned up and hosed out version. Note the dark spots of blood in the hams and backstrap. There are pea sized chunks of bone in those holes I dug out after the photo...along with deer poop. The side view showss the large cavitation area between the hide and the ribcage. I got 1/3 a bucket of goop from that area. Despite this..in fact because of this...I am a BArnes beleiver. Amazing penetration and ability to overcome tissue and bone.
BTW, I missed 2 inches left, shooting across my body left handed, which put the bullet on the bone, not just behind it.
View attachment 1718200View attachment 1718201

Wow, I would not have expected that kind of damage but that is good to know. I’ve been planning on trying that exact bullet in my 30-06. I still like the TTSX loads, maybe that was somewhat of a fluke?

 

[AckleymanII]

Gary, He shot the deer at very, very close range where the hydrostatic shock literally blew the animal up, and just about any of the same weight bullets would do the same.

 

[RegionRat]

With the TSX or TTSX, (in my opinion) it is always possible to have the shank of the bullet deflect inside the chest cavity after smashing into a shoulder joint or the big bones or under the spine.

If the shank of that kind of bullet does anything, it penetrates well especially if it is slowed down after breaking then deflecting off of bigger bones and the front "petals" were shed early due to high impact velocity.

Without the petals expanding the diameter and staying attached, the back half of one of these tends to penetrate very well. If you find it at all, it is usually very deep compared to a traditional bullet.

We always hope the defected path does what we want without making a mess, but at some angles I think it is going down past the diaphragm and that potentially makes the gutting job tricky.

That said, I have never seen a pattern like the one snert is showing, where there was such a wide spread of small bone fragments into the tenderloins and back into the pelvis.

After blowing up the parts shown in the upper photo, one would think there wasn't much energy or mass left to blow shrapnel all the way through to the hips? Small bone fragments can do a lot of damage, but it is hard to imagine the energy to go that far since the density is not close to lead or copper.

It just goes to show you what you learn by hanging around the butcher shed. Watch a few thousand deer, elk, and pigs get processed and you learn a lot about terminal ballistics.

I really think it is one of those examples of bad luck and how unpredictable things like terminal ballistics really are with a near point blank shot. A near point blank shot from a 308 at just the right angle and impact line can do some strange things with any bullet.

I agree with snert, these Barnes TSX and TTSX at the right distances are good at penetration.

 

[Gary in MD]

Gary, He shot the deer at very, very close range where the hydrostatic shock literally blew the animal up, and just about any of the same weight bullets would do the same.

I agree, 100 percent
I’m a fan of the TTSX. I appreciate hearing of actual field results, good or bad

 

[Websurfer]

H4895 works best in my testing for 130 gr ttsx in 308. It’s an awesome bullet!

 

[AckleymanII]

Gary, we have not had any bad results, but it is obvious that as distance increases, the hydrostatic shock goes way down, 450 yards.

 

[snert]

Wow, I would not have expected that kind of damage but that is good to know. I’ve been planning on trying that exact bullet in my 30-06. I still like the TTSX loads, maybe that was somewhat of a fluke?

I KNOW it is a fluke.
My buddy shoots deer with a 6x45AI and an 80 grain TTSX. He shot one last week. His impact was the same side of the deer, only 3 inches rearward of mine. Bullet hit the first ribs, punched a hole about size of a quarter. Expanded well, crushed the necessary innards, blew a little bit o' ribs thru, exited leaving a 2 inch hole. Deer went a very short distance and flopped. He lost about four ribs worth of meat total. I'd take that any day. Nice blood trail, (if it were needed) and effective expansion, full penetration so leaks on both sides. Still enough oooomph and bullet cohesion to penetrate if it were needed.

Mine just hit a big bone near the surface and hit going 3400 FPS at least. It turned that shoulder into high velocity shrapnel.

 

[snert]

Gary, He shot the deer at very, very close range where the hydrostatic shock literally blew the animal up, and just about any of the same weight bullets would do the same.

Aw come on there...I leaned backward to make it a longer shot!

 

[Nomosendero2]

Just FYI
If you hover your cursor over an avatar name, you will see a window pop up that shows the last time they were on the forum. When threads are current, it is more likely they will see your comments, but when a thread is older, there is a chance they have left the range....

His comments in this thread date from 2011, but he hasn't been seen on the forum for over a year.

View attachment 1718194

Just FYI
If you hover your cursor over an avatar name, you will see a window pop up that shows the last time they were on the forum. When threads are current, it is more likely they will see your comments, but when a thread is older, there is a chance they have left the range....

His comments in this thread date from 2011, but he hasn't been seen on the forum for over a year.

View attachment 1718194

I appreciate his information whether he sees my reply or not.
He may come back on or he may not, I don't know but others might.
All is well!