Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles An interesting 'trick' to get Barnes TSX and TTSX's to shoot well early on.

There has been a lot written here and elswhere about how to best to get the Excellent on game Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets to shoot well without expending enough powder and all to wear out a barrel and a credit card. I have been busy loading ammo for a good number of my non rifle looney freinds and relatives with various sizes and weights of Barnes bullets from 224 up to 338 and in each case to start out the loading process I have been loading them REALLY short - using the uppermost band or groove like I would a cannelure in a bullet so equipped and in each case so far these rifles have shot REALLY well! No need after that to mess around with more load development! I load them up with differing amounts of the most likely powder at these really minimal lengths and shoot over a Chrony until we get book max speed or superior accuracy with near top speed with the idea that after we determine a good powder charge we would then play around with the seating depth but so far these shorty rounds shoot so well that all load work is done in one range session! Yesterday I loaded some 120gr TTSX's for my Brother in Law's 7mm RemMag Browning and the first load (70gr of R-22) shot into 1/2 of an inch! Only 3300 fps instead of the possibility of 3400 at max loads but wow, my work here is done. No elk or deer OR my B.I.L. is gonna notice the 'missing' 100fps but a load that shoots into 1/2 inch...... We will take that one. This is not, in my experience, an anomaly as this has been happening over and over this whole summer so maybe those of you wanting to give these bullets a try should start out loading this way (case neck level with the middle of the top groove) and see how it works for you as a starting place. Good luck! MARK

BTW, I know that Barnes reccomends to start .050 off of the lands but a lot of my good loads with TSX and TTSX bullets have been loaded quite a bit farther than that off of the rifling so I decided to try this quick and easy first time out method this year and I am only reporting my results thus far. My thinking is this could be a good (addmitedly non scientific) quick and easy way to start out the load developement process and perhaps others here will get similar results and save a bit of time and money.

Mark, thanks for the info. I have some 100 grain 257 bullets and I'll try your method.

with a mag box maximum of 2.815 in my kimber Bob and seating 100 TSX's to just fit in the box I see a bit of the last groove just as you suggest. I can get .6 inches on a good day, most about 1 inch or less with H4350.

Thanks for the info. I only load for 1 rifle (350 Rem Mag)and, with the 200 TSX Barnes bullet, I started with the Barnes #4 listed COL, which resulted in a distance to lands of .080". This puts the case about halfway in the uppermost groove of the bullet (if I remember correctly). When I tried to shorten the distance to the lands, my groups got larger. So, logic tells me that increasing the distance to lands (or shortening the COL) may well help. Your information seems to agree with what I'm seeing in my rifle.

Like to shoot,
witch .257 caliber cartridges are you putting those tsx's in ?
If it's a Roberts, try 46 grains of H-414. It works great in both my Roberts. You might want to start at 44 grains, but this load is a half grain under max in the older barnes book, and the book says it is a 50,000 CUP load.
If it's a weatherby , try RL-22, I get aboutl a half an inch with a start of 70.5 aup to my load of 72 grains.
Or, Ramshot magnum, I started at 74.5 and stopped at 76. 3550 and .6 inches.
If it's a 25,06, I don't have one, can't help...tj3006

Good post safariman! I know we talk alot about 'Rifle Loonies' here at the 'Fire, but there are a fair share of 'Re-Load Loonies' as well. When it comes to reloading, from what I've found, the truth of the matter for hunting rifles is - choose an all-around good powder, seat the bullet so it feeds properly, and load away. If it doesn't shoot, I would imagine its more than likely a poor rifle or poor shooter rather than a poor load.

I find my 80 TTSX like it the same way - to the top band.

+1 on 72gr of R-22 for the 25ROY.

tj3006, I have a 250 Savage with a 1-10 3 groove PN, a couple of 257 Bobs, and a 25-06 with a SS Douglas XX. My thoughts for now is to go with the 25-06. But.....

You need a 257WBY!!!!!

( I also have a 250/3000.... sweet little rifles, them)

Good info. My own experience has been quite the opposite though. I kiss lands & then play with powder to find the sweet spot. Just shows there is no "wrong way" in load development. Here is a load development target from yesterday (Sunday) with my 243 Ackley using 85 grain TSX's and Re19. Notice the long seating depth and the sudden sweet spot at 49 grains.........

That sure works for you, and by all means rock on! But I am also noticing that with real short OAL's The accuracy difference from one powder charge to the next is minimal. Maybe no cloverleaf groups, but the guys I am loading for are not going to notice that difference either. I guess what I am saying is that this method will likely give GOOD (Maybe not fantastic, but good) accuracy easily. Also, pressures are low and feeding issues go away. For my own personal rifles, I go to a 'little' more effort

Looked at my best .308W load with 130gr ttsx and W748. That's where it's at.

Badger,

I never thought 0.5gr could make such a difference.

Did you confirm its accuracy by shooting more groups with the same load? Just one three-shot group can always be a fluke...

BBerg

Thats what I found to be true for 150 TTSX's out of my 280 AI. Within 10 loads/shots I had groups around 3/4", so I've loaded up 100 rounds and called it good.

I guess more often I am looking for a rugged load. My last development shoots 46, 46.5 and 47 grains of H4350 just about the same. I am not so much looking for that 1/10th of an inch 5 shot groups anymore, just something where if its too hot or too cold or you make a .1 grain error it don't matter.

I am with you on that note for sure...... I am no longer trying for the last 25FPS and in a big game hunting rifle if my loads for my own guns are shooting under a 1 inch group consistently I am through spending money on components for it or continueing to wear on the barrel and my body (some of my guns kick kinda hard ) and prefer to use up the components shooting at rocks and varmints for practice and then on game. I might get my rifle looney card revoked for these comments, though.........

Mark,

By chance did you take your BIL's 7mm and shoot the rifle with the bullet seated longer. Yes, I certainly would call your results more than adequate but I wonder if it is just a good shooting rifle.

I've had some rifles that would shoot a dirt bullet sub-MOA but then others that required everything to be just right.

Thanks for the tip

I was able to repeat the 49grn group (0.33") just as it started to rain and turned the paper to mush . I feel good enough that I loaded 25 rounds for the season & called it good.

Most hard and fast rules are out when it comes to the seating of current Barnes bullets these days. I run 3 different TSX's/TTSX's in my rifles. Some shoot much better waaaaay off the riflings while other's flaunt their stuff up close and personal.

I have spoken with Barnes techs alot over the years, but a bit more this past year as I've worked up new loads for my 25-06, 270WSM and 300WSM with their TSX's/TTSX's. As was to be expected, there's no definitive seating depth that will produce the best results for all people, all the time. I do start further off of the riflings than I normally would with these bullets, but if I don't get what I'm looking for, I load 4 more seated a bit shorter and 4 more seated a bit further out. Then, with whichever group seems to tighten up more than the other, I continue seating changes in that direction until the results either satisfy my goals or they don't.

In actuality, outside of starting a bit further off the lands than I normally would, the "hunt" and methodology for finding that perfect seating depth remains essentially the same for me.

My 25-06 shoots the 100gr. TTSX's much closer to the riflings than where Barnes recommends starting out. In speaking with Barnes recently, they said that my seating depth results have been pretty standard with the 100gr. TTSX in the quarterbore.

All said and done, finding the best seating depth for each bullet, rifle, hunter........is still accomplished best by doin' the work. Like it always has...........

Have a good season....