Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game .308 180 ttsx or 168 ttsx

168 in 06 hands down.
The 300 has the powder to push the 180 where they need be. Or 168s, one and done

That’s great info. Thanks.

I didn’t know that about the 150’s I’ve been using, I didn’t realize they were that “tough”. I think I’ll stick with 168’s in my .308. They both shoot great and I was thinking of trying the 130’s but it goes against my grain to go down in weight with the 30 cal.

I’ll have to look into the 210 and 225 for my .338 win mag….great more minutiae for me to fret over. 😂

While living in the west I took several elk using my 30-06 and 168 Tipped TSX, now back east I am using a 308 Win and 168 Tipped TSX for bear and deer they have worked so well I would gladly use 150 grain Tipped TSX's..

Some really good information made this an excellent thread. Thanks to all who contributed.

Does anyone know the minimum reliable expansion velocity of the Barnes 7MM 120 grain TTSX? I have email to Barnes, but no reply yet this weekend.

I hope this link works.

previous thread

There seems to be some variation in what they recommend.

This^^^

Try using big game and gain at least 50 fps. I’m
Getting new average of 2950 with the 168s using 56.5 gr. Of big game /CCI in tikka with 22”. Little over max load (2940-2960 fps).
I don’t know if it was due to warm weather or my tikka got faster as it used to be around 2920

Barnes employees at the SCI Convention advised me that the 30cal 168TTSX was in reality the first LRX, it just wasn’t labelled LRX.

I have used this bullet in my 300WSM on white tails, mule deer and moose. In Africa on 17 species from springbok to eland. My load has the bullet at 3100fps. If I do my job, it will group three shots in a half inch. I could perhaps load to 3150 or more, but I didn’t want to a problem in the heat of Africa.

It is a great bullet.

When shooting the TTSX, it is better to drop back in bullet weight, get more speed to help the bullet open up better.

130g TTSX in the 308 is what my family uses for white tails and hogs, never have recovered one. 3100-3200 does not suck.

I used the 168 gr TTSX to kill my only Elk in 2010 with a 308 Winchester, a cow who went about 20 yds after the shot. I used the 168 gr because it shot the best in my rifle. No problem with expansion or penetration.

The short answer is “yes”. They would both work. If it were me I’d be checking in accuracy. But then to me accuracy is needed, even if it isn’t.

Many years ago we stopped using the wonderful and highly praised 200 grain Nosler Partition in our 30-06 rifles and went to the 180 grain Barnes X. Both killed and worked great and a few years ago I switched to the 168 TTSX and find it is about perfect for what we expect a 30-06 to do.

Besides the higher velocity the felt recoil is noticeably easier on the shoulder compared to the 200 gain Partition. I also watched a penetration test on You Tube and the 168 TTSX and the 200 grain Partition penetrated almost the same in the test media.

If I was running a .300 mag. of some kind I would try the 190 grain LRX if it fit the magazine. But, the wide window for the impact velocity of the 168 TTSX makes it a near perfect choice for almost all big game scenarios here in Alaska.

A case full of H4350 in Norma brass with Federal 210 primers gets me about 2,836 fps mv with 5 shot groups at about and inch at 100 yards with my old pre-64 Mod. 70 Featherweight. If I can ever find some Big Game powder I will try it with a Federal 215 Match Primer and see if I can get to 2,900 fps mv with acceptable MOA moose accuracy.

I am going to find me a couple box's of the old 200 grain TSX bullets for a up close "pissed off big bear" load for when I pull the scope and use the Brockman's pop up receiver sight, that is a cool little sight I wish was still made. I just can't imagine a deeper penetrating load for a 30-06.

The 150 ttsx is plenty. I think you could do most things with the 130 but the 150 offers a decent balance of speed and bc. I've shot diagnolly through a moose with a 150.

If the 168 will really open down to 1600 fps that's a really good argument towards using those. They my be the best all around if that's true.

Bb

The 150 gr. Barnes TTSX bullet will kill anything on the op's list easily. Always drop down in bullet weight using mono bullets. I used 235 gr. Barnes Xbullets in my .375 H&H .

I'm guessing you didn't read the thread.

If the 168 wasn't available, would anyone NOT use the 180 TTSX in a 30-06?

And what limitations would you put on it if forced to use it?

Thanks,


Okie John

I'm almost out of 168 TSXs for my .30-06. I'm going to try the 130 TTSX and 150 TTSX and see which shoots better in my gun. I'm not at all worried about penetration with the lighter bullet. The base will drive through even if you lose petals. With the TTSX needing a higher velocity to open than the TSX, I'm not worried about losing petals. Just go with whichever shoots better.

You guessed wrong my friend.

So you'd rather use a bullet that is harder and takes an additional 500 fps more to open to an equal diameter?