i have some 100gr tsx and ttsx that i'm ready to try on deer this fall. anyone have any first hand experience with the barnes bullets in 25/06?

Buy a few cans of RL22, load to your guns max and have some fun

My buddies Abolt zings 100's waaaay to fast. And they kill Bull Moose real nice.

I've killed plenty of critters with both of those bullets. The TTSX opens a bit more violently than the TSX, but both make a mess of the innards, and always exit on deer, regardless of the angle. You'll have a tough time catching one in a deer.

25-06 and max load of H4831sc and 100gr TSX works like a charm

What he said X2!

.25-06, 100 TSX boomed by RE22 here too.... that's the entrance you can see....



Worked pretty well on this coyote too.... (shot it while loading up the deer)...




Nice buck by the way dvd....

Yep, the 100 grainers are fantastic for me behind a max load of RE 19. Kilt deer, antelope, hogs (in TX) and variuos other critters. One of my all time favorites.

~53gr of IMR4350 has turned in some stellar groups from my rifle.

If you really want to see them smoke, push them with R17.

R22, R25, 7828, and 4831 all work great as well.

Tried that, but saw pressure signs before velocity exceeded what I was getting with IMR4350...

Took a couple of mule deer bucks with the 100 gr TSX over H4350 for 3340 fps. One was at very short range and the bullet obviously expanded well. Major damage in the chest cavity and an instant kill. Never was sure that the other TSX on a buck at about 125 yards actually expanded, but it dropped him instantly, so no problem there. He was one dead buck. They were accurate, fast and effective.

I had much better luck with the tipped version. Lost a deer with standard TSX with what I thought was a good hit, but certainly something could have gone wrong. Not much blood though. Ever since I have used the tipped ones, it's pretty much bang flop, or the 25 yard death run.

100gr TSX and Ramshot Magnum in mine.

The most consistent powder charge for 100-grain bullets I've found while shooting several .25-06's is around 52-53 grains of H4350. Theoretically this shouldn't work all that well because it doesn't fill the case all the way up, but often reality beats theory.

This load usually gets around 3300 fps from a 24" barrel, which kills big game neatly. (Hell, 2700 fps works too.) Some powders and handloaders may get another 100 fps, which won't kill them any deader.

I started using H4350 at Johns suggestion when I first got my 25-06AI. Glad I did as load development was very short. For whatever reason this powder percs with all the 100gr bullets I have tried and its worked really well with the 100gr TSX.

I'll have to try that. I've got a Sako in 25-06 that really likes AA3100, but there's no future in that combo.

.

How many grains are you loading for your Ackley?

I was able to get 100TTSXs up to 3500fps in a 25" Lilja with 53g of R17(Alliant's listed load with 100g Speer). Cases were fine, pockets held fine, etc, but the MVs were enough to know it was balls to the wall. That's a good deal better than 4350s in that rig. I've seen the same results in 6-06 and 6.5-06 as well, but not so much in some other carts where the 4350s closely match it. I intend to try it in 270Win before long to see how it does there.

I'd sure be all over 7828 in the 25/06. It's long been my go to for it.

Dober

I have to hand it to Barnes, they've made a good bullet. I think the tiped one is probably a better choice because the tip pretty much guarentee's expansion. I have read where some of the origional un-tipped one didn't expand. Would I use them? No. I'm and old guy with old ideas on a fixed income. I have never shot anything but cup and core bullet's at game and have never been let down except one time. Of course you must choose bullet's a bit better my way, but they've only let me down once and that was no more than a poor bullet choice for the game and the cartridge.

Don-IMO the 100 Horn is one of the bestest things that ever happened to the 25's. Be they small or large cased the bullet does very well.

With the extreme of 500 yd plus shooting the 100 Horn is a total rock star!

Dober

I started with 53gr of IMR4350 and the 100gr TSX for 3312fps ave. Then I got a new lot of powder and had to bump the charge up to 55.5gr in order to maintain that 3300fps velocity. Then I started loading the 100gr TTSX. I used the same lot of powder, and the same 55.5gr charge that I was using with the TSX, and instead of the 3300fps that I got with the TSX, I was showing an average of around 3450fps, and with a Tikka ~22.5" tube! No pressure signs at all, though. I fired some TSX over the chronograph, to make sure I was comparing apples to apples, and yup, still showing 3300fps. I quickly backed that TTSX load down to 53gr and got closer to the 3300fps that I was used to with the TSX. I tried R17 with the TTSX, and worked up to 54gr, at which point I was showing primer cratering and slightly sticky bolt lift, but the velocity was ~3330fps, which wasn't enough of an improvement over IMR4350 for me to worry about. Accuracy was also far better with 4350, so I stuck with it.

I've seen some great results with R17 in other applications, but it just didn't do anything for that .25-06 over what IMR4350 was already doing.

Not the standard 25-06, but a cousin and myself both hit a WT doe each last November with my 25-06 AI, the 100 gn TTSX's are leavin' the 28" barrel at a touch over 3550, both deer were hit inside of 100 yds and were both DRFT complete penetration in both cases.

Although not a lot of meat damage, those bullets completely train-wrecked those deer as far as their ability to move or execute any sort of flight plan.

Gunner

Can't argue with what works Tanner. Got to feed em what they like to eat for sure.

I'm getting another 257 Roy built and thinking about switching gears to regular cup and cores in both of them. These little deer around here aint too hard to stop and the TTSX makes for long trails if no bone is struck.

Yeah, like 15 yards

LOL, there was at least 15 yards of blood, lung, meat, bone, and hair on the exit side of both deer last fall. LOL

Gunner

I've got some additional info from some shooting done since my fist post on this thread.

This winter I acquired another .25-06 to complement(!) my Ruger No. 1AH, a custom rifle built on the Mauser VZ24 action. The metal work and barrel are by P.O. Ackley; the stock was done in Germany by an unknown maker over there. (The previous owner was a retired Air Force major who was stationed in Germany for quite a while.) The barrel is 26" long.

I did a bunch of shooting of the same loads in both rifles to see what might happen, trying some newer powders, but the first time I shot the Mauser I just tried some of the same load normally used in the No. 1, 52.0 grains of H4350 with the 100 TSX. I got the rifle on paper at 100 with some Remington factorys, then after allowing the barrel to cool shot four of the TTSX loads. They went into .74 at right around 3400 fps, which will do.

Also tried 52.0 grains of Reloder 17 and the 100-grain Speer BTSP, the max load Alliant lists. It shot OK in both rifles, around 1-1/2", at around 3400 from the Ruger's 24" barrel, and 3450 from the Mauser. I didn't tweak the load anymore but it definitely looks like it has possbilities. Might just try it again with either the 100 TTSX and 100 Hornady and see what happens.

The coyote in the above picture was shot at about 300 yards.... double lung job.... and that dog dropped like it was struck by lightning (as did every other dog shot with that bullet.... but that's only a sample of about 20-25), the exit hole was about the size of a racquetball. Though.... them little Dixie Whitetail are a bit more slight than above mentioned poodles.....

I will check my notes and get back with you.

Just last year I trailed a double lunged 115lb doe 150yds shot with the .257 100TTSX(took a while to find that rascal with the lack of blood). A few others went 40-60 in thickets with sparse trails(bone struck on two). Shot 4(two WT and two wild pigs) with TTSXs that dropped last season, all clipped the spine and would have done the same with FMJs. Great pills, just not needed on smaller big game. Seen hundreds of standard CNCs work like a champ on them. I shoot Barnes in many rifles, but will be the first to admit they aren't needed on smaller big game and do far less damage. With over 10 tags each year myself as well as hunting with many others, you really get a feel for how certain bullet designs perform over the years. It's funny how the great NPT and Hdy IL pretty much cover everything, but we keep trying to reinvent the wheel. I guess that's part of the fun

Shoot bones....

Yessir, pick your own pathway to the vitals, that little super-sonic buzzsaw will get ya there on WT deer.

Gunner

Glad I read this thread. Iam about to load for my 25-06. I was thinking of going the 80 grain TTSX and playing with the H100V powder, and just when I was sure I was gonna do that, I read this thread and am tinking of just doing the 100 grainers and be done with it.
That being said, and not trying to hijack a thread, but would the 100 gran SSII bullets be as effective as the TSX and TSX? Just thinking outside the box here at the thought of ballistics and damage and also as an alternative if the barnes bullets didn't shoot in my rifle.

100 gr TSX and a charge of RL-19...25/06

80 or 100 TSX/TTSX should get her done in spades, I have heard the SSII jackets are kinda sticky when ya wanna run 'em real fast, kinda drive up pressures a bit if you will.

All the Barnes X/TSX/TTSX bullets I have loaded for seem to thrive on being seated deep and driven hard.

Good luck.

Gunner

I have tried SS-2's in several guns and could never get them to shoot. If I could have gotten them to shoot I would use them over the TSX'S I currently use.

I have killed a couple deer with 100 grain TTSX and max load of RL17. I get about 3340 fps from my Sako 22.5 inch barrel. Bullet has always exited even on frontal shots.

Dink

BTT see if any new info is out there or any new results from load development.

Enrique. I have used the 80 gr ttsx out of my .257 wby at smokin speeds. It holds up fine, you shouldn't have any problem the 25-06. It's a stout bullet!

I shot some 80gr ttsx out of my weatherby vanguard s2 using 57.1 gr. H100V @ 3760fps. Accuracy was sub moa. I have some loaded up at 57.5 gr. that should do over 3800. Its like a roided 22-250

I'm planning on picking up a pound of that H100V powder and picking up so 80's, 100's TTSX's and some 100 grain SSII's and see what the powder and the loads do. Finding the time to do it all has been an issue for me as of late.
What primers are you guys using?

Kique

TTT. Interesting thread.

And old.

Yep but useful for those wanting information on this bullet and its performance without starting a new thread.

That 25-06 shooting 100gr TTSX's is what I have been using to shoot caribou the last couple of years. I use Retumbo in one of mine and H4350 in the other.

Are you seeing significantly higher velocities with Retumbo over 4350 running those 100's?

I can't speak for the 110's, but my rifle (cooper) shoots 120 Nosler partitions at 3100+ fps and cuts holes with 55gr of retumbo and federal 210 match primers.

Well knock on wood and I may be about to jinx myself but I've shot Whitetails with Barnes TTSX in .308 WIN, 7-08, .243, 25-06, and a 50 cal muzzleloader. Other than one spine shot with the 25-06 every single deer has been shot back thru the ribs and run about 25 yards and piled up in a heap
Then when you cut them open you wonder how they made it 25 yards. I've heard the stories about them not expanding, but I get a perfect quarter sized exit everytime so far.

I cant say that I am, the accuracy is just way good in one of my 25-06's using Retumbo. When I tried it in my other one, it did not like the Retumbo but did like the H4350. I get approx 100 fps better w/ Retumbo. HOWEVER, the one I use RT in is a custom and the other is an XCR II. Not sure if the Broughton barrel has anything to do w/ that.