This is my last deer of the season. Live weight was 198# with zero fat, down probably 20 - 30 pounds from October.

Montana Rifle Company XWR-SS

Nightforce 2.5-10x42

.308 Win
130 Barnes TTSX 3080 MV
47.9 Varget
F210
Black Hills brass

Photos of the entrance wound are included for a good example of how rapidly the TTSX opens. The TTSX is my favorite bullet for deer and pigs, and all I use anymore.

The deer was quartering away. Shot placement was down 1/3 from the top of the back, behind the near side shoulder, out forward of the off side shoulder out the base of the neck. He dropped where he stood.

Beautiful buck. Congrats!!!

Same bullet I went to for my .308 White tail rifle.

That's a whopper of a buck. Nice job.

Nice buck! I like Barnes bullets!

That's a fantastic buck!

Dandy buck!!grats

What a brute of a buck. Congrats....

No doubt! Looks like textbook bullet performance to me. Congrats.

Nice buck, congrats!

Very nice buck!

I'm pretty much using a 308 for all deer now as well. It's a hammer!

Thank you gentlemen.

Measured him today.

11 1/2” G3 left, 10” on the right.

No scoreable brow tines, which is why I was after him for the last month or so.

147” total.

Nice !!!

That's a great looking deer. The 130ttsx is about perfect for the 308

Big Bastid! That’s a helluva way to end your season. Fine job man.

Hellova buck!

Dandy buck! Congrats!

Hot dang - nice buck, Jeff!
And scads of penetration.

So is that Barnes bullet any good?

Has worked well for me for the last few years. 100% DRT’s with the 130 TTSX in .308 Win so far on deer and wild hogs from 25# up to 250#. Of course shot placement matters, thoracic spine or just below it preferably, brain, or high shoulder, but the bullet works very well.

Yep, was going to say shot placement is the key to DRT even with Barnes bullets.

If I had a 308 down here still I might be tempted to try the 130ttsx. But the 308 runs so well with 185 Berger target bullets I have little more to ask from it.

Good deer to go! For sure. Great bullet performance like I expect from Barnes

Wow! Super buck and great report on the 130TTSX!

Great deer, Congrats!

congrats nice buck

South Texas has the biggest deer inn this state, or in many states actually. They have huge racks but their body size isn't what it is in the mid west. Their bigger on average than in the rest of the state, but don't get much over 200#. Lots of concentrated protein down there though and that makes for great racks.

Man, that deer doesn't have hocks--rather full socks! I can smell him from here! great buck!

I don't know what I'm doing wrong with the 130 TTSX in my 308. Shot my 5th or 6th deer with them the other day and I just can't get blood trails. they shoot great in my Montana, tear up the insides, always pass through, but very little if any blood. if deer always fell like yours did I wouldn't worry about it, but i'm afraid i'm going to leave one in the woods at some point. I shot one the other day and wasn't entirely sure of the shot. It was a quick off hand shot on a buck I walked up on. I couldn't find blood at all. when I did find the deer, he had only gone 40 yards, but into some thick stuff. He was quartering to me and the bullet entered barely in front of the shoulder, just clipping the blade. It exited about the back of his lungs and tore him all up on the inside. Just no blood on the ground.

I hate tracking in the thick thorn brush where I hunt.

The thorns are very unpleasant and the rattlesnakes are even more unpleasant. Even worse, the rattlers can crawl up into the brush and trees well off the ground.

So, I pick and choose shots to try for DRT. It is not magic, just some basic anatomy.

Some years ago, I had the opportunity to shoot lots of does, shooting up to 30 in a single day.

That experience revealed some very reliable shot placement points to reliably drop animals where they stand.

Shots high into the thorax typically have blood draining into the chest cavity and they can run 50 - 100 yards.

Shots low, such as low behind the front leg will allow blood to drain out, but again allow them to run for 7 or 8 seconds and they can cover quite a bit of ground in that short time.

Shots that cut an artery or major vein, such as placement to the base of the neck, will produce blood, and better yet, cut the CNS, which is the guaranteed way to drop them where they stand.

I'll put together a new thread with shot placement soon with photos showing the placement I use and have found to work.

Great info jeffbird...looking forward to that post

My buddies wife used the 308/130's combo on her "Once in a Lifetime" moose. @ ~125yds she bounced 2 through the chest (both exited) then called her brother to bring the tractor.

Myself as a 6.5 shooter I have been taking mature muley bucks forever with the Sierra 120gr. Also have tried the Barnes 100gr 6.5 TTSX with 100% success & complete pass thru. Took my elk this season with my 6.5 & the 121gr Hammer bullet with a complete pass thru of both front shoulders. DRT.. One of my hunting buddies uses a 308 & the Barnes 130gr on elk with absolutely no problem. It will kill!! He has also tried the Barnes 30cal 110gr mono on deer with complete pass thru. We have shot these 308 130gr /& 110 loads on my 500 yd range & their performance would amaze you as they did us. For those who have problems with the 130gr TTSX on deer try the 110gr version. So far they have always given complete pass thru on mature muley bucks.
THere are also the Lehigh fracturing mono's where the front ( about ) 1/3 tear off & of considerable damage.[img]https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1018298911?pid=686422[/img]

Here's another .308 option. I wrote a review that's self explanatory.

https://cuttingedgebullets.com/308-135gr-er-extended-range-raptor

DF

Its always rewarding to have a buck your after finally agree to a meet. As the common consensus says, its hard to argue with that 308W/130 TTSX combo . Great buck and a fine cap for a SoTex season.

I had a lease down in Refugio for about 12 yrs and man I miss it. Great people, many memories, whopper bucks, and a staggering amount of game. Congrats Sir on a fine buck.

Joseph

Thanks for posting the pic and infor on the 130 TTSX.

Congrats on the trophy buck.

Very nice congratulations!!!

I've had very good luck with the 130TTSX in my 308 Win. Using 46.5gr of Benchmark in Lapua cases I was getting 1.5"-2" groups at 400yds. Velocity was 3,140. I shot a nice 8 pt buck at just over 200yds as he faced me. At the shot the buck was slammed to the ground like no kill I had ever seen before.

Oh the magic of a 308..........

For those shooting the 270 or 30 cal try the Barnes 110gr mono for deer. . I have a hunting buddy that takes his elk each season with the 308 & the 130gr TSX. The deer I take seem to go right down with the Sierra 6.5 120gr. Also have tried the Barnes 100gr TTSX & it also works great with the local muley's.

I usually either don't need a blood trail or get one. What I believe happens is so much of the blood is internal and then the heart shuts down so no blood pressure. A low shot will sort of leak out, a higher shot the animal will drop before the free blood reaches the entry or exit. With monolithic bullets you need to shoot for bone or a CNS shot to guarantee they drop on the spot. But I have not found this necessary and stopped shooting deer on the shoulder after I filled up a 16 CF freezer entirely with blood shot shoulders. My dog loved me for it but not so great making bloody stew in the kitchen.

To me the lack of a blood trail actually means the bullet is very effective. The most dramatic blood trails I have seen are from bullets that just poked on through and the heart kept pumping. I shot one dear with a 30 M1 carbine through the aorta and there was a geyser of blood from that one. The 30 M1 gets my vote as one pretty marginal deer rifle.

Looking forward to this.


Okie John

Have any of you tried the 130 gr. TTSX in .30-06? I used 150 gr. TTSX in .30-06 this past season with really good results. Just curious as to what the 130 would do.

Yes, we've run the 130 T and TTSX from a 30-06 a lot. It is great medicine. Run it faster, then step on it to make it go faster yet. It is an amazing killer at ranges from shoestring to 435 yards. Have never recovered one yet but they've always done plenty of damage.

We have started experimenting with the 110 and now 120 black tips meant for the Blackout, only run hot and fast from an -06. So far, they are impressive. Open up wider than the TTSX, yet do all the same great penetration. They for sure leave larger exit wounds than the 130. The 120 will probably be our go-to bullet for awhile unless something more amazing comes along. I like wide wound channels that run deep from a monometal. The 120 gives that and shoots flat too.

120 black tip. Good info. Bet that will work great.

DF

Basically, that's a short action 270 Winchester.

Amazed you haven't been flamed, making that statement...

But functionally speaking, pretty close to those ballistics.

DF

I don't know where you're hunting specifically but t must be close to me. Same thing I face, thick spiny brush and lots of damn Diamonbacks. But for white tail I use my .270 Win. with a 130 grain SGK. That combo has yet to fail me. Running 'em at 3100 it knocks 'em off their feet. Most I've killed with it are DRT. Leave the fancy bullets for bigger animals, deer don't need it. Every time I've had to trapse off into the snake pit was when I got fancy and thought I'd try such and such bullet because all the kool kids said so. I finally learned to quit listening.

Filaman,

near Cotulla in La Salle County. Which county are you hunting?

To me, the TTSX is not a "fancy" bullet, but one that works very consistently on deer and pigs.

The TTSX's always enter regardless of the angle, and always exit regardless of the angle.

Jeffbird....what a great looking buck that is. Never seen one with hocks stained up that much.

One of my more-carried rifles the last few years has been a Rem 7KS in .300SAUM...very light. I tried the 130 TTSX's a few years ago & found they shot well.....and they shot fast, pretty close to 3300fps. Killed 3 deer with 'em so far; 2 of 'em dropped in their tracks, the other made it a couple of steps. Despite the speed, not really any excessive meat damage either.

going to make it a point to work up some .308 loads for that same bullet now.

congrats on that hunt.

G~

Whatever works for you you need to keep doing it. Great buck there.


You're right in the middle of South Texas Brush Country. I'm probably175 miles to the North-Northwest of you. I'm in Calhoun County. We have some nice deer around here but not what you'll find where you're hunting. You're in deer heaven dude! Around Cotula are some of the best racks in the U.S.

That puts the 270 in pretty good company.

Yeah.

Nothing "gay" about that...

DF

DD,

Thanks for the info. That is pretty much what I expected. If the 130’s are good in a .308, they should be even better in a .30-06. Since I do not currently hand load, I will hold out hope that Barnes will start loading some factory .30-06 in 130 gr. TTSX’s. Until then, I will keep on shooting the 150’s. I certainly can’t complain about the results thus far.

Very nice buck

They grow 'em big down in S. TX. I've seen some monsters around San Angelo way.

There, I fixed it. I originally said North-Northwest of you, which would put me in Northern Mexico just below El Paso, LOL! I had a case of Cerebral Flatulence.

FWIW there were comments on the 270. I don't care for it BUT a friends dad before he died, had bad vision and getting old and loved to hunt.

So I moved his 270 from factory to 150 SST. Then to 130 SST. Finally we still had issues of him with bad hits and having to use the dog and sometimes just not hit well enough.

Moved to 95 TTSX and humped it decently for speed considering he had one of those semi Remingtons.

We never lost a deer after that. Even gut shot deer rarely made 100 yards( they usually don't but people go looking WAY to soon and bump em from the first bed... another story) but we could almost always see his blind or parts of it from where the deer fell.

To top it off they don't destroy that much edible meat.

Just got back from trailing a javelina I shot at a bit over 700 yards in south TX brush. I LOVE following those trails though. Thorns and such and its an intricate fun puzzle but I understand that folks want bang flops there and other places. Don't want to deal with the trailing issues and afraid of loosing the animal too.

I'd almost think our biggest body TX deer may well be Canadian River deer. Biggest I had S Texas was something around 225 live weight with a 27 inch neck.

So Barnes TTSX bullets kill efficiently even with bad shot placement. Gotta remember that one.

If you have never seen speed assist with shots to far back you have not seen many I suspect. Which is a good thing really.

The ONLY reason I know this to be true, and it will be true even without TTSX ( I'm not sure what exactly your point on this post is...) is due to a "dumb" old codger and his 220 swift. Forgot more about hunting than most ever knew. Saw some of his grandkids make bad hits but they were using smaller guns and hit flanks and bang flop. Heck I've heard more than a few tales even with 270s and light bullets like this.

So who we affectionately called Fred Bear, striking resemblance, quit making his arrows and knapping his heads.

He picked up his 220 and started loading fast light bullets and since he had a good dog, started to experiment. Flank shots. Ends up that was the only place he ever shot deer until his death. Gutless cleaning method. And while I was along to see more than a few, I have it on family word that I trust, that he never had a deer get up or do anything but fall at the shot. I find that part about 100% hard to believe, but I could certainly believe high 90%. About like the 257 wtby. While I've yet to have a deer fall to that round, I've rarely seen one go more than 20-40 steps or so though we have had some go 150 or so steps every now and then.

I've killed/seen killed literally hundreds of big game animals, and I've never seen or been aware that speedy bullets help kill gut shot animals any better than non speedy bullets.