Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Barnes X and TTSX required impact velocity for expansion

So I'm shooting 120 grain TTSX and 140 grain Barnes X bullets from my 7mm-08. I looked for expansion velocities on the Barnes website, like Nosler has on their website. No luck.

So a simple question: what's the minimum velocity these bullets require for adequate expansion?



P

Barnes told me, on the 85 TSX (6mm) that 2100 or so fps. The TTSX will probably give you another 100 or so fps.

I've used the TSX on deer, so this next year I'm going to try at least the TTSX, and if my luck runs good, the 95 partition.

I can't give you a minimum velocity but I will say that it's been my experience with the TSX & TTSX is to push them as fast as accuracy will allow. I use them in 223, 243AI, and 257 currently and in every one the faster the better.

When asked the guys at barnes told me 1800fps for the TTSX. I like to run them as fast as possible.

That's good to know, I just bought a bunch of them.

I like to run them as hard as possible, too, and my handicap is that I have a 20" barrel on my .243, so I'm giving up a little velocity. Past experience with the .243 makes me think about 65 to 70 fps.

I sure like how they have a habit of just going right on through a deer.

1800 is the speed I was quoted.

I had also heard 1800 and 1600 for the LRX fwiw...

Barnes states 1800. From everything I've seen and read from guys who actually use them 2000-2200 is what they recommend. There have been multiple posts here with some photos of recovered bullets. Below 1800 fps there is almost no expansion. At around 1800 they show some expansion. After you get up to 2000 or more the expansion starts to look pretty good.

Bullet weight doesn't seem to help and the key seems to be shooting lighter bullets to get muzzle velocity above 3000 fps to ensure good impact speed downrange.

Here is a good link with some recovered bullets. Most did pretty good but the 130 gr TSX that hit an elk at 550 yards was moving pretty slow and didn't expand much at all.

http://www.thediyhunter.com/big-gam...bullets-tsx-ttsx-243-wssm-270-wsm-rifles

They "expand" at 1800, meaning the petals don't stay closed fully. That is inadequate IMO.

For a fully expanded X shape with the petals all the way out, it takes 2000 or better, with the emphasis on better.

In my limited experience with them, the tipped version did not really make much of a wound-channel difference. Meaning, shooting deer with TSX and TTSX, I don't think anyone would be able to tell the difference between them consistently.

Here is a pic of a Barnes TSX 270 gr. .375 bullet recovered from a Nilgai, taken at 193 yards. MV was 2800 fps, with impact velocity around 2300 fps. Expansion was complete, and perfect.

I don't have my books iin front of me, but I can tell you that with a 7mm RemMAg and 120gr TTSX's and a 257WBY with 100gr TTSX's, 600 yards is about all she wrote. My brother in Law took a nice mule deer buck at 608 three years ago and I shot mine last year at 618 and in both cases the bullets expanded, but not fully. And at those ranges they both lodged at exactly the opposite hide on each animal after breaking bones on the exit side of the hits. On a pure broadside perfect hit, they may have gone all the way through but I think I am going to cut off my max range shooting to a tad bit shorter than 608-618. Previous longest shots for both of us had been right under 500 yards and both bullets worked perfectly. They also work awsome on the rare close in shots, though they may blow off a pedal.

If someone wants to look up the impact speeds, our muzzle velocites were 3400 for the 7mm with 120gr TTSX's and 3800 for my 257WBY (long barrel plus Moly) with 100gr TTSX's. I am out of town/state and no books or tables on hand. Whatever the speeds were, I would set those as the absolute minimum speeds to be able to count on any useful amount of expansion.

According to my ballistics program the 120 TTSX still has over 2,000 ft/sec at 400 yards when started at 3,000 ft/sec.

The 140 grain Barnes X, started at 2,800 ft/sec, drops below 2,000 around 340 yards.

Either distance is, to me, a loooong way.


P

Out here on the ranches we hunt, with virtually no cover anywhere and literally zero trees for miles, a shot of 'only' around 300 yards or so is an unexpected gift.

Why the difference in the LRX vs. TTSX? Just ran some LRX outta my 270 today and they were stellar.

1800 fps for the 250 gr TTSX 375 cal Barnes told me

My brother shot an antelope at just over 400 yards this year with my 25-06AI using the 100gr TSX. Hit it behind the shoulder mid way up and the thing folded at the shot and never twitched. A few days latter I shot a antelope at just over 600. First shot entered just behind the should and exited about midway up in front of the leg.The lope jumped at the shot and ran for 50 yards, then stopped so I shot it again. This time the bullet it behind the shoulder and out the other side behind the shoulder. The animal jumped at the shot, then ran maybe 15 yards. Third shot I put into the shoulder blade area and it folded. Its hard to say if the bullets expanded fully or not as it had three holes through the vitals, but it didn't appear overly turn up for having three bullets pass through the boiler room.
I have also used the 100GR tsx on deer and when it works it works well, but there it only seems to kill decisively about half the time. Honestly, if I didn't drink the Barnes kool aide early on and laid up a stash of these bullets I wouldn't use them any longer.
I have much less reservations about the 30 cal TSX and TTSX.

There are much better bullets for longer range killing than X/ TSX/TTSX IMO.

Yes, but I have seen them act wonky at very short ranges too.

BWalker,

If you want to change over to something else, I would love to buy or trade you out of any 25, 7mm or 30 cal TSX and or TTSX bullets you have and want to move along. Particularly the 25 cal 100gr TTSX's. I have a new 28 inch 257WBY PacNor barrel being put on my FN Mauser sporter. I must feed the beast!

To date, I have never had a TTSX do anything other expand ideally, but the two deer my BIL and I shot at over 600 yards did not fold up and die on the spot and the bullets only expanded partially. So, as has been stated several times in these forums the Barnes bullets like to be run hard and fast for the best performance.

PS I just noticed your location. I might be close by this week since I am in Zion at least through the weekend. Maybe we can meet up, PM incoming. MC

I asked Barnes and was told 1800 FPS is the minimum. I tried a few and got decent expansion. I prefer to keep them 2200 or so giving my druthers.

I have tested some with the bigger hollow points and got ad copy expansion out of 357 125 grainers at ~850. 1300 out of 150 grain TSXs and 1600 out of 150 grain Xs in 30-30 loads. The 150 grain Xs in 30-30 probably would have opened slower, but I didn't try any slower. Muzzle loader Barnes bullets will open pretty far down as well.