Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles .338 160 grain ttsx

Does anybody have any experience with these? I've been loading 225 grain interlocks in my 338 RUM, and got a wild hair to try these. I read somewhere else where a guy was claiming 3600 fps with these. I've no experience with the x bullets either loading them, or shooting them, so this is definately an experiment.

Thanks

yeah i have a 338rum and would really like to hear how fast you could push them i use 225 interlocks to with 95gr h1000 what is your load billygoatgruff

I just took some to the range yesterday just too see if my RUM would shoot em. I didn't have time to clean my rifle but it only had about 30rds down the tube. Took it out with RL19 and 97gr and shot 3 shots. Group was MOA but I think it would do better with some tinkering. I don't know how fast but they were fast as I could see the hits before the recoil could bark enough to pull me off target. I am guessing in the 3800+ range. I am going to do some more testing as I would really like to use this for deer season. HAPPY HUNTING

hunter8mm,
My current load is 100 grains of Retumbo with Federal primers for 3150 fps. Speed seemed hard to believe, but the same day same chony clocked several other loads in what they "should" have been, so I believe it to be accurate.

ruger243223,
Thanks for the input. What's your rifle? How did the recoil compare to the heavier 225s and 250s?

Using the ballistic calculater on the Hornady website, if a guy can get 3600 out of that 160 grainer, with a 250 yard zero it's dead nuts hold out to 400. It'll be for mulies in a month or so, maybe a bear if I get time. I really wonder though if that bullet will hold together at speed. Only one way to find out I guess. The hodgdon manual shows H4350 giving good speed, and I got that on hand for the '06 and 243 so whenever they get here I'll be off to back yard.

I find 3800 hard to believe

3800 FPS is over the top except perhaps in the 30-378 Wby and thats a big maybe!!!!!

3400 FPS with a 160 gr. is more credible and thats a hot load in the .338 Win..

In other words, dream on dreamer! and wear a face mask~!

yeah atkinson 3800 fps is really hot but 3400 fps would be hell on deer

I believe he's talking about the .338 RUM, not the WM.

I've shot a few of the old "x" out of my .338WM. I seated them way out, and they proved very accurate. And they were hell on deer.

R.

Rman, what grain bullets were they? From what I understand the new tipped xbullets open up faster. I'm wondering if they'll hold together at the speeds I can get out of the UltraMag.

I have heard, and quick load peredicts 3250 or so from a 338 WIN MAG...So I think 3400 from a RUM is more realistic.

FWIW Hodgdon's manual lists 3473 fps with 94.5 grains of H4350. And that's only out of a 24" tube. It's been my experience that the loads I chrony are pretty darn close to right on with the velocities they list.

They were 160's. I leaned on them very, very hard, Around 3400 fps with an overdose of powder (in my rifle, YMMV). The ultra mag loading for the old X had a speed of around 3400 as well. I wouldn't want to shoot anything super close with them, and expect them to open, but get out a few hundred yards and they should be fine. If you want to try 'em, giv' 'er, but there are better choices, as I've learned. I would suspect, with some "overdosing" you could get close to 3300 fps with a 185 grainer from a RUM. I guess it would depend on what you are trying to do?

R.

Funny chronyed my 338RUM with 185s and was getting 3600 with no signs of visible pressure. I would hope that I could get 3700 with relative ease with the 160s. I am going to load some up and see just what the velocity is. I would think that a 338mag would get to 3500 easy enough but I don't have a win mag just a RUM so I will use that for my tests. HAPPY HUNTING

I'm just fiddling with the gun seeing how fast & flat I can get her. I'm happy as hell with the interlocks, I just got a wild hair to try these. Shots around here can be close, or looong, and if I can get the speed I want out of these and they hold together it'll make holdover a lot easier.

UPS man just brought them this afternoon, so tomorrow morning I'll be putting them on paper.

Here are a couple bullets I shot into milk jugs filled with water about about 30 yards. I shot them out of my 338 Tikka WM, loaded 70gr varget under them.

Velocity?

No chronograph but Im guessing around 3200-3300 fps on impact, anyone able to run quickload and give me a better guess?

I can do that When I get off shift

No ttsx in my version yet but a regalar barnes. Looks good!

Cartridge : .338 Win Mag.
Bullet : .338, 160, Barnes 'X' S 33878
Cartridge O.A.L. L6: 3.340 inch or 84.84 mm
Barrel Length : 24.0 inch or 609.6 mm
Powder : Hodgdon VARGET

Predicted data by increasing and decreasing the given charge,
incremented in steps of 3.0% of nominal charge.
CAUTION: Figures exceed maximum and minimum recommended loads !

Step Fill. Charge Vel. Energy Pmax Pmuz Prop.Burnt B_Time
% % Grains fps ft.lbs psi psi % ms

-30.0 68 49.00 2359 1977 29250 6624 87.9 1.345
-27.0 71 51.10 2445 2123 31549 6967 89.5 1.303
-24.0 74 53.20 2530 2274 34023 7304 91.0 1.263
-21.0 77 55.30 2615 2430 36679 7633 92.5 1.224
-18.0 80 57.40 2701 2591 39532 7953 93.8 1.187
-15.0 83 59.50 2786 2757 42597 8260 95.0 1.151
-12.0 86 61.60 2870 2927 45934 8553 96.1 1.117
-09.0 88 63.70 2955 3102 49581 8829 97.1 1.084
-06.0 91 65.80 3039 3281 53562 9086 97.9 1.052 ! Near Maximum !
-03.0 94 67.90 3123 3464 57911 9323 98.6 1.020 ! Near Maximum !
+00.0 97 70.00 3206 3652 62661 9536 99.2 0.990 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+03.0 100 72.10 3289 3842 67856 9725 99.6 0.960 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+06.0 103 74.20 3371 4036 73542 9887 99.9 0.931 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+09.0 106 76.30 3452 4234 79775 10020 100.0 0.904 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+12.0 109 78.40 3533 4434 86621 10129 100.0 0.876 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
+15.0 112 80.50 3612 4636 94156 10231 100.0 0.850 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!

Results caused by � 10% powder lot-to-lot burning rate variation using nominal charge
Data for burning rate increased by 10% relative to nominal value:
+Ba 97 70.00 3323 3923 71604 9303 100.0 0.942 !DANGEROUS LOAD-DO NOT USE!
Data for burning rate decreased by 10% relative to nominal value:
-Ba 97 70.00 3048 3300 53960 9384 95.0 1.047 ! Near Maximum !