Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .300 Win Mag with Federal factory loaded 130 Barnes

I don't reload for anything right now except my .44 mag, but after reading the results others were getting with the 130 gr Barnes - and discovering Federal loads these in their premium line, I ordered two boxes from Midway to try. After re-zeroing at 25 yards, my first 3 shot group at 100 was a bit high and to the left, but all in one ragged hole. Honest 1/2" group. Shot two more groups as the wind picked up to dial in windage and elevation - first was 1 1/4", next 1 1/8", with barrel a little warm. Shot a couple of other rifles while letting this one cool down, final group was 5/8", two shots in the same hole. Can't wait to try at longer ranges.

Oh, gotta love those pre-64 Model 70's!

Here's the thing about the 130 TTSX in 300 WM from Federal that you have to take into consideration...

If you're dead on at 100, you're going to be about 1.5 to 2 inches high at 200. Seriously.

Both my 300 WMs proved out exactly like that.

Freakin' lasers now!

Federal claims 3500 at the muzzle, 200 at 100, just under 3000 at 200. A 130 gr bullet with almost as much velocity at 200 yards as my .270 does leaving the muzzle certainly changes things.

No, it really doesn't.

A .264 Win Mag pushing a 130g Nosler AccuBond at 3153fps will shoot within 1.3" at 500 yards and flatter past 650 yards. More importantly, the .264 Win will deliver more energy past 315 yards. And it will do it with less recoil.

Yeah, and my old 300RUM did the long range sstuff even better than THAT. This was not the point.

The .264 will be making a smaller hole. A separate gun and topic.

Besides, what I think he is getting at is that this load makes his 300 Win into the flat shooting long range deer killer that used to be the ground occupied by other much different cartridges while still being a terrific choice for Elk and Black Bear with a simple change in ammo.

I have a VERY fast and flat custom 257WBY that pushes Moly'ed 100gr TSX's out of its 27.5 inch barrel at 3800fps. But I am going to shoot a critter or two (or three?? ) with my 30 Belted Newton pushing these same 130TSX's also to 3500+fps.

Yes, it does change things... appreciably.

Well, no, it doesn�t, at least not to my way of thinking.

Even if sticking with a .300 Win Mag, it is not the bullet I would choose. Compare to a 165g AccuBond pushed to Nosler�s max of 3290fps. Past 535 yards the AccuBond shoots flatter and carries much more energy. Inside that range I don�t need a flat shooter.

To each their own, but I looked at the 130g TTSX when it first came out and decided it wasn�t worth my time or money.

I guess one of the points of differential here is what defines long range on big game. I have a good friend who posts here occasionally who can, and does, kill cleanly out past 600 yards but I limit myself to 500 yards and in. I consider shots of 300-500 yards long range. I am not yet a good enough game shot and wind doper etc. to be confident of clean kills beyond that so to me a rifle that shoots really flat out to that range and carries enough oomph to do 'em in when it gets there is a really cool set up. If I WAS going to get into really looooooong range deer shooting I would probably go with the 6.5STW that you mention or a 7RUM. Might have kept my 300RUM.

The point, I believe, is that the speeds at which we can push the 130TSX from big 30's enable us to sight in and hold similarly to what I do with my 257WBY and hold on hair much further out than would be possible with the previously available big game bullets in 30 caliber. That is an appreciable change of the equation. And a deer is not so hard to kill that a 130gr TSX, which will retain 100% of its original weight or very nearly so even AFTER impact will not get the job done with room to spare. I am pretty sure no one here is suggesting 500 yard and beyond shots on Elk or black bear with this bullet. For that I have my 340 Tyrannosaur and our poster probably can buy some PMC or Federal ammo with 180gr TSX's for that job.

This is fun......

I will bow to those who consider 300 - 500 yards as short range. For my purposes, where and how I hunt (added to aging eyes, I freely admit), 400 would be my absolute maximum. That said, I wouldn't hunt deer with a .300 Mag when expecting close shots, either, but being able to consider it as a long range - for me - weapon suitable for deer, pronghorn, or an occasional unwary hog gives me at least some justification for having and shooting the thing. And those bullets shoot better in it than anything else I've tried so far.

It is fun. It is also the exercise I went through when deciding in what to chamber the custom rifle I�m building. The end result was a 6.5mm-06 pushing 130g Scirocco II�s (BC .571) to 3151fps, or the AI version a bit faster.

But I also have a .300 Win Mag and took a hard look at the 130g TTSX. I�m already using the 168g TTSX (BC .470) in my .308 Win and .30-06�s, and compared the 130g TTSX (BC .350) to that. Using Nosler load data at 3290fps for the 168g and Federal�s 3500fps for the 130g yields some interesting results.

When zeroing my rifles I determine the Maximum Rise I am willing to put up with and zero for Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) accordingly. (For MPBR calculations, Maximum Rise = Maximum Drop, so Target Diameter = 2x Maximum Rise.) I use a 3� Maximum Rise figure so for whatever rifle/load I am using MPBR defines the range at which the bullet path is never more than 3� above or below LOS.

Comparing the 130g and 168g TTSX:

130g .308� TTSX, .350 BC, 3500fps, recoil 27.6 foot-pounds (84.0g powder, 8.3lb rifle/scope)
284yds = Zero
332yds = MPBR
500yds = -23.7�, 1411fpe
600yds = -45.2�, 1148fpe
700yds = -75.4�, 925fpe

165g .308� TTSX, .470 BC, 3290fps, recoil 32.6 foot-pounds (79.0g powder, 8.3lb rifle/scope)
277yds = Zero
325yds = MPBR
500yds = -24.2�, 2002fpe
600yds = -45.0�, 1745�
700yds = -72.9�, 1479fpe

If we look at the 6.5mm-06 with a 130g Scirocco II:
130g 6.5mm Scirocco II, BC .571, 3151fps, recoil (54.0g powder, 8.3lb rifle/scope)
270yds = Zero
318yds = MPBR
500yds = -35.1�, 1629fpe
600yds = -46.4�, 1443fpe
700yds = -74.3�, 1274fpe

So, other than less recoil, the 130g TTSX in a .300 Win Mag offers no real advantage over the 168g TTSX. When zeroed for Max Rise of 3� the point of Max Rise, Zero and MPBR are slightly different, but the 168g delivers significantly more energy and shoots, within 7 yards, just as flat at MPBR distances. Beyond 535 yards the 168g bullet shoots flatter. One could easily conclude that any trajectory advantage of the 130g TTSX only occurs between 325 and 535 yards.
The 6.5mm-06 130g Scirocco shoots flatter at 700 yards than does the .300 Win Mag 130g TTSX and wins the energy race much sooner.

Nothing wrong with the 130g TTSX, but I would use it at slower speeds (less powder) for reduced recoil loads.

Hmmmmm, I have visions of bloodshot sides of game, even with the so called double lung shot that I am mistakenly informed over and over again that it does not ruin any etable meat, in which case I believe some internet folks have some really nasty eating habits:)

I love the big 300s and I also love the 200 gr. Noslers, and way out there they are still strolling along at about what they started out at. The light for caliber bullets loose velocity really fast and then they loose their effectiveness. Just my opine.

The difference is factory loaded. Not everyone handloads
I don't think anybody is factory loading 165/3290

I admit I'm surprised at that kind of downrange ballistics from a 165 gr anything in a 300 WM. Sounds a tad on the "warmish" side.

Federal shows the Barnes 165 TTSX at 3050 fps.

http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=592

I used the 130 to knock over a 6x6 elk last season. About 80 to 100 yds. Never knew what hit him. One shot, ran about 30 to 40 yds and dropped stone dead. Made a helluva mess of his lungs.

The 165g/3290fps came from Nosler's web site:
http://www.nosler.com/?p=15&b=30cal&s=348

As a rule you can push the grooved TSX/TTSX a bit faster than non-grooved bullets.

That would make sense. Read an article about the TTSX recently. The grooves reduce friction and therefore pressure. With that kind of ballistics from the 165 gr, kinda the best of both worlds, eh?

I will say that the reduction in recoil in my 300 WM dropping from 165 and 180 gr down to 130s was remarkable. Makes an hour's worth of bench shooting a whole lot less punishing and tiring.

My M70 in .300 Win Mag is a heavy gun, and the recoil with 180's doesn't bother me. For anything of size, that's what I'd use - although I saw a factory load from someone with, I think, a 240 gr that might be a bear swatter. The 130 was interesting, and will be fun to play with. If the .300 Mag were the only rifle I had available, it would stretch the versatility of the round, I think. With the reduced recoil, my wife might be able to shoot it on the range a bit - which helps me keep it. My point in this thread was to show that non-reloaders could play with these bullets, also. As rifles are meant to be shot, any excuse to shoot is worth exploration. Ray, I don't worry about bloodshot meat that much, just shoot shoulders (I like things to go down, soon) and trim the bloodshot parts off for dog food. The dogs love me for it. Enjoy your posts - and experience - quite a bit, by the way.

I use the bloodshot meat to make meatloaf for my in laws when they come over.

My 30 Belted Newton shoots the 130's extremely well so I am going to give them a go on big game this year as well. Hopefully several of us will have reports about them in a few months. I knnow John Lazzeroni was loading the blue coated Barnes 130's in his big 30's and reccomending them (At ridiculouse speeds, BTW) as long range medicine for elk and deer for a while.
Cheers, MARK