My thread about the 168 grain TTSX for deer got me wondering how the .277 Barnes 130 grain TTSX performs on large game. I do have some experience with this bullet out of a Winchester XTR Winlite 270. I have taken several whitetail of various sizes and one large old wild boar of around 300lbs. The bullet completely penetrated both shoulders of the boar at about 80 yds. He only made it about 40 yds before collapsing. The performance on the hog made me think this would make a pretty decent elk bullet even though it is only 130 grains. Have any of you all taken an elk, moose or bear with this bullet?

Shot this bull at 560 yards with a 270 and the 130 TSX. He took two steps and fell downhill flat on his face.

Looks like it wasted too much meat. There's none left!

You can kill just about anything you want with that bullet/cartridge combo

Lots of deer and other stuff, 3 cow elk, always flawless performance. Go forth and slay.

Looks marginal to me….

Need at least a 300 Win Mag for elk lol

Not the 130-grain .270 TTSX, but the 130-grain .30 TTSX, started at 2850 fps from Eileen's custom lightweight .308 Winchester, to reduce recoil. The range was around 250 yards, with the big cow standing quartering toward us. Eileen aimed for the near (left) shoulder, and that's where the bullet landed. The elk stumbled forward 20-25 yards and fell dead. The bullet landed just above the big shoulder joint, and we found it under the hide in the middle of the ribs on the far side.

This fall I killed another cow about the same size, at 200 yards with a 127-grain LRX started at 3000 fps from my Charlie Sisk 6.5 PRC. It was standing angling almost facing me, so I put the bullet just inside the near shoulder. The elk dropped right there and never moved. The bullet broke the bottom of the spine, then went through the lungs and into the guts--where I couldn't find it.

While personally I prefer a bit more bullet weight in the 270……these kill way above their “weight class” or “pay grade”! memtb

The 110 TTSX and 130 TTSX's from a 270 were my go-to bullets for quite a few years. I had great results on coyotes (110's), mule deer (110's and 130's), cow elk (130's), bull elk (110's and 130's), and a bull moose (130). I won't say that they're "the best" in all circumstances but they certainly work very well with good shot placement.

I haven't killed any elk with a .270 but Jack O'Conner has written about numerous hunts where he has taken bull elk with 130 gr out of his .270. Of course all of these were with cup-n-core bullets but it adds no doubt that the tougher TTSX 130 gr bullet should be fine for elk. Just FWIW...

They kill pigs very well, breaks both shoulder and keeps going.

That's funny right there!

I've taken 4-5 moose with a 270 and I cut down a M700 270 for kids of friends that draw the Youth Hunt tags to use. We've probably taken close to a dozen moose total with the 270. I started with the 160NP and that is impressive, but I found the 130TTSX to be more accurate and available, so we switched some years back. Moose shot in the lung/heart area die as rapidly as those I've shot with 375H&H or 9.3x62. I have had the 130TTSX exit on 1,000 pound cows.

Might other 130gr monos be good to go as well, such as the Hornady CX Lead-free or Nosler E-tip?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/17850045/1


dave

John
Isn't that OP the exact combo Eileen used when her and I were after bison ? Or was it a 140 grain bullet ?
Charlie

These 130 E-Tips came out of a bull elk, so you could say that.

My hunting notes say it was a 130 TSX, from a Federal factory load.

Whitetail,

Before we switched to the 130 TTSX in Eileen's .308, she used the 150 E-Tip, also at about 2850 fps. That's the rifle and load she used on a South African safari in 2007, taking plains game up to around 800 pounds. Recovered two bullets, the first of which had already penetrated a cactus before ending up inside a bushbuck that was facing her--and the entrance indicated it had already expanded. The other was from a big zebra stallion she shot through both shoulders. Both retained all their weight, and since then we've used several other E-Tips, ranging from the 90-grain 6mm in the .240 Weatherby Magnum to the 180 in the .300 Winchester Magnum.

Haven't been able to tell any difference in their field performance from that of TTSXs. But in general TTSXs (and LRXs) are easier to "tune" for small groups--though the same "seat 'em deeper" technique works....

Like the OP, I've also had good results using a relatively light Barnes bullet on a large boar hog. In this case I was using a 127 grain LRX out of a 6.5 Creedmoor. The 250+ pound boar (didn't actually weigh it) ran 20-30 yards and collapsed after I shot it behind the shoulder at about 150 yards.

I'm now thinking my son and I will use 168 grain TTSX loads in .30-06 and .300 Win Mag on a moose hunt we're doing this fall in B.C. I've killed a couple of good sized bull elk with a 168 grain TTSX load in my .30-06, so that gives me some confidence in using that bullet on moose.

Might also mention the bison Charlie Sisk mentions was for a cow in Texas, a little west of Uvalde. There were three available on the ranch we hunted, and one had been killed a few days earlier, and consequently the other two were kinda skittish. She was using one of Charlie's custom rifles, with the ammo he provided.

The ranch was a typical mix for that part of Texas, thick brush with some grassy openings. It too them around two hours to finally get a good shot, broadside at around 150 yards, with the pair right next to a brushy draw. Eileen shot offhand off sticks, and put the bullet about 1/3 of the way up the chest tight behind the shoulder. (She'd already seen some bison taken, and knew the heart/lung area was a little lower than in other animals, due to their hump.)

The cow trotted about 40 yards, and then stood still. Eileen was about to shoot again when it fell, then rolled down a short slope into the shallow draw. This was because it had leaked a bunch of blood from both sides of its body (the bullet exited), leaving a red pool where it had stood. My notes say it weighed 880 pounds, which is around average for mature bison cows. (Might post a photo later.)

Yes. Thanks.

I used the 130gr TTSX on a couple of cow elk, a deer or two and quite a few antelope when I was in my 270Weatherby phase and it never dissapointed!

My daughter uses the same bullet in her 270Win. With similar results. I’m a big believer in monos. We have never caught one but we try to only take broadside shots!

I’ve switched back to a boring 30-06 and have settled on the 150gr. TTSX for a one bullet does all load. No blood yet, but I have no doubt it will perform as expected!

Elk country

Here's the bison Charlie Sisk mentioned, which went down in about 40 yards (my paces), after one 130-grain .270 TSX. The bloody spot is the exit hole:

Yes..thats the one...

129TTSX Bullet not recovered. 100-120 yard shot 270 weatherby

Great moose!

Thanks. That is my 18 (at the time) year old son that got it last year. Lucky he drew the tag with random draw no preference points here in NW Wyoming.

I've been a huge fan of partitions all my life and I still have no issues with them. BUT! The TTSX bullets are ones that I could be very happy with for all occasions that come to mind as far as in shooting game.

I shoot the 110g TTSX in my 270's, and they are the same length as a 130g Nosler ballistic tip. R#17 and H4350 shooting sub 1/2" groups, deer/hogs flop

This thread +1.

After taking a look at the Hornady CV, which I don't recall hearing about vs the GMX, I decided to give them a whirl, in their 270W 130gr Superformance loads, 3190 fps... Would JOC approve? Hmmm.

Mtn Boomer, Jack might approve, if the product worked.
Imo, the tsx, gmx etc do.
Sheep sized Game doesn't need a hugely tenacious bullet.
It does make the 7x57 a better choice for Bull Elk though.
We are in the age of " amazing " bullets for use with formerly" adequate " cartridges. Now amazing!
Clear as mud, ain't it?

+1

Jack O'Connor said.--If there is any difference between 130 and 150 grain bullets in a 270 Winchester, is pure imagination.

😂 Yep …..only about 15% more mass. Which certainly means “near nothing” when shooting larger big game! 🤪 But then, JO and I rarely agreed on anything. 😉 memtb

Yessir, Jack had his moments.

Hmm.

My wife has killed dozens of big game animals, including elk and similar-sized big game up to around 900 pounds with cartridges including the .257 Roberts, .270 Winchester, 308 Winchester and .30-06 in various places from several American states and Canadian provinces to two African countries. The "biggest" combination she's used is the .30-06 with 165-grain Fail Safes, a bullet that performed very similarly to the Barnes TSX. She used it in Namibia, because she'd "heard" African plains game was tougher than American elk and moose--and after taking such elk-sized animals as the supposedly very tough gemsbok and blue wildebeest (oh, and one of the two biggest-bodied kudu I've seen in eight African safaris) said, "My .270 would have worked just as well."

She used a .308 Winchester on her second safari with 150-grain Nosler E-Tips to take game up to an 800-pound zebra--also considered among the tougher African game. She's also taken an 880-pound bison with one 130-grain Barnes TSX, from a Federal .270 Winchester factory load.

I could go on, but the major point is that the .338 Winchester Magnum isn't "necessary" for that sort of game--and neither is its recoil. I also know this from using the .338 to take dozens of big game animals in several countries over a dozen years.

But whatever....

John, perhaps I didn’t word my comment properly. The 130 TSX kills way above it’s pay grade…. A great little bullet. My point was, for large big game I merely think that the 140 or the 150 are a better option. Maybe not an “earth shattering” improvement, but an improvement on lets say a less than ideal shot. I simply believe that that small gain in bullet weight equates to a small gain in effectiveness in some instances!

And as for the .338 WM, not necessary ….but not a handicap either! Simply a little better than some if the other choices! I think of it as insurance. I’ve never “needed” life insurance…..but I got it for my family! 😉 memtb

The recoil of full power 338 mag loads is a handicap.
But then, you and I rarely agree on anything.

It really doesn’t seem to bother my wife…..except from the bench. She really doesn’t enjoy shooting it from the bench…. but realizes that verifying the zero is a necessary evil! memtb

She might want to try loads along the line of Mule Deer's 200 grain RE15 recipe. Does a nice of job taming down the recoil, and kills as well as a 270!

prairie goat, if that was intended for me…….Thank You!

While her present load does “kick” a bit…..it’s never been an issue in the field on game, from either prone, sitting (her preferred shooting position), or from sticks.

I do the load development (hasn’t changed in many years), and I will test the zero to verify, which minimizes the rounds she must shoot from the bench. She then verifies my shots, thankfully we’ve always shot to the same POI. So, while does kick pretty good…..she’s done real good with it on game, and has utmost confidence in it! Perhaps, that’s the most important component in a hunting rifle! memtb

Yep! 👍

memtb,

Am not exactly inexperienced with the .338, having taken an even dozen species (not individual animals) with it from Alaska to Africa, the largest weighing up to around 1500 pounds. It works--but so do a lot of other cartridges, especially with some of the newer bullets.

One thing I did notice was the .338 tended to kill quicker with lighter bullets, rather than the heavyweights so many people apparently prefer. (Could tell a bunch of stories about that--and have told some in various magazines and books).

One example is the 200-grain RL-15 handload prairie goat mentioned, which I mostly used with the 200-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip--which was the first of the "heavy jacket" BTips, introduced 31 years ago. Among other instances, I killed my first gemsbok with one, a slightly quartering shot at around 150 yards. The bullet broke the near (left) shoulder joint and also the bottom of the spine--and was found under the skin of the right ham, retaining 60% of its weight. But it also killed quickly with broadside heart-lung shots. These days it's the 200-grain Combined Technology Ballistic Silvertip.

The 130gr TSX or TTSX works great on elk, both near and far.

Longest shot I ever took on a big game animal was 417yds, on a 4x4 bull elk, and used the 130gr TSX. I only shot because one of my hunting buddies missed, using a 300Win and 180gr TSX, and the bull just stood there. Neither the original shooter nor our other buddy, shooting a Browning 300wsm and 180gr TSX, would shoot again, so I did, with my 270.

After I shot, the bull took 2-3 steps and dropped. The TSX entered the right front side, behind the leg, exited the left side and into the left front leg, busting the upper leg bone, and exited again.

As someone else mentioned, the lighter weight-for-caliber mono's hit above their class.

I got started with Barnes after reading a magazine article about reloading the 223 (JAN/FEB 1992), my apologies for not remembering the magazine or author, and what stood out was the author's comment about how the 45gr Barnes X bullet, shot out of a T-C Contender with a MV of about 2,600fps, being the only bullet that caused the 10lb gel block to expand so violently, that it knocked the other 10lb block off the table. No other bullet tested, even those shot out of rifles, did that.

At that time, I had been hunting coyotes with my 22 Hornet for a few years, and had noticed it's a bit light for coyotes, and I had runners and floppers, so I thought I would try this new on the market bullet.

Before Lilgun powder, my MV was about 2,600fps, and, right away, I saw the difference when the Barnes hit coyotes, noticeably fewer runners and floppers.

That fall, I tried the 140gr X on a mature cow elk, about 175yds, quartering towards me. I shot her in the left front, she ran about 20yds and did a somersault. AS I walk up on her, I see some white stuff protruding from her right hip area, and though maybe she was diseased. Once I got to her, I realized that was the exit wound, and the white stuff was a plug of fat from the bullets exit. That X bullet went through about 4ft of elk and kept going.

Thanks John, and obviously you have much more experience than we ever will…..unless blessed with a second go round on Earth.

I’m kind of a “one bullet, one zero” for everything hunter/shooter. I prefer middle of the spectrum on bullet weights…..even with mono’s. That said, in my wife’s rifle, we’re running about 25 grains above your recommended 200’s. But, I liked the slight BC gain over the lighter mono’s, also the increased likelihood of exits on most any game from most any angle she’s subject to hunt/shoot. The 225’s @ 2950 mv offer a pretty respectable trajectory out beyond any range at which she will shoot.

I’ll also concede that a somewhat lighter, more frangible bullet may perform better on smaller big game, especially with a marginal hit. Several years ago, she made a quick 200 yrd. offhand broadside shot on a fast walking “speed-goat”, just moments away from it’s going behind a little ridge. The impact was about 2”” above the breastbone, almost a miss. This didn’t offer much to upset the bullet, and was below the heart/lungs…..so expiration required a few seconds, or about 60 or so yards. A more frangible bullet of a slighter higher velocity may have taken the animal down more quickly. Admittedly, proper placement trumps the performance of most any bullet!

So far, that’s the only animal she’s taken that was a bit slow to go down! But again, we have very limited experience! memtb

“But, whatever”. Loved that final comment.

If that was for me, limited experience, as compared to John. She (wife) only has moose, deer, Pronghorns, elk and a bear to use as a measure of performance! Nothing like many here, but covers a fairly wide range of animal sizes.

If it wasn’t for me…..whatever! 😉 memtb

All this .270/130gr love makes me appreciate my 7mm-08/120gr load even more!