Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Loads for Barnes X in .308win and .260Rem

I would like to try some Barnes TSX in my .308win and .260rem for my upcoming trip to Scotland this November. We are after Red deer hinds which I think will be roughly the same size of largish whitetail does..

I don't have any experience loading Barnes in these calibers and was looking for any suggestions re powders and any hints or tips for load development.

I plan on using 150gr in the .308win and 120grn in the .260rem

(the two rifles in question shoot these weight of bullets well in other loads)

Any pointers where to start would be most welcome,

Regards,

Peter

Pete,

Consider Barnes 130 grain TTSXs in the .308. They work a little better than 150 TSX/TTSXs IMO and coming out at 3050 FPS on top of a load of Varget tend to be very nice indeed. There's nothing in North America I'd be worried about using them on, and I'd expect two holes in everything all the time. Out of almost 70 deer now, we have stopped only one TSX/TTSX in a deer and that was on a largish buck corner to corner with a fair amount of bone.

I'd be looking at the 100 grain Barnes TTSX for the 260 too.

Varget is never the wrong answer in a .308 case.

My only complaint with them or any other monolithic is that they can be pissy about seating depth to get accuracy.

Good advice there...

John

Agree, TAC and CFE 223 also work well with the 130 gr TTSX. If you are stuck on 150 gr, the same powders should also do fine, but 2000MR and CFE will get you up over 2900 fps easily, with good velocity.

My wife punched a bull moose in the engine room a while back with a 150 TSX out of an '06, but I had downloaded the thing to 308 ballistics, and it went clean through and the moose dropped at the shot and stayed down. I used a load of H4895 in that one. Mild on the shoulder (for her) and death on the shoulders (of the moose.)

My current favorite in the .260 is 45.3gr H4350 and a 127 LRX. This is very accurate and gives 2850 fps in a 22" barrel. With a 120gr you can probably hit 2950 with up to 47 grains. That's over book, but keep in mind that "book" is typically only 57,000 PSI for some reason. Work up cautiously, of course.

Barnes also just released a shipment of their VorTx ammo in .260 Rem. It lists a 120gr TTSX @ 2950, presumably from a 24" barrel.

I use TAC and 130 ttsx in 308
>3000fps muzzle velocity and 5 deer killed quickly

I would much prefer the velocity of the 130 to the weight of the 150 in a 308 case

Exits range from nickel to quarter size

My lightweight terribly long throated .308 Rem. 700 TI perks very well with 150 grain TSX & mid to upper 40's charges of RL15, VV N540, Varget. In that order. Best accuracy is right at 2800fps.

It performs very well on whitetail deer & hogs. Quick expansion & very good penetration.

Thanks gents, thats much appreciated..looking forward to seeing how well these shoot in my rifles..

I've not shot any game yet, but have developed a load for the 130's at about 3050 fps. Very accurate, and will be the load I use this fall. Deer are the primary game, but there is always the possibility of black bear here in North Ga. 200-300 lbs is average, but we have had several 500+ lb bear killed in the past. Based on what I'm reading here the 130's should be up to the task. I hope so.

I'm using 48 Gr TAC. I experimented with Varget earlier and it worked well too. I decided on the TAC primarily because it was available when Varget was in short supply. I wanted to save the Varget I had on hand for other uses. Both work equally well in my experience.

I've had great accuracy with this load:

Bullet - Barnes 130 gr TTSX
Brass - Winchester
Primer - Federal 210
Powder - H-4895 (48.2 gr) 50 gr is maximum

(I never went any further with this load because it was the beginning of my research search into reduced recoil loads, which it failed at, but a great regular .308 load).

varget gave me the super tight groups - .25"
TAC gave me more velocity and still .5-.7" groups
being a mono, in the 308, i wanted all the velocity i could get