Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting .270 130grn ttsx vs 150grn ttsx

Monos don't work quite like you might be used to. They tend to penetrate no matter what, so driving a light one faster yet tends to make up for just about any lost penetration you might have from the lighter bullet.

A 110TTSX driven hot from a 270 will kill anything that a 130TTSX will kill, though I don't think there really is much difference either way.

A lead bullet will lose at least 20% of it's initial weight at impact and often 50% or more depending on the bullet. Meaning a 150 gr lead bullet will end up weighing 75-120 gr after impact. The copper bullets retain 99%-100% of their weight after impact. That means a 110-130 gr copper bullet will actually weigh MORE after it impacts game and penetrate deeper than a 150 gr lead bullet.

The problem with heavier copper bullets is that they need lots of speed or they don't expand. A 150 gr copper bullet (if they made them) will be moving a lot slower than the 110 or 130 gr copper bullets and not expand enough, especially at longer ranges. Go light for best results with copper.

I've shot a couple decent sized bull elk with a 270 short mag with 130 grain triple shocks. Sure knocked the hell out of them. Same with animalopes and mule deer. Just sayin.

Barnes recommends using lighter for caliber bullets because they retain almost 100% of their loaded weight.
I used to use 165 gr. TTSX bullets in my 30.06 reloads, but I have now switched to the 150 TTSX I get the higher velocity of the 150's and they work just as well as the 165's & 180's I used to use. I even use the 80gr.6mm TTSX in my .243 and have killed elk with it.

I can tell you that on pigs a 110TTSX will go deeper than a 150 NP, just my experience but we piled up lots of piggys. I run a 140 Berger now while I am playing with more long range stuff but I would not hesitate to run the 110 for elk from a terminal standpoint.

Wealth of good info here, Havn't used Barnes on game yet, but going to alter my approach a tad !
Rich

I'll help beat the dead horse. It would be hard to imagine a 150 TSX being more effective than a 130 TTSX on elk, after watching my wife shoot completely through a cow bison bigger than any bull elk I've ever seen with a 130.

Like many other hunters, I've found monolithic bullets like the TSX/TTSX, Hornady GMX and Nosler E-Tip noticeably more effective in lighter weights and higher velocities. That doesn't mean a 130 TTSX will will elk "better" than a 150 Partition, since I've seen it do a marvelous job not only on elk but similar-sized African plains game, as well as moose. But I'd sure go with the 130 TTSX over the 150 TSX.

Great thread and as I get ready to use my 270 in the future, much appreciated. Is there another thread comparing the Barnes TTSX vs Federal Trophy Copper?

Thanks

I doubt that there will be much difference in penetration in the 2 weights. The 130 is faster and penetrates plenty.

This thread is really making me feel much better about my decision to take my 270 elk hunting this year. I'm going to be using a my Forbes 24b because it is much, much lighter than my M70 in 35 Whelen and I need to lighten my load after getting beat up last season. I'll look into the 130 gn TTSX.

You should be aware that the TTSX is designed to open faster than the TSX. Were I hunting Elk with a 270, I'd go with the TSX as there is no trajectory advantage to the TTSX within ethical hunting rages for Elk, <350 yards.

Secondly Barnes is very explicit about the 150 TSX requiring a 1 in 9 or faster twist. The usual 1 in 10 will not work well. I tried them and as usual, Barnes is right.

"Since its introduction in 2003, Barnes’ TSX Bullet has earned a reputation as “the perfect hunting bullet.” Now, Barnes has improved on perfection by adding a streamlined polymer tip. The new Tipped TSX features the same 100-percent copper body with multiple rings cut into the shank. It delivers the same gnat’s-eyelash accuracy and “dead right there” performance—but with an added polymer tip that boosts BC and improves long-range ballistics. The tip and a re-engineered nose cavity provide even faster expansion. Complete penetration, virtually 100-percent weight retention and four razor-sharp cutting petals that double bullet diameter means the new Tipped TSX creates more internal damage than any competing bullet. Instant expansion and perfect penetration ensures cleaner, quicker kills. The Barnes Tipped TSX—accept no imitations. "

Larry,

The question was to people that 1) actually hunt, and 2) that people here trust enough to listen to. You don't do the former and have no degree of trust from the latter.

myself i would prefer the 130 over the 150 in the 270 when it comes to the Barnes TXS for Elk or Deer. The last two Bulls i killed was with the Barnes 100 gr TSX 25 CAL Bullet

7x64FN,

Actually, Barnes suggests a 1-9.5" twist, not 1-9. And Berger's twist calculator says the 150 TSX will stabilize more than sufficiently at typical elk-hunting elevations in a 1-10 twist, even in very cold weather. Any problems you encountered must have been due to your lousy shooting.

But aside from proving you don't really know what you're talking about, once again, anybody who's had actual experience with lighter TTSX's knows the 130 will work great.

Bazinga

Actually Barnes says: "A 1:9.5” or faster twist is recommended for the 150-grain TSX."

in a 1 in 10 M 70, the 150s start tipping at 300+.

while the TTSX is a fine bullet Barnes says it is designed to open faster. My "lousy shooting" has put one Mulie and three Antelope in a 270 M70 with the 130 TTSX in the freezer.

IMHO a 270 will kill an Elk but is not as certain as a 180 TSX in a 300 H&H or a 9.3x62.

I enjoy your writing in the Wolfe publications. You might note my picture in the new Successful Hunter.

best to you and yours, Larry

Really Larry? Then why did you previously send this e-mail to nsaqam /Ken regarding Mr. Barsness?


Bookman1aol.com aka Larry "Douchebag" Root

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Blah blah blah...while holding up a has been like John Barns (I prefer that spelling as it reflects how full of [bleep] he is) who can only get an occassional piece in the Rifleman, got canned from Wolfe and has never written a book that has sold 1000 copies, is a perfect and clear indication of the "we're in charge" keyboard bully mentality.


Larry Root babbling...


Your "finding God" and act of "contrition" isn't fooling anyone Larry.... but please do continue.

A 180 TSX for the 9.3x62? That'd be a new one.

It doesn't sound like you have any experience with the 130 TTSX or 150 TTSX and elk. Go figure.

Larry,

If you didn't keep posting stuff revealing how little you know, while insisting how much you know, other Campfire members might not treat you the way they do.

If bullets are sufficiently stabilized out of the muzzle they do NOT "start tipping" at longer ranges, UNLESS velocity drops to the transonic range. That isn't happening to 150 TSX's from a .270 at 300 yards, because when started at 2900 fps or so they'll still be going 2200-2300 fps at 300, around 1000 fps above the speed of sound.

Instead, rifle bullets become MORE stable as they slow down, because air pressure on the front of the bullet (which is what causes instability) decreases rapidly, while the rate of spin decreases far more slowly.

IMHO a .270 will kill an elk (or moose or any similar-sized African plains game) quite certainly, because I've seen it happen over and over again. The quickest-deadest elk I've ever seen taken was killed with one 100-grain Tipped TSX from a .257 Roberts, and the quickest-deadest moose I've ever seen taken was killed with one 150-grain Nosler Partition from a .270 Winchester.

Both were basic lung shots on quartering-away animals, and both went right down. Both were shot by my wife, and I've already mentioned how she killed a cow bison bigger than any bull elk I've seen on the ground with one 130-grain Tipped TSX through the lungs. That bullet exited the far size, and the bison went a whole 40 yards before dropping. The farthest I've seen an elk go after a well-placed .270 bullet was about 50 yards.

Plus, once again you have taken a thread off-track with one of your know-it-all posts. The subject of this thread is NOT whether the .270 is adequate for elk. Instead it's whether to use the 130-grain TTSX or 150-grain TSX. People with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE with TTSX's on elk have so far all voted for the 130 TTSX, but you keep going off on tangents full of misinformation.

These last two Bull i took in Colorado was with my 25 STW using the Barnes 100 gr TSX without the polymer tips. One was at 500 yards and the other at 465 yards give or take 5 yards on my Leupold Range Finder. I will say the Barnes is one of the best killing bullet i have used on Elk even tho it was only a 100 gr starting at 3750 chronograph in TN before i left for the hunts. Both of these Bulls dropped right there without taking a step with one shot each. Maybe i was just lucky, but it did happen just liked i stated. Elevation on my GPS was 1050 ft. I have killed 4 bulls and one cow out of this same park over the last few years. When i built this rifle on a LH 700 i cut and crowned the barrel at 27 inch's.