Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 30 cal Barnes LRX

Just curious of who has used them and how do you like them. I picked up 200 of the 175’s fairly reasonable and will be running them out of my 300 WM when it gets here.

Don't use the LRX but the Barnes TTSX in my 308 are extremely accurate and so far every animal I have hit with them has gone FLOP!

Love those flops.

Just worked up a 1/2 moa load using Hornady brass, CCI 200 primer, H4831sc under the 175 LRX. Magneto has it at 2975 in my 26" 300WM.

Haven't had a chance to see performance on game, but the plan is to get a good sampling on some hogs before taking it Elk hunting in 2023.

Would be confident of using them on any big game in North America--just like 168-180 TTSXs.

They shoot great from my NULA .30-06 at a little over 2800, using the max load listed for IMR4451 and 175s in Hodgdon's data. First three shots at 100 was around 1/2"--and that's how they've shot since then.

Mule Deer, you have shot a few game with yours if I am not mistaken, have you recovered any?

When I bought the 175's, my intentions were to use them in my 300WBY magnum for elk hunting. They seem to shoot real well (sub moa for 3 shots). I'm sure they will work great in the op's 300wm.

No.

It’s been awhile since I’ve used Barnes bullets. Since the blue XLC’s in fact. Standard operating procedure was about 30-50 thousandths off the lands for best accuracy. Is that still holding true with them?

And by the way I got them off of Blue Collar Reloading. Not sure if any of you have checked them out but they seem to have a decent supply and I got them in two days.

I have used the 200LRX in my 300 Win Mag with good success with respect to accuracy and lethality. 1 black bear and 1 spike elk so far with that bullet. Several other big game animals with the 180 TSX.

I’ve used .308” caliber Barnes X, XLC, TSX, and TTSX out of both a .30-06 and a .300 Win Mag. They shoot very well and that combination will drop any game in North America if you put the bullet where it goes.

The last Elk I shot with a 7mm Remington Mag and 150 Barnes took about 3-4 staggering steps and dropped dead.

I’m hoping so. This is going to be my go anywhere for anything rifle. No plans on big bears but wouldn’t shy away from that either. I figure the 175 LRX won’t be too devastating on smaller deer an would handle a big moose in a pinch. Hoping on doing a coues deer and Sitka hunt in the next few years as well as heading to Wyoming for elk in the not too distant future. Most of the time it will be whitetail and black bear Figure that combo would be about ideal.

I really like the LRX in my 6.5 CM.
I short the factory Barnes ammo.

127 gr LRX vs 120 TTSX.

Taken plenty elk with the 30-378 and 175 at 3450 fps. Lethal combo.

I run them in my 300 WM with RL 26. Very accurate, no on game experience yet.

That's what I loaded when I had a 300 mag. Shot a few deer with them. At close ranges they open very rapidly, but bet they still have 95%+ weight retention. They do a heck of a lot of damage, so stay away from good meat areas if possible.
Should be perfect for elk too.

I used the 175 LRX in 300WM over 73gr R23 for about 3080fps. Shot a cow elk right about 100yds, she ran a few steps and rolled over. I shot her deliberately behind the shoulder (only ribs) to see if it would open up faster than the TTSX. Looked about the same size holes, no loss meat really or any real bloodshot. I like them alot. I have a different 300WM now so going to try Ramshot Magnum with the 175. Good luck to you Pard, have a ball!

I'll bet.

This load runs 3200 fps and was worked up for my other 300wby, which is much more precise. Testing it in a rifle I got last week (XTR Sporter):


Hovering around "moa". After I put the Brown PoundR on my pre 64 model 70 300WBY, I'll do some more testing with the bullet. Group size should be cut in half..

BSA, you missed the orange dot. Ha ha, good shooting. I will say though that one time I took a shot at 400 yards to confirm zero with my 400 yard aiming point and I hit the center of the orange dot. I decided that it was good to go.

No you’re suppose to put the orange dot on the paper after you shoot the group

Ha ha. You both make great points... I'm going to be sending some 175 LRX downrange with one of my 300WBY's today. Hopefully it still shoots good in the new stock.. If it does, I'll test at 2,3 and 400 yards..

Plugged a griz on Wed night at 11:30 pm at 14 paces, Barnes 190 gr LRX bullet, 300 RUM

...

I have a couple boxes of Barnes LR .30-06 ammo with 175 gr LRX and prelim testing shows they shoot well. I’ve been running the 168 TTSX in my .300 Wby but might bump up to the 175 LRX if they outshoot the 168 TTSX.

From the Barnes Bullet website.....

WHERE DO I SEAT THE TSX, TIPPED TSX AND LRX BULLETS?
When loading a Barnes TSX, Tipped TSX or LRX bullet, your rifle may prefer a bullet jump of anywhere between .050” up to .250” or more. This distance off the lands (rifling), aka “jump” may be limited to the rifles throat length, magazine length and bullet length.

When selecting the cartridge overall length (COAL) we recommend starting with a minimum “jump” of .050” off of the lands. You can test different seating depths and find a “sweet spot” that your particular firearm prefers. We suggest working in at least .025” increments as follows seating the bullet deeper to allow a further jump. Your test plan could look something like this:

1st group- .050” jump
2nd group- .075” jump
3rd group- .100” jump
4th group- .125” jump
5th group- .150“ jump
6th group- * see below

This length can be determined by using a “Stoney Point Gauge” or other methods. You do not have to seat the bullet at, or on one of the cannelure rings. Remember there are many factors that may control or limit the seating depth for your application. You may find that you need to start at around 0.150” off the lands and are not able to get any closer due to limiting factors including proper neck tension and magazine length.

*In rifles that have long throats you may be limited on how close you are able to get the bullet to the lands. In these instances, it is not uncommon to find the best accuracy with a jump of .200” or more.

This jump may possibly stay the same regardless of powder or charge weight within a given rifle. If preferred accuracy is not obtained, we certainly recommend trying another powder, for the powder type and charge greatly affects the overall accuracy of each individual firearm.

FYI- An accurate load requires a bullet with the proper consistent case neck tension which leads to more constant pressures and velocities.

I remember reading that, but actually got my best accuracy at .025" off the lands on some loads. So, my test plan generally starts at .025" off.. Sorry Barnes..

Jeepers! I'm green with envy. At 14 paces you gave him the "full benefit" of that load. Do a post mortem?

Gotta Love that!

This bull actually went about 100 yards. Hit from 100 yards.
30-06 at 2800 with the 175 LRX. That is the exit.

It can happen. Rare....but can happen.

If I remember correctly my 06 liked the 150 XLC ‘s about thirty thousandths off the lands. That rifle would put three into one ragged hole at 100 yards with 53 grains of 4064.

Finally had the time to shoot my 300 WM. I loaded up the old 150 XLC’s at .050” off the lands like my old 06 load. The shot very well at 100. The 175 LRX’s need a little tweaking. It likes about .5 grain off max of RL 26 but I’m getting two touching and one out about a half inch or so at the three o clock. This was consistent with all the charge weights as all were the same distance from the lands. So I’m pretty certain it’s going to need a tweak on the seating depth.

They were.050” from the lands like the 150’s. I’ll try .030” and .070” and perhaps deeper to see which direction shows improvement.

Sounds like you know what you are doing brinky. Usually the consensus is to seat deeper if your load is double grouping. Its usually easier to see true double grouping with a 5 shot group though. I think sometimes, with me, it comes down to focus. I'll give you an example and I'll use my 300wby magnum with the 175 LRX, since that may be the closest thing I have to compare to your 300 winny load. Here's a target I shot a couple years back now, showing how I was lazy on the first group (3 shot group on the left) and then made a scope adjustment and told myself to shoot better on the second group:


I like to see those nice equilateral triangle groups too. Now if I lose focus and don't really try hard to shoot a nice group, sometimes it will be 2 in and 1 out. Here's the same rifle and load after I switched stocks:


Now, could I go out tomorrow and put all 3 through the same hole if I really focused on doing that? Maybe/probably. Is it worth fn with the load anymore? Probably not in all honesty.. If you are getting 2 touching and one out by 1/2", that is pretty dang good. Just for chits and giggles, shoot some groups at 400 yards and see how that load does. We strive for perfection and want to wring out every bit of precision we can, but there is a point where we need to draw the line with a hunting rifle and accept it for what it is. Here's the same load fired in a new to me rifle I bought a couple months ago:


That load was worked up in my pre 64, but you can bet your azz it will take any elk at 400 yards. Good enough, done with no load development for that rifle at all... Yes, it's a big group and I don't normally post groups that big, but sometimes you just have to accept that it's good enough and will get the job done.


If it were a competition rifle, yeah I'd be trying to get that group down to 1" at 400, but it's a hunting rifle. I'd call it a day my friend..

I use the 175 Lrx, and 180 TSx in my Winchester 300 Wsm. I get 3/4” 100 yard groups with the Tsx, the Lrx’s I’m still working on a recipe for accuracy. They both like H4831 and IMR 7828 for accuracy.

Started using the LRX a couple years ago. No elk but the 175g LRX shoots great in my 300WM.

Finishing the tuning of 175 LRX in 30-06 at 2900 under 57.5 of H4350 in Lapua brass and a Fed210. Should do the trick

5x7 and 5x7 at 339 and 465 yds

Fotis! I'm torn between wanting to congratulate you and just turning green with envy! ha That's a wonderful sight, a pick-up load of elk!

Very nice fotis. That's how you get it done. The same rifle/load and person is legally able to shoot 2 elk in your state?

Use both 180gr TTSX and 175 LRX in 300WM and 30-06 respectively. They are both accurate and kill just fine.

I hope you had help lifting those in the truck. Always a good hunt when you can load them whole instead of quartering and packing.

I shot a 5 point a few years ago about 200 yards from a road. I called a friend and he came out to help me and had a huge spool of rope in his truck. It needed to come perpendicular to the road so I backed my truck off the road and used my ball hitch to turn the rope 90 degrees so it was headed down the road. We then tied it to his truck end then took 200 yards of rope out to the elk and tied it on. He got in his truck under drove down the road and I held the rack up and walked with it as it towed it right to the back of my truck.

I guy driving by stopped and took pics. He said it was the most red neck thing he'd ever saw. Somehow that made us proud.

Bb

We had access to a tractor on private land in Nebraska.

Ha! Sounds like a good day!

Good luck with your boys hunt BB. I think I remember reading you and him were heading to hunt shortly.

Scotty

Hunting with Heroes hunt special hunt.

One recovery

I remember that one. Looked like a wicked good hunt. Thank you!

In my Winchester 300 WSM: 175 LRX or 180 TSX, I get around 2850 fps with H4831sc, and 5/8” 100 yard groups.

I haven’t tinkered much with the 175’s much but the 150’s are doing well for me. One ragged hole at 100 yards and they hammered a nice black bear for me this year. Dead on impact. 350 dressed and about 425 live weight.

An update. I positively smashed a mature bull elk Saturday morning with the 175 LRX out of a 300 WM. 405 yards. I recovered the bullet. Perfect performance

I worked up a load yesterday for a 300WM using Barnes 168gr TTSX BT bullets. First powder and OAL I tried from the Barnes website was a ragged 5 shot hole. I like it when that happens.