Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles TTSX and E-tip.

Interesting pictures. Will be testing them on paper as soon as the weather permits 40+ mph winds today.

168 gr 30 cal TTsx and 180 gr E-tip 30 cal.

Pop, I have recently worked up loads for both in 300WM. Best so far is 76 gr IMR 7828 w/168 gr and 74 gr IMR 7828 w/180 gr.

Haven't had opportunity to try either on game as yet.

Neither load is convincing however at over 1 1/4 MOA.

Think RL22 will be next on the bench as the 180 AFrame looks promising in this rifle.

Thanks POP! Keep up the great work!

Too early to exclaim, "ETips Rock!" but soon...........

MtnHtr

Actually I did not grind far enough on the E-tip as I were told by Nosler personnel. If would have grinded deeper it would have looked like this.

Thanks for your pics POP.I sure can't wait to try some 150gr E-Tips in 30 and 7mm cals.

I wonder why nosler feels they should have such a deep cavity. I had high hopes of 90% wt retention but a "peel back" of that much makes me wonder how much "pedal" will hang on during expansion. I'd like to see some nosler pics of what the bullet should look like after impact ...are we thinking a 4 pedal deal like barnes or what??

I have never actually seen a cavity on the old Barnes bullets and wonder just how they make them. It seems clear that the two bullets are made differently and probably work just a bit differently in likely arriving at similar outcomes. It is probably rather obvious that guilding metal (bronze alloy of some form)requires different construction for reliable expansion than does plain copper.

I just worked up a load for the 150 E-tip with the 300 RUM. It screams yet I got very good accuracy. The bullet holes touched every time I shot the best load. It now sits for the upcoming fall elk hunts.

It was easy to find a load and fouling was very minimal. Nosler sure did their homework.

The selling point for me was the higher BC. The previous load used the 168 TSX. The 150 E-tip whips the 168 TSX: .469 vs .404.

I think it was already mentioned: the 150 E-tip is darn near the same length as the 180 nos bt.

As far as performance: John B said the E-tip opens up a bit easier than the TSX but still retains close to 100% of its weight. I am certain the E-tip will thrive on hyper velocities.
I look forward to other offerings in the future.

AZ,What powder and primer combo did you use?

AZ....when you say "it screams" is this compared to other 150 loads in the same gun? Iguess what I'm asking is...do you think this bullet makes more pressure than other 150's you tried in the same gun?? I would think it would have to with the longer bearing area....and nosler says to back down loads with the e-tip...yet some of the loaders report that the increase is fairly small....like maybe 20-30 fps over like loads with other bullets of the same wt.

POP,
Thanks for the pics, I am a pretty staunch supporter of the TSX.
If I ever have problems with a TSX/TTSX, the E-tip will be my second choice.

It truly comes down to po-ta-toe and po-tah-to.
Use what shoots the best in your rifle and go from there.

I absolutley love the additon of the tip on the TSX as it will increase BC and will help promote reliable expansion. An Issue I've personally never had a problem with, but has been documented by others.

Yea, I am sure that .065 BC difference is a real noticable improvement


Yep the TSX is real slow opener

I would be interested it what the bullet mikes on a 1" micrometer down to ten thousandths. The Barnes/Nosler stuff is always "smaller" than other makes, especially Hornady.

Most mfg's make everything smaller than production groove diameter anyway to alleviate friction/pressure, especially the single alloy stuff.

POP, grind the MRX deeper as well and I believe that you will find that the cavity is deeper than shown

The cavity on the Nosler E tip is larger as well as deeper than the Barnes MRX/TTSX.
JWP, As I am sure you are aware the issue with Barnes TSX's wasnt opening up fast enough, it was not opening up at all. Hence the plastic tip is a step in the right direction for Barnes.

I am happy Nosler is making a no lead bullet as I prefer Nosler bullets over Barnes. I just hope Nosler doesnt have the plethora of problems that Barnes has had with no lead bullets.

I don't think nosler will have to much trouble getting an all copper bullet up and running. Barnes has done much of the research and developement for them. I'm sure nosler has had plenty of engineering hours disecting barnes progress.

Let's Compare apples to apples,a 150 TSX has a BC of .369 and a Nosler 150 gr Etip has a BC of .469 I would say that's significant! more is still more!

I dont know how you can come to that conclusion when the two company's no lead bullets are made from different material.
Its also of note that Nosler has already produced two copper bullets: the Fail Safe and the XP3.

With a 200 yard zero and a velocity of 3000 FPS (30-06) the .369 BC is 7.1 inches low at 300 yards at sea level

The .469 BC bullet is 6. inces low a whoping 1/2" difference

Counting myself and guys that I personaly know and hunt with we have taken close to 80 head of game from Deer up to and including Buffalo and KNOWN has experience a failure to open of a TSX

a few of the recovered TSX from game

30 180 grain recoverd from a Deer shot length ways at 300 yards


338 bullet recovered 225 TSX




The Doe in the picture I took at 777 yards with a 180 TSX




Yet to see a failure or experience anything but great terminal performance with TSX