Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Has anyone tried the 45 Gr. TSX in the Hornet?

My precious stock of Barnes 45 Gr. XLC bullets is fast drying up and I have only 36 remaining to kill deer with. As soon as the 45 Gr. TSX became available, I stocked up but have yet to load any. I plan to start with Lil'Gun and try to work up to about 3,000 fps as I had with the XLC. To my surprise, Barnes did not include any Hornet loads in their Number 4 Manual and also have nothing online. Just wondering if anyone has loaded this bullet in the Hornet and if they got it to shoot.

You could call Barnes directly and they would probably have reloading information.

Thanks. Finally got around to loading some of the TSX's up and shooting them. My standard load of Li'l Gun averaged 50 fps slower than the same charge behind the XLC, about 2870 fps. I have also learned that this bullet doesn't like to jump to the lands like other Barnes bullets but I'm still working out the seating dpth for my Ruger # 1. Seated .03" short I got a 1.25 inch group, .05" short opened up to a 2 inch group. When I get a better handle on the bullet I'll submit it to one of the reloading threads.

KyWindageII,

Curious about what kind of performance you've experienced with the 45 gr X on deer. Several years ago I bought one of the Remington 700 LS's in .221 Fireball and it's basically a safe queen because I have very few varmints around here. I've contemplated loading the 45 gr X and pointing it at a deer just to get some hunt time with it. I certainly don't consider it a "deer rifle" but I've heard of too many people, like yourself, who speak on killing deer with the Hornet to not at least think about trying to fill a doe tag with it. I have a few boxes of the original 45 gr X's but haven't gotten up the nerve to try them as of yet. Mostly curious about what penetration you've witnessed. I killed one buck with the 53 gr X out of a .225 Win with perfect results but that's a little more bullet moving considerably faster. Thanx.

SCGunNut,

I am going to assume from your handle that you hail from South Carolina, a state whose deer I am quite familier with. Kentucky, like much of South Carolina has an overabundance of whitetails. We have a one buck limit which tends to give us some older-aged animals which look nice on the wall. On the other hand, in the zone where I live there is no limit on does as long as one has permits to take them. Since I live in a rural area of small farms and woodlands this is more deer shooting than hunting.

When deer hunting for my annual buck you will find me carrying anything from a .257 Roberts to a .375 H&H. On the other hand, the doe harvest around the house is just a matter of waiting in a comfortable ladder stand for the right one to come along. My nine year old daughter often accompanies me and since we are in sight of a well traveled rural road plus neighbors, we try to keep the noise and fuss to a minimum.

This is where the little Hornet comes along. With the 45 gr. Barnes XLC it puts the does down right now. Pushing the bullet at a little over 2900fps I have never recovered one from the deer. They have always gone all the way through on heart-lung shots and dropped the deer right there. Again, these are not adrenalin filled deer pushed by other hunters, just animals quietly feeding in their own environment. Under these conditions the Hornet works fine. I hope the newer TSX works as well.

Thanx, that's the kind of info I was after. Like you, my general hunting will be with rifles ranging from the 6mm's on up through the Pachyderm stompers but I just enjoy trying different things (have currently killed deer with around 33 different cartridges). I work in a gun shop and have several customers who use the Hornet but mostly with head shots using the factory loads. I don't generally advocate shooting deer with .22s but there are times when I think they're acceptable, like your conditions. The .223s, .22-250s, Swifts & my .225 are hardly overpowering but are obviously "enough" when used responsibly. It's when you drop down below the .222 level that I get "nervous" and that 45 gr X just looks SOOOOO tiny but based on your comments, I just might try it.

I always take heart/lung shots as I have seen too many head shots result in wounded deer. Besides, when the blood pressure drops, so does the deer. Also mean't to mention that the little Barnes X does break bones and keeps on going. The deer pictured was hit in the leg near the shoulder, clipped the lungs and exited through a rib on the far side. You will be surprised by the penetration. Good luck and report your results!

Awwww, now you are just spreading misinformation amongst your fellow Kentuckians so you can buy used UltraMags at ridiculously low prices. You know that you can't kill deer with a .22 Hornet. Anyway, 'fess up and admit that your No. 1 is chambered in .300 Weatherby Mag.
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