My Grandad asked me years ago to load him a box of those new Barnes TSX bullets for his 30-06. He’d read in some magazines that they were just the ticket for elk and wanted to try them out. He was about 78 years old at the time so I bought a box of 168s and loaded him some up. But at the same time I had to chuckle a little, he’s always shot 165 boat tail factory stuff, first some old WW load, then Federal red box, then Winchester Ballistic silver tips. None of them are especially tough bullets, but all but one elk I ever saw him shoot died of a broken neck. The one he chest shot was a 2 year old heifer and close to 350-400 yards when he was 77. Probably doesn’t matter too much what you use if you can put it in the right spot every time.
I was 17 going on my first deer hunt with my saved and bought first rifle, a M70 7 Rem. Up till that point I’d used 140 Partitions and H870 and stuff just flopped. Well, I’d read that a moose Bullet should be heavier. Used those stupid original Barnes X’s and it was the worst thing i did. Made solid shots but those things were just too hard. Had it been the little magical 140 PT stuff would’ve been much easier.
I shot my first and biggest bull to date with one of the old smooth sided X bullets out of my 30/06, 180 over IMR4350. I poked him through the ribs as he stood on a nearly vertical canyon wall from 402 yards. He did the HiHo Silver gig, took one step forward behind a juniper and just stood there offering no shot, seemed like an eternity before he folded up and rolled down the mountain.
I was just a teenager and loaded with a Hodgdon manual blindly believing what it claimed for speed. My gun shot best with the starting load and having never heard of a chronograph I figured 2700 was fast enough. Used that load for years and piled up a boxcar’s worth of dead stuff. Got the opportunity to run some over a chrono one day and was surprised to see they averaged 2488! I had been using a long action 300 Savage and didn’t even know it.
That’s funny stuff buddy. Same for me and the 7 Mag. I think Speer said 3200 with 81-82 grains of H 870, but i still don’t know what it made for speed. Long time gone.
Originally Posted by SLM
Beretzs, do you remember if that was for the depredation hunt on Bosque Del Apache and unit 18.
2 years ago they had some hunts down there and killed some great bulls. A 380 bull was killed off the refuge.
It was some thing like that SLM. I honestly can’t remember but I’d pass out with a 380 bull
