Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 200 Gr TSX in 35 Whelen

I am tinkering with a 35 Whelen with the idea of using it on elk this fall and noticed that the Barnes Manual does not suggest the 200 grain TSX for elk or moose but does suggest the 225 for both. Do any of you have any idea why this would be so? My particular rifle shoots the 225 quite nicely at about 2650 f/s, but I was just wondering about the 200 pushed a little faster.

I've used a 200 gr. coreloct at abot 2700 fps to take one bull. The performance was almost picture book. A very close(16 yard) quartering towards shot to the point of the shoulder. Based on that one experience with a lighter for caliber cup&core I would think a TSX of that weight would work great.

I was just wondering whether it was an omission in the book (I have noticed a few) or whether the bullet was constructed in such a way as to make it open more quickly for deer and other smaller game.

I used the 200 grn Barnes in my .350 Rem mag on last falls Elk hunt and couldn't have asked for better perforemance. I shot a bull straight on in the chest at about 50 yards, he dropped right there. It traveled all the way back to his paunch. I figure a .350 rm and a 35 whelen are about the same.

I'm shooting 200gr. TSX's in my Whelen (in fact I just finished loading 20 rnds.). With 57.5 gr. of R-15 they're going around 2700fps in my 26" barrel. While I've not had the pleasure to shoot an elk with one, I can see no reason that it wouldn't be good medicine.

26" on a whelen?

It will work great. Load 'em and go.

Very little expansion. More or less a pencil hole in and out......

Stay with the cup and cores you can't justify that bullet at that MV.

Bovine DOO DOO.....

Large caliber TTSX's make BIG holes, and deep one's, too. I use them in calibers from 224 to 458 and the wound channels I get in 338 and up are impresive, to say the least. Currently just finished loading 130TTSX's in my 30 Belted Newton, 225's TTSX's in my 340 and 358 and 250's in my 348AI. Have lots of 416Rigby at similar speeds as 35 Whelen loaded with 350gr and 400gr Barnes. PERMANENT wound channel is measured by taking the width of the wound and the DEPTH of the wound together.

+1 for safariman on the TSX's. If they "pencil through" it's a mighty big pencil. By the way, the 26" barrel on my Whelen is a single shot.

I used the original 200 grain x-bullet on one black bear (250 pounds on the hoof/paw) and two Wisconsin doe whitetail. I even downloaded it to only 2575 fps with 55 grains of H4895. It was still a bit too much for the deer. I hit one in the neck as it peeked around a tree at me. The neck was left hanging only by some skin (seriously). I hit the other one directly through the front shoulders. The entire front half of that deer was unusable as food. The bear was hit through the lungs without hitting bone and showed a nice big hole all the way through and probably far beyond. No "pencil"-throughs in those three occasions. I suspect the newer designs would work at least as well.
In my Barnes manual no.2, the original 200 grain was rated for elk, but the number 4 manual has dropped that rating (as you said). I suspect its more about low energy at longer ranges that has made Barnes view it as marginal for elk. See the other Whelen post for some ballistic data I posted, if you are interested.

Not a 200 but a 225 gr TSX for comparison, load clocked 2730 fps avg in 90 degree weather 15' from the muzzle. The shot was 300+ yds on a small 5X5 bull (500-550 lbs maybe), the bullet broke both shoulders, made soup of everything in between and lodged under the skin on the offside. Muzzle velocity had to have been lower from Texas heat, almost sea level to 9000' and around 40 degrees. Plus a longish shot for a 35 Whelen , I don't know what the velocity was at that range, the bullet expanded text book style and dropped the elk in his tracks. Maybe it was luck but it sure worked.

I have the first copy of the Barnes manual when they first published X data. Some of the game recommendations were real head-scratchers until I found out - don't remember how (so it might be questioned)- that the recommendations were often based on reported uses. Since some bullets in some cartridges don't get much use on game, they therefore didn't always make the book. I would have no qualms about using a 200 X on moose in my 358 Win, so the slightly longer 200 TSX in the more powerful Whelen - on the less large and resistant elk would seem like an excellent combo (from the back end of things anyway!)

The only elk I've ever shot with my Whelen was an average sized cow at about 150 yards. Used the Federal Premium ammo with the Trophy Bonded bullet; clocks an average of 2690 out of my 25" barrel..she went down fast.

That 200gr Barnes bullet will do fine. OTOH, the 225 will do great too. Either or. Don't sweat it.

I'm shooting the 225gr TSX in my Whelen. 2700fps in a 22" 1:14 barrel. It's my moose gun and so far I have nothing to complain about.

The pictures of "suggested use" in the barnes manual have left me scratching my head too.
Ex.338.06 185 TSX is elk ok and, 35 whelan 200 gr not,25.06 115 is ok.
It seems their rating is more abt. sectional density than it is diameter and total grain weight.
Load em and go kill your elk.
and yes the 115 .25 work too.

What is your load?

Sorry hadn't looked back at the post. I'll send a pm. I use RE-15.

Wouldn't go less than a sectional density of .250 for big game in bear country. For the Whelen thats 225grs.

Sectional density deals with penetration so all that goes out the window (pretty much) when using monolithics.

A 200 gr TSX wil certainly outpenetrate a 250 gr Speer, in thw whelen or 350 Rem mag.