Barnes 150gr TTSX in 308... need some help

[jmkasza]

Looking for a little advice after an odd result with a test batch of Barnes 150gr TTSX I loaded for my 308. Normally I shoot 165gr, either SST or Accubonds, but I wanted to tinker with a 150gr Barnes. I loaded up 5 rounds with a modest charge of H4895 (about the middle of Barnes published range) and seated them to 2.740” for a test run.


I chronographed them at: 2778, 2782, 2786, 2770, and 2755. SD = 12.26 and ES = 31. The group was horrible! It resembled a triangle and was about 2.5” at 100 yards. Confused as to why the numbers look good (to me anyways), but the group sucked. My 165gr loads are usually about .75” I shot five of those yesterday too and they performed as expected.


Can anyone help point me in the right direction for load development so I don’t burn through more components than necessary? I’ve heard these TTSX can be finicky on seating depth, and I believe I also heard Barnes says start at 0.050” off the lands. Rifle is a Tikka T3 Lite used for deer/elk.


Thank you,
-Jake

 

[billshehane]

Try jumping the bullet .080 or in that range. Works for me in a 11" twist.

 

[lhsako]

What bill said first. then try another powder.

 

[jmkasza]

With the 165gr SST I'm at .080 jump and that works well.

For the Barnes, I'd have to load them at 2.852" COL to be at .080 jump. I think that is pushing the limit for mag length if I recall correctly... I may have to go close to 2.800 and that'd be .132 jump. But, if that is the way to go I'd rather try that first before trying another powder. I'll load up a handful and see if I can sneak out to the range this weekend.

 

[JayBeeYou]

I have always had to shoot them in a clean bore, any previous copper fouling seems to really mess with the Barnes bullets in my experience. It is worth a try before giving up on them. If you did have a clean barrel prior to shooting them then try the other advice given.

 

[RegionRat]

All of the above....

Just an opinion that I formed when I first started playing with Barnes TTSX. It took either several rounds to get stable results, or fewer when I started with a very clean bore. My theory is that their material doesn't play well with regular jacket material, but I cannot prove that...

I also found that these Barnes copper solids like to be seated deep. Run yourself a seating depth ladder and see where they settle down, then run the charge tests again at the best seating depth to tune them further.

 

[jmkasza]

I had cleaned the bore 33 rounds prior.

 

[olddav]

I have a 338.06 that I load 210 TTSX bullets for. I have loaded them .130, .060 and .023 off the lands. All shoot less than MOA @ 200 yards but at .023 the load shoots approximately .3 MOA again @ 200 yards.
Don’t know if this helps but it is info.

 

[lotech]

I've found the Barnes 150 TTSX BT to be a very accurate bullet in a variety of of .30 caliber rifles including .308, .30-06, and .300 H&H. I used this bullet for elk this past season and it worked well in a .308.

As with most bullets, I try three seating depths initially, with the first seating depth just short of engraving using a starting powder charge or a little less. One of the three depths will usually be a standout for best accuracy. Accuracy differences based on seating depth are often quite significant. I use only H4895 in .308s and bullet weights of 150 -180 grains. Varget is a popular .308 powder and will often give a little more speed than H4895, but I've seen the best overall accuracy in a number of .308 rifles with the use of H4895.