Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Is the tsx really that good?

"Just shut up and shoot Partitions"

Feel better, P? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> (I do shoot quite a few Partitions, if it makes you feel batter)

I have to go along with what, Hunterbug said.
<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I shoot a 284 win and I normally use 150 NP's but this last season I decided to try 140 TSX's. The NP's are very accurate in my rifle and I have taken animals up to caribou in size and wouldnt hesitate to use them on moose to. The TSX would never really shoot consistently for me off the bench. I shot caribou, goat and deer with it with great results but I need to get the accuracy under better control. I had a really rough chamber with bad tooling marks in it, so the smith that originally chambered it for me just re did it. Now I am going to try these bullets again with a fresh chamber and probably try some H4350 this time instead of H4831 and see what happens.

My 284 could like '15 with 140's.

It doted on '15 fueled 120's....................

Well, they'll work as hogs aren't as tough as some think.....I like putting 'em around the ear hole. You don't lose the shoulders and you never have to track 'em.....

I'm finding the Hornady Interlock to be great pig medicine when head shooting........check out a pig's anatomy, the heart/lungs are more forward than a deer's, meaning the loss of at least one shoulder is probable when aiming for the chest. Anyway, any pig shot in the head or the chest is a good pig. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

If you want to try a bullet that is about 2/3's the cost of a TSX and works great on whitetails no matter what the angle, try the Interbond or Accubond. The Accubond is the most accurate bullet in all 3 of my rifles over the TSX, and it produces bang flop kills, excellent penetration, and very little blood shot meat. Great bullet, for significantly less $ IMHO.

X of all sorts are my first choice!!!!!!!!! I can tell other people that I load ammo for that there are other good bullets out there but every time I load somthing for my self I look to the X's first.
I must say that I have only one gun a factory 6.5x55 winnie that does not and I mean does not like TSX's but it will shoot the 125 partiton ok ( 1 1/2 @ 100) but this gun has issues.

I've tried 180s in my 338-06 and 150s in my 308 and near grouped as well as loads I had with the TSX.

The Scirocco is the only polymer tipped bonded that I've gotten really good accuracy from but there aren't enough bullet choices, especially in 7mm. 150 is heavier than I like.

This was meant to answer Mark. Didn't mean they weren't good, I just meant he didn't need to change overnight.
He said he was using them for
whitetails that in my experience doesn't require an x type bullet.
I have never lost a deer to the ballistic tip and have more drt's than I had with the x bullet. I haven't taken any game yet with the tsx, but am assuming terminal performance would be about equal.

I like the TSX. Particularly the 120 grain 7mm. That bullet in a 7 mag is awesome for long range work on mule deer and antelope. Its a good bullet but not the magic bullet some like to portray it as. There are plenty of bullets just as accurate as the TSX and some even more accurate, but no bullet of equal weight will outpenetrate it.

Lack of expansion is my only concern! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Think Il just stay with the Nosler's...lack of penetration on 125-150lb Tx Whitetails has never been a concern with them.

I had the same problem w/ the Barnes 85gr XBT's out of a 243 on deer and coyotes. Went back to a quicker expanding bullet and solved that problem...

Not trying to start a war, but I will re-post my 3 bad tsx findings.

........I am talking about a mature mule deer doe at about 50 yards. The load was 85 tsx at 3500 fps from a 240 WBy. The doe was hit through the lungs--classic back of the shoulder hit. She took off--long trail job --additional finisher through the neck etc. Autopsy revealed that bullet went in through ribs, lungs and out the other side. No sign of expansion or jelloed lungs. Looked like someone had poked a hole through lungs with a 6mm diameter knit needle. This is no bull fellas! I have seen many other tsx wounds that worked fine and this was not one of them. Same thing happened to a mule deer at under 100 yards (7mm rum 140 tsx at 3300 fps) and to a mature antelope buck at under 300 yards--same 7mm rum load. The antelope ran a little and dropped mule deer ran 300 yards. Both minimal if any damage other than a 7mm stab wound ......


If it weren't for situations like these and similar others that have posted here in the past I would use thex's exclusively.
Now the MRX looks really promising in everything...but price.

Maybe you need to use faster cartridges? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" />

Ummmm, POP? 3500 at 50 yards? Not trying to JOIN you in a war, either, but Barnes will tell you that at very high impact velocity, their X bullets can open up so violently that the petals sheer off, leaving a pure copper cylinder with perhaps 75% of the original bullet weight. Your necropsy results may have missed finding the shorn petals, but it reads as though the bullet performed exactly as predicted.

In other words, no failure, just predictable OVER expansion.

You're kidding right? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

True, but the other two cases did not impact at those speeds.

I guess that depends on your definition of failure...

Let me clairify as I have no beef w/ Barnes and couldn't care less what anyone uses.

I've had several 243/ 85gr XBT's zip right thru deer and yotes w/ little or no expansion (MV-3250-ish fps).

Same thing w/ 160gr XFB's out of 338WM. Best I can recall, around 3400 fps MV. Had a nice 8 point walk by at perhaps 10 yds. Popped him in the lungs and watched him walk a few feet and bed down, looking around to find where the noise was coming from. He didn't appear injured till I centered the second shot directly below his chin... Had several take broadside chest shots out to arounf 200 yds and they just ran off. I did find every one but wasn't even remotely impressed that some made it quite a distance. Did lose a coyote once that I broadside chest shot w/ same load.

I myself prefer deer to drop at the shot and I just haven't seen it with x bullets. Nosler BT's and Hornady A-Max bullets are my favorites by a long shot. Course, if I were loading up for an ELK hunt, I would leave the BT's at home...