Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Barnes TTSX concerns for NE black bear..

100% agree. I've killed my share with monos, just know I have a nice tracking job ahead of me when I take the shot. I'd use partitions next time if it was me.

Approximately 660 feet (220yards) of tracking. Combined with the fact all 4 feet seemed to be working, doubt if another brand would have made much difference in how far it would have gone.

All cheerleading aside. I don't think anyone with much expiereance can argue that lead and copper bullets kill quicker than Monos.
The only reason I run monos is because of the concern of feeding my young children lead.

Many times bullet choice is person preference and experience. If a bullet doesn't perform the way you want, chances are you won't use them again.

Personally, I've had cup and core failures and great luck with Barnes monos, so Barnes are what I use.

As to the OP, can't blame the bullet if I pull the shot. I've trailed deer farther than that bear after double lung shots with C&C bullets.

130 gr TTSX usin TAC from Sako mannlicher carbine 20" barrel. Pass through. Bear weighed 250 lbs.

.350 Rem magnum, 200 gr TSX. Caught this one. Bear weighed 350 lbs.

Well the good news is the OP got his bear. About the only game taken with the Barnes TSX by me were 5 of the 6 elk take the last few years. Rifle was a custom Mauser in .35 Whelen shooting the 225 gr. TSX at 2710 MV. Two of the elk were DRT and the rest needed a finisher but were completely unable to go anywhere. The Sixth elk was shot with a Nosler 165 gr. Accubond at around 2900 FPS and change. Bullet hit at the short ribs and took out the left lung. Elk ran about 30 feet and collapsed.
I've done a small bit of playing with the 100 gr. TSX in .25 caliber and 120 and 140 gr. in 7MM but haven't found the accuracy sweet spot with those yet. Lots of decent velocity but can't find the accuracy I want. I'll keep working on those.
The first elk I shot with he 225 gr. TSX was a miss at 75 yards and a hit at just about 150 yards. At the hit, the elk stopped and dropped just as if it's run into a brick wall. That was my first ever kill with the Whelen and yes, I was impressed. Dunno what my thoughts will be on the .257 Bob and 7x57/.280 Rem. will be with the TSX bullet, that is if I ever get decent accuracy from them.
Neever have shot a bear but if I do I'll take the Whelen.
Paul B.

My thoughts are the TTSX performed as it was designed to. And that is to drill deep. The way they drill deep is by being more stoutly constructed than cup/core bullets and hence retaining near 100% of their weight. And consequently you get a smaller diameter wound channel. I can't think of a better bullet when the muzzle velocity exceeds 3000 fps and or when you are hunting large game and need deep penetration.

But for smaller large game, I'd say a cup core bullet or dropping to a 130 gr TTSX would be a better choice. YMMV

If the impact velocity gets much above 3000 fps the petals shear off and the wound channel volume is even smaller. I know this goes against the Campfire mantra of "mo speed,mo betta", but it's what I have noticed in using them.
Best advice I can give is keep impact velocity between 3000fps on the high end and 2000fps on the low.

Thanks for all the input and advice fellas. I understand that my shot on the bear was poor and not what I intended, it happens to everyone. I was curious if my bullit choice was good/poor based on my examination of the internals of the bear and the velocities the Kimber Adirondack was producing with a 18.5" barrel. I'm not sure how much velocity I lost using this rifle as I do not have a chrono available.

After further review at the range placing a cold bore group on target yesterday using the same load, my group pulled roughly 3" to the left. This was a valuable lesson for me when it comes to the Kimber 84m action series of rifles. They heat up fast.. I simply didn't give my rifle enough time to cool while zeroing, finding an accurate load, all while firing 3 round groups spaced 5 minutes apart.

Good news is I recovered the bear, found that Federal
Premium 150gr. Nosler Partition factory loads shoot better than the Barnes Vor-TX factory loading in my rifle, and that my rifle is now properly zeroed for the round I've found accurate & fit (cold bore).

On a side note, my newly acquired Kimber 84m Hunter in .308 shoots Barnes Vor-TX 130gr. and Federal Fusion 150gr. in the .5-.8 range opposed to the .8-1.5 range with the Adirondack (also in .308).