Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Opinion

Went to the range the other day and shot some reloads for hunting. I loaded 180 TTSX on top of 54 grains of IMR-4350. Grouping was a clover leaf at 100 yards and average FPS was 2,625 out of my 30-06 rifle. I am happy with the results, but the factory loading are running at 2,700 fps. Will this reload still have plenty of punching power to knock down a hog or deer in California at 100 to 200 yards being 75 fps slower then factory Vor-TX or is it not that big a deal? Thanks.

very much not a big deal....no animal will know the diff....

+1

And the factory loads probably aren't running their advertised velocity anyway

Sweet, that is the answers I was looking for. There is no data out there for this load, but for one place, RealGuns, so I tried it. They show like 2,794 fps in a 23 1/2" barrel, but for some reason my 24" Remington is only doing 2,625.

Physics wise, nothing with recoil that won't knock you down will actually knock down a deer or hog.

Your load is plenty for game much larger than deer and hogs. If you have any interest in making a change, drop down to a 150 grain TTSX and get it moving fast.

Can anyone explain as to why in one barrel you get a certain velocity, but in another barrel using the exact same round, it would drop almost 200 fps? It is not just this rifle, but my 308 does it too.

What mathman said except do the 130 grain TTSX. Better penetration than the 180s you have now and better speed than the 150 grain TTSX.

Just a small variation in bore diameter will do that. Some barrels the finish is enough different to do it. It really isn't uncommon. You can have two identical rifles, even with close serial numbers and it happens. File it under That's Life.

They're also TTSX.

Ok, thanks.

Anyone have a good load recommendation for the 130 or 150 TTSX in .308 Winchester that is fast and accurate?

I use Varget in both the 308s and the 30-06s I load for with the 130s. I have seen pretty wide variation in what the 308s like for accuracy, but can usually get a decently accurate load at 3000-3150. The 30-06s tend to be less variable, but that just may be the guns I am working with.

The Varget loads in 30-06 are not all that fast and they mostly all fall close to 53.5 grains of Varget with the 130 TTSXs and 51.5 with the 150 TTSXs. The 130 TTSXs with Varget in 308 have run from 47-48 to about 50 grains of Varget.

In my latest .243 I tried 4451 for the first time and got excellent results. I would seriously consider trying it in .308 since it's the same case and my previous experience is that what works in 243s works about as well in 308s. I wound up with a couple hundred FPS better speed and the same accuracy than Varget gives me.

The 130 TTSX in either 308 or 30-06 is a really nice Bambi killer. I have never seen one fail. All of what I have seen has gone through in a straight line. The rifles I load that bullet for have killed ~50 deer with it and precisely one was stopped in a deer, and that was corner to corner on a good sized buck. I'd happily use that bullet for everything for the rest of my life if I had to.

I use members "Steelhead"'s load of 130 TTSXs with a healthy dose of TAC in my .308s and still get 3K FPS in 20" barrels.

If you are talking about comparing to published load data with the same length barrel, then I think the difference in velocities is probably due to chronographs. Most of us handloaders use inexpensive chrono's that are pretty finicky with light conditions, and I'm sure the factory stuff is measured over better equipment in perfect lighting conditions. I switched to a prochrono recently and I've already noticed that the same loads are different on different days with different light conditions. Not as much difference as with my shooting chrony beta but still around 50fps avg difference on 2750 fps load. The shooting chrony could easily be 150 fps different on different days. My friend has always had a shooting chrony as well and the two never agreed. I shoot the load at different distances and measure the drops, then use a ballistic program to try and figure out if the chrono is close.

I am using the new Magneto Speed. Got tired of the light issue and blowing the shades off even at 11 feet with my 7mag with my shooting chrony.

I thought about getting a magnetospeed instead of the prochrono but went the cheaper route. My friend has a labradar on order, it will be interesting to see how that performs.

What load in 130 TTSX does Steelhead use?

I've had good enough results with IMR 4320 that I've never tried anything else.
To your OP, your load will work fine for Ca deer and hogs but make sure you know your ballistic tables out as far as you are comfortable shooting. The action may be a barrel length away or you may find yourself shooting from one ridge to another or across an open barley field.

Temperature really affects velocity.
If you chronograph 10 rounds quickly your last shot would be faster than the first by a noticeable amount.
Ambient temps makes a difference as well.