165 gr vs 168 gr 30 cal Barnes TTSX

Allowing for the 3 grain difference in weight, is there a specific application where a handloader would choose one of these over the other? In other words, I'm trying to understand why a bullet manufacturer would make two similar bullets with only a 3 grain difference in weight? I know there must be a reason.

I've wondered about the same thing. I would like to try one of these for my .30-06 since everything I read about these bullets alludes to them being an outstanding design for elk and even larger animals.

I was always speculating that the envision a market for a hunting bullet being the exact same weight as people are shooting as a long range target bullet in competition, or target shooting on their own, for the off season periods..

at least that has been my speculation..

Don't those two bullets have different lengths/ogives? I always thought one was shorter in some way. I thought one was meant for the short necked cartridges like the 300 win mag and the other for the '06 and 308.....I didn't think the 3 gr difference had any real effect...

Quote

Is the 168-grain .30-caliber TSX the same as the 165-grain TSX? Is it really a match-grade hunting bullet?
These bullets have different ogive geometries. The 165-grain TSX incorporates a shorter tangent ogive in the nose profile. It�s designed for cartridges with short magazines such as the .300 WSM and .300 Win Mag. The 168-grain TSX BT has a tangent ogive which lengthens the nose profile and has shown superb accuracy downrange. It offers the best of both worlds because it�s also a premium hunting bullet offering exceptional terminal performance. It is best suited for cartridges such as the .308 Winchester, .30-06 and .300 Weatherby.

Where did this quote come from? I am loading a 300 win mag. Was wondering why the 3 gr. dif.
Thank you for the information; Allan

Originally Posted by AFTERUM

Don't those two bullets have different lengths/ogives? I always thought one was shorter in some way. I thought one was meant for the short necked cartridges like the 300 win mag and the other for the '06 and 308.....I didn't think the 3 gr difference had any real effect...

I prefer the 168 in my Borden 300 wm and my hunting partner uses 165 gr in his Mod 70 they just work and fit in his magazine better!

The quote comes from the Barnes FAQ here:
http://www.barnesbullets.com/information/bullet-talk/faq/