Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Question for Mule Deer?

MD, it seems you have done a lot of testing with bullets in the 6.5 mm cartridges. I'm running the Barnes 120 TTSX, these are the first mono bullets I've ever tried. They shoot itty bitty groups in my 6.5 CM with RL16, they average 2905 fps at the muzzle. I am going to use them this deer season, but wondering how they perform on lung shots. Just wondering if they may be a little too tough? Most of my shots are 200 yards and less, and our bucks usually average between 170-200 lbs so they aren't all that big.

In my experience they'll work well at that velocity, especially at the ranges you'll mostly be shooting.

I generally much prefer Tipped TSX's to the hollow-point TSX in calibers under .30, because once in a great while the hollow-points don't open up much, if at all, probably due to the front end of the magazine battering the hole partially closed during recoil. Have never seen that with TTSX's, and while they sometimes don't kill quite as quickly as lead-cored, controlled-expansion bullets, the difference isn't vast.

That said, for some years I used the pre-TSX Barnes 120 in a 6.5x55 for antelope and deer hunting, at a muzzle velocity 2950 fps. They never failed to open up well, and among other animals I took a pronghorn buck at almost 400 yards and several deer at 100-200, all with behind-the-shoulder shots. None went over 40 yards before dropping, and the antelope went maybe 15.

Thanks Mule Deer! I usually use Sierra Gamekings, but these just shoot so good out of my Howa. Still have plenty of Gamekings as back up, but really wanting to try these out.

Last year I used my 6.5 Creedmoor with the Hornady 120 grain GMX to take a couple of Alabama Whitetails. One at 80 yards and the other at about 240 yards. Both were dead right there,and I was impressed with the wound channels and exit wounds. The Hornady 120 GMX is very similar the Barnes 120 TTSX so I can't imagine your outcome would be very different.

I've never been able to tell the difference in on-game performance between the TTSX, GMX and E-Tip. They all work well, but as others have noted, monolithics tend to kill quicker when started at higher muzzle velocities. Those don't have to be super-zapper speeds, but somewhere around 3000 fps tends to result in quicker kills, at least with .30 and under monos. In calibers above .30 I haven't seen much difference between moderate and high velocity, or tipped and hollow-point TSX's, probably because the hole in the nose of larger-caliber TSX's is much bigger than in the smaller bullets--and the hole they make is much bigger too, even when started at modest velicities.

The 120 grain GMX loads that killed so well for me were Hornady Superformance factory loads. These actually chronographed a little over 3000 fps from the muzzle of my KImber Hunter.

That tends to help!

The most spectacular kill I ever saw with the original TSX was before the Tipped TSX ever appeared. The 100-grain TSX shot extremely well at over 3500 fps in my first .257 Weatherby, a Vanguard Sporter, and Eileen used the rifle to take an eating-size 3x3 mule deer buck at around 150 yards. She aimed for the ribs behind the shoulder and the next thing we saw was four hooves waving gently above the sagebrush.

Getting ready to pick up some bullets for my 6.5CM today. I think I will get TTSX and Accubonds to try.

I shoot the 120 TTSX in my 6.5 Creed. It hammers deer and pigs wherever you hit them. I've been thinking about trying them in my 264 Win mags.

I've never tried the factory 120 GMX loads. I did try some with varget and I just could not get my rifle to like them. Best groups were barely under an inch, and I tried seating depths from .020"-.100" , but the groups usually hovered around the 1 1/4"- 1 1/2". With the 120 TTSX my groups average at 1/2". With best group being .205" and worst group being .680". Thats over the course of 3 boxes of handloads. So I really wanna try them, thanks for all the positive reviews guys.

Another great deer bullet in the small 6.5s is the 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. I have lost count of the deer and hogs that it's killed for me in 260 Remington. And it's not a fragile bullet,in my experience it tends to exit more often than not.

Yes I ran a lot of the 120 BT when I had a 260, and they were great bullets. Not tried them in the 6.5 CM yet, mainly cause I can't find them anywhere lol.