Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Longer range TTSX performance?

Since there seems to be a paucity of actual experience with Barnes Bullets - especially the 150gr .308 fired out of a 30-06 - actually used on game beyond 400 yards, why don't we try a little simpler method to answer his question?

I think most can agree that at impact velocities above 1800fps, the OP will likely be getting SOME expansion from the TTSX, but that a standard cup-and-core would likely do better in that relatively low-velocity situation.

The question then becomes, at what range does his 30-06's bullet drop below 1800fps?

Using the Hornady online ballistics calculator, I started off a 150gr .308 TTSX (B.C. = .420) at 2860fps. These are the results:

400 yards: 2046 fps
450 yards: 1955 fps
500 yards: 1867 fps
550 yards: 1781 fps

So if we use the cutoff point of 1800 fps, we see the OP can expect a minimum amount of expansion at his stated goal of 400-500 yards. However, he should be aware that with a 200 yard zero, the bullet will drop nearly FOUR FEET (45.2 inches) at 500 yards, which makes contacting the animal with a bullet a task I wouldn't want to undertake.

As an addendum, since expansion at low velocities isn't exactly the Barnes' strong point, perhaps he should be thinking of a high-quality cup-and-core bullet (which, incidentally, function very well at 2800 fps and below) as his "do everything" choice - like the Accubond or the Partition?

I know it wasn't the question, but that's what I chose for my 30-06, since it seems to have a decided preference for 150gr bullets.

What velocity do the 168 open up to?

This may have been discussed already, but...
Are the LRX and TTSX basically the same, one just having a better BC; or, is the LRX designed for expansion at longer distances, lower velocities than the TTSX?

The LRX is designed to open at 1600 fps...

Shooting into water jugs at 1800 FPS produced at or very near full expansion for me. I keep all my Barnes up in the 2000-2100 FPS range as a safety margin though.

I"ve seen those before, and I'm continually amazed, 225X flat base from 338 win mag used in AK at distances to 801 yards, and up to 10 foot plus bears... and all between, down to sitkas and never ever seen a failure to expand. Including shooting through alder trees 3-6 inches in diameter on accident....(not all my shooting, I'm only good for 3 shots out of that gun up there...)

Sorry Jordan that I didn't see his earlier. I usually am very interested in bullet performamce and almost always try to inspect the bullet path and resultant tissue damage but on that morning it was -25 degrees with a 20 mph breeze and I was underdressed. I'd did not dawdle but the big vessels above the heart were detached and there was a fifth-cent sized hole through the lungs which was probably not bad considering the velocity at that range. A very quick perusal revealed no bullet petals.

Shoot him in the shoulders. It doesn't matter if it opens or not. All the bone shrapnel is going to kill him before he hits the ground. You don't have to look for him, he can't run and fall in a giant cactus patch. He can't run down into the bottom of a canyon. I have never lost an animal I have hit in the shoulders. A 7 rem mag will go through a deer shoulders at 600 yds. Did the bullet open? Dont know. Couldnt find it. You always bone out the front shoulders to make hamburger anyway. Your just getting a little head start. I have been on a few south Texas guided hunts. The guides tell the clients to shoulder shoot. Just my opinion. He can't jump the fence either. Guys on my lease have had that happen 3 times. Same guy twice. You lose too much meat he said. Looks to me like he lost it all.

Basically the same construction other than the tip; material is still the same: relatively hard copper.



The TTSX is the one which most resembles a recovered Partition.

Exactly!

I have to admit have had more than a few Nosler tipped bullets fail right inside the box......tips fallin' off...

I've never seen a barnes not expand enough. Others have.

It doesnt take much and even on full expansion they don't leave big exit holes which is perfect for me, much less meat damage and still very dead.

I've seen teh old X, which folks hated, expand out just past 800...from a 338 win mag started at about 2700 or so IIRC.

IMHO there are better choices at longer ranges, but the barnes has never let me down either, somethign I can't say about other brands.

I have and so have my some of my friends. Maybe not to this extend but I have seen it.

Any bullet works under certain conditions, and even the original Nosler Ballistic Tips worked well at 50 yards from high-speed rifles in big animals.....sometimes. In the same way, hard copper hollow points work well adequately at slow impacts.... sometimes. And, while it's 'working well' that we obviously want, it's the other kind of performance that is concerning and the disqualifier. I have recovered identical bullets from the same rifle at the same distance in the same animal and had two very different bullet results in essentially the same conditions. The Partition was one of the early methods which successfully resolved the problem of consistency. Hard, monolithic bullets have shared the same problems of inconsistency, if not the same failures when they do. The last photo I posted was the first part of a 'close/far' test I set up a few years ago. Unfortunately the 'far' part of the test was only partially successful, so I did not get the spectrum of comparative results I wanted. And I never got back to completing it.

The TTSX has worked the few times I've used it, but a few times doesn't really tell much. It does seem like a step in the right direction however and I expect the untipped versions will largely be phased out eventually in their favor.I would not be surprised if the TTSX is to the TSX as the Partition was to ordinary cup and cores.

LR, TSX and Ttsx really I will say it slow their ain't no such thing. Their are no long range etips , GMX ttsx or TSX. A cup and core is the only LR bullet even close to useful at LR. Write this down and read it when the buck of a lifetime limps off because you can't think logically.

Ps LR starts past 800

Pure gold those last two posts are...

So then, should a guy who is not a dedicated long range hunter and has the ability, but would take a long range shot, have two loads for his hot rod magnum?

Get off the fence shooting LR takes dedication. If you want to eat to the hole use a mono. If you want to shoot LR shoot LR.