Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Which .338 Barnes TSX for elk?

In preparation for a late season Arizona elk hunt this November, I have been testing different loads in my .338 Win Mag. I would guess the shot distance would be typical of most elk hunts, 0-400 yds or so. The top two contenders are the 210 gr TTSX at 2835 fps and the 225 gr TSX at 2780 fps. Accuracy being equal, which would you utilize?

I'm not interested in other bullets, the topic of discussion is the Barnes TSX, thanks!

DVD: a little hog is not an Elk or Moose. Believe me when I say that a 165gr lead based bullet might in fact stop in a big pillow full of wet grass and twigs, etc. That's the main reason the Nosler partition and such were developed. Bullets of the day (30's-40's) would not always penetrate throught that kind of stuff. This was also the reason Elmer used 220gr bullets in the 06, and recommended that nothing smaller than a 33 caliber with a 250 gr, and a lot of times a 300gr bullet be used on elk and such. He would agree that on a picture perfect side shot, many bullets would work, but when you hit an Elk/Moose, behind the ribs on the left side, and want the bullet to hit the shoulder on the right side, you better have plenty of penetration.

You need to get a copy of Big Game Hunting, by Elmer Keith and read it to understand the bullets, and hunting of that time. Elmer developed the prototype for the 280 Rem, the 338WM and 340Wby. They didn't have the powders then, that we have now, and sure not the bullets.

Today, there are so many really good bullets, there are a lot of folks don't know there was a time there wasn't. And that time was not that long ago. When my dad hunted Elk in the early 60's he shot an 06, using a load with a 220gr RN hollow pointed Rem. bullet, to make sure the penetration was there. I am kind of skeptical that a 185gr 338 bullet has the mass to keep on trucking if it hits an Elk in a full paunch, to go into the heart and lung area. Especially if a lead based one. While we are talking about Ttsxs here, there are a lot of people who still use the lead based , cup and core, bullets that don't have the penetration ability of the Ttsx.

The best all-around bullet for the .30/06 is the 180-grain, The velocity of 2,700 foot-seconds is high enough to give a reasonably flat trajectory, and the bullet is heavy enough to penetrate well. Particularly in the bullets of heavy construction like the Silvertip and Core-Lokt it has all the penetration I want for any American big game. I remember shooting a grizzly on a sandbar in the Yukon with the 180-grain Core-Lokt. Every bullet went clear through the broadside and kicked up sand on the far side of the bear. With the same bullets I broke both shoulders of another grizzly and the bullets went clear through.

The 220-grain bullets are for the heaviest game such as moose, Alaskan brown bear, and possibly elk in heavy timber. The controlled expanding bullets like the 220-grain Silvertip and Core-Lokt are probably best for medium-sized and dangerous African and Asiatic game like lions and tigers. With those bullets the .30/06 seems to be an entirely adequate lion rifle.

Dang I sure like how those 225 SAF's look and good penetration as well.

Dober

To be fair, the CL was a better bullet back then, than it is today...

Have they changed?

Hey Dober, yer a smart feller, did I break the law by shooting that old chaps cow?

He was a retired Judge with IIRC some kind of ambulatory license, he was allowed bull or cow Elk, and buck or doe MD, his license didnt look anything like ours, [out of state over the counter] he was also allowed to travel on his ATV and could ride hot, and shoot from the ATV also.

This was in '96/'97, have always wondered iffin I was wrong, but when I heard him holler, and seen that damn hole she was headed for, I raised and fired, didnt want the old timer to lose his cow, and didnt want her suffering needlessly either.

Thanks,
Gunner

Hey Dober, yer a smart feller, did I break the law by shooting that old chaps cow?

He was a retired Judge with IIRC some kind of ambulatory license, he was allowed bull or cow Elk, and buck or doe MD, his license didnt look anything like ours, [out of state over the counter] he was also allowed to travel on his ATV and could ride hot, and shoot from the ATV also.

This was in '96/'97, have always wondered iffin I was wrong, but when I heard him holler, and seen that damn hole she was headed for, I raised and fired, didnt want the old timer to lose his cow, and didnt want her suffering needlessly either.

Thanks,
Gunner

Actually I don't think they've changed, but the bars been raised. On a side note, I'd be willing to bet that more elk are taken in Montana every year with CL's and PP's than the Premiums. IMO they work just fine as long they're pointed in the right direction.

Dober

This is from the epic thread over on Accurate Reloading forums - I take absolutely zero credit for Michael's work by posting this. It is just an interesting perspective:







FWIW I just tested the 185gr TTSX and 250gr Partition into a large spruce round (lengthwise) at 200 yards. The 185 TTSX hardly expanded at all. It penetrated ~50% further than the Partition, but the damage channel was very small compared to the Partition. I can post pictures if anyone cares to see.