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Believe JJ and believe Ingwe. They know!!!

I use TSX for everything except my doubles.

Partitions work - done that. RWS H-Mantals are great but you can't find them. Accubonds are Partitions+. You won't go wrong with any of them but TSX work every time!

I'm highly suspect of anyone who states XYZ bullet brand is hands down the best and all others are not as good.

Usually that person either A) doesn't have much experience or B) deduces weird conclusions from shoddy data.

YMMV

"Quicker" as in about on par with lead core bullets?

IME, monos never kill quicker than an appropriate lead core bullet and if used in the wrong situation, kill MUCH slower.

Ringman, I will play devil's advocate here. When it comes to penetration, there are no bullets that can match bullets such as the expanding solids.e.g. Barnes, GS Custom, Peregrine etc.
Does it bother me when someone bring Barnes TSX, not in the slightest.
My rental camp rifle is a Ruger M77 in .300 Win Mag. I choose to shoot bonded lead core bullets in that over expanding solids such as Barnes.
Not that it is a negative, but let's call it a negative with the expanding solids, is that your shot placement has to be spot on with these bullets. Forget about the size of the perfectly formed mushroom for a second. All that does is that it enlarges the wound channel, which makes the animal expire quicker on a well placed shot. (Well placed shot).
Now, we are talking in a trophy hunting sense here, not meat hunting. If we were talking about meat hunting, I would not be using the .300Win in the first place, not to mention with lead core bullets.
I'm sure many have seen the bruising that is caused by a .300Win Mag, the very reason not many guys use them for meat hunting. This is exactly why I use it for trophy hunting...with a lead core bullet.
A bonded lead core bullet will usually throw it's nose, and you will have some copper jacket and core shrapnel flying in different directions upon impact, followed by the bonded core moving in a straight direction. Should the shot not be 100% placed, it is the shrapnel that might just catch the back of the lung, liver or any other vital part and give you that "second chance".
The shrapnel from breaking up plays a big part in the bruising. Bruising means, body trauma, which in essence means that it is just another step towards either slowing the animal down, which certainly helps our dogs, or ultimately the animal expiring.
If we were into meat hunting, it would be a different game, but we are here to find our hunters' animals.
So, I can totally relate to point number two.
Barnes is a great bullet, and many here know how "pro expanding solid" I am.
Like I said, certainly not against them, but I believe that this is a "horses for courses" scenario.
For your hunts, your ammunition is probably the smallest investment that you have to make per animal. Always use the best. I have never had a Nosler, whether Partition or Accubond fail on any of our safaris, but strange things happen. Saw a Swift A-Frame fail the other day for the first time. Not one of my own hunters. I believe they are very near to the top of lead core bullets when it comes to quality. One fail does not make them a bad bullet. At the velocities that bullets travel, anything can happen.

I used Barnes 286 grain bullets last year in a Ruger #1 9.3X74R. Launched at only 2300 fps, they worked absolutely perfectly. I killed 10 animals plus another couple whitetail this fall. I have used A-Frames and Northforks with great results, too.

I'll stick with Woodleigh in 375 and Orxy in anything smaller.

Could you explain in what way that the A-Frame failed? What happened?

bellydeep,

On average, I've never found a monolithic that killed as quickly as most lead-cored bullets when using rib shots, given the same bullet weight and velocity.

But give a mono some real zip and they can do pretty well! One of the most spectacular kills I've seen occurred when my wife shot an average-sized mule deer buck with a 100-grain TSX started at 3550 fps from a .257 Weatherby. The range was about 160 yards, and Eileen put it right behind the shoulder. The next thing we saw was four hooves waving feebly above the sagebrush.

I know a lot of people who think monolithics (or similar bullets such as the Fail Safe, which worked exactly the same way) are quick killers. But I've been using them since the late 1980's, when the first Barnes X's appeared, and prefer not to use any from .30 caliber on down unless they're started out pretty fast.

Let me check if I c find the photo and story behind it.

Your experience is exactly as mine. It's why I tell the folks to step down one bullet weight with the TSX

Example 165r in the 30 calibers and 270 grain in the 375, or in the case of my work rifle the 450 grain with the Lott.

These lighter weights generate a more obvious impact then the standard weight bullets. The visual impact is the most consistent difference between an animal hit with a bonded core and a TSX. I cannot begin to count the amount of game that has run after being shot without a sliver of visual impact. Yet they were drilled clean through the chest. By comparison the bonded core like the swift A frame will usually stagger or create a shudder and a hind leg kick upon impact.

That is about were they differ the most. From this point, the bonded core will in most cases remain inside and provide an entry hole. While the TSX will have exited and provided two holes.

I've killed a lot of game with the Swift A frame. They were supplying me with bullets for several years to use in Africa. I have probably 75 plus here glued to a board with the details written next to the bullets. On that same board I have maybe a dozen TSX of all calibers as an example of recover percentages.

I have never liked the minimal impacts so common with the TSX, but that is a fair exchange for the two blood flowing holes provided.

A fella that hunts with me in Africa frequently uses a 300 weatherby Mag 26" barrel and shoots the 165 TSX. I never personally chronographed them and he did not either. I would guess they were 3300-3400? Those had instant impact reactions way more often then not. Impalas displayed the red mist so common with prairie dogs! Even tougher game like Zebra and wildebeest met their match with that high speed TSX bullet.

There is no question in my experience that the faster the TSX is driven the more spectacular the impact reaction. I'm not sure how low in weight you can go? I did load some 225( iirc) into my 375HH they were at 3000fps. PG was just crumpled with this bullet, however I could not get very good accuracy with those bullets. I'm thinking there was a twist and bullet length mismatch at the higher velocities?

I do think you could go down to the 150gr in a 30 caliber and be just fine. I stubbornly stuck with the 165's because they just worked so good. After all a 165 TSX at 2900plus is a far better killer then a 300 win mag with a 180 grain factory load shooting a cup and core bullet. That's not a bad rifle to hunt with, mild recoil in a old an boring 30/06 with the lethal potential of a 300 magnum using cup and core factory ammo!

John,

I have yet to see them beat a lead core bullet, even once, but haven't given up yet.

Lately I've been launching the 80gr TTSX in a .25-06 and the 150 TTSX in a .300 Wby.

I would think that would be fast enough?

I'll keep trying with the monos from time to time. But so far, I haven't seen any real spectacular kills with them.

Can't agree with that.


Killing Power figure at 100 yards:

.30-06 Springfield (150 grain at 2920 fps) - 37.3
.30-06 Springfield (180 grain at 2700 fps) - 49.2

.300 Winchester Magnum (180 grain at 2960 fps) - 59.5

Here are my limited killing power numbers
185gr TTSX .338-06 @2950 fps
8 for 8 on game with 4 DRT others short track and plenty of blood
Bullets recovered from Eland(359 yds)Wildebeest(310yds)Zebra(300yds)

You have not considered the retained weight and penetration difference.

How many cup and core bullets have you recovered with even 50% weight retention at 300 mag velocities? They crumble and go to pieces.

The 165 grain TSX will still be 165 grain when ( if) you can find it! There is absolutely no comparison in performance on game. Maybe with some type of math formula but not where the rubber meets the road with actual game experience.

I've used Barnes TSX on three trips and in .308 and 9.3 to harvest about three dozen animals. The only issue I have is blood trails are a few yards befor starting if there is a blood trail at all. Had a well hit Wildebeest leave no blood and was found the next day. A broadside lung hit waterbuck went a long ways and only left a blood trail the last 10 Yds. Except for my Montana Mule deer I've used TTSX on deer, boar, antelope and coyotes for the past four years.

Not quite sure what lead core bullets you have over there? 50%?
The .300Mag hits harder than any .30-06 any day of the year.

The bullet is not 50% of the weight by the time it reaches the animal. The pieces get dumped inside the animal. By that time, the animal has already been "hit"
As I said, the 300 hits harder than any 30-06.
I've seen the 300 break the shoulder on a Blue Wildebeest at 210yds, and still exit on the other side, and that was with a lead core bullet.

Regarding penetration, I don't argue. Nothing beats an expanding solid for penetration. It still has nothing to do with the hitting power.

Any reports on the 250 TTSX from a .375?

Carry on, you've missed the point entirely

Play nice this isn't the optics forum

DVD,
Those photos that you've posted is exactly what you would expect from a Barnes. All of the Barnes that I have recovered looked like that.
Unfortunately, I just never could get them to produce acceptable groups in my rifle, so went back to the GS Custom.