Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Any 130 ttsx TAC loads out there?

I found a good load for my Tikka 308 using Varget. Remington brass, fed match primer, 47g varget, 2.825" will dam near put them in the same hole at 100 yards. BUT... Varget is like unicorn milk. Can't find that stuff around here but TAC is available, so I picked some up.

Barnes claims TAC is recommended powder for the 130 tsx BT and ttsx BT from 46.1 (3013) - 51.2c (3246).

So, i loaded some at 48 - 51 in .5 g increments to check for pressure signs and see how they do. Hopefully I can find a good node with this due to powder availability.

If you guys are running TAC with these 130 ttsx, let me hear about your experiences with it.

I want to say I loaded around 50gr of TAC for my father in a long-throated factory 700 with 20" barrel and made about 2,950fps. It was accurate and killed deer rather well. I don't have my actual data in front of me at the moment.

This is from manual #3, they dropped it from #4 I load 43 gr. of H 4895 which is one of my favorite powders. JB will have info on TAC I’m sure.

Damn, thats odd. Wonder why? The barnes site shows it as the recommended powder.

Some of the powders weren’t out when #3 was printed most likely.

With 49.4 grains of TAC, the 130 TTSX, 49.4/TAC in a Lapua case with a Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primer gives just shy of 3,200 fps in my 22" Model 700.

It's consistently 0.5-6 MOA at 200 yards. I haven't tried it at longer distances yet.

I'm not sure that I'll buy much Varget in the future.


Okie John

I'm loading 50.2 grains of TAC in Lapua brass using Federal 210 GM primers topped off with 130 grain Barnes TTSX bullets. The rifle is a Winchester SS Model 70 Classic Featherweight. The velocity is 3,163 FPS and accuracy is under 1". The ammo is loaded .045" off touching the lands. I did not attempt to fine tune the rifle/load combination any further once I achieved the referenced accuracy and velocity. May do that in 2024 when components become more available.

Thats good to hear from both of you guys. I do have about 3/4 lb left of varget but i use it mainly on another load. And for this bullet, 90% of my shots will be 200 yards and closer. With TAC being available around me during these crazy times, I should be ok for a little while. I have about 1/2 box left of the 130's but I can get more of those in a pinch. And some of the sites have different charges for min and max. So it good to get "real" world experiences for guys out shooting.

Finally got a chance to shoot. My results are similar to you guys. Went from 48 - 51 in .5 increments 3 shot groups. Was really testing max charge for pressure but also seeing how they grouped.

Things tightened up real nice at 50g. 2 shots in same hole and another damn near touching. Was less than .5 moa. 50.5 had similar results. 2 outer ring touching and one very close. slightly opened up a little. 51 i need to shoot again, because I know i pulled on that on. Had 2 touching but 1 messed it up.

I'll probably settle on 50, which gives me some wiggle room when it gets hot.

In my pre-64 Model 70 Featherweight .308, 50.0 grains of TAC and the 130-grain TTSX resultedin 3106 fps and 3-shot groups averaging .63 inch at 100 yards.

TAC is very temp-stable in the cartridges it was designed for, the 5.56x45 NATO and 7.62x51mm NATO--more commonly known as the .223 Remington and .308 Winchester.

I've been shooting this load more at 200 yards while evaluating scopes. If anything, it's shooting better now.


Okie John

Be careful with those TAC loads. I tried 45 grains of TAC with the 130 grain TTSX and got over 3,100 fps. I stopped there. 49 grains would be too hot in my rifle. My two 308 bolt guns are a Tikka T-3 and a Savage Axis. Barrel lengths are almost identical. The Axis gives me 100 fps more velocity with the same load.

Again, in the Axis 308, 42 grains of TAC with a 150 grain bullet gives me 2,725 fps. The Tikka is in the 2,500 fps range, about 150 fps slower.

John,

What primers are you using?

Thanks

Coming back to this, not sure which ones he's using but I'm using Fed 210 match large. One thing I noticed this morn when looking back at my data is when I did my test, 50g at 2.825" COAL. Which will fit mags with no issue. The book shows a COAL of 2.735". At 2.825" my jump is .055", at 2.735" it would be .145" which seems like a lot. Here is what I shot, I picked 50 due to cold bore then the 2 follow ups were damn near in same hole. What do you guys think?

I've tried several different powders, including TAC, in my .308 with the 130TTSX. Most of the powders required too much compression. At the end of the day, Benchmark proved to not only have the best load density but was also the most accurate at the 400yd line. Velocity in my 22" bbl was 3,130 fps.