Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 338WM & Barnes 160TTSX

I have always tried the lighter weights in 338 cal but never went lower than 180 NAB. I look at any 338mag as a replacement for the 300s, really. I currently have this 338WM and was thinking about the Barnes 160 or 180AB in it for "reach out and touch deer & hogs, cow elk even". For me, If it shot it well enough I'd be tempted to shoot 400-500 or so, maybe. Anyone have any experience doing this on deer/hogs with your 338s? Thanks, Jim

Jim I only have experience loading the 160 in my 338-06 AI.. Not really a fan of the lighter side of any chambering but this TTSX was a surprise. It shoots really well and much flatter than expected especially with its lower BC. Only one kill so far a small meat doe at 135 yds which never took a step..

I think prm here shoots it as well maybe he could chime in with better info.

With a WinMag, and wanting to shoot a bit further out, I'd probably go with the 185 TTSX. But I have to say, a 160 at well over 3300 would be intriguing! I've shot a sampling of critters with the 160 launched at just over 3k and they work really, really well! But the longest shot was 200yds. With the 338WM, the insides of what ever you hit will be Jell-O. ...and you don't need to limit yourself to cow elk. Works great on 6x6 bulls too.

FlyboyFlem, what damage did your 160 do to the doe?

Great reviews so far, keep em coming guys!

Have my 160's loaded to 2940 using IMR 4064 . Hit the doe quartering away a little high just behind the left shoulder then caught part of the spine on exit..not as much damage as I thought it would do but as usual didn't recover the bullet..As you said I'm sure a lung shot would be devastating to internal organs.

Have only used the 160 TTSX in a .338 Federal at 2900-3000 depending on load. Have five kills with it.... two deer and three elk. Farthest a 5x5 bull at a little over 300 and the closest a blacktail buck at 80. Easy to get good accuracy, too.

All bang/flop DRTs with two holes in the critters. It’s a flippin’ hammer.

I’d have no hesitation using it at my velocities out to 400 on any hooved NA game.

Like prm, I’d probably load the 185 in the WM. I’m rather confident either will work well for you, though.

Have shot a couple of dozen camels,and a heap of feral horses and pigs with that combo with absolute satisfaction.

No experience with them but I believe Jessica Barnes and some of the rest of the family used these for some fairly large critters and also Leopard in the .338 WM and .340 Weatherby. These were a sort of managed recoil load for the 340 as she is only about 5'4" tall. This an the menagerie that Castle Rock has shot with them is a fairly good endorsement.

CR- were you using the 338 Federal or the winMag? I've used the older 185XLC in the 338WM; the 210XBT in the 340W; and the 180NAB in the 338 RUM. I just figured the 160 may be very useful for a flat shooter to make my current WM more versatile, it also will recoil much less, not that recoil is an issue for me, just easier to deal with. I got 3007fps from a 338 Federal I had, never killed game with it and sold it to move back into the magnum class. Like most Americans, I shoot far more deer size and hogs and than elk size critters, but really like to hammer those bigger guys!

The 160 TTSX at that velocity in a .338 Federal will absolutely hammer/flatten any size critter you hit with it. Seriously wicked killer. I had a Sako 85 in .338 Federal that I could get running that fast with the 160 TTSX, which basically turned that rig into one that kicked like a .308 and killed like a .338 Win Mag. Kinda wishin’ I still had it. Woulda made a great setup for hunting elk in grizzly country where rifle shots are like the dinner bell.

I’ve shot an elk, kudu, gemsbok, waterbuck, impala and blesbok with the 160 out of the Fed. None went out of sight. I tend to aim for heart vice high shoulder and the internal damage is massive. With a heart hit, animals will typically have about 5-6 seconds to do something, but then the show is over. Very few things do I have complete confidence in; a .338 cal 160 TTSX at around 3k is one of them. Truly, with a win mag pushing it I would have zero concerns about any animal you can legally hunt with a .338 cal rifle.

Yeah the Win Mag
70 grains of varget gets me 3250 fps
I have gone up to 74 grains for 3450 but that was a bit too much for the brass
I will try to get some pics up over the weekend

Not a 338 WM, but I use the Barnes 130s in my 300. I use both the tipped and TSXs. I do wind them up to ~3500 FPS. They work quite well. I wouldn't hesitate to use them on anything in NA. I suppose if I was going to shoot a big bear with one and traverse a lot of bear with the bullet I might have high hopes of recovering one, but I wouldn't shoot one like that unless I had no other choice. Deer do not stop them. In the 338 the 160 would be the first choice by far for me.

I load the 185TTSX in my 22" .338WM over 59gr of H4895 for a deer/hog load. It should be making around 2,800, give or take and makes my heavy Ruger kick about like a 30-06 sporter. The bullet appears to open quickly, even at that speed, and it wrecks stuff. It would likely only be meaner if pushed faster.

Thanks guys. I have yet to shoot this thing, still having work done to a couple other rifles at present. This one is an older 77 with the Tang safety. Previous owner had a dollop of bedding material put at recoil lug and a pad for the barrel. It still has the "Red pad" on it and I'm thinking about having that replaced. I can live with a big gun that shoots 1.5" for 3 shots, "maybe even 1 3/4" if they are round groups. I have found that usually a big gun is more accurate than "I" am, ha. Plus, that's plenty accurate for Big Game and hogs. Sure, I'd "prefer" Bughole groups, but Hey...:)

That's what mine is, a bedded/floated M77 tanger with a trigger job and a Limbsaver installed at 13.5". It was not brutal with 210's at 2,900 with RL15, but the 185TTSX/H4895 load is more comfortable. MOA accuracy is generally about what I've gotten.