Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Typical Barnes TTSX Performance

Sure



Multiple experiences with elk shot with Barnes that turn into a rodeo

I’d also like a bit more info! Estimated velocity @ impact, caliber of rifles, and where were the animals hit and from what angle.

Any bullet can fail to do as advertised …..but numerous failures with a bullets that has proven to be very effective by many other users is very suspect! There seems to be a lot left unsaid! JMO

I’d love to hear “The Rest of the Story”! memtb

The story was just a conversation with him while I was on the ranch hunting and shooting.

Conversation steered to bullets used by his customers over the years to which he said he won’t allow Barnes on the ranch from that point on due to the pathetic performance and rodeos over the years

Penciling

Barnes TSX, TTSX and LRX have all performed consistently well for me and mine.

The first few models of Barnes were not impressive. The x & xlc were quite commonly found to behave like an fmj. Very narrow wound channels and exits.

Most ranchers aren't big gun guys. They use them often and if it works well they don't go buying different just to try them out. When I was in high school the guy I worked for used a 30-06 for everything. Literally

Likely this fellow developed his distaste for Barnes based on the first few tries before they figured out how to make them expand. Most likely he won't be changing his mind easily.

Well looks can be deceiving. First elk went about 40yds the other 15yds. I never expected to find a Barnes bullet and was surprised with the performance. The fact is, put the bullet where it belongs and you have a dead critter.

Once someone has had a bad experience it’s hard to convince’em otherwise.

DF

If I remember right from another post, both elk were over 600 yds?

If there is a weakness in the Barnes bullets, it’s their lack of expansion at extended range due to “expected” velocity drop. If the hunter wants/expects full expansion…..the hunter must know the maximum range at which that will occur!

All of that said…..every bullet is range limited for expansion! memtb

Most critters I killed with TTSX (300 WSM and 168s, or 257 wby and 100s) were DRT.

If using monos and are concerned about expansion, check out Hammer, Cutting Edge and Lehigh.

These people are working on mono technology and have some interesting products. Not cheap, but they work.

I like Barnes, but also like the newer mono technology.

Check'em out.

DF

Thanks DF. I’m aware of the Hammers and been a forum member over there for several years.

The Hammers appear to be a great bullet, and apparently very easy to find an exceptionally accurate load quite easily/quickly. They are in constant research and development. They have two or three guys over in Australia killing hundreds of animals of all sizes, while using different weights and calibers of Hammers. They do a lot of field autopsy work to determine how the bullets performed. I know at about what velocity my bullets will not give complete expansion, which is a few hundred yards farther than I’m comfortable shooting…..so, I don’t fret about expansion. But, for those shooting at extreme ranges…..it should a concern to note!

I haven’t tried them yet, as I’ve a bunch of Barnes bullets on hand and have a great load (it seems) with them. If I were doing more hunting, and components were more readily available and maybe less expensive …..I’d probably try them! memtb

As expected, a variety of experiences and opinions but mostly very favorable of the TTSX which was the OP's inquiry. I'm an old guy with lots of experiences with c&c bullets, Interlocs and Partitions. My first experience with the Barnes-X was mixed and I never tried them again on flesh and bone. Then came a trial with a 350gr TSX for my .458 Win. That too was a crash regarding expectations. I shot a smalish bear frontally at 100 yds just in front of the bait barrel (lasered at 100). Impact velocity would have been +2450 fps and the "little bear" took off like I'd missed it! ( I didn't) It circled around for awhile somewhere behind the bait barrel in dense bush and then "went to sleep" (died) about 40 yds directly behind the bait setup. The bullet made exit just in from of the right hip with no evidene of expansion. Further testing of the bullet in media convinced me it had never expanded in the bear but zipped right on through! That bear went the farthest I'd ever shot in forty years!

In further research in discussion with a fellow Canadian who had finished a cull of over 100 Asian Buffalo in Australia using his .458 and 3 bullets: 450 AF, 420 CE and 350 TSX, it worked as well as the others, and better than the 420 CE! He said it's too tough for black bear.

Generally, I've come to the conclusion - that apparently some others have also - that we need to drop down in bullet weight for the TSX in particular from what we'd normally use. Then, there's the matter of the length of these bullets that rob space in the case that should be reserved for powder. For that reason I'll not use them in my .35 Whelen and 9.3 x 62 which are already limited for powder ratio to bullet weight and caliber. So, recently, I've had to switch from the 250gr Sierra/.375 to the 250 TTSX because the Sierra appears unavailable. What a difference that has made in performance! The 250 TTSX is nearly 1/2 as long again as the Sierra, and not as accurate!

So, my general conclusion is that depending on who's hunting where and what, the TTSX may work "best" or maybe NOT! My .375 H&H is loaded for bear using the 250gr TTSX, I just hope it works better than that 350gr TSX/.458" did. BTW, I used a 350gr Speer Mag Tip on another bear going away (from a previous .458). At 70 yds it took out liver, spine and back of head. . . bang flop!

Bob
www.bigbores.ca