Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles TSX vs TTSX

You guys seeing any significant difference in performance between the two? I've got some .308 130gr TSX to try in the .308 for an all round big game bullet. Could I expect to see a significant difference in performance between the two? Would you recommend one above the other or just shoot whatever I can get most of?

I have used both and performance wise, have not seen much difference.

I have found, however, that some rifles like one better than the other. For instance, you can get either TSX or TTSX in 210 gr, 338 diameter. I have a Model 700 that shoots the TSX into less than 1" groups and the TTSX into 2" groups???? Don't know why.

Some other rifles/calibers are just the opposite.

They both kill things very efficiently.

donsm70

Both shoot great in every rifle I've tried them in. The TTSX are the only ones I trust in the field, though, after a bad experience with the older X bullets. So far the TTSX (and older MRX, which are also tipped) have yet to disappoint. The remaining TSX loads I have are relgated to the practice range.

Same for me, TTSX only. I saw too many deer lost to guys shooting the old X bullets to trust the hollow point design, I don't think they expand reliably. They claim they've fixed it with the TSX but why chance it when the plastic tipped one fixes the problem.

I've seen well over 100 BG critters die to Barnes bullets now, and I've never had a problem with bullet performance in any of the X/TSX/TTSX iterations, though the TTSX does seem to expand a bit more violently than the TSX IME, which I prefer. Accuracy depends on the individual rifle. Some shoot both about the same, while others show a preference for one bullet or the other.

I'd prefer the 130 TTSX, but if I had a bunch of TSX bullets on the shelf, I sure wouldn't hesitate to use them up.

I have used the X, TSX and the TTSX on all manner of game from Impala and such size critters to eland, elk, gemsbuck, moose, kudu, black bear, wildebeest, warthog and the like with perfect performance every time regardless of bullet style. This going back to 2002 in Africa.

There’s no good reason not to choose the tipped ones - since they were developed to correct problems in the previous versions. Expansion is never a bad thing in a hunting bullet; non-expanding solids (which the plain HPs sometimes are) are not legal for hunting in all places for good reason.

Copper is hard. A large hollow point helps a lot. A sleek plastic tip helps reserve that HP while improving the aero-ergos. Copper mono bullets are wonderful when they work right. Tips help them work right more reliably.

Absolutely.

We had a lot of trouble out of the early X bullets at my deer camp. Four guys were using them and all eventually quit because they lost deer from what they felt were good hits. I was involved in tracking some of those lost deer so I got to see it close up. Three of them were using 165 X bullets out of a 30-06 and one using 140's out of a 7mm rem mag. That was before everyone got the word on using lighter ones and driving them fast. I know everyone is going to chime with "how do you know they made good hits". These four guys are very experienced hunters with probably over 1000 deer between them, when they say they made a good shot I believe them. Maybe shooting them at heavier game gives a little more leeway but on our southern whitetails they weren't consistently opening. If Barnes didn't think there was a problem then they probably wouldn't have redesigned them. We definitely were seeing problems with them and when these guys switched to other bullets the problems ceased. Ironically the guys using barnes bullets now at my deer camp are guys like me that refused to use the early versions, but we shoot light for caliber TTSX's and drive them fast.

My personal opinion is that the hollow point design is a bad design for a big game bullet. To initiate expansion you have to rely upon something getting in there to start it, whether it be flesh, bone, blood, etc. There are plenty of pictures on the internet and I've seen a few X bullets in person that were bent like a banana with no expansion at all. The plastic tip solves that problem, there's already something there to start the expansion. It's the same principle as having an exposed lead tip instead of a hollow point, think Sierra game king vs. match king. I know barnes enlarged the hole in the TSX to help with the problem but why not just buy the tipped version so you solve the problem all together?

I think the TTSX is a great bullet and they're my choice most of the time nowadays. The old X bullet was unreliable and good riddance to it.

I'm a huge fan of the Barnes bullets, good thing since we are no lead now in most of CA but I switched quite a while ago after a Nosler Ballistic tip blew up on a bull elks ribs -600 yards of tracking in the snow later to find the palm sized entry wound.

I like the tips better for the reasons stated by earlier posts but id use up what you have before switching. I don't think they have a real weakness and i know the break bones better than anything else ive used. Not probably a necessity for MS whitetails but really nice to have for Colorado elk.

Sure there is, when you have a couple of thousand on hand and haven't ever had a problem with them.

Never tried the OLD X bullets but I have had clean kills with both TTSX and TSX's and for me the TSX seem to be more accurate.

Tough to say what the bullet did inside the animal, when there's no animal to examine. Likewise, all bullet companies redesign their bullets. The Nosler Partition has been redesigned in one model or another several times. Does that mean Nosler thought there was a problem with the PT? Probably not. It simply means that bullet companies are always trying to improve what is likely already a great product. I've seen banana pictures on the internet of most every bullet out there. That's certainly not exclusive to the X bullet.

The old X bullet resulted in several kills for me, and I witnessed a bunch more that were shot by clients, family, and friends. Never a problem. Having said that, they are unnecessary as a deer-only bullet, and even more so when you shoot them broadside through the ribs. They didn't damage as much tissue as a frangible C&C like the old BT, so you couldn't expect animals to drop as quickly, on average, as when shot with those lightly-built bullets. Tracking a deer shot through the lungs, with no major bone hit, for 100 yards is not the end of the world, and is to be expected occasionally with any bullet.

I think the OP will see similar results with either the TSX or TTSX, especially when driving a light 130gr bullet fairly fast at over 3000 fps. The TTSX does expand a bit more aggressively, and does tend to lose its petals a bit more frequently, IME, neither of which is a bad thing in my mind, but both bullets kill very well when they hit the proper POI. If I could take my pick, sure I'd choose the TTSX. But if I had the TSX on hand, I'd certainly use it. That should tell you how I feel about the TSX after watching dozens of animals fall to it, including small caliber verisons from .243-.308. It just so happens that I have a part box of 140 TSX bullets on the shelf to load in my 7-08. You can guess what I'll be hunting with this year, and it ain't a brand new box of TTSX bullets.

Seems to me, a lot depends on velocity. With my 26 Nos, the 120 TAC-X (TSX) is the most accurate, followed closely by the 120 E-Tip (not Barnes but similar to TTSX), followed by the 127 LRX.

At 3,450 fps, they blast whatever they hit, tip or no tip. I can't tell any difference, terminal performance on WT's and hogs between mono's at 3,450 fps and 140 NAB's/NPT's at 3,300 fps.

As velocity slows, there may be some difference, tipped vs. non-tipped. I'm not using monometal is rounds like .257R, 6.5x55, 7x57, preferring NPT's, NBT's, VLD's, SST's, etc., more expansive bullets, generally heavy for caliber, especially in the smaller bores. My CZ 7x57 likes 140's.

I'm sure light and fast mono's would also work in these rounds; that's just my current thinking and it's working pretty well for me, so far.

DF

Much like many of the original XFBs did. Unfortunately there were many complaints about “petal loss” which Barnes ‘corrected’ by reducing the expansion characteristics of the bullet while also improving the BC by reducing ‘meat’ in the ogive. It’s hard to know how many of the early complaints were failures to expand, how many were petal losses, and how many were simply failure to ‘read’ the evidence. In any case I believe Barnes wasted time chasing complaints that weren’t all real. It’s kind of funny that you don’t hear people make much of the petal loss with the new variations, after accuracy issues were addressed.

I haven't seen a difference between Xs, TSXs and TTSXs.

I know for sure of only one that has lost a petal, and that was an XLC at very short range out of a 300 WM.

Other that that I have only seen evidence of good performance, straight wound paths and uniform holes in the deer with a good number of TSX/TTSX direct comparisons in the same weight/caliber in .223, .243, .270, .308 and 30-06.

Petal loss/fragmentation is in vogue, so people currently praise it rather than condemn it. Wait a few years and the trend will probably flip flop again. People are funny.

I just bought some 130 TTSX for the .308.

The old X bullet killed stuff DRT. Used some 180's out of my '06 on two CA hogs, and both acted like they got hit with a lightning bolt. Recovered a mushroomed X out of one pig's shoulder; looked like it came out of a Barnes' magazine ad.

I personally wouldn't have an issue buying the TSX's, but the TTSX's were the same price, so why not?

I really love the TTSX. When I went to Africa several years ago, both of my rifles were loaded up with TTSX and both worked flawlessly. I've killed several Coues deer out to past 500 yards with my 257 wby and the 100 TTSX @ 3500 and I've yet to have an issue with them not opening. I would think that if anything was going to keep them from opening, it would be a small (80-120#) deer at 500 + yards but all has worked flawlessly. I have experienced more DRT's with TTSX then any other bullet as well.

I know why I switched back.

I use the TTSX in one of my .243s. I tried it and the TSX and the TTSX shot better groups, but the TSX is more than accurate enough.

Neither bullet has trouble killing deer. I have had one DRT that was like a lightning bolt hitting, and that was with the TTSX at 35 yards

They seem to leave a sparse blood trail, but the trail is usually very short and the deer typically go down within sight.