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Marius as you know bullet placement trumps all
this is how my rifle shoots those 185gr TTSX's

3 shot group

Barnes bullets...like Porsches, there ARE no substitutes...

I have a 308Win. What would be the recommended weight barnes bullet? 130gr ttsx?

Yes. With Barnes speed is your friend, moreso than weight.

I'd work up loads with 150gr TTSX

That group needs to get tighter....

Are you kidding me? That group is just ridiculous for any hunting rifle.
Great stuff. Very happy that they perform for you.



I think you are on the right track. Check your twist rate, it will pretty much tell you where you need to go. Might very well have been my mistake by going too heavy.

I've had great luck with 150TTSX in my .308. I've also taken game with the 168TSX with the same DRT effect.

Ok I have access to 120 acres of prime whitetail country in NW Montana.

I will pay the NR license fees for anyone who can show up and demonstrate a DRT with a Barnes bullet in a lung/heart shot deer.

If the deer isn't DRT, you owe me the cash in the same amount as the license fee.

Because quite frankly, they don't DRT with Barnes unless you hit shoulders or CNS. And any bullet will DRT them in that location.

I'm tired of everyone acting like Barnes is some magical bullet. Time to put your money where your mouth is.

That escalated quickly...

Bullsh.it!! I have witnesses that the last 4 animals (3 deer and an elk) didn't take a step. They went down in their tracks. Your experience may be different and that's fine, but to say it's impossible is not only extremely ignorant it's a lie.

That's what I thought.

Who ever said anything about a DRT with a lung or heart shot?

I've driven 140 TSXs up to 3500 in the STWs, 100s at the same speed in a couple .257 Weatherbys, and the 80 grain TTSX up 3950 fps in the .257 Weatherby. When are they going to start working as well as lead?

Granted, they do work quite well for shooting through things lengthwise, and do OK when plowed through both shoulders with maybe a chunk of spine taken out. Never mind that you can say the same thing about a 100 year old .303 British with military hard-point. That would just confuse things.

I would go with what John B recommends that in .30 caliber and under use TTSX over .30 doesn't seem to matter.

One thing is most PH's recommend on the shoulder shots and this is where the Barnes doe's its best work. This is where a tougher bullets shines regardless of the myth or fact of which game is tougher.

The Barnes may not kill as quickly as some but I would rather have the dependability and confidence vs. dramatic drops but erratic performance of the more frangible bullets.

My limited experience on Barnes and other bullets on African plainsgame...

7mm 140gr from an STW Sako 75 chrono'ed at 3396 fps, dropped a Mt Reedbuck in his tracks. Hammer of Thor.

Same combo shot a White Blesbok at 278 yds, angled shot, took one step and fell over.

Same combo on a Fallow Deer running up a steep hill away from me at 250 yds, entered left hind quarter and ended up under the skin of the right front shoulder... traversed about 36" of body and the deer instantly fell over. My only recovered TSX, it was missing 3 petals, only had one remaining and it was sticking straight out.



Same 140gr combo on a Black Springbok... shot head-on through the lower central part of the chest, he wobbled for about 20' and fell over.

.30 cal 168gr TSX from 300WSM at 3127fps.... Shot a large Brindled Gnu at 255yds through the bottom of the lungs and hit the heart... he ran 100yds blowing huge red clouds of blood mist and keeled over after running out of oxygen to the brain.

Same 168gr TSX into a Red Hartebeest... took 3 steps and keeled over.

I've also used a .30-06 with a 180gr Nosler Partition at 98 yds on a Kudu, angled shot, took 5 steps and fell over. Recovered bullet was missing everything ahead of the partition and weighed about 100grs, iirc.

Just to point out this for others. Your 180 grain lead and copper jacket bullet lost about 80 grains. Almost 50%!

Curious, have you ever noticed a Barnes TSX bullet losing this much weight after recovery?

But, in all fairness, that is what a partition is designed to do.

I just dug out these bullets and re-weighed them.

The Barnes TSX 140gr that went through the length of a Fallow Deer, that came up missing 3 petals, weighs 117.8grs. 84% retention.

The 180gr Nosler Partition weighs 108grs for 60% retention.

I have one other recovered bullet... a 150gr Winchester PowerPoint that was shot from a 270WSM and took a Black Wildebeest. It weighed 112 grs for 75% retention.


All of these bullets did their jobs. I have never had a "bullet failure" from any type of style or construction. They all worked. But this is only my very limited experience. A PH or guide would see a lot more bullet terminal performance results.

Buying the extra "T" is never a bad thing. Just as with powders, you're getting the "extreme" line of bullets which produce more consistent results and less sensitivity to temperature and speed. Not surprisingly, the TTSX emulates the Partition in many cases by shedding a portion from its front. Bullets which open very consistently, yet penetrate deeply - even after the loss of the initial 'bloom' and at the expense of some mass, have a very long track record for reliability. Those who hunt in warmer climes may not notice these advantages as much.

Klik, with all due respect, how does a bullet like the TTSX that typically retains near 100% (I hear, but have no actual experience with them)of it's weight, emulate a partition that typically sheds 40% of it's weight?